I would like to suggest implementing a more elegant solution about what happens with bought donation items on hardcore characters when they die.
As it stands right now :
- Softcore characters purchase items from the donation shop permanently.
- Hardcore characters "rent" items until they die.
A classic rent vs own conundrum that plagues today's world.
Why?
A player sees a sale -> decides to donate X money for Y item on HC -> Sale ends OR price of Y item is increased -> they die -> They can no longer afford Y item with X points, because the item now costs Z points -> They are forced to donate more.
HC characters are supposed to die. Many times.
Upon their death, they get refunded the donation points they've spent on the character.
If the player shopped during a sale or if the prices of the items they bought increased after their death - the player would no longer be able to afford the same items that they had.
My example : I bought a bag for 140 points on my HC character. I died multiple times during the sale and was able to afford it. If I die after the sale ends, I will no longer be able to afford the same bag on a new HC character.
Reasoning
The "hardcore" mechanic should be a gameplay-only decision. It should not affect my donation choices nor have an effect on my donation shop at all, the same way that choosing to play Tauren Druid does not affect my donation shop.
As it is, by choosing to play "Hardcore", I must accept this downside of the donation shop with my gameplay choice.
My suggestion
Have a new tab on the donation screen "Lost loot" where hardcore players are presented with a choice between two options :
A) Current behavior:
claim the originally paid donation points
-
OR
-
B) My suggestion :
If the logged in character is hardcore and level 1 at 0xp - to be able to simply claim the lost donation item(s) directly, instead of getting the donation points back. (emphasized because people seem to think my suggestion is to refund the regular price of an item as tokens)
Of course, move the lost loot to the top of the sidebar, add more information about what it is, make it be clear what it is and make it clear that items on hardcore death will go there and not be lost.
Please note that this suggestion is a "choose one" type of option and the "claim points" still refunds you the original price paid.
Pros
- Donators will own what they buy, regardless of when they bought it or if its price changed at any point for whatever reason
- More choice to the end user - they get to choose what happens to their items
- Hardcore players will be more confident in buying donation items leading to more donations
- More convenience for the players - also leading to more donations
- More faith in the Turtle WoW management through the support of non-predatory practices and pro-consumer improvements
- Players will be more incentivized to buy during sales (more sales but less profit, also a con)
- Players who have bought multiple items on a hardcore character can easily claim them from one screen, without having to individually search for them every time they die.
Cons
- 2 afternoons of a developer's time and some design work.
- Hardcore players that are "forced" to donate more in the specific cases will no longer need to donate more - loss of money
- Players will be more incentivized to buy during sales (more sales but less profit, also a pro)
