WoW is releasing Trading Post class sets and Trader’s Tender bundles back-to-back. Here’s why it’s an issue

The Trading Post in World of Warcraft Dragonflight is wonderful—it offers a wide variety of rare and shop items, it’s based solely on your in-game efforts, and it’s simple, straightforward, and doesn’t overburden you with quests and activities. Or that’s at least what I thought until I saw Blizzard is releasing Trading Post class sets and Trader’s Tender bundles back-to-back.

On July 31, Blizzard announced class-specific armor sets and weapons will be coming to the Trading Post in September and, each month through December, we’ll get three to four never-before-seen armor sets and weapons for a total of 950 Trader’s Tender. But just a day later, the devs revealed The Corsage Pack for the Trial of Style holiday event will also be coming to the game for just $5. The bundle includes two unique wrist transmogs and 200 Trader’s Tender.

I know many of you will look at this and think to yourself “So what?” but this is actually yet another example of predatory business practices we’ve already seen in the past with Diablo Immortal, time-gated content in recent expansions, and the addition of WoW Token to Wrath of the Lich King Classic despite the “no changes” promises. 

When I first saw class-specific Trading Post sets, I was surprised and really happy my little Shaman will have even more transmog options, because, let’s be honest, mail transmogs are far off from the quality of cloth and leather appearances. Although the price tag of 450 for sets and 500 Trader’s Tender for weapon trasmogs is still a bit excessive, I can easily remove some items from my shopping list and get this one-of-kind transmog. 

Related: All WoW Trading Post rewards for August 2023

But what about players who have a small army of alts or avid collectors who simply need to have everything WoW has to offer? This is where the Trader’s Tender bundles come in. If you’re actively playing the game and you want to adorn more than one character in the new class armors, you need to buy the bundles to get enough currency.

Each month normally gives you 1,000 Trader’s Tender and you need at least 950 to get one armor set and one weapon appearance. So, naturally, players, despite promises Trading Post items will return in the future, will flock to the shop to get Trader’s Tender and buy sets. Each month will introduce three to four sets and weapons and, honestly, it’ll be hard to say when they will make a return. 

I loved the Trading Post because it was a nifty feature, solely based on your in-game efforts. All you have to do is log in every month, complete activities, and you can grab a couple of items you like in the shop in Orgrimmar or Stormwind. 

From now on, the Trading Post could be getting more and more items every month you don’t want to miss out on, incentivizing you to purchase bundles containing Trader’s Tender and spend even more money on the game which already has a monthly subscription you need to pay. It could easily evolve from a simple and easy way to get additional transmogs into yet another cash grab.

I could be wrong and this could be an exception, but judging by Blizzard’s past behavior when the company made a decision to introduce character boosts in WoW Classic as a part of bundles, WoW Token to WoTLK Classic, and microtransactions to Diablo 4, there really isn’t any guarantee that one of Dragonflight’s best features won’t be entirely corrupted and ruined further down the road.