Post by SoCalWoWGal
Some helpful information about how the game works:
World of Warcraft requires 2 compnents to play, which are a license and game time:
WoW LicenseWorld of Warcraft® Starter Edition lets you access World of Warcraft for free—all you need is a Battle.net account and a broadband internet connection.
This limited version of the game will allow access to the game up to character level 20 and this is the version of the game that a paid license will revert to if does not have any game time.
World of Warcarft :
- Subscription required
- 1 month of free game time included
- Includes levels 1–100
- Internet connection required
- Battle.net® registration required
This is also often referred to as the "base game" since the original Vanilla WoW and all of the expansions up to Warlords of Draenor are included in the purchase.i
Prior to the release of Legion, the Battlechest did not include Warlords of Draenor, and if an account upgraded to Warlords of Draenor, a free boost to level 90 for a single character on the upgraded license was offered. This promotion is no longer available now that Waelords of Draenor has been rolled into the BattleChest/base game.
Which brings us to:
World of Warcraft - Legion
- Internet connection, Battle.net registration, and desktop application required.
- Subscription required.
- Requires World of Warcraft
This is a completely optional extpansion that is available should you wish to see any level 100 -110 content, which takes place on the Broken Isles.
The purchase comes with a free boost to level 100 for a single character on the upgraded license. You may also purchase. Additional single character boosts if you desire to boost additional characters after you have used your free boost.
Any "under the hood changes" to the game are made at the game client level and we all play using the same game client regardless of what license we can access. The only difference is access to content is gated to below level 20 for the Starter Edition License (or unfunded subscription on a full license) below level 100 for a BattleChest license and all current storyline content including any quest, dungeon and raid content that is released as a patch to Legion. Any changes to class and spec mechanics, as well as quality of life changes (such as updates to the in-game wardrobe feature) will occur on the client level.
Game TimeIf you have decided that you wish to play past level 20, or if you have run out of game time (either the 30 days free with the
Battlechest have expired, your game time card has expired, or you do not have a subscription) you will need to purchase Game TIme.
WoW SubscriptionThree Plans to Choose From
World of Warcraft subscriptions are available in 1 month, 3 month, and 6 month increments. Choose a 3- or 6-month plan and save!
Game Time Cards They can be purchased
directly from Blizzard or may be available at retailers, for example
Amazon sells this 60 day cardWoW TokenVisit the Auction House and use your hard-earned gold to purchase one of the WoW Tokens another player has put up for sale. Once the Token arrives in your in-game mailbox, right-click it to add it to your bag, then right-click again and 30 days of game time will be added to your account.
There are restrictions on this method of paying for game time, there is a Blizzard Support Article:
Using a WoW Token. Also, see this Wowhead Guide:
Guide to Obtaining and Selling the WoW Token