When you hear the word Boosting, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Is it running your under-geared friend through Heroics, bots spamming Trade Chat with dubious Gold Selling offers, or getting trounced in Arenas by two oddly skilled players while their third sits and watches in his Ice Block?
The truth is that boosting is all of those things and so much more at the same time. In this guide, we'll talk about how boosting in World of Warcraft works and why it's so important.
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What Exactly Is WoW Boosting, Though?
Boosting first emerged during the earliest days of Vanilla WoW when players would offer to run others through dungeons and raids or help them finish certain notorious quests - for a price. Be it dragging a fresh 15 through Deadmines or carrying a couple through Nax, boosting has been in the game for as long as anyone can remember.
Although its scope and complexity have drastically changed over the years, boosting at its core is the same simple thing it has always been: a way for players with little time and some spare change to get their goals done.
Nowadays, pretty much anything you can think of can be boosted. Retail alone is a massive game with thousands of hours worth of painfully grindy content. Not to mention Cata Classic, or the odd event like Plunderstorm, Pandaria Remix, and in a month or so, World of Warcraft’s massive 20th Anniversary event.
Talk about cool, am I right? But you know what isn’t so cool? Having to spam the limited-time Raid on 3 difficulties every week, just for a chance at getting a piece. It eats your time and your nerves (especially if you go through LFG), and worst of all, you might need to do it again next week. If only there was a way to get it done without having to spend half a dozen hours grinding for it every week…
Why Is WoW Boosting Important?
Imagine you want to clear some current content: Raids, Mythics, Arenas, the whole shebang. But just as well, you still want to farm up that Mail Muncher you’ve been trying for since BFA, and what about that Argent Tournament rep you’ve been meaning to grind? Then there’s your alts, your professions, getting KSM, and…
Bang.
Too much, way too much, and way too little time to get to it all. Mounts, Transmogs, Achievements, Titles, Rating, Conquest, Valorstones, and on and on and on the list goes. The trouble is, as content-wealthy as Warcraft is, most people nowadays just don’t have the time to go through it all themselves. Gone are the days when we could sit in our jammies, mainline Monster, and wipe on Blackhand for 8 hours straight.
Now you’ll be grinding out your last few quests from 10,000 World Quests Completed after an 8-hour shift, only instead of WoW Oldschool PvP Music Vol. 4 blaring in your ears, it's your wife screaming about unpaid bills. You hate to see it!
Imagine doing the same for Keystone Master & Hero, Cutting Edge, or Gladiator. All of these take a lot of grinding, a lot of skill, and a whole hell of a lot of time to get done. Weeks of spamming Mythics, rated Arenas, or doing Normal and HC Raids, just to miss your last tier piece again. So what’s a guy to do when he wants to get it all but just doesn't have the time? He asks for a bit of help.
How Can WoW Boosting Help You?
Although boosting gets a bit of a bad rap sometimes, with some people immediately thinking of a spammed Trade Chat or bad players getting carried through Rated Arenas, the truth is a little bit more complicated than that. With LFG being in the horrifying state that it is, a lot of players burn out and get sick of dealing with it every day, especially in higher Mythic+ Keys, Raids at HC and Mythic, or Rated Arenas.
People nowadays are way too toxic, have way too short a temper, and are way, way too quick to jump ship the moment something doesn't go exactly as they want, wasting everyone’s time in the process. It's no wonder why people run to sites that offer fast alternatives to the slog that is LFG when you look at this awful thing:
The “10 Disbands in a Row” meme isn’t quite as funny when the shoe’s on your foot. Thankfully, many boosting sites offer a wide variety of services that incentivize the exact opposite of just afk-ing while others drag you through dungeons - they encourage active participation and playing with the team you’ve hired, which, at the end of the day, is what most people want to begin with.
And that goes double for higher Keys, Mythic Raids, or High Rating Arenas. Getting Gladiator is just as difficult with a pair of top-tier boosters at your back because you’re still going to be fighting the best players in your region regardless, so you can forget about anyone calling it a walk in the park! Not to mention other top-tier titles, like Tempered Hero or Cutting Edge. Don’t believe me? See for yourself.
Can Boosting Be A Good Thing?
Think of boosting in World of Warcraft as a sword with two sides: on one hand, it offers busy gamers a way to complete their goals without any fear of missing out, wasting their hard-earned free time, or accidentally aggroing their partners, but also, it gives talented players a way to make a living by doing what they love: playing World of Warcraft. All too often, people only see the receiving end of the boost, but they rarely think about what happens on the other side.
Because of sites like Boosthive or BlazingBoost WoW, talented players can market their skills to a crowd that’s more than happy to have them lend a hand in clearing the content most players find far too difficult to do themselves. Everything from grinding Rep & Tender to getting Tempered Hero becomes possible through the talented hands of a tenured booster, who will make a pretty penny by renting his skills out to others - and not just for pennies, mind you, as many boosters can nowadays make a living wage just by playing their favorite game.
Some even join huge boosting Guilds, Clans, and Societies with the sole purpose of streamlining the whole process. With a well-oiled system at their back and their WeakAuras ready for action, they can just hop on, clear a couple dozen Mythics with their buddies (and very welcome customers), then maybe some Arenas, or a Raid if they’re feeling frisky, and call that the day’s dues done.
Talk about a childhood dream come true! And with WoW being as big as it is and the boosting industry constantly looking to round up new talent for their rosters, that dream, for many, is very quickly becoming very, very real.
Summary
Love it or hate it, boosting has been a part of World of Warcraft for as long as anyone can remember. While it has been the subject of no small controversy over the years, just as well, it has grown into much more than just a money-making scheme or a way to cheat the system - but a full-fledged industry that helps gamers make the most out of their limited time in the game they love (sometimes even more so than the devs of the game themselves!).
Be it by buying a boost or being the one to get it done, through the wide variety of sites and services available today, there will always be a way for us to play the game we love, no matter how limited our time is. Because isn’t that what this is really all about? Have fun and good luck! For more information about WoW, you can check out this article.
