Lethal Shots

Lately there has been some discussion popping up about Blizzard making Authenticators mandatory for all WoW account, notably two articles over at WoW.com. Reactions to the idea are pretty narrow: a person either loves it, hates it, or simply doesn’t care. While I am 100% behind the idea, there are valid arguments both for and against mandatory authentication.

The Case For

• Invulnerability – Outside of an act of pure stupidity (like leaving your Authenticator in a public place with your login info wrote on the back) your account becomes virtually impossible to hack once you have tied an Authenticator to it. While I’m sure there is still a way, the time and effort a hacker would have to spend make it non-profitable to even try.
• Cost – Lets face it, Authenticators are cheap. Blizzard is only charging $6.50 for the things with free shipping ¹, and if you have an iPhone or iTouch you can get one for free by using the app. I suspect that Blizzard is selling them at cost and counting the time saved on account recovery as their profit. ²
• Simple – Once you have an Authenticator setting it up is a breeze. Takes 5 minutes, tops. After that there is simply one extra piece of info to enter when you login. Hell, it takes more time and effort to log into my banks website.
• Peace of Mind – While you may only pay $15 a month to play WoW, how many hours a month do you invest in your characters? I’m a more hardcore player and on average I spend about 20 to 25 hours a week playing WoW (actual play time and research). Hell, that’s a part time job. So think about it, is seven bucks really that steep to insure all of your invested time?

The Case Against

• Availability – Blizzard has had a hard time keeping Authenticators in stock and is regularly sold out the things. ³ Also, not everyone has an iPhone or iTouch. This can make it difficult to obtain an Authenticator.
• Cost – Yes, this point goes both ways. While they are cheap not everyone can afford an Authenticator. Think teenagers with little to no income or players who keep their subscription alive through time cards gifted by friends and family. Even the free app carries the overhead cost of owning an Apple product.
• Potential Hassle – Notice I said potential. If you ever lose your Authenticator (or forget to de-link it when upgrading the app) then you are sentenced to phoning Blizzard up to have it removed from your account. While not a big hassle, it could have you out of game for a day or two.

The primary complaint against mandatory authenticators is not actually having to use an Authenticator, but being required to obtain one. This is a very valid argument, but a near-perfect solution has already been mentioned: include an Authenticator with every copy of Cataclysm. This wouldn’t solve the issue completely since some players won’t purchase the next expansion, but it will put an Authenticator into the hands of the vast majority of players.

Even given the cons, I can see no reason not to use one, the benefits far outweigh the cost. If you don’t already have Authenticator, keep an eye out and purchase one as soon as you can.