It all started with Thottbot. This website was powered by an addon that submitted player data to the site, compiling a database of quest and item info. Players looking for help could look up troublesome quests, or research the best places to find the perfect weapon. Since then, Wowhead has become the database of choice, which, interestingly enough, is owned by the same parent company, Affinity Media. Affinity Media, owner of Thottbot, Allakhazam, and Wowhead, is in the business of making World of Warcraft and other MMOs easier. Yes, there's an entire thriving, multimillion-dollar business model based around simplifying your game experience.
Time is Money
You can't discuss making the game easier without mentioning gold-buying services, and Affinity Media owned one of the biggest ones, Internet Gaming Entertainment, or IGE. The business has been in decline since 2006, thanks to anti-money-trading countermeasures by Blizzard. Gamers who want to make their lives easier can still easily purchase in-game gold, primarily from gold-farming operations overseas, where workers grind 'round the clock in order to save you the time you'd otherwise have to invest in purchasing that epic mount.
While the Heirloom Shoulders' XP bonus make you level faster.
I Wanna Hold Your Hand
Currently, addons like Questhelper and TourGuide are used by players to make the leveling experience faster and easier than ever before. These addons provide you with waypoints and big flashing arrows that guide you from the questgiver to the mobs in need of killing. Used in conjunction with James' leveling guides, now with their own TourGuide addon, these addons are a popular choice for those looking to have their hand held during the leveling process.
Tell Your Friends and the Next Hit is Free
You can't blame the players for wanting to take advantage of these external sources to make the leveling experience more efficient. World of Warcraft is a cinch to level in when compared to soul-crushing grinds like EverQuest, but it's still a considerable time investment. But Blizzard has also done its share to get players to max level as soon as possible. Just look at the Recruit-a-Friend program.
Essentially turning their player base into an expansive marketing team, Blizzard's Recruit-a-Friend program allowed linked accounts to earn up to triple experience points. Many players took this as an opportunity to sign up for multiple accounts, and then multi-box those characters, playing them all at once with macros. While it was already easy to level one character, now it was conceivable to level three or more at once in the same amount of time, as long as you were willing to pony up the cash.
