The same slowdown, presented as a bonus
Blizzard’s first version treated extended play as a reason to reduce experience gains: keep playing past a point, and progress slowed. Players read that as a penalty for spending time in the game. The revised design changed the comparison point. Instead of starting at the normal rate and later earning less, players began at a lower baseline and could gain extra experience after resting.
That shift made the ordinary rate feel like a reward. The underlying tradeoff remained, but the player’s starting expectation changed. A slowdown could now be understood as losing a bonus rather than being punished for continuing.
Rest became a resource players could use
In World of Warcraft, rested experience accumulated while a character was resting, such as at an inn or in a city. Later, as the character earned experience, the reserve provided bonus progress until it ran out. Logging off did not grant an instant level; it built up an advantage for the next stretch of play.
The mechanic also gave players a gentle reason to pause without ordering them to stop. A returning player could make faster progress for a while, while someone who kept playing still advanced—just without that extra boost. Blizzard’s change turned a limit on uninterrupted play into a small, visible benefit for coming back later.
