How does SpentOnWoW work

In this post, we will explain how SpentOnWoW.com works, its flaws and limitations, and also address a lot of commonly asked questions.

But first, we want to address:

How it works

Where the data comes from

The website relies on the Blizzard Public API. This API is used by many community websites, such as Raider.io, SimpleArmory.com, and even our other website, WoWchievement.com.

For those unfamiliar with the term, an API stands for Application Programming Interface. It’s a standard way for IT systems to exchange information. In our case, Blizzard provides an API to give the community access to in-game character information.

Blizzard offers a wealth of information about in-game characters, such as the mounts, pets, and toys a character owns. Additionally, all completed achievements, including their time and date of completion, are available. While much more information is accessible, these are the main ones SpentOnWoW.com focuses on.

How do we compute your spending from this data?

Using this data, we estimate how much money you’ve spent on WoW. We differentiate between three types of spending: subscriptions, expansion purchases, and in-game shop purchases.

Subscriptions

To determine your subscription periods, we gather all your completed achievements, check their completion dates, and compile a list. We also include the dates when you last defeated each raid and dungeon bosses.

This results in a list of dates when you were actively playing the game, thus paying for a subscription. From this list, we calculate subscription segments of one month.

This method has limitations. Achievements were only introduced in 2008, four years after WoW’s initial release, making it impossible to track subscriptions before then. Furthermore, some players may pay for a subscription but not actively play or play in ways that don’t reward achievements, reducing the accuracy of our estimate.

Expansion purchases

To determine if you purchased an expansion, we check if you were active during its release. However, this isn’t foolproof, as some players delay buying expansions. While we considered improving detection based on expansion-specific achievements, we decided against implementing it for the initial version of the website due to its complexity.

Using the mounts, pets, and toys you own, we identify the version of the expansion you purchased (Standard, Collector’s, Heroic, or Epic).

In-game shop purchases

This is the most straightforward category. We maintain a list of mounts, pets, toys, and appearances purchasable with real money. We compare this list with the character’s collection, and voilà!

Complications arise due to the Trading Post, which allows players to obtain some of these items with in-game currency. Additionally, Blizzard offers “free” collectibles as rewards for 6- or 12-month subscriptions.

Limitations

While we’ve found clever ways to estimate spending based on public information, some significant expenses—such as name, server, faction, or race changes, and token purchases—are not trackable through the Blizzard Community API.

FAQ

Why does the value differ between characters?

This is likely due to not sharing achievements across your characters. Check your in-game setting: “Display Only Character Achievements to Others.”

Why can’t I find my character on the website?

This could be due to several reasons:

• The character or realm name is misspelled. Please double-check your spelling. To assist, you can verify on the official WoW website: World of Warcraft Character Search.
• Your profile is private. You can review your privacy settings here: Battle.net Privacy Settings.

As a workaround, try searching for another character on your account.

What if I bought an expansion at a discount?

We can’t detect discounts. It will always display the full price.

I don’t want my data visible on SpentOnWoW.

We understand privacy concerns. No personal data is linked to the Blizzard API. However, if you wish to hide your data, you can change your privacy settings here: Battle.net Privacy Settings.
Please note that setting your profile to private will also affect most community websites like Raider.io.

Why are there ads on the website?

We explain the reasoning behind ads in this blog post.

Why doesn’t the data go back to 2004?

Our computations rely on achievement completion dates, a feature introduced in WOTLK (2008).

Is there a way to get a better estimate?

Yes, you can check Blizzard’s billing history on their website.

Why don’t faction, name, race, or server changes appear in the list?

We are unable to track these purchases.

Why don’t token purchases appear in the list?

We are unable to track these purchases.