Herb farming in WoW Classic remains a problem as bots dominate the market. And Blizzard has just made it worse.
Bots are a problem in all major MMORPGs and World of Warcraft is afflicted by them – especially in the Classic realms. Here, it is typically particularly easy to identify such bots, and they often harvest all kinds of resources from the game world. This is something that Blizzard wanted to change for an important resource. However, the “improvement” has only given the bots even more power.
What is the problem? In the Classic realms, it is common to stock up on potions for raids. This is important for endgame content, especially on hardcore realms, as you can otherwise lose your character very badly. These long-lasting potions grant particularly strong effects but require a very rare reagent to craft: Black Lotus.
Black Lotus appears at fixed locations in the game world. That means that these locations are not only besieged by players, but also by numerous bots. Sometimes, these bots are even “under” the game world and cannot be stopped at all. They harvest the lotus as soon as it appears and make a fortune from it.
The gold obtained this way is then sold back to the community – an illegal business, which Blizzard simply cannot control permanently.
How did Blizzard intend to solve the problem? The developers’ solution was to simply increase the spawn rate of the Black Lotus. This was supposed to flood the market with more lotus, reduce prices, and ensure greater availability of potions.
In reality, however, this has only ensured that bots can now acquire lotus even faster and more frequently. Since the bots dictate the price and do not undercut each other, this means that while supply has increased, prices have remained stable.
The only ones who have benefitted greatly from the change so far are the bot operators.
Accordingly, the topic is also discussed negatively in the WoW Classic subreddit:
They have already fixed the lotus issue several times, even back in TBC they understood that it was a problem and made it so that future reagents could drop from high-level herbs. […]
Are they still trying to satisfy the “No Changes” people? (all 5 that are still left)
– ForeverStaloneKP
What does the community suggest? The community has long desired an adjustment, as was the case after “The Burning Crusade” and many other expansions of World of Warcraft. The “particularly rare” resource is not tied to fixed spawn points here but can occasionally be found as additional loot from other high-level herbs.
This would make besieging fixed spawn points unattractive, depriving bots of their basis and at the same time ensuring that normal players can occasionally get Black Lotus as well.
Why Blizzard resists this solution, which is also used in “Season of Discovery,” is not entirely clear. However, it is clear that the community is not satisfied with the recent changes and that the gaming experience has not improved. Only the bot operators can currently rake in even bigger profits.
Not even the 5 strongest orcs that Warcraft has ever seen can help against the bots.
