How convenient would it be to have a GM in WoW Classic on demand? A streamer apparently had that – and shamelessly exploited it.
Some players have the impression that streamers in World of Warcraft sometimes have special rights and are treated preferentially. Just a few hours ago, there was a case that should serve as a cautionary example – because a streamer managed to get a GM to immediately ban someone for 6 months. The banned person had done nothing other than simply removing a few buffs.
What happened? Twitch streamer Arlaeus had just teleported from his raid members to the Blackwing Lair. His character was well-equipped and had most of the sought-after world buffs. These are powerful effects players receive when certain quests are completed, such as the head of Onyxia or the heart of Hakkar. Such buffs also allow absurd values at low levels.
Although Arlaeus only had to take a few steps to enter the raid, that was enough: A hostile player attacked him and “dispelled” him. During this attack, Arlaeus lost two of the strong world buffs.
What happened next? After his buffs were dispelled, Arlaeus expressed some frustration in the chat. He firmly believed that someone had specifically ambushed him because his stream was being watched. Arlaeus claims the attacker even used a macro to target him. He briefly discussed with his viewers whether targeting individual players was already griefing or not.
A chat user named “lordviho” was apparently a GameMaster who was following the stream. He concluded that it was “griefing” in this case and wanted to know the name of the attacker, which was provided shortly thereafter.
The relevant scene where he talks about the incident begins at 03:19:35:
The stream continues for a while and the attacker also speaks up in the chat. He claims he simply dispelled as many people as he could using a mouse-over macro and did not specifically target anyone. He does this regularly, and it’s part of PvP for him.
About 20 minutes later, the alleged griefer was banned – for a full 6 months and across all 4 WoW accounts. The affected player explained this on the Discord server of his realm. The GM in the chat apparently “took action” and imposed a suspension on this player.
Dispelling buffs is a controversial topic: The world buffs and dispelling them is a big topic in WoW Classic. Some groups consider these buffs indispensable, and for that reason, other players take pleasure in stealing them from players. After all, it is a skill intended for removing buffs.
This happens repeatedly in PvP. However, the topic stirs emotions and has already produced some funny clips about the issue, such as the last scene of this video (minute 2:47):
Community is disappointed: In the various threads in the WoW Classic subreddit the mood is heated. The vast majority believes that both the streamer and the Game Master have behaved improperly.
You cannot impose such draconian penalties on players just because they engage in PvP on a PvP server. Those who cannot accept that magical effects can be removed by other players should not play on a PvP realm.
Many players believe that the GM simply abused his position and should be fired or at least sanctioned for such behavior.
Arlaeus participated in the posts, trying to justify himself and also explained that he regrets potentially costing a Game Master his job. However, he later deleted his Reddit account – and with it all his posts.
Action casts a shadow on Blizzard: Blizzard has often been criticized in the past because it often seems that streamers have special rights or can contact GMs more quickly. Their concerns are addressed faster and usually end in a more positive outcome – that is at least the impression of many players in the community.
In this case, it seems to have been true as well, since the GM was present in the chat of the stream and directly made use of his abilities. Whether rightly or simply out of whim must be decided by each individual for themselves.
What do you think about this matter?
