A Twitch streamer was devastated: he had lost everything he had dreamed of in the MMORPG Old School RuneScape (Steam) for so long. He had loved this MMORPG for 21 years. Was there no hope for redemption, or was there?
Who is it about?
- The streamer is named Darth Microtransaction (short: DM), he is known as a Twitch streamer for Diablo 4 or Raid Shadow Legends. Showcasing these games on Twitch is basically his “bread and butter.”
- However, he is actually a passionate player of the MMORPG Old School RuneScape; he has been playing the original RuneScape since 2001 and is deeply attached to the game. He says that it is the only game he has truly loved and that keeps bringing him back to gaming.
- He has a very special story of suffering connected to the MMORPG.
Old School RuneScape has been available on Steam for a few years now, but it is mostly played on other servers:
Streamer loses everything to his gambling addiction the first time
What did he lose: The streamer had built up a huge fortune in the MMORPG over the years, only to lose everything when he succumbed to gambling addiction in the “Duel Arena” and had bad luck 17 times in a row. DM shares this in the video “I got hacked and lost everything” (via youtube).
This “Duel Arena” was removed from the MMORPG by Jagex in 2022, and the streamer started from scratch to build a fortune: In the following year, he invested $1,500 into the game and received numerous donations from his viewers. The viewers watched him play Diablo 4 but saw how much he loved RuneScape and gifted him gold for it, he explains.
With 4.8 billion gold, he simply bought “everything” in the game.
I had a maxed account in the game I love. Finally, after years of wanting to reach this point. I was so happy, more than in any game.
Streamer gets completely cleaned out, is totally shattered
This is what happened to him: The fortune lasted only a week. The streamer believes that he shared enough information during his streams for a viewer to claim his account via “account recovery” and take everything away from him.
The streamer not only lost the expensive items but also consumable items he wanted to level up with. Everything was truly gone:
He destroyed my organization, which took me days to build. He stole items that were only there so I could level my character. The crap that I really care about, not just expensive stuff.
Ultimately, the streamer was devastated. Everything he had built over 21 years was gone. Also, what his viewers had donated to make his dream come true was lost.
The streamer warned: His fate should serve as a lesson to everyone; one must secure the account better than he did.
He did get his account back, but it was cleaned out.
RuneScape account was the most valuable possession in his life
The streamer lamented: He was robbed of the only thing he truly loved. Everything else could be taken from him: his motorcycle, his collectibles, his piano, all his guitars.
That may sound pathetic, but that’s just how it is: His RuneScape account was the most valuable possession in his life.
Player was devastated
Was there still hope? Actually not. The streamer says he has been playing RuneScape for 21 years, long enough to know that from this point he was at, there is no return: What’s gone is gone.
But then the developers at Jagex actually contacted him via email, saying they had seen his video. He should file a claim for “lost items.”
However, that didn’t give the streamer hope: The chance that support would help him was at 0%. He had told every viewer who asked if there was any chance of that.
This is how it turned out: But actually, a miracle happened, and his entire account was restored. He is filled with joy now, he says.
Regular players criticize: “Streamer privilege” rubs salt in the wound
How is this being discussed? But on reddit, the view is somewhat different: It is said that he only got his account back because he is a bigger streamer and made 2 videos about it.
That is generally unfair: He only got his possessions back because he received so much gold from viewers. Asking Jagex to restore his possessions with 2 videos, that’s not very nice.
Any other player at RuneScape who lost his stuff is in the same situation.
The special treatment now only shows that Jagex can help desperate players, but doesn’t do so. They have nothing against the streamer; they would do the same in his place, but it still feels bad, that’s the consensus on reddit.
The streamer agrees: There is indeed a streamer privilege. But he loves the game so much that he doesn’t care in this case.
He never asked Jagex to return his possessions; they offered it and he just accepted.
He will now protect his account much better.
More about RuneScape:
