The Twitch streamer Michael “shroud” Gresziek (26) is considered a shooter god and human aimbot. He apparently thought he was already a big player in the MMORPG Runescape at the age of 10. But the look at his inventory was sobering.
This is the situation: shroud is one of the biggest and most successful streamers on Twitch. Unlike entertainers like Dr Disrespect, he is mainly known for his solid gameplay: He is just very good at video games.
shroud became famous for his skills in shooters like CS: GO or PUBG, but in his heart, he is passionate about MMORPGs like WoW Classic. That’s where he originally came from. Even though these games aren’t that suitable for Twitch, he enjoys grinding in an MMORPG for days.
“Impossible that I achieved so little as a child”
What’s the deal with MMORPGs? shroud logged back into the MMORPG Runescape after more than 16 years. He created an account there at the age of 9 or 10, which had long been dormant. When he wanted to play Runescape again, he couldn’t believe that Jagex still had his old account.
He gushed to his chat that he still remembers what he did in the game: He chopped branches in front of the trees near that one town and oh…
When he logged in again and walked to the bank, however, he was in for a rude awakening. shroud exclaimed at the sight of the pitiful inventory:
“Is that all? Is that all I’m worth? Is that all I could achieve at 10?”
shroud
The streamer clicks through his inventory, but it just doesn’t get any better. Some low-tier items and junk are staring back at him from the screen. shroud struggles with it: He can’t believe how little he must have achieved and owned in Runescape back then.
Even minutes later, he complains about the situation, which does not match what he remembers at all. Ultimately, he concludes: Someone must have hacked him and picked the valuable loot from his inventory.
It can’t be that he ran around with such crappy items back then and actually completed tough quests with a “Bronze Hammer.”
Is the memory deceiving or is it a hack?
Here’s what’s behind it: Normal players deal with returning to an MMORPG on their own, while shroud is watched by a few thousand people. When shroud notices that he lacks money to buy an item, a viewer quickly hands him a few million.
The exciting thing about shroud is the flashback of what it’s like to log in to an MMORPG after more than 15 years. Everything has changed, and the memories from back then are not as vivid as they used to be.
Normally, players react with slight dismay upon viewing the graphics: In memory, the old MMORPG looked much better than it does now in the present. But that doesn’t seem to bother shroud at all. On the contrary: He is impressed by what Runescape has become over the years.
But you can see how shroud tries to figure out if he really achieved so little back then or if someone hacked him and stole the best items later. With “hacks” and items, a part of one’s youth seems to be lost.
How deeply shroud is addicted to MMORPGs was evident in April 2020. He was right in the middle of a raid phase in WoW Classic, but he was also traveling around the world. To be on time back home with his raid team, he dipped into the streamer’s wallet, which apparently was well-filled after his stint with Mixer:
To raid in WoW Classic, shroud took a private jet for $13,000
