With a little trick, World of Warcraft has deactivated many “cheat programs” – but this could lead to problems now.
When it comes to maximum efficiency, players in World of Warcraft are willing to push all boundaries. This is not only possible through particularly powerful addons in the game but also through external programs that overlay the game. This was especially a nasty advantage in the last raid, Aberrus. However, Blizzard has put a stop to this – and it could lead to other problems.
What has changed? Blizzard has changed how the combat log works and thus how other programs can access the log. The combat log is actually saved live in an external file, which can then be read immediately.
Since Patch 10.2 Guardians of the Dream, however, there has been a change: the data of the combat log is not saved immediately, but only transferred to the file after the end of the fight. Some professionals notice this especially now that the raid Amirdrassil, Hope of the Dream
is open.
What does this bring? As parts of the combat log can no longer be read live, not all data is available “live”. This, in turn, means that external programs can no longer read the log in real-time and therefore can no longer create overlays that give tips and hints directly in the game, such as how to position oneself or where certain effects are occurring.
Why is this a problem? A “problem” arises because the combat log is written to the corresponding file with some delay. Especially in long boss fights, this can create a fairly large file that is then written “spontaneously” more or less. This can lead to stuttering and short delays on some computers.
Another problem is that the entire combat log of the current fight is lost if the affected account disconnects during the ongoing fight. This can be frustrating if one wanted to evaluate phases of the fight and no data from other players is available.
What do you think of this change? A good step against overpowered software? Or an annoying change?
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