The best items for low gold – that’s what a player wanted to offer in World of Warcraft. But this directly leads to a harsh penalty.
The new crafting system in World of Warcraft has finally made professions useful again. Almost everyone is looking for skilled craftsmen to get the best equipment. Some craftsmen profit from this and earn a lot of gold by offering the rarest recipes at expensive prices. However, not everyone thinks of the big profit; some just want to be nice and make good offers at low prices.
A mistake, as it turns out. Because this friendliness led to a German player being unable to write messages in chat.
What happened? The “Elemental Loop” is one of the most sought-after items currently available in the crafting system. Jewelers can craft it if they have previously obtained the rare recipe. Since the chain is considered “Best in Slot” by many, there are numerous orders – but only very few craftsmen who can produce it. Because the recipe is a very rare drop.
The consequence: In many realms, the crafting of the necklace is rewarded with several tens of thousands of gold pieces, in some even much more. Jewelers can earn a golden nose with the recipe and the correct specialization.
The player “Schlay” from the EU server Thrall did not want to participate in this game. Instead, he offered the crafting of the Elemental Loop at a low price. He says:
Rather than matching the exorbitant prices of other jewelers, I decided to craft the item for a small tip. At first, my decision was praised and I was inundated with crafting orders. However, things began to turn when I was exposed to hate and threats from other jewelers.
Following the threats, actions soon followed. Whenever Schlay advertised his services in the trade channel, he was reported by other jewelers.
The consequence: Schlay was “silenced” and could no longer send messages in chat. He recounts this in the Subreddit of WoW in his post: “I challenged the monopoly and they got revenge.”
Greedy jewelers silence cheap competition
Why was he muted in chat? This is mainly due to the reporting system of World of Warcraft. Because when other players consider a message inappropriate, they can easily report the message and the corresponding player. Once a certain number of reports are received, the affected character is immediately sanctioned – mostly with a mute. This means that this character can no longer write in chat.
Apparently, other jewelers who have made substantial profits with the Elemental Loop banded together and falsely reported Schlay to reduce his visibility.
What is next for the player? Schlay has already announced that after the end of his mute he will simply continue and craft the Elemental Loop completely free of charge – only requiring the provision of materials. He also wants to accept orders for re-crafting for free. His goal now is to “thoroughly disrupt” the market for Elemental Loops on his realm, because:
I believe that one of the best items in the game should be available to everyone, regardless of whether they are new players with limited gold. I have set myself the goal of making that a reality.
Blizzard gives questionable advice
This is how Blizzard reacted: Schlay did not want to let the unfair treatment slide and contacted support to reverse his mute – after all, he claimed he never said anything offensive or wrong, but was only falsely reported out of anger over the low prices.
However, the support employee reportedly told him that overturning the penalty was not possible as they had no insight into the reported messages. Only if his entire account was banned could they take action. For the future, the support employee advised him to raise the prices of his offers.
This is how the community reacts: In the WoW subreddit, Schlay is celebrated for his actions and his “reporters” are mocked. Some comments include:
- “How pathetic must one be to take a video game economy so seriously that they behave like an oil baron.”
- “You are the real MVP.”
- “This is just like real life. If you do things that upset people with money, you’ll be silenced. I’m sorry. We live in a world where most people are idiots.”
Some other players on the Thrall realm have even offered to promote Schlay while he cannot do it himself.
Criticism, on the other hand, is directed at Blizzard. For years, the reporting system has been exploited to penalize players who have not done anything wrong. While exploiting the reporting system for such purposes is prohibited and can – in theory – lead to severe account penalties, it seems that this is rarely enforced.
What do you think? Absolutely incomprehensible to punish someone in chat for this? Or is it “the just punishment for breaking the prices”?
