Some are having a hard time in World of Warcraft. Because a system that is actually good is being used for dark purposes.
Depending on whom you ask, you will get very different answers about the state of World of Warcraft. Some love the social interaction, the shared evenings with guild mates in dungeons or raids. Others complain about the toxic community and that you can’t really go on adventures with “randoms,” because someone’s always leaving a dungeon prematurely if even a small detail doesn’t go 100% as planned.
Blizzard has heard these voices and incorporated a punishment system. Anyone who leaves a dungeon is branded as a “leaver” – so that everyone can see that they are leaving early. The problem: Tanks are now getting caught, and others are finding ways to circumvent these penalties.
What kind of system is this? With patch 11.2, Blizzard wanted to fulfill a long-held wish of the WoW community. When players leave a “Mythic+” dungeon prematurely, they will be marked as “leavers” after repeated offenses – as someone who does not complete dungeons until the end. Everyone else then sees in the group finder: This person has not been reliable before, and maybe they should not be invited.
If the group feels that the dungeon is no longer manageable, they can start a vote using the “/abandon” command. If at least 4 out of 5 people agree, then the dungeon is canceled, and there is no penalty.
The system received praise beforehand because it could improve the environment for all honest dungeon fans. At least in theory.
But as often in World of Warcraft, things turned out differently in the end. Because shortly after, some villains had already figured out how to exploit the system.
Tanks are taken hostage and must tank dungeons
How are tanks exploited? Some victims are the tanks who are being exploited by this new system. They are told that they would sign up for a high-level dungeon – such as a “Crucible +12.” However, once they are in the dungeon and insert the key stone, the tank realizes: “Wait a minute, this is only a +5!”
The group has simply lied to them and wanted a strong, well-equipped tank for the dungeon – a tank who is so strong that it actually poses no challenge for them.
The tank is now faced with a problem. They can leave the group, but risk being branded as “unreliable” – and that, even though they ended up in a dungeon they didn’t want to participate in at all. The result: Some tanks bite the bullet and quickly tank the dungeon just to regain their “freedom” without long-term consequences.
System is being circumvented in various ways
But other methods have also emerged on how to circumvent the system. If the group refuses to cancel the dungeon, but two members feel they don’t want to play until the end, then such experiences occur:
Again and again, the characters throw themselves intentionally to their deaths. Because each death reduces the remaining time on the timer they have left to complete the dungeon. Once the timer has dropped to 0, the dungeon is counted as “failed” – and they can leave the group without consequences.
It should be clear that Blizzard needs to address this soon, as the current solution cannot be the ultimate answer. Whether there will be a hotfix or if we can expect improvements only in the next major patch remains to be seen.
But there is more frustration – WoW Legion Remix is on the verge of becoming a total flop.
