In WoW, there are always boosting offers. But are they actually legal? What is prohibited?
Anyone looking in the trade channel or group finder of World of Warcraft will repeatedly find offers from dubious “boosting” services. Sometimes these are individual players, small groups, or even websites offering boosting services. For a certain amount, a service in the game can be purchased: some offer to raise a rating in PvP. Others promise loot from raid bosses or titles.
To claim that every form of boosting is fundamentally prohibited and illegal would be incorrect, as Blizzard has already commented on this several times.
Real money deals are always prohibited
The basic rule is: As soon as real money is involved, the matter is prohibited. Anyone paying €50 for a dungeon run or rated battlegrounds can expect an account penalty if caught.
All offers that are exclusively and directly handled with in-game gold are generally tolerated by Blizzard.
Regardless of gold – or real money payment, there is another question: Was the “service” provided legally and fairly? If someone joins a “Mythic+” group for a few thousand gold pieces that guides the player through the desired instance, they likely face no great danger.
However, the situation is different with PvP skirmishes. Here, one often advertises boosting for the skill rating – whether in arenas or battlegrounds. It is important to pay attention to how exactly the boosting occurs. Are you simply part of a complete group that competes fairly against other groups? Or is there something called “win trading” happening, where one side does not really fight but just allows themselves to be rolled over? The latter is prohibited and has already led in many cases to temporary – and for repeat offenders – even permanent account bans.
It usually helps little to say that one “didn’t know that the booster engages in win trading” – at Blizzard, they often seem to follow the “caught together, hung together” philosophy.
A red flag should also be raised if you are asked to give out your account details for someone else to play your character. Account sharing is fundamentally prohibited, and Blizzard shows little mercy here as well.
So let us remember: as long as payment for a service is made only with in-game gold to other players, in general, there is nothing against it if the boosting action is legal and free of fraud.
Whether one can reconcile this with their own gamer ego, relying on something like this, is of course a whole different matter. I couldn’t really be happy about the awesome PvP mount that I paid 100,000 gold for instead of being able to play PvP well…
Have you read our article on the 3 questlines that nobody remembers?
