Blizzard Addresses WoW Classic Layering Exploitation
Blizzard has responded to the complaints of WoW Classic players regarding layering exploitation. Community manager Josh “Lore” Allen clarified Blizzard’s stance on the matter, emphasizing that the key factor in determining whether the exploit is punishable or not is the player’s intent. Layering allows players to repeatedly kill the same enemies in different “layers” to gain experience and item drops.
“The key factor here is intent,” Lore said. If players intentionally cause a glitch to occur and exploit it for their own benefit, it is considered punishable. Players going out of their way to cause the glitch and benefit from it are guilty of exploiting the game.
However, if the replication of the glitch is unintended, Blizzard deems it an accident. This was the case for popular WoW streamer Esfand and his guild when raiding Molten Core. Due to a glitch, the raid’s bosses reset, but there was no clear intent to exploit the game. Blizzard gave the guild approval to re-clear the raid.
Lore acknowledges that the layering glitch is not what Blizzard desires for its MMO, as they want to provide a fair playing field for the fan base. Moving forward, Blizzard will carefully evaluate the nuances and context of each layering instance before making a judgment call.
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