A fascinating firestorm of events and controversy erupted in WoW Classic’s hardcore scene over the past 24 hours, starting with a DDOS attack that caused the (perma)deaths of many characters on the hardcore realms. In response, Blizzard announced that it is resurrecting these characters and may do so in similar future situations.
“We’re taking steps to resurrect player-characters that were lost as a result of these attacks. Unlike the many other ways characters can die in Hardcore, DDOS attacks are an intentionally malicious effort made by third-party bad actors, and we believe the severity and results of DDOS attacks specifically warrant a different response,” the studio said.
However, some players have accused Blizzard of taking these steps only because a famous streaming guild, OnlyFangs, threatened to quit the game en masse after the DDOS (which OnlyFangs members apparently believe was targeting them) caused them to wipe in Blackwing Lair, thereby losing all of their characters. The reaction from the community hasn’t been kind toward either the guild or the studio, particularly given that Blizzard isn’t restoring characters who die to other technical reasons beyond their control, although some gamers are in support of this move because of “collateral damage” to non-OnlyFangs players who were affected by the targeted attack.
“Well there goes the rules for [Hardcore],” said one player. “Death is permanent unless you are a streamer. If this didn’t happen to OnlyFangs, Blizzard wouldn’t have done anything.” Another wrote, “Pandering to streamers is pathetic.”
But still other fans point out that this move benefitted all affected players, not just a high-profile guild. “You know what? I’d rather then give special treatment to the streamer community than to give that much power to DDOS losers,” said one player.
