wow More Multiboxing Drama in WoW

[Valks 2,375]

Oh yes, it's that time of year again. More drama surrounding the same multiboxer as before!

 

For those of you that aren't aware, there has been huge uproar surrounding a single player, who controls 60 accounts at the same time. He has been camping certain areas on the Emerald Dream RP realm, killing all the NPCs and essentially lagging out the area. Players complained on a number of channels, but nothing was done. 

 

It seems like this has gone straight to the head of the player, since he has now begun reporting people for fun. A video from his stream shows him dead after being killed by a group of Alliance. He then proceeds to report people for a "non-RP name on an RP server", despite his characters having names such as Hunteleven, Drutwo and Magone.

 

A thread on Reddit has erupted over this new revelation, with over 750 comments flowing in extremely quickly. It seems like it's just going to continue climbing. The community is becoming increasingly fed up with the antics of the player and it will be interesting to see how Blizzard deals with this.

 

One of the comments on the threads relates to the fact that, for some reason, Blizzard only allow such extreme cases of multiboxing on the US servers. Within the EU EULA, there is a section that reads:

 

"The maximum number of Accounts that a person may register on the Service is limited to no more than three (3) Accounts." (source)

 

This section was actually removed from the US EULA sometime towards the end of 2015, hence why this player can do what he does. Will Blizzard re-instate this section for the US players, or will they continue to allow the player to mass report people for no reason?

 

 

[MiRai 0]

Hi, I'd like to start off by saying that I'm a multiboxer myself, but I'm not replying here to defend against the mass-multiboxer in question. I'd just like to clear up a few things that are/were happening, and are mentioned in this article.

 

It seems like this has gone straight to the head of the player, since he has now begun reporting people for fun. A video from his stream shows him dead after being killed by a group of Alliance. He then proceeds to report people for a "non-RP name on an RP server", despite his characters having names such as Hunteleven, Drutwo and Magone.

The character he reported the player from was on Darkspear. You can see that there is an asterisk next to reported player's name on their unit frame because the character was from Emerald Dream, and he was on his character from Darkspear.

The large-scale multiboxer also has characters on Emerald Dream, yes, but most of them have already been flagged for a name change at this point in time.

Whether he reported the player "for fun" or whether the name reported was RP-compliant or not, are both debatable. I'll also point out that you use the word "people" twice in your article, yet only one single player was reported in the video.

 

One of the comments on the threads relates to the fact that, for some reason, Blizzard only allow such extreme cases of multiboxing on the US servers. Within the EU EULA, there is a section that reads:

 

"The maximum number of Accounts that a person may register on the Service is limited to no more than three (3) Accounts." (source)

This section was actually removed from the US EULA sometime towards the end of 2015, hence why this player can do what he does. Will Blizzard re-instate this section for the US players, or will they continue to allow the player to mass report people for no reason?

The section was not removed from the US EULA, it was amended to reflect what it really meant:

 

D. Game and Battle.net Features.

i. Battle.net Features:

2. Battle.net Balance:

As an active Account holder, you may participate in Blizzard’s Battle.net Balance service (“Battle.net Balance”). Battle.net Balance can only be used to obtain certain products and services offered by Blizzard; it has no cash value. Blizzard grants you a limited license to acquire, use, and redeem Battle.net Balance pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. Regardless of how it is acquired, Battle.net Balance is non-transferable to another person or Account, does not accrue interest, is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and, unless otherwise required by law or permitted by this Agreement, is not redeemable or refundable for any sum of money or monetary value from Blizzard at any time. Battle.net Balance does not constitute a personal property right. Battle.net Balance is not a bank account. And, while you can register and play on multiple Accounts, you are not allowed to have more than three (3) Accounts with Battle.net Balance.

Vrakthris, over on the Blizzard Customer Support forum, also recently commented on this:

http://us.battle.net/wow/en/forum/topic/19973187263?page=1#2

The EU EULA has not been updated to reflect that change because over in the EU, there is at least one large-scale multiboxer who has been playing with more than three BNet accounts for some time. He's also been reported a lot, and has never had any action taken against him because of it. Here is a video from 2014 showing the player speak directly with a GM about how many reports have been submitted about him, and while the video only shows he has 24 characters, he has since increased his numbers beyond 30, as can be seen in his more recent videos.

I point this out specifically because if the EULA in the EU actually meant BNet accounts, and not BNet accounts with BNet Balance on them, then the EU mass-multiboxer would have been told he couldn't use more than three BNet accounts.

I'll also point out that there are plenty of people 4-boxing Diablo III in the EU, which would require four BNet accounts seeing as you can only have one D3 license per BNet account, and there is no known action that has been taken against any D3 multiboxer in the EU because of this particular line in the EU EULA.

Ultimately, what I'm getting at is if people want to "fight the fight" against this particular person mentioned in your article (or mass-multiboxing in general), then you have to do it correctly. Creating a mass of misinformed people who are going to turn around and spread that misinformation to others, as well as create misinformed threads on Blizzard's forum is not the way to go about it.

[Valks 2,375]

Thanks for the reply, just a question about your comment regarding the EU EULA.

 

If it is that they simply haven't updated it to its "true" meaning, how can it take 12-14 months to make the same changes to the EU document? Since those changes took place around November 2014-January 2015, surely they can just as easily change it on the EU EULA?

 

They very specifically state numerous times that they can change it whenever they wish, so why is that still in the EU terms and not the US, if it is that this is the true meaning?

 

In regards to the player and reports, he has on numerous occasions reported people on stream, such as Malseph, after being wiped by them. He claims to be reporting them for crashing the server, yet as you can see from numerous videos, everywhere he goes there is server lag. The multiboxer in the first article and server lag are like fish and chips, they go hand-in-hand. I was simply referencing the video that was found in the Reddit thread, hence the single report.

 

In regards to the GM conversation, surely one GM doesn't represent Blizzard's ruleset? Look at the countless times that GMs have told players certain programs that alter visuals aren't a reason to be banned, yet plenty of others have said it's a third party program and therefore is grounds for being banned.

 

My point in this article, while perhaps not articulated properly, was to address the fact that the multiboxer is going out of his way to ruin the provided service. His army of characters is essentially a raid boss when they enter a town, but when Method downed Archimonde, do you think Archimonde put his hands up, laughed and crashed the server? Archimonde doesn't die and then stay dead, letting us loot him while he reports the raid group, does he?

 

He goes out of his way to deny the service of playing to others, not by killing them, but by making areas of the game completely impossible to play in. There are plenty of multiboxers out there that do what they do, but they don't go out of their way to crash the surrounding zone. 

[MiRai 0]

Thanks for the reply, just a question about your comment regarding the EU EULA.

 

If it is that they simply haven't updated it to its "true" meaning, how can it take 12-14 months to make the same changes to the EU document? Since those changes took place around November 2014-January 2015, surely they can just as easily change it on the EU EULA?

 

They very specifically state numerous times that they can change it whenever they wish, so why is that still in the EU terms and not the US, if it is that this is the true meaning?

Sure, they can change it whenever they'd like, but documents that sit in a dark corner of the site can easily be neglected when it comes to being updated—no matter how important, legally, they may be. The US EULA was not updated for quite some time (months) to reflect that it was specifically aimed at BNet Balance, and not strictly having BNet accounts in one's name.

I don't have the answers to your "if-why" questions and we can go back and forth on those all day long, but I imagine that the EU Blizzard Customer Support forum reps can assist with this. I don't have an EU account to ask, but anyone who does is more than welcome to create a thread in reference to that one line in the EU EULA for clarification on the matter. I'll also post a thread on the US site to see if they can give some insight as to why the EU EULA gives a general statement, when the US one does not.

 

In regards to the player and reports, he has on numerous occasions reported people on stream, such as Malseph, after being wiped by them. He claims to be reporting them for crashing the server, yet as you can see from numerous videos, everywhere he goes there is server lag. The multiboxer in the first article and server lag are like fish and chips, they go hand-in-hand. I was simply referencing the video that was found in the Reddit thread, hence the single report.

I've been following (from the outside) most of what has been happening on Emerald Dream because it bothers me that one of the things that I like to do in WoW could be in jeopardy due to the behavior of a few toxic individuals. The entire situation is a very convoluted story of he-said she-said, and neither side is innocent when it comes to who is to blame for whatever is supposedly happening.

However, the flip side to this is that there are plenty of times where people do band together, fight the mass multiboxer, and win (and then proceed to camp him). Blizzard has always taken a "find a PvP solution to your PvP problem" stance when it comes to world PvP, and people are indeed showing that there is a solution to this supposed problem. So, should Blizzard intervene when there is a player-solution that has been demonstrated time and time again? I certainly don't have the answer.

Also, for the record, Vrakthris has confirmed that the server is not crashing.

 

In regards to the GM conversation, surely one GM doesn't represent Blizzard's ruleset? Look at the countless times that GMs have told players certain programs that alter visuals aren't a reason to be banned, yet plenty of others have said it's a third party program and therefore is grounds for being banned.

The video I linked with the GM conversation is 1.5 years old. In the past 1.5 years, I'm sure there have been more than enough GMs who have reviewed tickets that were submitted against the EU large-scale multiboxer, and if he was doing anything wrong in terms of breaking the EULA, then action would have been taken against him.

 

My point in this article, while perhaps not articulated properly, was to address the fact that the multiboxer is going out of his way to ruin the provided service. His army of characters is essentially a raid boss when they enter a town, but when Method downed Archimonde, do you think Archimonde put his hands up, laughed and crashed the server? Archimonde doesn't die and then stay dead, letting us loot him while he reports the raid group, does he?

 

He goes out of his way to deny the service of playing to others, not by killing them, but by making areas of the game completely impossible to play in. There are plenty of multiboxers out there that do what they do, but they don't go out of their way to crash the surrounding zone.

As I stated in my first reply, I'm not here to defend him, or others, who partake in any sort of toxic, or disruptive behavior in the game , but when people see the word "multiboxer," they then tend to associate one multiboxer's actions with all multiboxer's actions, when in reality, there must be less than fifteen people, globally, who play more than 15-20 accounts, in World of Warcraft. However, I will also say that this person in question has been playing 40+ accounts since the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, and Blizzard is well aware of him as a player.

EDIT: Removed an unnecessary apostrophe.

Edited January 2, 2016 by MiRai

[Valks 2,375]

Just for anyone reading the comments here, please don't take this article/discussion as a slight on multiboxers in general. I never intended it to be so.

Just in regards to the comment from Vrakthris, doesn't it seem strange that the multiboxer in question brings incredible lag wherever he goes, to the extent that those around him will mass-disconnect? I'm not an expert on this matter, I'm by no means amazing at understanding how the servers actually work, but it just seems strange that people around him consistently disconnect. There are plenty of multiboxers that I enjoy watching that have previously never seen problems with disconnecting and such, yet when they turn up to see the multiboxer in question, it seems like they immediately have problems.

 

All I can say is, I have no problem with people multiboxing, but I do think he is taking it too far. Not in regards to the number of accounts, but the manner in which he plays. The things that he does are specifically set out to grief players. There are plenty of instances of world PvP in which streamers have gathered up large forces to battle multiboxing gankers; it turns out to be one of the most amazing things to watch, yet there is no crashing, no grief, just simple, raw, world PvP fun.

To actively sit inside one of the busier areas of the expansion and purposefully drop the most intense spells/toys whatever to cause those around you to "lag", that's what I think should be bannable. Not multiboxing.

 

Edit: Also, just to say, watching his stream is beginning to indicate that he really does think he is "god". That he is immune from punishment due to the amount of money he spends, so he doesn't care what he does. 

[solitha 84]

Just in regards to the comment from Vrakthris, doesn't it seem strange that the multiboxer in question brings incredible lag wherever he goes, to the extent that those around him will mass-disconnect? I'm not an expert on this matter, I'm by no means amazing at understanding how the servers actually work, but it just seems strange that people around him consistently disconnect. There are plenty of multiboxers that I enjoy watching that have previously never seen problems with disconnecting and such, yet when they turn up to see the multiboxer in question, it seems like they immediately have problems.

 

I hope I'm not talking down... hope also I'm not talking out of my butt. But these are the various issues at play, as I understand them.

 

The server's stability is how it handles all the information coming from and going to the individual clients, and the math necessary for running the game. If it's not crashing, then nothing being done is overwhelming to it.

 

Lag is traffic between your computer and the server, like the streets between you and your local store. Traffic can be hell at any point in between, but both ends be quiet and clear.

 

FPS is your computer's ability to handle the incoming and outgoing data. This sounds like the most likely culprit, many users with computers that aren't able to handle and render THAT MUCH data, especially keeping up with its constant motion. It's why a lot of people have problems with large raid groups, particularly in combat, and why Blizzard is trying to suppress effects from others' spells and abilities while enhancing your own. If your system is so bogged down it can no longer communicate with the game server, it gets disconnected.

 

I have a decent gaming rig with video that was well prepared for WoD and raiding, but the screenshot you posted above would very likely bring my system to single-digit FPS, making it stutter and perhaps disconnect.

[ChackO 2]

 

Just in regards to the comment from Vrakthris, doesn't it seem strange that the multiboxer in question brings incredible lag wherever he goes, to the extent that those around him will mass-disconnect? I'm not an expert on this matter, I'm by no means amazing at understanding how the servers actually work, but it just seems strange that people around him consistently disconnect. There are plenty of multiboxers that I enjoy watching that have previously never seen problems with disconnecting and such, yet when they turn up to see the multiboxer in question, it seems like they immediately have problems.

 

I hope I'm not talking down... hope also I'm not talking out of my butt. But these are the various issues at play, as I understand them.

 

You have a general idea of what involves the stability of a server, but are wrong of what lag and fps means.

 

We talk about LAG (Network Lag) when there's a significant delay between a server and a client. This can happen because of packet loss, slow connections or low line quality.

 

FPS simply means Frames Per Seconds. It's the amount of frames that your video card is displaying every second. For modern video games on PC, the acceptable amount of frames before your eyes begin to notice a delay is 60FPS. Some people don't notice a drop between 50-60 FPS, but most people notice choppiness from 39FPS and below.

 

FPS and LAG are not tied at all. You can have 10FPS and very stable latency of 100ms, you can also have more than 60FPS and random disconnects or actual LAG (more than 299ms).

 

What these people are expriencing is disconnects from packet loss. The server is sending more data than what the clients can handle (because there's too much stuff happening at the same time). Their computers simply drop the packets they can't handle and these packets are sent again by the server. This creates LAG and eventually a disconnect. A really good internet connection with a good computer could handle this, but not everyone has access to that. This player obviously has a lot of money, specialized equipment and of course a good internet connection. He uses that advantage to abuse and ruin other players experiences and I bet you he's completely aware of what he's doing.

 

Blizzard didn't design these areas to handle that amount of players with that many concurrent connections. That's why they had to implement phasing and to some extent, cross-realms. Isle of Giants anyone?