Blizzard has apologized for the current state of World of Warcraft following a patch that introduced a range of bugs, from the amusing to the bizarre, leaving fans frustrated and concerned for the MMO's welfare.
In a post on Reddit, the World of Warcraft team offers a candid response to WoW's latest update. "The 12.0.5 patch launch was not up to our standards," the team says, "and we know this disrupted your time and caused justified frustration."
To remedy the situation, Blizzard promises that the WoW team has been "working around the clock" to fix the biggest issues facing the MMO since the patch's launch. If you're keen to see the hotfix notes as they roll out, you can do so here.
So, what's happened exactly? World of Warcraft's 12.0.5 patch includes a range of content to give people more and better ways to engage with the MMO – you've got a new mode that's effectively Prop Hunt, new fishing activities, and new PvE offerings to help you catch up on gearing your mains and any other alternate characters.
All good stuff – expect it introduced plenty of bugs. We've already reported that the new Prop Hunt mode isn't quite working, as Blizzard forgot to disable a player's ability to find someone else using a minimap. Rubbing salt in the wound, players are also reporting that those who are too good at hiding will be marked as not participating and, as such, won't get any rewards. Feels like Hide-and-Seek, but the rules have been aggressively rigged.
There are other loot-related issues, too. One activity known as The Voidforge started handing out duplicate items, which it isn't supposed to do. That has since been fixed, though you can see why it might irk fans when a big part of the MMO grind is sweet loot.
Those aren't the only issues, either. Player housing went down across multiple regions, some classes aren't working as they should, and Delves haven't escaped unscathed either. If you're curious to read more, one World of Warcraft player has been putting together a log of all the issues, though Blizzard is currently working through 'em, so hopefully that list will whittle swiftly.
"The team is taking lessons learned from this launch to help ensure this doesn't happen again," Blizzard says. "We will also work harder to communicate openly, early, and often when a launch doesn't go as expected: the known issues we're working on, fixes as they roll out, and any other information that would be useful to our community as problems are worked on and solved.
"We care deeply about this game, and we play it right alongside you. We will do better."
The bugs facing World of Warcraft seem like an unfortunate knock-on effect of trying to strike a balance of giving people plenty of stuff to do and making sure the MMO, you know, works. Blizzard has earned plenty of praise with WoW over the past year or two because fans are eating well, by and large. A big part of MMO gaming is feeling like your subscription is worth the cost, and a big contributor to that feeling is having stuff to do.
The other side, unfortunately, is keeping the game running smoothly. It's the sort of thing we've reported on in other games, such as Helldivers 2. You've got to keep the content flowing to keep players engaged, paying, and your studio running. Lean into the new content grind too hard, though, and the foundations start to crack.
It's an interesting moment for World of Warcraft, then. I'm sure anyone is happy to enjoy some new content – except when they can't because bugs are running rampant. As Blizzard alludes to, it looks like a learning moment for the developers, and we'll only need to wait and see how well they strike the balance moving forward.
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