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Streamers and gold buying on the WoW Forever beta: what Blizzard has and hasn't said

The Blackwing Lair loading screen from the WoW Forever client

· ForeverDB

Community creators and forum posts accuse named streamers of buying gold on the WoW Forever beta ahead of a cash dueling tournament. Blizzard has posted about gold buying in general and says it will action buyers' accounts, but it has not named anyone, and none of the accusations can be checked in the game files.

Speculation. This piece is about a controversy raised by community streamers and forum posts, not by Blizzard. Blizzard has posted about gold buying in general, but it has not named any streamer, and who did what cannot be checked in the Forever client files. Treat every name and accusation below as a player report, not as fact.

What the videos and forum posts claim

Since late September several WoW creators have made videos accusing well-known streamers of buying gold on the beta, often naming Ziqo and Payo. We can only report that these claims are being made. We cannot confirm any of them, and neither can the game files.

Player and creator reports, not a Blizzard statement. The names and accusations are theirs, and we are not repeating them as findings of fact.

What Blizzard has actually said

Blizzard has not named a single streamer. What it did do, on September 28, was repost the same note from Community Manager Kaivax in both the Gold buying rules thread and a thread titled The $50k Duel Tournament. The note is general and names no one:

Real money transactions (RMT) are not acceptable in World of Warcraft, and we’re taking steps to address RMT in the WoW: Forever Beta, and of course, when WoW: Forever goes live and beyond. Kaivax, Community Manager
It’s important to know that while we have always actioned RMT seller’s accounts as quickly as possible, we will increasingly take action against buyers’ accounts. That means that we will remove the illicit gold from the recipient, and/or take further actions, which can include closing accounts. Kaivax, Community Manager
We’re once again asking all players to be very cautious when it comes to accepting gifts from strangers or other one-sided transactions. If it becomes apparent that a recipient knew or should-have-known that gold wasn’t from a legitimate source, they may be subject to account actions as well. Kaivax, Community Manager

So Blizzard confirmed its stance (RMT is banned, and it will increasingly action buyers as well as sellers) without saying that any particular player had been caught. The "gifts from strangers" line is the closest it comes to the tournament talk, and it is a general warning, not an accusation. More in Blizzard will increasingly act against gold buyers.

Blizzard's follow-up, October 1

Three days later Kaivax posted Actions Taken Against Botting and RMT. It says accounts have already been actioned, buyers included, but again names no one:

Since our previous note on the subject of addressing Real Money Transactions (RMT) in WoW: Forever, we have been continuously actioning accounts that were found to be botting to amass gold in the WoW: Forever Beta, as well as the accounts of those who were found to have purchased or knowingly received illicit gold. Kaivax, Community Manager

Blizzard also says it will soon add a warning to the game whenever you trade with strangers, and restates that any account found to have generated, sold, bought or received illicit gold can lose the gold, be suspended or be closed for good.

Separately, Blizzard did confirm account actions of another kind. In Account Actions For Name Violations it says it is "in the process of issuing forced name changes" and that it "removed beta access for some users who created names that were far outside of our Code of Conduct". That is about names, not gold. Some forum posters mix the two together, so it is worth keeping them apart.

The tournament

The cash event the creators keep pointing to is a community tournament, not a Blizzard one. The one we have documented is The Forever Open, an open-registration level 30 Horde dueling tournament with a $50,000 prize pool, run by Tips Out and streamed on Esfand's and Xaryu's channels. Its own rules say WoW dueling "is not an officially supported Blizzard esport", and the rules allow Legacy perks. Full details are in our write-up: The Forever Open.

Reports differ on the prize money. The Forever Open we have documented is $50,000, and the Blizzard thread title reads "$50k"; Ace_WoW's video description puts it at "100.000$". We cannot confirm the higher figure.

What's confirmed and what isn't

  • Confirmed (Blizzard posts): RMT is against the rules; Blizzard says it has been actioning botting accounts and the accounts of players found to have bought or knowingly received illicit gold, and that it can remove the gold, suspend or close accounts; a warning about trading with strangers is coming to the game.
  • Confirmed (Blizzard posts): forced name changes are being issued, and some users lost beta access for names outside the Code of Conduct. This is separate from gold buying.
  • Not confirmed: that any named streamer bought gold. Blizzard has named no one, and we take no position on the accusations.
  • Not confirmed: that any streamer is among the accounts Blizzard has actioned.
  • Not confirmed: the exact tournament prize pool beyond the $50,000 of The Forever Open, and the claim that gold buys a lasting Legacy advantage (see below).

What the Forever client says

Gold trading, account actions and who streams what are decided on Blizzard's servers, so the client files can neither confirm nor deny the reports. They do let us check two things the videos mention.

Who can play. The client (CharBaseInfo) still lists the same nine classes and ten races, with nothing streamer- or ban-related in the data:

  • 9 classes: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior.
  • 10 races: Dwarf, Gnome, High Order Skyborne, Human, Night Elf, Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead, Windshaper Skyborne.

Legacy Points. Ace_WoW's description says streamers are "using gold to get legacy points". The client's Legacy System data shows Legacy Points are an account-wide currency earned by completing challenges (reaching level milestones on each class, levelling professions, clearing dungeons and raids, PvP ranks), with a seasonal cap on how many you can spend (16 in build 1.60.1.70170). The Legacy pane opens once your first character reaches level 25, which beta players can now do with the level 30 cap. The files do not show a way to buy Legacy Points with gold. Gold could speed up the levelling and gearing behind those challenges, but that is an indirect link, not something the client confirms.

Client data is from the beta and can change. It describes systems, not player conduct, so it cannot prove or disprove any accusation.

Sources