Blizzard Bans Mythic+ Leavers for Intentionally Griefing

In a shocking twist of events, Blizzard Entertainment announced that they would be banning players who would intentionally leave Mythic+ groups. This is both fantastic news and a bit of a downer for some members of the community given how many variables there are when going into a Mythic+ run.

We will go over all of the details and try to figure out whether this is a good method of solving the issues with griefers and ragequits in World of Warcraft The War Within, which players tend to experience in higher-level Mythic+ keys.

Mythic+ Leaver Bans

Suspending players for griefing Mythic+ keys has been a pain point in the community ever since the introduction of competitive dungeon runs. Although at first glance this is fantastic news for players who have had negative experiences with players outright leaving keys after one single wipe. 

Today, we issued gameplay suspensions to players who intentionally left Mythic+ groups a great many times in The War Within Season 1. The sort of behavior we actioned was either without regard for the experience of their fellow players, or in some cases, even deliberately intending to harm others’ experiences.

Right off the bat, Blizzard has placed their foot on the ground after countless complaints and feedback from the players regarding the Mythic+ scene. 

This is detrimental to the community of players who strive to do their part in group content the vast majority of the time.

We understand that occasionally, abandoning runs will happen. Players can experience unexpected real life emergencies, internet outages, or the group collectively deciding to quit the run. Today, we suspended players who repeatedly and recklessly disrupted Mythic+ groups.

It is good to see that Blizzard will not apply penalties immediately after leaving one Mythic+ run, however, there comes a certain point where it would be difficult to identify which players are intentionally griefing and which simply do not wish to waste time with weaker players.

We will continue to keep an eye on groups in the future, and repeat offenders are subject to escalating penalties.

Despite the seemingly good intentions of the devs, this change might open a big can of worms.

WoW TWW Mythic+ Bans

The announcement sparked major debates in both the Blizzard and Wowhead forums, questioning the efficacy and general design philosophy behind the decision to punish Mythic+ leavers in World of Warcraft The War Within. Although it has been stated that repetitive offenders will receive suspensions, there are a lot more questions left unanswered by the devs. 

Keeping in mind that the Mythic+ player base is not as prominent as the more casual side of WoW, Blizzard shouldn't throw the Mythic+ community under the bus by implementing a rather black-and-white solution to the issue. 

Some WoW players have already expressed concerns over how the devs would monitor each run, given how individual performance, chat, and other important aspects that come into play. Some players are even questioning whether the process would be automated or reviewed by a human to take into account the many variables between leavers, bad players, and outright griefers holding you hostage.

Is the Mythic+ Community Doomed?

Although this change does warrant some concerns, Mythic+ also suffers from other major pain points that Blizzard seems to be deflecting. Whether you look at the toxic environment, ridiculous gear scaling into higher key levels which has caused a strange gap between Tier 8 Delves gear and Mythic+ gear. 

At this time, players do not have an incentive to run Mythic+ keys as they can receive Heroic gear from their Weekly Vaults by completing Tier 8 delves, however, to upgrade the gear you will need to run 8+ Mythic keys so there comes a point where the first tiers of Mythic are outright useless. 

Affixes are also a hot topic given how one part of the community believes that there should be a total revamp of the system, whilst others vehemently defend the current design philosophy as they have simply grown used to it. Regardless if you are a Mythic+ player or not, if a feature seems unfair or downright illogical, you should voice your opinion and provide constructive feedback to better the entire World of Warcraft player base. In the meantime, you can look at the official announcement, here.