World of Warcraft Duping Bug Found

Over the course of this morning several people have sent me tidbits talking about an exploit on WoW that allows duping of items. Apparently forum posts are being removed on official channels, but there are a few places where you can learn about the exploit and see screenshot evidence. In equally exciting news, my Rogue on Azjol-nerub is probably 2 hours away from 60 and since Blizzard will undoubtedly fix this bug soon, I'll have to finance my epic mount the old fashioned way!

Fun game while it lasted.

[Kenja]

Fun game while it lasted, now I fear its gone the way of Diablo II. Many servers are allready swamped with duped items. Even if they fix the bugs it would require a roll back to address the economy problems. Such a roll back would cause many players such as myself to pack up and leave (whats the point of spending weeks doing somthing when it will just be undone in the next roll back?).
Ah well, it is just a game after all.

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[filtur]

I hear you, I played a lot this week despite server lag and problems. I'm gone if there's a rollback. I've got better things to do then repeat another week of playing (well, maybe)

If there is a rollback, I feel sorry for the people that got elite items from some of the high level instances.

Explanation of bug: Ah, a race condition issue...

[nweaver]

The reported bug:

On a heavily loaded server: You give your gold/item to a friend. You then enter an instance area. If you load, fine, no bug. If not, and it kicks you out after 1 minute (due to load), you still have your gold.

So obviously what is happening is that the "Failed to load" instance response is going back to some character checkpoint previously created, with this checkpoint being somewhat older.

The fix (which will probably be put in place by now) is to checkpoint the character when he/she attempts to enter an instance. So you aren't gonna be able to exploit this bug anymore. Sorry, 1AM3 CH3373RZ!

Also, if blizzard DID serial # all items, then it will be a pretty simple script to prune the duplicated items. But as they probably don't serial # gold, it might still have some economic disruption.

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[heXXXen]

Thanks to the soulbinding system in World of Warcraft, it will never be like Diablo 2. It would take far more than 12 Krol Blades to ruin a server's economy. Those Krol Blades will eventually end up being vendored or disenchanted by their owners as they outgrow them, instead of staying in circulation.

Re:Doubt it..

[Jeremiah Cornelius]

Bezos patented the idea. Slashdot is "prior art."

"It's an interesting observation that there is more circumstantial evidence to suggest all Christians are paedophiles than there is to suggest all Muslims are terrorists."
- daani

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[kevin_conaway]

No you won't. You and others have spent (wasted) what is probably an extraordinary amount of time in the game already. Why give up after losing just a week or so of changes? You'll accept it, keep playing and maybe grouse about it on Slashdot or a message board somewhere.

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[hagrin]

Fact is, you won't leave.

MMORPGs such as Asheron's Call and EQ and UO have had rollbacks of up to 3 days worth of gameplay at great frustration to the user.

The consequences? Elimination of "most" of the bug's after effects and basically no drop is subscribers logged on. Most gamers of games such as MMORPGs aren't casual gamers due to the amount of time necessary to level, obtain items, complete quests and acquire the necessary in-game knowledge to actually enjoy these games. Therefore, the word addiction comes to mind and you won't leave no matter how much you bitch about rollbacks.

Re:Noone posting?

[NineNine]

I'm guessing that "nobody" is posting because not that many people play MMPORGs. The vast majority (like World of Warcraft) have devolved into places where it's only fun for the kids who can play for hours and hours each day, exploiting every bug they find in order to enlarge their "e-penis". Normal people who occasionally play video games (like myself) are instantly turned off these games because of all of the kids playing. Until companies figure out how to make the games playable for everybody, they're going to continue to be popular among only the hardest of hardcore gamers.

Addiction is right.

[bigtallmofo]

Therefore, the word addiction comes to mind and you won't leave no matter how much you bitch about rollbacks.

If anyone deserves to be modded up in this thread, it's you. I can't imagine playing these games as an adult. I grew up playing D&D-style games on my Commodore 64 (Ultima 4, Bard's Tale, Pool of Radiance, etc), but I can't even imagine playing these MMORPG games.

1. I'm an adult. My serious computer game playing days should be behind me.
2. Is there an end to these things? My only saving grace that let me return to a normal eating/sleeping pattern with games of the past is that they freakin' ended at some point. I don't think I ever would've seen the light of day if I played a game that never ended. Especially if it gave me a poor facsimile of social interaction by being able to communicate with real people inside the game.
3. How in the world could anyone with a job compete with the people that play this 24x7?

Those games are dangerous.

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[jeffasselin]

I got my brutality blade and core hound tooth Thursday and Friday. First hunter to get those items, as far as I know. I'm not going to lose them and just go on.

But, as others have mentioned, there will be no rollback. The WoW economy is surprisingly stable, and often reacts according to the rules of demand and offer, and there are as many outputs for currency as inputs. Most of my friends in-game (who play a lot) are not so rich as to be able to afford anything they want. It will shake the game economy for a few weeks, and everything will recover after, I'm sure.

Re:bell curve?

[Anonymous Coward]

Foorball is also just a game. If a few players were found to be tanking games because of a payoff, do you really think the fans would just say "that's okay - it's just a game" and not care?

Take your superiority complex and shove it up your ass.

Re:Addiction is right.

[Kenja]

"1. I'm an adult. My serious computer game playing days should be behind me."

Why? Do you stop having fun once you reach a given age?

" 2. Is there an end to these things? My only saving grace that let me return to a normal eating/sleeping pattern with games of the past is that they freakin' ended at some point. I don't think I ever would've seen the light of day if I played a game that never ended. Especially if it gave me a poor facsimile of social interaction by being able to communicate with real people inside the game."

Ok, if your an obsessive compulsive type you should avoid these games. However many people such as myself are able to spend a few hours a week playing without getting the shakes.

" 3. How in the world could anyone with a job compete with the people that play this 24x7?"

You cant. So what? Does it make the game less fun for you when the no lifers have better gear or can gain levels faster?

Not Convinced

[RebrandSoftware]

I'm not convinced that this exploit really exists. If there is an exploit, I'm not sure I believe that the linked instructions are correct.

First of all, people started wondering if something was wrong when they noticed level 30 players in Maraudon, a level 45+ area.

That is suspicious.

Then, they noticed them cycling between locations repeatedly.

Again, suspicious.

But the "instructions" that this article links to say it can be done in The Deadmines, which is a level 20+ instance.

If it can be done in the deadmines, then why bother going to an area like Maraudon at level 30 where you are likely to be killed?

In addition, it is suspicious that this has to be done "early in the morning after a reset" in order for it to work. Convenient to dissuade people from testing it.

A lot of people are treating this as fact this morning, but no one can actually log in to try it for themselves because the servers are down for maintenance.

The supposed source of the exploit is http://www.gamebugs.org [gamebugs.org]. Take a look at their public forums where everyone is writing "please activate my account!!!" messages. A number of messages on the official WoW forums list the gamebugs.org URL in the subject line (very convenient for them, don't you think?).

Here is a link to a more detailed thread on the official forums:

http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.aspx?FN=w ow-dungeons&T=89153&P=7 [worldofwarcraft.com]

Re:If this dupefix is anything like in Shadowbane.

[Xugumad]

PVE is lame. Anyone who has pvp'd in any decent pvp mmorpg knows that.

Well that's constructive. Would you care to explain why?

In the meantime; I like PvE, thanks. I've played Planetside, and Guild Wars, and both have good PvP IMHO, but I prefer generally prefer PvE. It may not be as action packed, but maybe when I get home, and I'm tired, stressing myself out isn't what I want to do.

You're right, I'd have to spend countless hours to get the perfect character, but y'know what, I don't mind, because I don't PvP, and therefore just "pretty good" equipment is fine for me and my PvEing.

Re:Addiction is right.

[brentodd]

Those games are dangerous.

I don't see how they could be more dangeous than TV... what's the difference between sitting on your ass for hours on end watching "Must See TV" (or Baseball/Basketball/Football or whatever), and sitting on your ass for hours on end playing a video game with friends?

They way I look at it, with TV, you veg out and passively let this entertainment wash over you. With video games, there is at least some interaction - your mind must be a little more active, at least... make decisions, etc. I fall asleep within 20 minutes of sitting in front of the TV...

Is playing WoW for 3 hours with my friends on TeamSpeak worse than Poker Night at my buddies house? Monday Night Football at my brothers? 10 hour marathon D&D campaings back in Jr. High?

I could be wrong, but I don't think it is. It's different, and many people looking at it from the outside see someone sitting at their PC, alone, for hours on end. But sitting there, playing a game, talking to friends? Doesn't sound dangerous to me. I'm not saying it's better - just no worse.

I could be addicted though, and in denial. But whatever. I get to keep in contact with friends and co-workers across 4 states, and have fun doing it. TV doesn't do that for me, and I'm not driving 6 hours to lose at Poker.

The danger is not in the game, it's (as others have said) in the obsessive-compulsive nature of some people.

Re:Addiction is right.

[arkanes]

1. I play WoW a lot. But I don't play it any more than your typical American watches TV (I don't watch TV). The "no-life" tag almost inevitably is used to mean "someone who has interests I don't share". I don't spend Friday night in a bar, so I don't have a life? Or maybe I don't have a life because I don't go to ball games? Whatever.

2. I spend more than $10 a month on coffee. Hell, I spend more than $10 a month on almost *everything*. If you read a paper with breakfast, you're probably spending about $10 a month. If you're an adult with the wife and the career and everything, $10 a month for an hour a day of entertainment is *cheap*. 3. The "winner" at any sort of game is always going to be the dedicated individual. It's true in sports, it's true in games like chess or poker or backgammon, and it's true in MMORPGs. You're going to feel like a loser if you compare yourself to those people. If the game involves directly competing with them (see online poker) you're going to feel *really* bad. You will probably compensate for your feeling of inferiority (because thats what happens when you lose) by bitching about how they must have no life and yadda yadda. The solution is to play on your own terms and define your enjoyment by your own accomplishments rather than comparing them to someone elses. This is good advice for happiness in general.

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[Anonymous Coward]

Time that you spend improving is not a waste. Time that you spend regaining what you already had is a waste. Why is that not patently obvious?

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[anaesthetica]

I don't know about the rest of you /.ers, but I think the parent comment is hilarious. Look at what we've done: we've created a virtual world with a virtual economy in which virtual objects have value. When a (sort of) economic exploit is found, people worry about the virtual economy. "If people can just duplicate things, requiring a rollback, what point is there to working?" This could be taken straight out of an econ textbook on inflation, deflation, marginal rates, etc. It puts additional insight into the effect duplication has on property rights--even though it's all virtual.

Re:The truth is flamebait!!?

[brkello]

eh, calm down...losing a few mod points isn't the end of the world. They probably though it was flamebaitish because the attitude you took and cursing the guy out. You could have just pointed out (politely) that you didn't appreciate that Slashdot posted links on how to do the hacks. But really, you have to understand...slashdotters are a lot of engineers...we like to break things down and see how they work. If there is a way to mod something, a way to hack something, we want to understand how it works, even if we don't play the game you take too seriously. In any case, the servers are down, this will be fixed...there really isn't a reason to freak out so much. Free yourself...stop caring about mod points, they are meaningless anyways.

Re:Fun game while it lasted.

[Kumagoro]

Keep in mind that our economy is completely virtual too. Money is just a promise from the government that this particular peice of paper or hunk of metal is worth something useful. Our "real world" isn't as "real" as many people choose to believe.