Game developer Blizzard stated that it will implement measures to stop a shady farming and leveling up method in World of Warcraft Classic while insisting that the problem is not as bad as players think.
The exploit involves Blizzard’s decision to split World of Warcraft Classic into layers, which is basically multiple copies of the game’s world. The developers used layers in the retro World of Warcraft mode in anticipation of an influx of players, to prevent the game from crashing due to the massive load.
The problem lies with the practice of layer switching, which is when players keep moving from one layer to another. This is done by joining a party, as it automatically transfers the player to the layer the group in.
Players are able to farm rare resources and gain experience by clearing mobs of enemies in one layer, and then do it again by switching to other layers. The community is concerned that players who exploit layer switching will become too overpowered early on.
In response, World of Warcraft developer Pazorax posted on the MMORPG’s official forum that Blizzard has been monitoring the situation. There are measures in development that will prevent layering from being exploited, which may include a delay in transferring between layers.
“However, we also want to assure you that the issue is a much smaller problem than some people are claiming,” said Pazorax, adding that many of the stories involving the exploit that they have checked were “wildly inaccurate.”
Pazorax also debunked the theory that it is possible to determine the current layer by comparing the results of a /who command in a capital city between players. The results that players get are different, but they have nothing to do with the layer that they are in.
“Rest assured that there are not people running around with banks full of (Thorium) Arcane Crystals or Black Lotus,” Pazorax said.
World of Warcraft Classic takes players back to the state of the MMORPG in 2006. For those who are looking for ways to hit the Level 60 cap without resorting to layer switching, here is our World of Warcraft Classic leveling guide.
