TheRetroArcade
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Posts: 1,989
Joined: Feb 2026
Joined: Feb 2026
A magical, misbehaving key indeed.
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I'm pretty sure it was World of Warcraft where I learned the phrase "exploit early, exploit often" whenever players discovered something Blizzard probably didn't want them to. Buying items for cheaper than they sell for was a common one, but there have been worse things, like slaying hundreds of frogs for a shortcut to godhood.
Usually these things get fixed, players cry about Blizzard "detecting fun" and removing it, and everyone moves on. But things don't always go as smoothly, like what just happened with this new item that was introduced with the recent expansion launch.
Blizzard must've thought it solved the problem when it first dropped a hotfix for the Personal Key to the Arcantina item on March 6, but players quickly figured out a loophole that made it even more useful than before.
By its description, the Personal Key to the Arcantina is supposed to teleport you to the new social hub in Silvermoon City and then back to where you came from. The intention, I think, was to give players an easy way to visit the new area regardless of where their hearthstone is set to return them to. This backfired as soon as players realized the key was effectively a unique hearthstone to Silvermoon City with a 1.5 minute cooldown timer (as opposed to the regular hearthstone's 30 minute cooldown). All you had to do was use it and then walk out the door into the city.
This is what a WoW player would consider overpowered: The ability to travel to the main city of the expansion every few minutes. Silvermoon has portals to every other major city in the game, and almost every new activity in Midnight starts there. And this is exactly why Blizzard swooped in with a hotfix to change how the key works. Instead of letting you just exit into the city, Blizzard made it so you're teleported back to where you came from as soon as you walk out the door.
This did not go over well with all the players who had been hopping across Azeroth using the new key technology during Midnight early access. A lot of the usual comments about Blizzard nerfing fun came up in response, and some players were convinced it was changed right as full Midnight access opened up to punish people who couldn't play earlier.
Meanwhile, clever players figured out the fix was actually a mistaken buff. The key went from being a pseudo-heathstone to Silvermoon City ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?
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GamesRadar+
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Every Thursday
GTA 6 O'clock
Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.
Every Friday
Knowledge
From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.
Every Thursday
The Setup
Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.
Every Wednesday
Switch 2 Spotlight
Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.
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Once a month
SFX
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I'm pretty sure it was World of Warcraft where I learned the phrase "exploit early, exploit often" whenever players discovered something Blizzard probably didn't want them to. Buying items for cheaper than they sell for was a common one, but there have been worse things, like slaying hundreds of frogs for a shortcut to godhood.
Usually these things get fixed, players cry about Blizzard "detecting fun" and removing it, and everyone moves on. But things don't always go as smoothly, like what just happened with this new item that was introduced with the recent expansion launch.
Blizzard must've thought it solved the problem when it first dropped a hotfix for the Personal Key to the Arcantina item on March 6, but players quickly figured out a loophole that made it even more useful than before.
By its description, the Personal Key to the Arcantina is supposed to teleport you to the new social hub in Silvermoon City and then back to where you came from. The intention, I think, was to give players an easy way to visit the new area regardless of where their hearthstone is set to return them to. This backfired as soon as players realized the key was effectively a unique hearthstone to Silvermoon City with a 1.5 minute cooldown timer (as opposed to the regular hearthstone's 30 minute cooldown). All you had to do was use it and then walk out the door into the city.
This is what a WoW player would consider overpowered: The ability to travel to the main city of the expansion every few minutes. Silvermoon has portals to every other major city in the game, and almost every new activity in Midnight starts there. And this is exactly why Blizzard swooped in with a hotfix to change how the key works. Instead of letting you just exit into the city, Blizzard made it so you're teleported back to where you came from as soon as you walk out the door.
This did not go over well with all the players who had been hopping across Azeroth using the new key technology during Midnight early access. A lot of the usual comments about Blizzard nerfing fun came up in response, and some players were convinced it was changed right as full Midnight access opened up to punish people who couldn't play earlier.
Meanwhile, clever players figured out the fix was actually a mistaken buff. The key went from being a pseudo-heathstone to Silvermoon City ...Read more: Full article on www.pcgamer.com
What do you think about this?