Annoyed by the Zombie

I am very, very surprised at the overall reaction from some players to this event. I'm truly sorry to those that have expressed frustration. It's only natural that there might be some initial shock and dismay, but I'd like to submit that this is a pretty amazing opportunity.

World of Warcraft changes. We have holidays and realm based events. We have patches and updates. Very occasionally, we release a new expansion - and when we do our Developers flex their massive creative muscles in an effort to make it truly memorable.

This plague is something special. It's an event that is very likely to occur only once, and for a very brief period of time, in the entire lifespan of World of Warcraft. Many, for one reason or another, will miss it. You, by participating, can become part of the history of World of Warcraft. You may find yourself telling stories and sharing laughs about your zombie triumphs and tribulations months and years from now.

I realize that it's a bit rough to do ordinary run of the mill in-game activities, but it might be worth the time to try participating in the event for a while and really sink your teeth into it, if you'll forgive the pun. All those other things will be waiting for you after the event is over.

You might even find that you have a taste for it.

Q u o t e:
Perhaps I over-simplified what I'm saying: Languages compile data in many wonderful ways, but when it comes down to brass tacks, it's all software. I see the Pro-Blizzard sycophants embrace and support a level of failure higher than to what I bristle at. I will stand behind my assertion that the Zombie content was released while Blizzard was still in the midst of fixing known issues, and new player exploit issues were not identified quickly enough. This is not a suggestion but a call to correct the problem in the Sanctuary zones.

I understand your points Kap, but fortunately, the event hasn't proven to be a disruption to the realms themselves. There have been some regrettable issues upon dying as a zombie for a few players, but those issues aren't necessarily related to the event itself.

The event hasn't stopped us from working hard to resolve other issues - and time frames being what they are, it needed to be rolled out around now for the timing to be right.

I only hope we get *everything* running swiftly and smoothly sooner than later, and you guys can enjoy all the good things coming to the fullest degree.

Q u o t e:


So those of us who are stuck in transfer limbo WILL BE FORCED TO MISS THE ENTIRE WORLD EVENT.

%@$@!T^@^@

You could log into an alt and make a baby lower level zombie =).

Q u o t e:
Being a zombie is just as boring as PvP
and no not everything will be waiting. Hallows End will not and so goes my chances to getting some holiday things done on lower level alts.

I'm sorry that you feel that way =(.

Fortunately, infection onset takes a pretty substantial amount of time currently so it should be possible to get many of the seasonal quests in.

Q u o t e:


Wow..

Just.. Wow.

Did they hire you specifically to insults the customers with answers like that?

RESET THE GOD%$#@ TRANSFERS AND BE DONE WITH IT ALREADY

Woah!

You mentioned that you were going to miss the entire World Event, and I suggested a means by which you could participate. If that's insulting to you, then I genuinely apologize.

None of this impacts our efforts to resolve transfer and realm issues. Those will be resolved as swiftly as possible.

Q u o t e:
/polishes pistol
/practices quickdraws

But... I don't have thumbs =(.

And I like to sleep in.

On topic, I'd like to express my apologies to those that loathe this event so much that they can't seem to have fun with it =(.

I'm gratified to hear that some of you are having fun, or at the very least feel that it sets the stage for events to come in an engaging and appropriate way.

Q u o t e:


Rolling a level 1 alt to participate in a PvP-themed event is NOT participating. Its getting screwed over for a week.

And I have not seen squat in the way of "effort" to fix the issues.

You won't tell us what the problems are, and how your attempting to fix them. for all we know, your having a huge laugh and using our subscription fee as toilet paper.

Cyger, I know that you're very, very frustrated. I don't blame you one bit - the recent PCT issues especially have been quite frustrating, and I expect that you simply want to play World of Warcraft with your main character.

I know you want details, and procedures. We are unable to provide those details for a number of reasons, but I assure you that resolving these issues and getting our players back into the game is our highest priority.

I know it's a bit difficult to accept those assurances from where you sit though, and I deeply apologize. I wish there was a method to hasten these resolutions. Still, while it is an important issue to discuss, PCT issues are being handled in other threads.

Q u o t e:

I agree the events in general are fun and fine, but when you get griefed over it by other players for their amusement makes it not fine.

The snowball knockbacks are a perfect example, they were fun to use. But when you give players the opportunity to grief other players they are going to use it. In the end Blizzard removed the knockbacks because of it.

I do have genuine sympathy for the players that aren't having as much fun with the event as they might. I'd like to express my personal apologies to those that really aren't having fun - that certainly isn't ever our intention. Fun is the number one goal, after all.

It is, as I mentioned, likely to be a brief and limited time event though. A bit of chaos and confusion is probably an intended element, but there are opportunities for fun and new ways of experiencing World of Warcraft too. I think that for many, it simply comes as something unexpected, and something as shocking as this can take some time to get used to.

In the end, I hope that everyone can have fun, and that those who aren't terribly interested in participating find ways to enjoy their game despite ravening hordes of undead.

One way or another, our Development staff is watching this event, and the overall reactions to it -- both in-game and on the forums -- very carefully.

Q u o t e:

No, really, I won't.

This is pretty offensive. Did it ever occur to you that maybe some people actually do know their own preferences, and don't need to be "forced to try new things" to be happy?

I rolled PvE because I can't handle the emotional effect PvP has on me. Yes, I'm unusual. Yes, my brain's defective. We know that; I have a nice little bit of paperwork, and it's technically illegal to fire me over it, for instance.

So I want to go about doing my Hallow's End stuff. Without being attacked by players.

You just said that everything else will be waiting for us when we get back. Were you lying, or is that actually true?

I understand that everyone has their own preferences, of course. I was merely trying to encourage everyone to take a step back and perhaps examine the event in a new light, that's all. I certainly never meant to offend, and I'm sorry if you found my post offensive =(.

According to the very best information I have available currently, it should still be possible to perform Hallow's End quests for a period of time after the plague runs its course.

Q u o t e:


I have looked at this event the other way, and its worse than what it is now because then I would be Betraying everything I once stood for in this game. and then I would be no better than the harassers.

It is obvious that you are quite upset, and I understand that. It also seems that you are actively seeking to perceive only the ills involved in this event though.

I'm not sure what you mean by betraying all that you stand for in World of Warcraft exactly, but I would like to point out that that you do have the opportunity to try to protect other players by combating Scourge influence - intelligent, player guided Scourge agents - loose in the streets of your home cities.

If you so desire, you can opt to succumb to the infection, and for the first time ever (albeit temporarily), participate in World of Warcraft as part of a separate third faction.

And, for those that seek to avoid the menace, the option exists to avoid population centers and seek out farming, questing, instance runs and other such activities away from the hot spots of activity. I realize that this is much easier said than done, and I once again extend my apologies to those that are actively unhappy with the event and its progression.

Q u o t e:
I really really just want to work on my quests toward Loremaster of Kalimdor... but when for hours at a time the quest NPCs are dead it's is more than infuriating.

Please end this nonsense, now.

'Now' isn't an available option, but 'soon' should be.

As I mentioned before, the plague invasion is intended to be, by comparison, a very short lived event. It is also likely to be a one-time event in the whole span of World of Warcraft. So, for those that do enjoy it, I recommend participating while you can. For those that do not, I hope you are still able to find ways to enjoy your time in-game.

While I once again apologize to those that may not be enjoying the event at all (and you can trust that our Developers have taken note of your concerns), I hope you can hold on until the disease runs its course, and the Horde and Alliance are able to push back the infestation. Please feel free to post any concerns you have about this event, and ideas you might have about future events on our Suggestions forum.

Q u o t e:
Is there a "plan" to address the issue of the zombification causing you get disconnected and unable to log back on? THAT is a problem. :(

We are aware that is a serious issue. I do know that it is currently being looked at, but I don't have information available more detailed than that.

In the meantime, those that have found themselves stuck as a result can certainly submit an in-game petition and one of our Game Masters will do their utmost to get you back into the game as soon as possible..

Also, some players have reported being able to log in successfully if they keep try to log in a few times after being disconnected after dying as a zombie. I hesitate to suggest that this will be successful in the majority of cases, but it's worth a try if you find yourself in this position.

While I haven't been in a position to respond, I have been following this thread.

As I stated earlier, our Development staff has been following the plague, its progression, and the reactions from all our players very carefully. Currently, there are no indications that the plague will be 'turned off' prematurely.

However, that said, you may be interested to know that the duration of the plague should be measured in days, not weeks.

Please, if you have comments on the plague, please feel free to post them on our Suggestions forum - whether positive or negative. Our ultimate goal is the best possible experience for every one of our players, and there is always room to improve.

The Zone/Area Disruption policy does not apply to either Blizzard Entertainment, nor special events that occur within the realm.

Suggesting that there is a violation of the Terms of Use is misinformation though, and I respectfully ask that this no longer be presented as the case, whatever one's opinion of the plague might be.

Q u o t e:

I would be more than happy to take this to a suggestion forum if you would be so kind as to guarantee the most vigorous and EFFECTIVE policy of policing the griefing your myopic developers gifted to the lowest common denominator on the servers.

I'm unable to make guarantees of any kind at all. While your concerns are clear, this isn't a negotiation nor am I attempting to entice you. I'm merely offering an avenue by which your opinions and concerns can be most effectively expressed.

If you wish to avail yourself of that option, that is ultimately your decision.

Q u o t e:
Earlier in the thread someone talked to a customer support rep and was told that if your PvP flag is not set player toons can not hurt you. I would like to throw the BS flag. I stood with no PvP flag and a lvl 70 player zombie one hit my pally. I was turned into a zombie immediately. 2 seconds later still with no PvP flag set a lvl 70 mage 1 hit me with a fire ball and I was dead. No chance to run to a healer or to try and cure myself. This is complete horse hockey. On a PvP server it would be fine. On a PvE server no go.

I have no problem with the NPC zombies and enjoyed fighting them. It's the high lvl toons ganking everyone that I take issue with.

I investigated that situation, and it appears that information was the result of a mis-communication. It seems the representative believed that the player in question was concerned purely about PvP contact, and not necessarily the plague event.

Please accept my deep apologies if this has caused any confusion.

Q u o t e:


So what you're saying is that Blizzard now supports the griefing of low level players. That this event was created for the High levels to make the gaming lie of low levels miserable.

Not at all, though I apologize if this was confusing.

I was correcting the spread of incorrect information, and that is the sum of it.

Q u o t e:


So you're telling me to shut up, that everything that is happening is EXACTLY what Blizzard wants to see happening, and if I don't like it, tough luck.

Boy, customer service certainly has changed in the last day or two. I'll be sure to keep the whole "the rules don't apply to us" attitude in mind when I'm deciding where to spend my entertainment money. Is the credit card information you have stored on me protected by such flexible and rapidly changing rules too, or would I need to ask a billing representative about that? I'd really hate to find out the privacy policies are as toilet-paper flimsy as the Terms of Service in the game.

Not at all, and you are more than welcome to continue expressing yourself in this thread. The information you were stating was incorrect however.

Here are some quotes from the Terms of Use for your edification:

http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html

Q u o t e:
Rules of Conduct.
As with all things, your use of the Program is governed by certain rules of conduct. These rules of conduct (the "Rules of Conduct"), maintained and enforced exclusively by Blizzard, must be adhered to by all users of the Service. It is your responsibility to know, understand and abide by these Rules of Conduct. The following rules are not meant to be exhaustive, and Blizzard reserves the right to determine which conduct it considers to be outside the spirit of the Game and to take such disciplinary measures as it sees fit up to and including termination and deletion of the Account. Blizzard reserves the right to modify these Rules of Conduct at any time.

Q u o t e:
Rules Related to Game Play

Game play is what World of Warcraft is all about, and Blizzard strictly enforces the rules that govern game play. Blizzard considers most conduct to be part of the Game, and not harassment, so player-killing the enemies of your race and/or alliance, including gravestone and/or corpse camping, is considered a part of the Game. Because the Program is a "player vs. player" game, you should always remember to protect yourself in areas where the members of hostile races can attack you, rather than contacting Blizzard's in-game customer service representatives for help when you have been killed by an enemy of your race. Nonetheless, certain acts go beyond what is "fair" and are considered serious violations of these Terms of Use. Those acts include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

1. Using or exploiting errors in design, features which have not been documented, and/or "program bugs" to gain access that is otherwise not available, or to obtain a competitive advantage over other players;
2. Conduct prohibited by the EULA or these Terms of Use, including without limitation that conduct prohibited by Section 2(C); and
3. Anything that Blizzard considers contrary to the "essence" of the Program.

You have been quoting from the Harassment Policy section our Policies page, a separate document, found here:

http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=20309

These are guidelines for player conduct within World of Warcraft.

Q u o t e:
notice that when oyu ask for imformation on how to contact his superior he suddenly got busy else where

Actually, if you have any concerns about how I've handled this thread, or addressed this issue, please do feel free to send an email to my superiors at [email protected].

That will be quite enough. I've left this thread open quite intentionally, as I'd like there to be an avenue for players to discuss this issue.

It would be very wise to bring this thread back on course and cease flaming each other immediately.

Thank you.

Please restrict further posts to the topic, and resist the urge to resort to personal attacks.

Q u o t e:
mal might i suggest you learn a lil diplomacy with people instead of being i am god and you will do as i say

Greagor, while I appreciate your perspectives, please restrict your feedback to the [email protected] email address.

Further posts regarding my moderation style will be deleted, as they detract directly from the subject of the thread.

Q u o t e:

It is insulting, disgusting and appaling in equal parts. The thinly veiled attitude in your posts makes it clear that this is not a concern for you or your organization at all. I feel ashamed that I'm intending on paying for my accounts, but I'm not sure at this point for how much longer. As much as you try to asusre us otherwise, PvP or <leave> is your message. I can only hope you and the other Blizzard employees find yourself in a customer service situation where your concerns are treated as off-handedly and as callously as mine.

I am truly sorry if you see any attitude in my posts that suggests any kind of disregard for the concerns of those expressed in this thread, as it is certainly not my intention at all.

I've left this thread open specifically because I fully understand the concerns you've expressed. I know you guys aren't happy about the plague, and for that you have my genuine sympathies. I felt that those who were concerned about this event should have another avenue to discuss the matter, in addition to posting a thread on our Suggestions forum.

As I've mentioned before, the plague is a very short term event, and that your concerns, and those of all other players that have experienced the event, are being very closely monitored.

Q u o t e:


Hrmm...I posted in the Suggestions thread that the best thing Blizz could do would be to give us a time estimate on this. I guess this counts for something, so thanks, Mal. Still, I've got to wonder if your interpretation of "short" is the same as mine. I'm working on RAF time. Dead questgivers = no triple xp = wasted RAF accounts = Telle is a sad panda...

Moaning aside, I'm reassured. If it's just a few days, I can ride out the storm...

As I stated in another post, the plague is expected to be measured in days, rather than weeks. I realize that isn't terribly specific, but I'm providing the most accurate information that I'm able to.

I really do hope that those of you that are having issues with the event are able to fully accomplish your goals, and though I've said it before, I am genuinely sorry for any short term inconveniences.

Q u o t e:
What I don't quite understand is the difference in policy towards this event.

Kiting Kazzak to Stormwind to cause durability loss and disrupt players = Possibly Actionable. (http://blue.cardplace.com/cache/wow-customer-service/103879.htm)
Kiting zombies to Stormwind to cause durability loss and disrupt players = ...a world event, not Actionable?

Actually, you may recall that during the events leading up to the Burning Crusade, that there was a certain large and nasty entity named Highlord Kruul afoot in the realms.

He would invade zones and major cities on a quest for destruction in the name of the Burning Legion.

Q u o t e:
malkorix where can i send oyu some screen shots of what we have been saying is happening in game with this event like groups of 70 lvl repeatly killing groups of teen lvl toons and another group repeatly killing not only the flight master in shatt but also the argent healer and when i said that i wanted to go on a flight they said to bad they were brain eating zombies and to made some rather crude remarks i have about 100 screen shots of this stuff going on

Vulgar language and verbal harassment can absolutely represent a violation of our policies. Should you witness a player using that kind of language, under any circumstances, please feel free to submit an in-game petition notifying us of the name of the player, and noting what they said.

Our Game Masters will be more than happy to investigate and take appropriate action. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept screenshots as evidence for a wide variety of reasons, but we do have powerful tools at our disposal to use in pursuit of such an investigation.

Also, due to our privacy policies, we'll be unable to notify you of the actions taken against another player's account.

Q u o t e:


Yes and we weren't forced into the event were we!

By the way how many starter towns did Highlord Kruul camp for hours at a time?

I didn't mean to compare the events, guys. I was merely pointing out the distinctions in a seeming inconsistency for one of the posters in this thread.

I imagine that there is little doubt that the plague is rather more pervasive than Highlord Kruul's efforts.

Q u o t e:


per in game gm vulgar language is not a reportable offense that is what the filter is for and it is sad that you all are going ot let a bunch of gankers do what ever they please guess there are no more rules in the game since this event is going on

I believe that there was likely a misunderstanding in that conversation =(.

The profanity filter is no license to use inappropriate language at all, though we do encourage its use for those that do not wish to be exposed to it.

While harassment is an important issue, and if you feel that the Game Master in question did not address your petition adequately you can send an email to [email protected], let us try to keep this thread focused on the plague event itself, rather than accessory elements.

Q u o t e:
Mal can you call and harass the dev's who came up with this crap at home for us?

*chuckle*

Calling now...

I joke, of course. We're in a position to disseminate information we receive from other sources, but we typically aren't able to directly communicate with those departments.

I know you guys are rather frustrated. Despite some rising tensions, I'd like to personally thank you for making an effort to bring this thread back to a place of civility.

If you can hold out a little while longer, there are better days ahead.

Q u o t e:
and how soon are these "days" coming?

I'm not able to be precisely specific, but I am able to say that the plague should be measured in days, not weeks.

Q u o t e:

Sure this event will end, but the plague is designed to spread. It doesn't take much to realize that you can log off with an infected alt and log on 6 months later to restart the plague. Unless, of course, Blizzard removes the debuff from everyone at the end of the event. Otherwise the zombie invasion becomes a permanent fixture of wow like other holiday items people store on alts.

Fortunately, this was taken into consideration, and the plague should not persist beyond its planned duration.

Q u o t e:

It means what they are saying it means. It will be less then a week. And considering the timing, all indicators point towards it being a weekend event. Cities will probably be a wasteland by sunday, with uncleanseable and nigh instant turning zombies. Then the final part of the event will happen that fixes the cities for now.

An insightful post, Handir.

Q u o t e:
They truly don't care, and in their position, I wouldn't either. Keep the money flowing baby.

While you are entitled to your opinion, it is in this case incorrect. We do care, very deeply. You question my involvement in this thread, but the very reason I'm here is because I care, and to keep the discussion open.

On on off-topic note (and please restrict future discussions in this thread to the topic issue), we will see what updates are available regarding the arena titles, and update that thread with whatever information is available.