Common Game Master Solutions

1. Introduction

The goal of this thread is to provide players with common resolutions and responses given by our Game Master staff in response to certain types of issues. It is our hope to provide players with the reasoning behind these responses, as well as some common situations where these solutions should prove useful.

2. Reset UI - WTF and Interface folders

A large number of issues can occur due to complications with a players User Interface (UI), and may often be resolved by restoring the UI to its default settings. Some issues relate directly to the default User Interface settings, such as:


• Chat settings
  
• Action bar settings
  
• Keybindings

Due to changes to the software and hardware on a players computer, these UI settings may become invalid, which can cause issues to arise. Many times, these issues cannot be resolved simply by pressing the Defaults button in the lower-left corner of the Interface Options window. Resetting the UI allows the player to remove all custom UI settings and begin anew. From there, the player is able to reconfigure settings to their liking.

The second type of User Interface issues is due to third-party user interface modifications, otherwise known as addons. Following a patch, many custom UI addons become out of date and cause issues to occur. A few examples of issues caused by the use of custom UI addons are:


• Known recipes or schematics appear to be missing.
  
• Receiving errors when attempting to access a letter in the in-game mail
  
• Character appearing un-textured and white upon logging in.
  
• Characters items and abilities displayed as ?s.

These are just a few of the more common issues that can occur when using out-of-date custom UI addons.

This is due in part to the ongoing changes made to the standard World of Warcraft interface, which require most addons to be updated so that they may follow those changes. While resetting ones User Interface will remove the functionally of these addons, it should also restore the User Interface to a working state once again.

In both these cases, players will often be given instructions on how to reset their User Interface.
Please note: Merely disabling ones addons may resolve such issues, but the only means by which one may guarantee that a given issue is not being caused by the UI is to fully reset it.

The Reset UI process mainly involves either renaming or deleting what is sometimes affectionately referred to as The Holy Trinity, that is: the WTF, Cache and Interface folders, which may be found in the World of Warcraft directory - usually this is where WoW.exe is located; as an update to this procedure as of patch 2.0.1, we ask that players please refrain from deleting or renaming the WDB folder. The steps are as follows:


1) Log out of World of Warcraft to your desktop, thereby exiting the game completely.
2) Navigate to the World of Warcraft folder, which is often found in the Program Files directory (the default path is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft).
3) Either rename (or delete) the WTF, Cache and Interface folders. (Note: If you do not wish to permanently lose any third-party addons you may have accrued, or macros you've written for your characters, you would be well-advised to merely rename the folders, rather than delete them entirely.)
4) Log back into the game by double-clicking WoW.exe, ensuring that you do not reinstall any addons before doing so.


Some players wonder why Game Masters so often offer these steps to address issues which have been reported. The short answer is: Because they work. A veritable cornucopia of issues can be resolved by resetting ones User Interface, even if they do not at first glance appear to be related. Also, advising players to reset their UI is helpful as a starting point, especially if the issue is not one for which we have devised a more specific resolution. If the issue persists after resetting ones UI, then the Game Master may investigate other possibilities in their efforts to resolve the matter at hand.

3. Failed Quests while in Raid Groups

There are several common quest-related issues regularly encountered by players. For example:


• Being unable to complete quests.
  
• Being unable to interact with quest items or quest NPCs.
  
• Not receiving credit for quest-related kills.
  
• Unable to find or loot quest-related drops.

A large fraction of the time, any or all of the above issues are due to the player inadvertently being in a raid group. Most quests encountered within World of Warcraft were designed to be completed in parties of five or fewer. Unless a quest is specifically designated as a "Raid" quest in your quest log, you will not receive quest items (or credit for quest-related kills) while in a raid group. This is considered to be functioning normally. This rule also applies to raid groups containing five or fewer members; thus, if for example a player is the only one in the party, yet is in the remnants of an old raid group, quest items shall still not drop, nor shall quest kills count. To see if you are in a raid group, please click on the social button (default key: O). The second-to-last tab is set for Raid.

One thing to note is that it is currently possible to become stuck in a raid group, even though it may not appear that you are in one; although we are working to determine the cause of this issue and devise a more permanent resolution, there are means of ensuring that you are not in a raid group should this occur. Type the following command in your chat window, and make certain that it appears precisely as offered below, including capitalization and punctuation:

/script LeaveParty()

4. Common Phrases - Known Issue and Working as Intended

When a player submits an in-game petition regarding an issue they are having with the mechanics of World of Warcraft an issue with a skill, for example the response that is given by the Game Master may fall into one of these common categories:


1. The issue is new and needs to be examined further.
In this first case, the player will be thanked for their report, and the issue shall be forwarded to those better suited to investigating the matter and determining how it should be addressed. Often, the player will also be asked for more information to help us track down the issue.

2. The issue has already been reported and verified. This is a known issue.
After an issue is tested and confirmed, it will be further examined to see how the functionality compares to the design for this game mechanic. If it is found to be not working as intended, then a resolution shall be devised and fully tested before implementation in a future patch or hotfix to World of Warcraft. During the period in which the issue is being investigated and resolved, players will be told that the issue is a known issue. This does not mean that the report is being blown off, or that the issue is considered unimportant, but rather that work on it is already underway.

3. The issue is not considered broken at this time. This issue is working as intended.
This is the case when a reported issue has been confirmed, but after investigation it was determined to match the current intended design for this game mechanic. Under such circumstances, however, players may still feel that this current design could be improved or changed. Ideas or improvements of this nature should be made on the Suggestions Forum. This forum provides a valuable opportunity for Blizzard staff members to collect feedback from players, and the suggestions posted do indeed make an impact on our game designs.

We have received reports that players are occasionally losing the ability to chat in select channels, such as Trade or General, or instead find themselves stuck in one of these channels, even in areas where they would not normally exist. Although our continual efforts are working toward a more permanent resolution for this matter, in the meantime we can offer steps which should correct ones chat channels. Please bear in mind that this process must be performed precisely as it is offered, or it is likely that the issue shall not be addressed accordingly. That said, on to the main event!



Step One: Restoring Default Chat Settings

1. Log out of World of Warcraft to your desktop.

2. Navigate to the World of Warcraft folder, which is often found in the Program Files directory (the default path is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft).

3. Once there, travel to the following folder: WTF\Account\ACCOUNTNAME\Realmname\Playername.


For example, if your account name is ILOVEWOW, and the character experiencing the issue is named Gamemaster on a fictional server called Blizzard, the file path would be: WTF > Account > ILOVEWOW > Blizzard > Gamemaster.

4. Find the file entitled chat-cache.txt and delete it. This shall ensure that your chat settings are restored to their defaults the next time you log in.

5. Log back into World of Warcraft and see what effect that has had on your issue. If it has not yet been resolved, fret not! We need only move on to...

Step Two: Leaving and Joining Channels

1. Travel to a major city Ironforge and Orgrimmar seem to be popular choices, but any of the six capital cities (the others are Stormwind, Darnassus, Thunder Bluff, and Undercity) will do.

2. Type the following scripts one by one into your chat window, ensuring that you follow the spacing, capitalization, and punctuation precisely as they appear below, and pressing Enter after each:


/script LeaveChannelByName("Trade - City");
/leave General
/leave LocalDefense
For private channels, use /leave channelname (no quotes), e.g. /leave guildmages

Note: If you receive an error message after entering one of these scripts, then it has not been entered properly; if that is the case, it may help to copy them straight from your browser window and paste them into the chat window in-game, to ensure that nothing is missed. Also, it is not necessarily a bad sign if nothing occurs after you put these in; so long as you do not receive an error message, youre in good shape.

3. Now for the easy part. Type the following into your chat window, pressing Enter after each:

/join General
/join Trade
/join LocalDefense
For private channels, use /join channelname (no quotes), e.g. /join guildmages

4. You should now be able to speak in these channels as you normally would. Huzzah! If not, however, theres still one more thing to try

Step Three: Resetting the UI

1. Log out of World of Warcraft to your desktop, thereby exiting the game completely.

2. Navigate to the World of Warcraft folder, which is often found in the Program Files directory (the default path is C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft).

3. Either rename (or delete) the WTF, Cache and Interface folders. (Note: If you do not wish to permanently lose any third-party addons you may have accrued, or macros you've written for your characters, you would be well-advised to merely rename the folders, rather than delete them entirely.)

4. Log back into the game by double-clicking WoW.exe, ensuring that you do not reinstall any addons before doing so.

And there you have it: The means of resolving an issue with one's chat channels. If, after having performed the above steps, your chat channels still havent been restored to their former glory, then the issue you are having may be best handled through our Technical Support Department. Please visit our Technical Support page: (http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21049) for common issue resolutions and information on how to contact them by phone or e-mail.

Please accept our most sincere apologies for what is admittedly something of a complicated process; you have our utmost assurance that the pertinent information regarding this issue has been forwarded to the proper authorities to address it, and they are currently taking steps to do so as quickly as is possible. For the time being, best of luck in your adventures, and thank you for your continued patience.