Highlights
- A recent incident in World of Warcraft sheds light on the problematic side of the Mythic Keystone community, as a player attempted to extort his dungeon group for gold.
- The timer mechanic in Mythic Keystones, while exciting, has also become a source of abuse by griefers, trolls, and embittered players seeking revenge.
- Incidents like this are likely to continue in random Mythic dungeon groups, but calling out griefers and exposing their behavior can help self-moderate the community and reduce toxicity.
Not all World of Warcraft subscribers play fair at endgame, as one of them attempted to extort his dungeon group with the help of an accomplice, shedding light on the more problematic side of the Mythic Keystone community. Though raids in World of Warcraft have long stood as the traditional choice of endgame content, Mythic Keystones are its younger (though no less exciting) cousin. Designed for smaller groups, Mythic Keystones take the concept of an enrage timer, and apply it to the entire dungeon – daring World of Warcraft players to complete the instance in time.
Though the concept of a timer has made Mythic Keystones in World of Warcraft exciting, even for spectators of the Mythic Dungeon Invititationals, it has also been the main source of abuse by griefers, trolls, or embittered players looking to enact petty revenge. In order to progress to the next Keystone level in World of Warcraft, the owner of the key must assemble a team, start the instance, and finish it with the same group on time. Failure to do so reduces the Keystone level by one, and randomizes the dungeon it corresponds to. While having a "bricked" key isn't the end of the world, it's something that most World of Warcraft players prefer to avoid.
This is where certain griefers thrive, as a World of Warcraft player named alcamz shared the latest incident of a Paladin holding his Mythic group hostage over the sum of 50,000 gold. The Paladin in question has since gained infamy beyond his server, as streamers and other players have organized a name-and-shame campaign against him, resulting in a swift removal from his guild, as well as turning his Raider.io profile private.
As reported by others from the World of Warcraft community, this griefer and his accomplices would join Mythic dungeon groups, and then proceed to extort the Keystone owner just before the final boss, threatening to leave if they failed to receive their payment in World of Warcraft gold. While most subscribers aren't interested in ruining someone else's fun, certain game mechanics have contributed in cultivating a toxic atmosphere that affects all players. Though Blizzard has done its utmost to curb undesirable behavior in Mythic dungeons, the power to brick someone's Keystone has weaponized griefers similarly to how ninja looters thrived in the early days of World of Warcraft.
Unfortunately, it is very likely that incidents like this will continue to crop up in random Mythic dungeon groups so long as the timer mechanic exists, but hopefully calling out griefers and exposing their behavior will help self-moderate the Mythic Keystone community in World of Warcraft. With Dragonflight preparing for Patch 10.2, players can expect to see the new Dawn of the Infinite megadungeon in a Mythic Keystone format, and hopefully undertake their Season 3 journey with less toxicity.
World of Warcraft is available now for PC.