Sorry to bother folks, but there is a CS related debate that seems to need a final answer.
This topic is about killing of AH NPCs in SW. Is it against the rules or not?
Most folks replied with the Support article stating that killing NPCs is not against the rules and a GM will not get involved. That people are free to use another AH in SW or go to IF via tram or taxi. The exception being zone disruption where the whole zone is non functional, laggy, crashing, etc. Where critical functions are denied for very long periods of time.
However, despite that there is a debate that maybe the support article updated 3 months ago is not accurate. That if you upset someone by killing NPCs it is a social contract violation.
So, is the support article accurate? Is killing NPCs against the rules and actionable?
Does the social contract change the PvP rules in any way?
I am going to say no, but hey, I am not the expert (I have been told).
Id wager since tehre not breaking any rules that it wouldnt be breaking any rules zone disruption would probably have to last more then a couple of days before blizzard will take action. The only solution as u know would be to put in a suggestion asking for a change to make them nonkillable.
If killing an NPC is against the rules of the game when the game allows me to do it and in some cases encourages it with achievements, I’m going to cancel my sub, uninstall the game, and never play another Blizzard game I don’t already own again.
I think Mirasol has been fair in not taking me too out of context, but I want to make one thing clear: my source of confusion is this:
Common Problems
* A player is camping me
Keep being ganked and can’t play the game at all
A player of the opposite faction is killing NPCs
These are listed as common problems.
The solutions proposed by Blizzard:
World of Warcraft
If you do not wish to engage in open world PvP combat in World of Warcraft, disable [War Mode]
WoW Classic and Burning Crusade Classic
If you do not wish to engage in regular PvP combat, you must create your character on a Player versus Environment (PvE) realm. On a PvE realm, you can freely choose when you want to engage in open world PvP combat by enabling or disabling your PvP flag.
If you chose to create your character on a PvP realm, Game Masters will not address situations where you are repeatedly killed by the opposite faction. This includes situations that may be considered dishonorable such as corpse camping or killing players well below your level.
These solutions do not address the 3rd problem and feels like it was written by someone who doesn’t understand that critical NPCs are killable even in PvE.
I understand there’s legacy behind a lot of things in World of Warcraft. Yet, we all had to sign a social contract recently that basically made us pledge we wouldn’t do activities “that are disruptive.”
I would say I don’t know how seeking out players who’ve made every effort to opt out of PvP and deliberately disrupting them is permitted by the contract and would like clarification there. That is all.
Thank you Mirasol for taking this issue seriously.
Then refer them to open a ticket and ask as they are not guaranteed a blue response anywhere on the forums. Also let them know that the support articles are done by the people who make game change decisions and if it was updated 3 months ago, then it is current and those are the rules. PvP is allowed as is killing opposite faction NPCs.
Obviously, that’s not all encapsulating - as even in this thread, some people are saying “it would have to be going on for days for a GM to interfere”… why would that matter if what you say is true?
More to the point, the reason they don’t intefere in PvP activities is because players can opt out. Which makes sense for 1 and 2… but not for 3.
Berrison, there is even an achievement for killing members of the opposite faction in your own cities. PvP can occur even on PvE realms. Zone disruption usually means that it has been going on for days and there is no PvP option to get rid of the issue.
Botom line is sooner or later the horde is gona get bored. And since theres other AH not ideal but it would be easier to go to the other AH in the meantime.
Also, I’m admittedly not going to go through that thread in it’s entirety. But in case it’s not mentioned, let us remember that the rogue artifact quest line requires the murder of one of the AH NPCs. And the quest in question also allowed for murdering ones own faction. I know on MG we had an Alliance rogue who stayed in that quest phase.and straight up kept clearing though the quest turn ins and vendors for Love is in the Air and other events. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone actually get attention for zone disruption save for those large scale issues that cropped up in Silithus or the Plaguelands in Classic.
Anyone who has come here having a fit about NPC slaughter were usually told to try and go elsewhere until the troll gets bored and moves on or pretty much that PvP problem, PvP solution.
Clarification on the articles and such would be nice, but I don’t think OP of that thread is going to be able to prove their case enough for GM intervention or what have you.
To be fair, the social contract is just a reiteration of what you already agreed to in the ToU/EULA and has been in the game rules since the game launched, so the achievements were placed in about 4 years after since they were released in WotLK.
The Support article was updated 3 months ago. That was after the Social Contract. Blizzard will NOT penalize people for killing NPCs. Not everything that makes a player uncomfy or unhappy is against the rules. Hence the PvP support article being clear about that.
It explicitly tells you that. Your argument that maybe the writers did not realize that NPCs can be killed on PvE realms is not valid. They are well aware of that, and it is allowed.
Killing AH NPCs in particular, is not against the rules. Use a different AH.