I see people refer to changing layers to farm mobs or find rare mobs as exploiting but it’s actually an intended mechanic of the current classic servers. Has it been confirmed that this is exploiting and is a punishable offense?
All I know is Im over seeing people spam in chat to “invite for layer change plz” lol
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really? that’s so cheesy 
that hasnt happened to me yet…
People need to stop thinking that just because they are capable of doing something that inherently makes it not an exploit. Exploits can’t exist without it being doable, that’s what makes it an exploit.
Blizzard is the one who would have to make this call anyways. They have made attempts to discourage layer swapping or simply make it more difficult to swap layers quickly to get out of PvP or something, etc. Whether they’re going to action you for it would ultimately depend on the severity of what you’re doing.
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But this is literally an intended game mechanic. It’s intended for you to be able to change layers. If I’m farming a rare mob and ask my friend to invite me to his group so I change layer, and the rare mob is up on his layer, did I just exploit the game? Makes no sense
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As I said the severity of why you’re layer swapping would be considered. No, it’s not an exploit to swap layers cause you partied with a friend for a rare, but they might consider it an exploit if you had 50 different “friends” invite you to a group so you could kill it 50 times as you swap to their layer over and over.
Really my point is simple. There is no correlation to “Because I can do this in game it’s not an exploit and I can’t be punished for it.” That’s not how it works. Use your judgment and think for yourself if you think what you’re doing might be considered an exploit.
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Creating a bunch of low level alt accounts that auto invite so you can jump layers at will is a guaranteed exploit that will result in bans.
Some cars have an engine that is capable or traveling 100+ MPH.
That doesn’t mean that was the intent. That also doesn’t mean there aren’t speed limits.
Unfortunately, this is an expected result of layering… and deemed acceptable for the benefits it provides until layering is removed.
I think the bigger issue is that most people aren’t aware of how it works… which makes it that much more of a benefit for those that abuse it.
Layer swaps exist so you can participate in group activity with friends or other folks trying to complete the same task. Blizzard clearly stated that it wasn’t intended to allow folks to bypass spawn times of mobs or resource nodes. They also said that they put in measures to prevent folks from avoiding uncomfortable PvP situations. Two things come to mind:
- Layers are temporary, and as soon as the server populations stabilize, it won’t be a problem
- I suspect the last one will take a while, so Blizzard will probably implement some sort of control measures to prevent folks from doing this too much (so many swaps per period of time, longer delays between consecutive swaps, etc.)
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This is a strange example because in most situations there are laws that clearly state that driving over a certain speed is illegal. I don’t see any rules or comments from blizzard stating that changing layers to farm mobs is against the rules or unintended.
An exploit is using an in game mechanic or feature in a way other than it was intended. There are limits as to how often you can change layers. If someone is changing layers within those limits, how is it exploiting or against the terms of service?
Let me help you out my dude!
cheats; i.e. methods not expressly authorized by Blizzard, influencing and/or facilitating the gameplay, including exploits of any in-game bugs, and thereby granting you and/or any other user an advantage over other players not using such methods;
Pay attention to two parts, the not expressly authorized and the advantage over other players.
Blizzard has said layering is not intended to allow resource gathering and other advantages. It is intended to allow you to play with friends.
Many are using it to gain advantage which is against the EULA and is a bannable offense.
Hope that helps!
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Blizzard isnt a governing body that will explicitly state the laws for how everything works. Their intention, while it should be painstakingly obvious to a rationale person, could be argues as not always black and white thus your judgment is required.
That’s why a huge slew of people got banned for exploiting the experience potion bug on retail.
Edit: by the way even in cases like that the prosecuting attorney can attempt to throw the book at them for everything they can find related to their crime. Look at Florida where they wanted to charge the cop that abandoned his post during the high school shooting. There was a law that doesn’t seem intended to apply to him, but it’s ambigious enough that they’re trying to do it anyways.
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Their plan from the start was to phase out layering when the population stabilizes. I’m sure they just figure this is a problem that already has a solution.
You’re wrong, but ok.
I mean I laid it out with supporting documentation, what do you have that would indicate I am wrong?
They need to disable layering at this point, but banning people for it would be ridiculous.
Could you provide the quote for this? Blizzard has added limitations to layering to address things like resource gathering. If someone works within these limitations, how is that an exploit?
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idk, i report everyone that asks for a layer invite.
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I’ve been really tempted to do this for a hunter pet… but I got it naturally, after waiting around 3 hours
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I suppose anyone who ran a 10-man dungeon should also be banned.
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