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WoW Down to 7.1 Million Subscribers
PTR Patch 2.2.1 Datamined
A really minor PTR patch has been recently datamined by our team. Not many new strings, but some interesting ones can be found below. Bandit Shrine hype?
Gizmos.txt
- a4_Heaven_Shrine_TreasureGoblin: Bandit Shrine
BNet_Store.txt
- BnetStorePremiumPass_FlexExplaination: Your previous purchase of Premium Package has discounted Deluxe Package for you.
- ErrorMessageReEnterPin: Please enter the correct NetEase pin.
Platinum_General.txt
- DailyFirst_BossKill First Boss (reworded from Major) Kill of the Day!
- SignificantKill_Title Boss (reworded from Major) Kill
- SignificantKill_Details You killed a Boss (reworded from Major)!
Exploit Definition
What defines an exploit? When is an exploit a randomly found game mechanic with no malicious intent by the player, and when can it be considered abusing the game? That subject is always controversial. Rhykker has even recently made an interesting video talking about it.
A player inquired Nevalistis about when game mechanics become an "exploit" and the answer was clear - when it requires very specific steps to take advantage of. Read the tweet below.
Originally Posted by Blizzard (Twitter)
@CM_Nevalistis At what point do mechanics become an exploit?@BettaExp It can be an extremely fine line. This was a case of a bug that required very specific steps to abuse. Not really "by accident."
Discipline Bonus Damage Spreadsheet
Philosophios has shared a video where he explains how to use a spreadsheet to calculate the effective increase in damage for each extra point of Discipline, quite important for the Unhallowed Essence set. A great video and spreadsheet for those looking to min-max their Demon Hunters' efficiency.
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Posted May 7, 2015....but doesn't "end-game" mechanics require you to do something in specific steps? I.e.: doing a serious of attacks that "combo" great together with gear and such (also a "mechanic" of the game), to get absolute max out of what you're trying to do.
I don't really see how that was a clarification of any kind (how you describe it) o.O
It kinda just describes kinda broad, how everything that requires specific steps, is then an exploit.
Nevalistis is talking about bugs - how you, with specific steps, can abuse those to your advantage, which then makes it exploitation of a bug.
Any kind of abuse, in regards to bugs (something unintended), is per definition an exploit. Everyone should know that per default.
I kinda feel like you need to revise that line you wrote, so it actually describes it in terms of using specifics steps with bugs.
..as Nevalistis clearly states
Other than that;
Yay! Bandit Shrine (What ever the buck that means)
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Posted May 7, 2015No
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Posted May 7, 2015Exploits are like porn. It's hard to define, but you know it when you see it.
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Posted May 7, 2015So you're telling me fishing for zombie rifts with power pylons is not speciifc and not an exploit. Okay then.
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Posted May 7, 2015No. that is not an exploit. You are in the process of doing this wasting a lot of time and keys. Everyone can fish for rifts.
An exploit is when you do something to cheese an encounter like instantly killing a grift 60+ guardian with the sever exploit. Or going out of your way to get way more blood shards from a blood thief then it is supposed to drop. Fishing for rifts is not. If you on the other hand used a special mechanic to force spawn the perfect rift. That would be a exploit. Not fishing
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Posted May 7, 2015Every single case of "clever use of game mechanics" fits this definition. The reality is they have no clue how to define an exploit.
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Posted May 7, 2015Punishable exploits involve getting a competitive advantage over the the design intent. Design intent is the key here. Mechanics have an intended designed behavior.
Let's consider the Blood Shard issue because this is a clear example of a punishable offense. The intended design of Blood Thief design is that at higher difficulties you are to be rewarded with higher quantities. So you can expect more in T6 than in T1. But if you use a game multiplier like a Greater Rift mechanic that is used strictly for XP to affect the blood shard drop rate the bug is clear. Blood Theives do not exist in Greater Rifts, therefore they should not be affected by this multiplier.
It is one thing to find the bug. This isn't punishable. You simply report it as a bug and the fix will get implemented. When you hide it and don't report it, well you are at the mercy of Blizzard's discretion. It is a judgment and they are the judge. Some got rolled back. Someone got banned because it was streamed and in their judgment the punishment was warranted.
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Posted May 7, 2015Can someone clarify what bandit shrine means?
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Posted May 7, 2015We can only speculate. It could be a new bounty, or it could be a new Shrine that spawns a goblin? Or multiple goblins?! Like I said, we can only guess
The Bandit Shrine string can be seen as a possible new shrine. The other strings are likely related to the Chinese version of the game (free to play) with strings related to purchasing game licenses while in-game (rather than on the BNet store) and NetEase (which is a chinese company).
The rewording from some strings from Major to Boss may indicate that they're tinkering with Platinum gaining mechanisms, which is also related to the F2P version of the game. That's why it's said early on that this is a "minor" PTR patch, not much new or interesting to see. But still something we datamined and which could be interesting to some.
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Posted May 7, 2015Sounds really underwhelming.