Proof that Lvl 20 F2P players abusing AFK-Report System in BGs to kick lvl29s

[Shado-dragonblight]

Dear WoW community, Developers, and Game Masters, hello.

This is Shado. I have come back to WoW after many years and play as a lvl 29 Twink to enjoy some BGs on my free time after work or school. Unfortunately I have come to encounter a highly toxic community currently seriously affecting the 20-29 BG bracket.

As I understand it, a free version of the game is available, with a level cap at 20, which places F2P players in the 20-29 BG bracket. A number of these players are not at all happy with having lvl 29s in their team as a lvl 29 is superior to a lvl 20 in various aspects.

They are seriously displeased and threatened by the presence of lvl 29s and have created a horrendously toxic environment. I can’t enter one BG without some lvl20s chastising me for playing as a lvl29 and telling me that it’s not fair for me to play as a lvl29.

Had it been limited to words and insults, I could totally live with this as there are also some very friendly and supportive players in the bracket, however the action of some of these 20s are not limited to words as they have started to abuse and exploit the “Report-AFK” system.

Meant to have actual AFK players eventually forced out of a BG, these players have found that multiple coordinated reports result in the reported player being instantly kicked from the battleground without the 1 minute timer debuff which kicks the player if the player doesn’t take any action during that time.

They have done this to the degree I get kicked from more than half the BGs I enter before I can participate in any of the action.

Approximately 10 seconds after 2 minute preparation time elapses and the gates of the BG open, I get instantly teleported out of the BG and receive the 15 minute deserted debuff.

I have recently spoken to an in-Game guide player who advised me to gather proof of this phenomenon and report it, so I have been ScreenRecording BGs from which I am insta-kicked.

I have uploaded these screen recordings to youtube, and decided to add their links to this complaint as I believe it will unequivocally prove the abusing and exploiting of the reporting system.

I will keep playing in the 20-29 bracket as a 29 and will not allow people who don’t even pay for the game to dictate to me or other fellow 29s how we ought to be playing the game. We are not breaking any Blizzard rules, and we should not be persecuted for how we like to play.

I am hoping these players will be held accountable, and that some technical fix to this reporting system will be implemented as I believe Blizzard would not want their customers to be persecuted and made their game time turned to hell by resentful and toxic groups of players.

Thank you for reading through this long complaint, and please find attached 7 different links to 7 short screen recordings proving this phenomenon is ocurring.

[links removed by the moderation team]

[Dreychibi-argent-dawn]

By the looks of it, damage scaling on low lvl is crazy broken, or it’s just you who seems to be ruining their game experience by blindly pressing one button. What are you abusing then? No wonder they’re trying to kick you out of bgs basically for oneshotting everyone.

Why not try out twinking on 70s? It’s been active for months now.

[Shado-dragonblight]

I am not breaking any rules, while they are. That’s the only real problem.

[Gunpwnder-auchindoun]

@Shado-dragonblight

on my free time after work or school

bro got 7 jobs 11 kids no lie.
/use item:162539

[Shado-dragonblight]

I assume you’re one of those who has been brought to his knees by the toxic F2P lvl 20 community and forced to play at 20 instead of 29? makes sense.

[Ðrade-aegwynn]

Where exactly is the “abuse” in playing as a level 29? You’re asking what’s being abused—but maybe you should take a look at yourself. The real abuse here is you misusing the kick function and spamming false reports, which Blizzard has already punished in the past.

Instead of blaming others for simply playing the game, maybe think about how you’re actually the one ruining the experience by trying to get people unfairly removed.

[Skaraî-aegwynn]

Hello everyone,

I want to bring attention to an ongoing issue in the 20-29 PvP bracket that is making battlegrounds unplayable for some players. There is a group within the community that is actively abusing the AFK report system to force certain players out of the game, even when they are actively participating.

I’ve had the same experience, and it’s incredibly frustrating. They even kick me as a level 20, which makes no sense at all. The abuse of the report system is getting out of hand, and it’s completely ruining the BG experience. Blizzard really needs to address this issue before it drives more players away.

It seems that certain players are using this method to manipulate the battleground composition to their advantage, effectively controlling who gets to play and who doesn’t. This is not only frustrating but also goes against the spirit of fair competition.

I urge Blizzard to investigate this issue and take steps to prevent the AFK report system from being exploited in this way. Perhaps adjusting the threshold for kicks or implementing better protection against false reports could help.

Thanks for reading.

[Alèxandros-draenor]

I’m definitely running into the same issue. The 20-29 BG bracket exists for a reason, and level 29 players have every right to participate just like everyone else. Twink PvP has always been centered around level 19, 29, and 39 brackets, so playing as a 29 is nothing new or unfair—it’s simply how it has always been.

Yet, every time I join as a level 29, some level 20s start complaining and claiming it’s “unfair.” The reality is, we are playing within the rules, and no one should be harassed just for playing the game as intended. If someone chooses to stay at level 20, that’s their decision, but it doesn’t give them the right to dictate who can or cannot play in the bracket.

Lately, I’ve been kicked from BGs within seconds of the match starting, clearly due to abuse of the report system. I’m not AFK, yet I’m instantly removed, simply because some players don’t want a level 29 on their team. This is pure system abuse and has nothing to do with fairness.

Blizzard needs to address this issue before it completely ruins battlegrounds for those who actually want to play. Thanks for bringing this up – it’s happening way too often, and something needs to be done about it.

[Brandonx-doomhammer]

No one is abusing anything except for the group of people above. They are exploiting a game-breaking bug that gives them 170k HP. For reference, people have 4k-6k HP at level 20-29. They are using this with malicious intent to gain an unfair advantage on battlegrounds. I believe this is why reports for game sabotage are called that way because what you are doing is exactly sabotage. And now they are trying to blame someone else.

Here are some screenshots from various battlegrounds, in which you can clearly see how much HP they have compared to others (Othanc is Shado, Sneêvis is Ðrade, Skaraî is Skaraî):

[links removed by the moderation team]

[Shado-dragonblight]

Look when this thread was created, and use your brain to remember when the Lunar Festival begun. When you use your brain and also watch the youtube videos, you will see that I don’t have any “bugged buff” and that I’m just being kicked for being a lvl 29.

again, use your brain.

[Sneévis-aegwynn]

If the buff normally remains active in PvP without requiring any special tricks (like logout methods, phasing, or other workarounds), then it is not an exploit. It would simply be a regular game mechanic.

As long as Blizzard hasn’t explicitly removed or disabled the buff for PvP, using it is completely legal within the game. Some players might argue that it’s “unfair” since the buff is PvE-oriented, but that alone doesn’t make it an exploit.

An exploit would only exist if you were intentionally bypassing a restriction or using a bug to keep the buff when it’s supposed to be removed. However, if the buff naturally persists and Blizzard does nothing to prevent it, then it’s completely fine.

[Brandonx-doomhammer]

These bugged items were usable the whole year if you got them during last year’s Lunar Festival. Don’t try to fool anybody. This is clearly a malicious use of bugged items to gain an unfair advantage and game sabotagew. Also, you can stop boosting reactions and making a fool of yourself.

[Skaraî-aegwynn]

What you write is not true. If you see Shado’s first post in the thread there are 7 videos where he never uses the Lunar Buff. And every time he was kicked. You and the people in your community also kicked my level 20 Hunter out of the game several times this week.
Please don’t spread lies here!

[Shado-dragonblight]

Once again, use your brain and look at the 7 youtube videos I uploaded and tell me in which one I have the buff.

[Ðrade-aegwynn]

First, you don’t have unlimited access to them, and second, it’s not an exploit. If it were, Blizzard would have already taken action. You should inform yourself about what actually qualifies as an exploit. What would a new player do if they received the buff and entered a battleground? I highly doubt Blizzard would create a buff, obtainable through normal event gameplay, just to bait players into a ban.

[Skaraî-aegwynn]

I just had a level 20 player whisper me, asking me to false report the level 29s in my group as AFK to get them kicked from the battleground. This kind of behavior is really frustrating and unfair to players who are just trying to enjoy PvP.

I have a screenshot as proof:

@Brandonx:

I am being kicked by your community with my level 20 Hunter for several reasons:

1. Because I sign up for PVP with some level 29.
2. Because I refuse, like your community, to abuse the AFK system to kick level 29. As you can see in the screenshot:

[links removed by the moderation team]

[Brandonx-doomhammer]

Maybe this is happening because your group of people are doing something wrong? For example, using a bug for 170k HP or some other stupid things? And it’s pretty funny how you talked previously about “the spirit of fair competition” and then tried to justify using that bug. You also say that people report level 29s just because they’re level 29s. And if that’s the case, then why, Skarai, do you say that you’re also being reported even though you’re level 20? Maybe the problem is you and what you’re doing. Use your brain.

[Ðrade-aegwynn]

The buff is not an exploit, nor is it anything like what you’re trying to imply. It was already fixed several days ago, making it impossible to use in the way it previously worked. We’ve gathered plenty of evidence, and the screenshot clearly shows that this is about level 29s—nothing else. So stop spreading false information.

Also, you should know that Blizzard has logs and can verify everything that happens, right?

And by the way, we got falsely reported for AFK today too by level 20s, which just proves how ridiculous these reports are. The buff has already been fixed, like I said, and this has nothing to do with it. Blizzard can see in the logs how and why we were kicked, and just like the videos prove, we never had the buff before. The only thing that matters to these level 20s is that we’re level 29.

[Shado-dragonblight]

Look it’s pretty obvious that you’re one of the lvl 20s who hates lvl 29s and kicks them, so you’re trying really hard to make it look like we’re the bad guys, but just stop it my man. Nobody’s buying these lies.