New overlay technology in World of Warcraft raiding sparks an arms race.
WoW players are using new overlay technology that bypasses Blizzard’s built-in addon support to gain advantages in raiding, an emerging technology that could spark an arms race. While some overlays can simply be placed over the game window, others can be placed on a separate monitor to read the World of Warcraft combat logs, which are not accessible in-game. The technology is already being used in proof-of-concept addons like a DPS meter, and players have also created a radar-style overlay that compiles real-time data from the combat log.
Over the past few weeks, World of Warcraft player ‘Warcraft Logs’ has developed a damage tracker using this new tech, which the community has dubbed ‘advanced combat log technology.’ The company says its tool is designed to address issues with the current DPS addons, which Blizzard has recently moved to block in Warlords of Draenor.
“We started developing this technology because the alternatives just weren’t good enough,” Warcraft Logs explains on the WoW forums. “The DPS meters in their current state are not accurate enough, and none of the alternatives provided any form of real-time data.”
Blizzard has addressed the issue on the WoW forums, saying that it plans to make changes “to prevent the use of the Advanced Combat Log in this way.” The company says it has also “stopped similar addons in the past,” referencing the recent action against popular DPS addon Hellcat.
Blizzard’s statement says that the overlays violate section 1-C of the EULA, which prohibits the use of software not authorized by Blizzard. “These addons are not allowed and we plan to take action against them,” the company adds.
This isn’t the first time Blizzard has taken action against addons that read the combat log, but it does suggest that the company’s prior actions may have led to this new technology. Similar addons have been stopped in the past, most notably Hellcat.
The technology used here is more sophisticated than what was previously available, however, and changing how the combat log works could potentially fix the issue. Either way, Blizzard seems intent on maintaining the intended game design.
World of Warcraft is known for its strong modding community, but Blizzard’s willingness to intervene has created a degree of uncertainty. Embracing or rejecting addons has pros and cons; rejecting them simplifies encounter design but limits customization, while embracing them improves accessibility but leads to an arms race with modders.
Featured image credit: Blizzard Entertainment via press kit.
