In a surprising move, Blizzard Entertainment has released a hotfix for World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic that addresses a nearly 15-year-old typo in the game’s code that made one of the game’s most powerful weapons even more potent than intended.
The Legendary healing mace Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings
The weapon in question, Val’anyr, Hammer of Ancient Kings, was always a highly sought-after item due to its ability to grant powerful shields to players. However, the shield granted by the weapon was actually intended to be capped at 20,000 health, according to Blizzard’s official statement.
A simple typo made a big impact
The reason for the weapon’s unintentionally high absorption rate? A simple typo in Val’anyr’s spell script. The script was supposed to set the absorb amount to 20,000, but a crucial “0” was added by mistake, setting the absorb amount to 200,000 instead.
The bug went unnoticed – until now
The fact that this typo went unnoticed for so long is, according to Blizzard, likely due to the fact that the number of players who actually ever acquired Val’anyr back in the day was relatively small. Ulduar, the expansion’s iconic raid, was notoriously difficult, and acquiring the weapon required a long process. The few players who did acquire Val’anyr likely never got close to hitting the unintentional 200,000 shield cap, as the shield is based on 15% of the amount healed.
However, players completing Ulduar in 2023 have much more experience and resources to help min-max their characters, making it more likely for players to approach and surpass the 200,000 shield cap.
Blizzard’s response
Blizzard has since released a hotfix that corrects the typo and sets the shield’s cap at the intended 20,000 health.
Conclusion
The typo may have gone unnoticed for 14 years, but in the end, Blizzard responded quickly to address the issue, ensuring that the game’s balance remains intact. It just goes to show that even the most minor errors can have major consequences in the world of video game development.
