Some Guy Gets A Blizzard-Only WoW Item, Goes On Rampage

A World of Warcraft subscriber has accidentally been given a powerful in-game item normally reserved for internal testing. And what’d he do with it? Why, he used it.

Yes, instead of doing the right thing and returning the item (“Martin Fury”, an in-game shirt), he kept it and went out on a killing spree. Because the shirt allowed the wearer to destroy everything within a 30-foot radius instantly, the user – Karatechop – managed to rack up an impossibly impressive set of achievements in the game, including the destruction of the normally-difficult character “Flame Leviathan” in a single blow.

While his account has since been banned, with Blizzard accusing him of cheating to obtain the item, Karatechop maintains that the item was accidentally presented to a guild mate of his by Blizzard, in an official Blizzard email, as part of the restoration process for a hacked character.

Who to believe, who to believe?

Regardless of who’s telling the truth, sure, he should have reported it. And the use of the item was a violation of the game’s user agreement. But on the other hand, this guy was given the in-game power of a god and used it to… rack up a few achievements. This could have been a lot, lot worse.

The Martin Fury scandal: Karatechop reveals all [WoW Insider]