A targeted Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack forced the hardcore World of Warcraft guild OnlyFangs to abandon their Blackwing Lair raid attempt mid-progress. The attack hit Blizzard servers during prime raiding hours, causing multiple disconnections among raid members and making it impossible to continue safely.
OnlyFangs plays by hardcore rules, meaning character death is permanent. This made the decision to abort particularly crucial, as server instability could lead to unfair character losses worth hundreds of hours of gameplay.
“Several players kept disconnecting at random intervals, making it impossible to safely continue,” said a guild representative on the official forums. The timing of the disconnections appeared strategic, coinciding with key boss encounters.
Blizzard Entertainment confirmed the attacks through brief forum posts, acknowledging that their services were being targeted. The DDoS impact extended beyond World of Warcraft, affecting other Blizzard titles including Overwatch.
The gaming community quickly speculated about potential motives. Some suggested the attackers specifically targeted high-profile guilds and streamers, while others believed it was a broader attack against Blizzard’s infrastructure.
“The DDOS attack appears too widespread to be just about stopping a meme guild from clearing BWL,” noted one player, highlighting the scale of the disruption.
This situation has renewed calls for Blizzard to implement better protection for hardcore players. Many community members suggested an appeal system for deaths that occur during confirmed server issues.
However, as one forum user pointed out, “It’s very rare that these people will be caught, unfortunately. It’s so easy to purchase a DDOS attack from one of many providers out there.”
DDoS attacks remain a persistent problem for online gaming, especially during high-stakes events that draw large audiences. While companies deploy various mitigation strategies, complete protection is virtually impossible without impacting legitimate player connections.
