World of Warcraft, the massively multiplayer online game that took the world by storm in November 2004, celebrates its 17th anniversary with an event that takes place from November 15th to December 6th. A game almost old enough to vote, the longevity of World of Warcraft is a testament to the game's popularity, and each year, players are rewarded with in-game goodies, ranging from mounts and pets to achievements and fireworks.
This year's celebration rewards are themed around the game's Illidari, a faction of demon hunters created by the iconic Warcraft character Illidan Stormrage, as well as the Caverns of Time where the Bronze Dragonflight maintains the delicate integrity of Azeroth's timelines.
Players can begin the celebration event simply by logging in, which will earn them the Feat of Strength achievement for this year's celebration. Further rewards can be attained by picking up a quest in Tanaris provided by Chromie, a fan-favorite character representing the Bronze Dragonflight, where she will direct them to defeat the new world boss in the zone, Doomwalker.
Players who are less interested about the cosmetic rewards that the event offers, by completing the quest, are rewarded with a token that increases the experience and reputation gain by 17% for the duration of the event (that is, until December 6th). However, in terms of cosmetics and collectables, two of the most interesting items that one can obtain from the new boss are an Illidari Doomhawk mount, and a Timeless Mechanical Dragonling.
Prior to a hotfix implemented last night, World of Warcraft players complained about the absurdly low drop chance for not just the mount, but the pet and any related items that were a part of Doomwalker's loot table, reporting an estimated drop chance as low as 1%. Their chief critique of Blizzard's decision stemmed from the idea that a celebratory event should not cause the players any undue stress or worry about attaining a time-limited mount based purely on luck, citing that World of Warcraft already suffered enough from RNG-like mechanics.
Blizzard Entertainment, in response, decided to make the drop rate for both the mount and the pet a fixed 100%, thus making it effectively a guaranteed drop. Since the hotfix is not retroactive, players who have already looted the boss won't be eligible to loot him again until the next daily reset.
As new details about Activision Blizzard's tumultous legal troubles and appaling workplace culture continue to emerge once again, this year's anniversary in the world of Azeroth sadly feels bittersweet.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available on PC.