If your World of Warcraft realm has mysteriously disappeared several times this week, Blizzard finally has an explanation.
And no, it wasn't an unusually ambitious goblin chewing through a cable.
Blizzard says a recurring hardware problem at a partner facility has been responsible for several recent realm outages in North America, affecting servers across Midnight, Classic Era and Mists of Pandaria.
The same underlying issue has now taken affected realms offline three separate times in less than a week.
The Same Hardware Problem Has Struck Three Times
According to a Blizzard community manager, the affected realms went offline during three separate incidents:
August 2: Around 3:00 p.m. EDT, lasting approximately three hours.
August 5: Around 3:30 a.m. EDT, lasting approximately three and a half hours.
August 6: Around 4:30 p.m. EDT, lasting roughly 45 minutes.
That makes the latest problems considerably more than a single unfortunate server hiccup.
Blizzard described the cause as a “recurring issue with hardware at a partner facility” that serves the game for multiple realms in the region.
In other words, the problem isn't necessarily sitting inside Blizzard's own building. Some of the infrastructure used to keep Azeroth running is handled through an external facility, and something there has repeatedly fallen over.
Midnight and Classic Players Have Both Been Hit
One particularly unusual aspect of the outages is just how many versions of World of Warcraft they have touched.
Blizzard specifically mentioned realms running
Midnight, Classic Era and Mists of Pandaria.
That explains why players who normally inhabit completely different corners of WoW have been reporting similar disconnects.
For most players, an unexpected realm outage is mainly irritating.
For Hardcore players, things become slightly more exciting.
Being disconnected while standing safely in Stormwind is one thing. Being disconnected while fighting several mobs in Stranglethorn Vale on a character whose death is permanent is another matter entirely.
Recent Hardcore discussions have consequently included the usual comforting questions such as: “Am I dead?”
The answer nobody particularly enjoys receiving after a server crash is: we'll find out when it comes back.
Blizzard Has Identified the Cause — But the Bigger Question Remains
The good news is that Blizzard clearly knows what is causing the outages.
The less reassuring part is the word
recurring.
Blizzard's statement confirms the hardware issue and the three outages, but doesn't provide a detailed explanation of what hardware has failed or exactly what has been done to prevent another interruption.
That distinction matters.
A server going down once is an accident.
The same infrastructure causing outages three times within five days starts becoming a pattern.
And with
Patch 12.1: Curse of Ula’tek arriving August 11, this is probably not the week Blizzard would have chosen for its realm infrastructure to develop a taste for unscheduled holidays.
Patch launches traditionally provide enough opportunities for things to become interesting without the hardware joining in.
For now, the affected realms are back online.
Hopefully they stay that way.
Azeroth already has enough recurring villains without adding “the server rack at the partner facility” to the list.
Source: Blizzard community manager statement regarding the recent North American realm outages.
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