The Challenge Mode dungeons are returning and Blizzard are addressing what happened when they were disabled. Aside from certain players getting all achievements regardless of timing, there were also those that got stuck on in Heroic Temple of the Jade serpent, preventing them from accessing the Challenge Mode for the dungeon at all, getting stuck on 8/9. The issues were fixed and the missing achievements will be addressed:
- Players who received achievements they shouldn’t have will have them removed.
- Players who should have gotten their Realm First achievements will receive them before the dungeons open with the reset.
- If multiple groups were very close in timing to the Realm Firsts, they will all receive those achievements.
We’d like to share more about what happened with the Challenge Mode Dungeon system last week, and our plans moving forward.
What happened?
After the launch of Challenge Mode Dungeons, we encountered a few bugs that heavily impacted those who were pursuing realm firsts. To help maintain a fair race, we disabled Challenge Mode until we could get those issues fixed. Those bugs included:
- Players who did Challenge Mode Dungeons were awarded every medal (Gold, Silver, Bronze) regardless of the completion time. This affected a small number of players, but these achievements have unique associated rewards that players would get without earning them. It also had a huge potential impact on the race on each realm.
- Players who completed Heroic Temple of the Jade Serpent were not being rewarded the Heroic achievement, which blocked their access to the Challenge Mode version of that dungeon. This halted groups at 8/9 progress.
Now what?
We fixed the Heroic Temple of the Jade Serpent bug, and players will be able to access that Challenge Mode when they go live tomorrow.
We’ve identified the players who obtained Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals incorrectly and we’re clearing those achievements from players during maintenance. Thereafter, anyone impacted will log in to find those achievements and rewards removed.
We’ve identified the players would would have earned the Realm First! Challenge Conqueror Gold! achievement if the system had not been taken offline, and we’re going to award the Realm First! achievement to them before Challenge Modes are reopened. Again, players will log in and find the achievements awarded.
Our process for determining who would have earned the Realm First! Challenge Conqueror Gold! achievement was quite comprehensive. We took many factors into consideration such as: completion times, acquisition speed of the achievements, players current progress toward Realm First! when the dungeons were disabled, and their lead on the second and third place teams.
In cases where the times were extremely close, we’re awarding it to multiple groups of players.
The removal and addition of achievements will take place during realm maintenance.
As a reminder, Challenge Mode dungeons will be returning at 3:00 p.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday, July 29.
Thank you so much for your passion for the game, your participation in Challenge Modes, and you patience as we get the system functioning properly!
