Game Master

The Game Masters

Game Masters, or GMs, are Blizzard employees. GMs are the overseers of World of Warcraft and watch over a server to solve problems, disputes, and sometimes punish people disobeying the Terms of Use policy Blizzard set forth. You can create an in-game petition (usually called a "ticket") to alert the GMs to certain problems you are experiencing. GMs are reactive in their response to problems, and as a result they will not take action until a ticket has been filed (as otherwise they have no idea if you have a problem), and even then the issue must be one they can assist with and they must be able to verify that action is required, which is done entirely via internal logs.

Sometimes, the term GM or Game Master has been used to refer to any blizzard employee who works on World of Warcraft. To avoid confusion, developers, and others with specific jobs are referred to by those titles, and official blizzard posters are referred to as "blues" or "blue posters" on the official forum.

Game Masters are NOT to be used for help with normal game play, hints on quests, asking them for money, asking them for gear, etc.

About the job

In October 2010, MachinimaRealm (on Youtube) released an interview with a former game master in World of Warcraft. She answered submitted questions from players about game masters. One question was about whether it was an office job or not. She answered that it was in fact a full-time office job. She then also mentioned that game masters could only play as a game master on special computers configured to do it, so it's not possible to simply login as a game master using a password.

When asked about the work environment she answered that she believed Game Masters had to be among the most enthusiastic World of Warcraft-players she had ever met. They were not allowed to play the game while working but would often do so during lunch breaks. Another game master who answered questions submitted on reddit was of another opinion, stating that becoming a game master was a good way to get rid of your WoW-addiction. He did emphasize however that it was a really good work environment since they shared many of the same interests.

GM Interaction

There are three ways a GM can contact you:

• In-game Chat: If a GM is attempting to contact a player, then a 'GM Chat Request' icon will appear in the upper right corner of the screen. This will open a specific interface for speaking to a GM, and will glow blue if they have responded. This is only done if additional information is required to resolve an issue. If the issue does not require any additional information, then a GM may send an in-game mail to the character who submitted the ticket. Alternatively, ticket responses can be viewed on the Ticket Status page of a player's Battle.net account. This is the most common method of GM interaction, as it's usually the only one necessary.
• Email: Official emails from Blizzard GMs come from noreply@blizzard.com and possess specific headers and footers.
• In-Game Appearance: Very rarely a Blizzard GM may need to make themselves visible to a player. In this instances, they will use a unique character with a unique outfit and tag.

Functions

• GMs have differing spreads of abilities granted to them, presumably dependent on their seniority or area of expertise.
• GMs have the power to port players to locations; usually they only do this if they catch players exploiting the game (e.g. terrain exploiting for an advantage in PVP or Line of Sight exploiting in PVE), if the player is stuck, or if they are trapped in an area that they can not log on into (such as a battleground or instance when the server for it is down). Sometimes teleportations will be to obscure/inconvenient locations to make sure the player is not further using the GM system for a free hearth.
• GMs can transfer items between characters, but typically only between characters owned by the same person where extenuating circumstances make it impossible for the player to do so themselves.
• So-called "GM items" (also called "artifacts") exist, which are not accessible to players, and usually have some specific function or appearance regular players would not have access to. Two documented examples,  [Martin Fury] and  [Martin Thunder] include special abilities to kill targets instantly. In at least one instance such an item had found its way into player hands and was used by the player for exploitation purposes.
• GMs can enter a mode that causes all mobs in the game to ignore them. They can also not deal damage in this mode. This is likely used to prevent being attacked should they need to get to a player in an area full of Mobs.

Misconceptions About GMs

Along with the various things that Game Masters, there exist many things that they can't, but they're mistakenly believed to be capable of. Some of these things include:

• Rolling back a character's level: The way the game is technically structured makes 'de-leveling' impossible to perform.
• Taking action against "ninja looters": GMs will not get involved in most loot disputes that involve Master Looting. They will investigate a loot scam, but will not tell anyone of the results. If a scam is verified, then the items being disputed will just be destroyed, not re-distributed.
• Fixing Bugs: GMs cannot fix bugs, as this is a development function. Occasionally they can provide a workaround, if they are authorized to do so by development, but more frequently they cannot as this would potentially make rectifying the bug more difficult.
• Collecting Feedback: Game Masters, despite their lofty sounding job title, are not developers and cannot effect changes to the game. They do not collect feedback, especially not through tickets, and they cannot forward feedback to development.
• Instant Report Action: Game Masters do not immediately respond to reports, be they for cheating, language, or spamming. A reported party has no idea they have been reported unless, or until, action occurs, and this can take several days, to several weeks, to occur, based on the type of report and he investigation results. But every report is received and read.
• Automation: While a number of functions that GMs once performed have become self-help options or automated, ticket responses are not one of them. While GMs do possess a number of boilerplate responses designed for common issues, there is always a human behind every interaction.

Armor

GMs generally wear  [Gamemaster's Slippers], a  [Gamemaster's Robe], and a  [Gamemaster Hood], though one has been seen wearing aesthetic gear.

Notable GM responses

• GMs are bound heavily by their job's rules, but are still friendly. In one case when a player was feeling "lonely", a GM talked to the player for a while as she did other things on the job. She also appeared in person briefly as a Draenei Warrior, level 70. She was in assorted gear, obviously for aesthetics.
• Once as a joke, a player asked if his petition could reach Jeffrey Kaplan, or Chris Metzen, in which case the "unnamed GM" responded, "They aren't available.", and in the following conversation disclosed that Jeffrey Kaplan and Chris Metzen in some cases answer player tickets.
• As part of a joke, a player asked a GM a choice: If faced with either Pie or English Crumpets, which would he take? The GM responded that, even with his choice of preserves, he would prefer apple pie, but "...would sneak a slice of cheese on top of it".
• Another player once, after asking a Game Master for an item recovery, decided to ask the GM if he played Guitar Hero III: The Legends of Rock. The Game Master first "suspiciously watched behind his back" and "then whispered silently, "Yes"". The player then asked if he could play "Through the Fire and Flames" on Expert level, to which the Game Master responded with "well, I'm still kinda stuck on Medium, haven't played the game in a while now, so if I'd try now, I'd might be a bit rusty ;)".
• Game Masters are not server-specific; they can answer petitions on any realm, except for ones that they have characters on. Neither are they allowed to talk to people they know.
• Game Masters have a special mode called GM Mode. When it is enabled all monsters become neutral to them, however they cannot deal damage to any monster even if they engage in combat. They can also see normally invisible things, such as Spirit Healers.
• Once, a player asked a Game Master what kind of mounts Game Masters used. The GM quickly replied, "Nike Shoes".
• In a conversation with a GM, when he was asked what level GMs were, he replied, "Every level". Also, when asked whether GMs have to adhere to the level 80 level cap or are able to advance to higher levels he replied, "There is a cap for everything."
• Once when a GM was asked if he liked pancakes he replied "Pancakes are awesome. So awesome I am closing your ticket!"

Lead and Senior Game Master

Titles you will see in the official forums in signatures of blizzard forum posters. So far, they tend to post in the Realm Status forum.

It is known that Senior Game Masters are the "shift leaders". They make sure that none of the GMs does anything he is not supposed to do and they hand in the weekly reports written by each of the game masters.

Some of the moderators of the Customer Support forum come from Game Master backgrounds.

See also

• Life on GM Island - Life on GM Island at the Official Europe site (en).

External links

• Blizzard Entertainment US support page GM portal
• World of Warcraft Europe Game Masters
• World of Warcraft Europe A Game Master's Life
• Reddit I was a Game Master for WoW for three years