World of Warcraft community and developer rally around modder after they were beset by financial difficulties

Heartwarming

Since a lot of you don’t play MMOs, a bit of background is in order. World of Warcraft is beloved by many for myriad reasons, but one of its chief strengths is its ability to basically mod any aspect of the game. You can alter aesthetic options like text and sound, or go full-hog and get more impactful mods that help you play or even assess the efficacy of gear.

Among the modding community there are a few titans: “required reading” add-ons. Deadly Boss Mods (DBM – one of several raid mods) is one of those. For over a decade the mod has helped people understand boss encounters in some of the toughest raids in WoW, working as an in-game guide as well as an alert system of sorts. It all operates as it should, but little do some people know, most of the effort was actually put forth by one person: Adam, also known as MysticalOS.

For years MysticalOS worked painstakingly on the mod, expansion after expansion. It was in many ways a thankless job, especially since they “shifted gears” into working full-time on DBM while taking care of their widowed mother. This information only recently came to light after Mystical bared his soul to the community, asking for Patreon assistance to deal with his “overwhelming stress.”

In the past they were able to survive off of a partnership they made with Elitist Jerks, one of the most influential groups in World of Warcraft — but given their dissolution and the fact that their former GM (Ion Hazzikostas) moved on to be the head honcho of WoW, that arrangement was no longer tenable. They came together and gave back to the mod that gave them so much, and in mere days the Patreon goal was met with over 3,200 supporters.

The feel good story doesn’t end there though. Just this week MysticalOS posted an update, sharing the news that Blizzard had gotten wind of their plight and sent over, along with MSI, a full gaming suite: including a rig, hardware, swag, and a copy of the latest expansion signed by the development team.

It was a long time coming, but it has to feel good that all that hard work paid off.

MysticalOS [Reddit]