How to spot fake leaks

[Knaar]

I'm still not entirely convinced WoD wasn't just a product of mass hysteria.

I'll always remember the day WoD was announced and me sitting in front of my computer thinking "Ok good, you showed us the trailer of the content, now how about you tell what will really be in game? Wait, you mean that's all? really? Is that a joke? wow...."

This many years later, im wondering if WoD was a real thing or i was just in coma for a few years and imagined that whole expac, with how little imagination i have....

Anyway, im offtopic.

For me when i read a leak and there is no "major" change, like something totally new that came out of nowhere (kinda, there is always lore) and they only talk about it like it's the 2.0 version of current xpac, that's fake for me. I mean, how many people would have guessed Pandaria? nobody.

[RyudoTFO]

My basic rule is: Assume it is fake until proven wrong
99% of all leaks are just some fake fanfiction. Even if one of them turns out to be true (being a real leak from an insider or just a person being very good/lucky at guessing), you won't probably be able to spot it with a 100% accuracy.

I read leaks for fun, seeing how creative people can get. Although the creativity seems to turn more and more into far stretched nonsense, vaguely based on latest datamined facts, the closer we get to BlizzCon.

[Super Kami Dende]

Red Flag #8: His Dad doesn't actually work for Nintendo.

[Samin]

Leaker has <10 posts

You surely mean >10 posts.

[sarym13]

Do what I do.

Ignore all "leaked" threads/posts. Eventually they'll release the info.

[Sageofthe10paths]

Red flag 1: too many "key characters"
Blizzard, as a rule, does not aim to stuff x-packs full of characters that ought to be there. Wrathion did not play a role in Legion despite being heavily involved with preparations for the third invasion in MoP. Odyn does not play role in BfA despite it being his direct duty to protect Azeroth. Do not expect the next expansion to have the same cast as BfA. At best Sylvanas will play a major to minor role while the rest of BfA characters will be relegated to being supporting cast. The main cast will predominantly be completely new faces or older characters with a facelift (see: revamped Saurfang and Nathanos in BfA, revamped Illidan in Legion etc.)

Red flag 2: the story is too detailed
When a new x-pack is revealed, the story is still in the storyboarding phase. At best you will get a premise but that's it. So a realistic story leak would look more like "Sylvanas has opened a rift into the Shadowlands" rather than "Sylvanas has opened a rift into the Shadowlands using Xal'atath with N'Zoth trapped inside in order to complete her bargain with Helya which somehow ties into the burning of Teldrassil, the Lich King, Bwonsamdi's boss, Anduin, Il'gynoth's whispers and God knows what else".

Red flag 3: the name is lame
C'mon, Blizzard actually has professionals working on this stuff. "Sisters of Sorrow" sounds like complete ass and is not catchy at all. As a rule, consider this: does the name of the x-pack make sense to non-WoW players? Is it likely to entice them to try WoW? If the answer is no, the leak is fake. Exception: Mists of Pandaria (Pandaria only makes sense to WoW players but since it's a derivative of "panda", it was easy for non-WoW players to infer the theme of the x-pack).

Red flag 4: it's vague / riddle-y
Looking at you, Chinese "leaks". If a leak can be retroactively interpreted to fit several things, it's as fake as fake gets.

Red flag 5: the features are too detailed
No, Blizzard hasn't decided what kind of ilvl the newest x-pack feature will reward. Neither have they decided on 10 new allied races in advance. Compare: "a new feature will be artifacts with progression systems reminiscent of talent trees" vs. "a new feature will be <generic artifact x> which will... <detailed breakdown of how exactly the new feature will work including full lists of class traits / abilities>".

Red flag 6: it reeks of fanfiction
NO. HIGH ELVES WILL NOT BE THE NEW ALLIED RACE. TINKERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE NEW CLASS. THE NEW EXPANSION WILL NOT BE INSPIRED BY VANILLA.

Red flag 7: the leaker does not sound convincing
If you have to justify your leak and explain why / how it makes sense, why not come up with a more convincing leak in the first place?

Feel free to add your own red flags

Your rules contradict themselves. Just wait 9 days and lets all be excited.

[themaelstorm]

Not bad but
1. details could very well be in a real leak when it comes to how current situation ties in to the next expansion.
2. pretty sure I could call death knights and demon hunters in the same category as tinkers, and I don't think this is the "fanfic" category. Maybe fan service is the better word and it's something blizzard (thankfully) does.

[Knaar]

I do recall a post somewhere saying that Jericho (or whatever his name is... the dude that leaked 2 xpac at nearly 100% accuracy but doesnt want to leak anymore because lawsuits) said that so far plenty of leaks include things that are indeed in the new xpac but none are actually right on. I'll trust that guy way more compared to random John 1 post account.

[Kharadin]

Red flag 0: Leaks are many and even the most accurate are rarely completely true so believe nothing until officially confirmed unless evidence is offered.

FTFY. In the meantime I like to read "leaks" since they're good fuel for story direction and discussions of the kind of features people want added into the game. Class skins for e.g. I think are a fuckin' cool idea (as long as the classes I play get skins asap ofc.) and also a lot of the customization options mentioned in several different "leaks" would be very cool if added to the game.

Leaks without evidence are speculation, treat them as such.

[Xorzor]

Red flag #9: It is posted on an unofficial Blizzard forum, like MMO-Champion.

[MoanaLisa]

An easier guide is that if they're posted here all but one will be fake.

[Soulwind]

Red flag 1: too many "key characters"
Blizzard, as a rule, does not aim to stuff x-packs full of characters that ought to be there. Wrathion did not play a role in Legion despite being heavily involved with preparations for the third invasion in MoP. Odyn does not play role in BfA despite it being his direct duty to protect Azeroth. Do not expect the next expansion to have the same cast as BfA. At best Sylvanas will play a major to minor role while the rest of BfA characters will be relegated to being supporting cast. The main cast will predominantly be completely new faces or older characters with a facelift (see: revamped Saurfang and Nathanos in BfA, revamped Illidan in Legion etc.)

Legion featured pretty much everyone, including dead fan-favourites, and kept main characters from WoD like Khadgar relevant.

Red flag 2: the story is too detailed
When a new x-pack is revealed, the story is still in the storyboarding phase. At best you will get a premise but that's it. So a realistic story leak would look more like "Sylvanas has opened a rift into the Shadowlands" rather than "Sylvanas has opened a rift into the Shadowlands using Xal'atath with N'Zoth trapped inside in order to complete her bargain with Helya which somehow ties into the burning of Teldrassil, the Lich King, Bwonsamdi's boss, Anduin, Il'gynoth's whispers and God knows what else".

Some real leaks have been more detailed than others. But it's true that they usually aren't sure what the .2, .3 patches will be by the time of the announcement, so if the leak goes into detail about those, it's most likely fake.

Red flag 3: the name is lame
C'mon, Blizzard actually has professionals working on this stuff. "Sisters of Sorrow" sounds like complete ass and is not catchy at all. As a rule, consider this: does the name of the x-pack make sense to non-WoW players? Is it likely to entice them to try WoW? If the answer is no, the leak is fake. Exception: Mists of Pandaria (Pandaria only makes sense to WoW players but since it's a derivative of "panda", it was easy for non-WoW players to infer the theme of the x-pack).

And Warlords of Draenor, and Battle for Azeroth...

Legion wasn't Warcraft specific, but was extremely lame.

Red flag 4: it's vague / riddle-y
Looking at you, Chinese "leaks". If a leak can be retroactively interpreted to fit several things, it's as fake as fake gets.

I agree the "chinese riddles" are bullshit. But it's up to the leaker how to word their post. Not everyone is internet-savvy, or has extensive knowledge of Warcraft, it could be a guy from the trucking company who saw the logo on a box, and a friend told them to share it here, they would be like "there was this demon thing with fire in his mouth, and it said Cataclysm".

Red flag 5: the features are too detailed
No, Blizzard hasn't decided what kind of ilvl the newest x-pack feature will reward. Neither have they decided on 10 new allied races in advance. Compare: "a new feature will be artifacts with progression systems reminiscent of talent trees" vs. "a new feature will be <generic artifact x> which will... <detailed breakdown of how exactly the new feature will work including full lists of class traits / abilities>".

Really depends where the leak is coming from. If you talk with someone from the raid design team, they'll have tons of information about raids, but not much about class design or art.

Red flag 6: it reeks of fanfiction
NO. HIGH ELVES WILL NOT BE THE NEW ALLIED RACE. TINKERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE NEW CLASS. THE NEW EXPANSION WILL NOT BE INSPIRED BY VANILLA.

Time travelling orcs, resurrected Illidan shooting down spaceships, Alliance vs Horde... what expansion HASN'T been written as fanfic?

Demon hunters weren't going to be a new class. The Horde was never going to get another troll race. Blizzard was never going to make Classic...

Red flag 7: the leaker does not sound convincing
If you have to justify your leak and explain why / how it makes sense, why not come up with a more convincing leak in the first place?

Unless it's a second or even third hand leak, which is more likely than Ion making an account and spilling the beans. Someone who has only heard the information from someone else may have misunderstood things or explained them poorly in their post.

The only red flag: It's fake until proven true, at Blizzcon

The last two expansions have only leaked very shortly before the announcement, BfA only hours before. So I'd say anything leaked this early is probably fake. But accidents happen, and considering the amount of people that needs to have access to the expansion information in order for the announcement to be made, it's quite a feat that Blizzard manages to keep everything a secret for so many months.

[ercarp]

Red flag 6: it reeks of fanfiction
NO. HIGH ELVES WILL NOT BE THE NEW ALLIED RACE. TINKERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE NEW CLASS.

I got some bad news for you, friend.

Seriously though, I agreed with you until this bit. They've been building towards Tinkers since Legion, and now with the addition of Mechagnomes it seems even more likely (unless they're supposed to be the "compromise"). Either way, it's at least plausible. I don't even like Tinkers personally but I can see them adding them to the game.

As for high elves, I don't consider them outside the realm of possibilities either. I feel like eventually they'll cave in and add them in. The faction lines are becoming blurred anyway and soon we'll have so many Allied Races it won't even matter.

[Engal]

I got some bad news for you, friend.

Seriously though, I agreed with you until this bit. They've been building towards Tinkers since Legion, and now with the addition of Mechagnomes it seems even more likely (unless they're supposed to be the "compromise"). Either way, it's at least plausible. I don't even like Tinkers personally but I can see them adding them to the game.

As for high elves, I don't consider them outside the realm of possibilities either. I feel like eventually they'll cave in and add them in. The faction lines are becoming blurred anyway and soon we'll have so many Allied Races it won't even matter.

Moreover, the point about the expansion name is also dull.

" Warlords of Draenor "
" Battle for Azeroth "

those leaks were dismissed by people because the names sounded stupids.

[ercarp]

Moreover, the point about the expansion name is also dull.

" Warlords of Draenor "
" Battle for Azeroth "

those leaks were dismissed by people because the names sounded stupids.

Yup. I remember thinking Battle for Azeroth was the dumbest name for an expansion.

[melzas]

Can't wait to come back to this thread once they reveal Tinkers as next class.

To point and laugh at OP, of course.

[Pheraz]

I wonder if new classes must have existed before in the Warcraft universe

I think there have never been a dragon sworn hero or unit in wc3

But there was a goblin tinker hero
A dark ranger
A demon Hunter
Pandaren monks .... And so on

If they add undead night Elves they could even add
Wardens

[deviantcultist]

Red flag 6: it reeks of fanfiction
NO. HIGH ELVES WILL NOT BE THE NEW ALLIED RACE. TINKERS ARE NOT GOING TO BE THE NEW CLASS. THE NEW EXPANSION WILL NOT BE INSPIRED BY VANILLA.

Woah. That's pretty much 3 of my most despised WoW subcommunities and you nuked them all in one line. xD

[Gaidax]

Can we make some WoW expansion leak bingo board? This one is outdated already

[Hastis]

Can we make some WoW expansion leak bingo board? This one is outdated already

Remember to add there "Wrath Of The Bolvar"