Blizzard co-chief Mike Ybarra caused some controversy among World of Warcraft players, as if this year’s Blizzard lawsuits aren’t enough.

Ybarra tweeted about a “heroic Sanctum of Domination sales run” where it seem like a regular invitation to watch a WoW raid in progress. Savvy players however see this as an offer to carry under-qualified players through the high-end raid in exchange for in-game gold. That’s what we call “raid boosting” in the business.

Likely streaming our heroic SoD sales run and high'ish end m+ tonight (20-23) starting at 5pm PT. ????

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) October 16, 2021

The act of raid boosting isn’t illegal, but it is frowned upon by the community. Basically, lower-skilled or underleveled players pay other veteran players to guide them through the toughest raids in the game, and then reap the rewards for it. The veteran player gets in-game gold for their troubles; the unskilled player gets the loot. Some players see this as a form of cheating from an ethical standpoint: it’s basically you getting a shortcut by gaining access to equipment and experience you haven’t properly earned.

So seeing the current boss of Blizzard doing this ethically-unsound act is not a good look for the WoW community.

https://twitter.com/teflononline/status/1449856828599410689?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1449856828599410689%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pcgamer.com%2Fblizzard-boss-draws-heat-for-raid-boosting-which-many-players-hate%2F

There are two sides to this debate of raid boosting though; one Twitter user said that raid boosting is akin to having a plumber fix his toilet because he doesn’t want the headache of doing it himself.

I remember buying the Starcaller title in Wrath because I've always been really good at making gold and it's fun.

I also remember paying a plumber to fix my toilet because I don't want the headache.

People that are mad at this should also fix their own toilets.

— Pando (@PandorriaDH) October 18, 2021

So far, Ybarra’s public comment about this incident is generally about people working together; he’s purposely keeping it vague. Also, his raid went well.

“Gaming is a unifying force… bringing us all together across the hobby we enjoy and love. While everyone has differing views and opinions, let’s be kind and make epic memories in games we enjoy.”

Few nice keys done tonight with @dos_guild mates. pic.twitter.com/ARo4DsTndY

— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) October 17, 2021