In a move that many Rogues knew was coming, but
some are acting shocked at nonetheless... The "Stealth in and Sap flagged players just to annoy them" routine isn't working so well anymore. Specifically, if you're on a non-PvP server and you Stealth in and Sap a flagged player, it now flags you for PvP. There have been reports of folks getting their
faces eaten by guards in neutral cities for just Sapping other people. There's also been some
good World PvP starting up out front of instances for the normal/RP servers due to Rogues thinking they're going to be smart and interrupt flagged folks using the summoning stones/mounting up/etc.
Whoops...
Personally, I feel that Sapping another flagged player just to be a prat should always have flagged the Rogue in question. Sure, you've still got
a chance to get away if nobody happens to see through your stealth and/or you can pop Vanish or Sprint away fast enough. But 'lo and 'ware to any young Rogue thinking s/he can annoy another player by Sapping them and not get flagged by it any longer.
Tags: chain-sap, chain-sapping, neutral-city, patch-2.2, PvP, rogue, rogues, Sap, sprint, vanish, World-of-Warcraft, WoW
Filed under: Rogue, Patches, Analysis / Opinion, News items
Sep 27th 2007 at 1:26AM 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
LeGhost Sep 27th 2007 1:55AM
From the early days of my rogue (I think I had just gained the stealth ability) I always planned on going to Orgrimar, wait outside the BG building, and sap flagged players as they made their way out. I havent yet been able to do this, however, but it never occured to me that I would remain un-flagged. Sure, sapping doesn't put you into combat with mobs, but it makes sense that if you sap a player, you're being actively hostile towards them, and so get flagged.
brint Sep 27th 2007 11:09AM
wait wat....there are different servers than PVP? lol.
Matt Sep 27th 2007 3:14AM
My main being a warrior I'd never encountered this until a rogue decided to have some fun with a hunter guild mate and I at one of the pvp towers in Nagrand. He'd alternate between us and just kept on Sapping. After the 3rd time it was getting old and even though with flares we could briefly see him we couldn't stop him since he wasn't flagged.
Out of desperation I decided to try throwing one of my surplus bombs from leveling engineering. I managed to target and time it so it hit, normally this had no effect at all, but to my surprise it hit, stunned and flagged him. Took me a little while to react and bridge the distance, and he took off sprinting like the coward he was, a satisfying intercept got him again. In hindsight that would have been a good time to hamstring him and finish him off but a lack of pvp experience meant he got away when the intercept stun wore off. Perhaps if my guild mate had of been able to come to bare in time it would have been all the more satisfying.
I've not had another chance to test to see if that same trick was a fluke or repeatable, but that time Engineering came to the party with another limited use.
klink-o Sep 27th 2007 3:32AM
I look forward to seeing asshat rogues being beaten to death in goblin towns.
Delta Sep 27th 2007 3:35AM
I find it funny that the people who laugh at PvE rogues now not being able to do their asshole things on people are probably the same ones who love ganking lowbies on PvP servers for jollys. Irony is not without a sense of humor.
Nati Sep 27th 2007 4:13AM
...how was that even a remotely logical assumption, Delta?
Tinil Sep 27th 2007 4:21AM
I'm pretty sure the people laughing at the PvE rogues now are the ones who gankers, not the other way around O_o;
Ganking lowbies = Being an asshat
Repeatedly sapping = Being an asshat
Christian Stricker Sep 27th 2007 6:41AM
You perform an offensive action towards another player, therefor, the players should be able to fight back, no question about it.
jaxson_bateman Sep 27th 2007 6:40AM
While I support this change, it was hardly necessary. I've never had a main on anything but a PvE server, and you come to learn pretty quickly - if you flag, you're totally fair game. Be it from a higher level wanting to one shot you, or a particular class wanting to mess around with you.
Just recently I participated in some PvP in Deadwind Pass while waiting for a Kara raid to start. After most of the combat had ended and I was still flagged, an unflagged NE rogue did it to me repeatedly. Sure it was irritating, but nothing to get my boxers in a twist about. I flagged myself, so I had it coming.
NOW, the /pvp, /duel, /yield trick is a dirty one that they should do something about (though it is avoidable as long as you don't duel anyone who is flagged ^^).
cgdoyle Sep 27th 2007 7:47AM
Bring it on! It is how it should be. All in accordance with prophecy.
If you are sapping without expecting retribution, you are sadly mistaken. Even my own non-rogue players fight back.
Zralhaust Sep 27th 2007 8:42AM
It's about time. I can't recall the number of times the Defias Traitor quest in Westfall has been griefed by non flagged Horde Roguelings that would run up and sap the traitor , get him killed then vanish. It got so bad that one time that we had to get a GM to force-flag the griefer which ended that little spree.
Vereor Sep 27th 2007 8:48AM
My guild was working our way to stormwind and got into a skrimish in Westfall. All cool, big alliance battle, until several unflagged rogues started sapping players in the middle of the battle. That went from being an annoyance to being a HUGE advantage to the alliance. Im very glad its gone.
ThorinII Sep 27th 2007 8:49AM
I've only ever seen this once. My friends and I were hanging out flagged at Tauren Mill one night. Some highers flagged and we had a good time killing each other and the guards. But, there as this low-b rogue asshat (my new favorite insult) who kept sapping us while we were fighting. Of course since they didn't get flagged we could do nothing about it.
I'd like to be there the next time the noob tries to sap a flagged player 20 lvls higher than him and watch him get his ass handed to him!
Who at Blizz ever thought this should be allowed? The fact that sapping has not always been a flag causing act is just stupid.
dpoyesac Sep 27th 2007 8:53AM
I've been sucker sapped enough to be happy about the change.
But there is a reason behind the old game mechanic: since sapping doesn't put the rogue in combat with NPCs, it shouldn't put them in combat with players (on PvE servers, at least - it's inevitable on PvP servers). Now, I know that my character has been sapped, but that shouldn't automatically translated to my character knowing he/she has been sapped.
Richard Sep 27th 2007 9:19AM
As a rogue, who loves sap, I certainly don't mind this change. Sapping *should* flag you for combat, it's really that easy.
That's what Cloak of Shadows, PvP Trinket, Vanish, Sprint are for if you just want to irritate someone.
Roccobonetti Sep 27th 2007 10:10AM
I remember we were raiding Grom'gol Base Camp. Well the raid was virtually over with but a few of us stuck around to mess around... we were just killing guards for the fun of it and some of our lower lvl members would repeatedly die. This caused us to have to resurrect them and the cycle would start over....At least till a low lvl rouge would sap our hearlers as they attempted to rez.... We quickly grew frustrated that we could do nothing to the pain in the butt rogue and hearthed. I think when you are able to help your PvP players in this fashion by simply disrupting spell casters turns the tide in a PvP battle horibly. I celebrate there are now consequences for participating in a PvP battle for the rogues.
jaxson_bateman Sep 27th 2007 10:51AM
@The people saying they were sapped while fighting/in battle/in combat:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked, you couldn't sap a target that was in combat. Right?
tlarkin79 Sep 27th 2007 11:17AM
I welcome change indeed. This happenned to me once. He kept sapping me and I couldn't do anything back to him, so I kept leading him towards the guards. They didn't mind doing something about it.
tlarkin79 Sep 27th 2007 11:17AM
A welcome change indeed. This happenned to me once. He kept sapping me and I couldn't do anything back to him, so I kept leading him towards the guards. They didn't mind doing something about it.
Zamboni Sep 27th 2007 11:35AM
There were a couple of rogues crying about this in Gadgetzon last night after being pig-piled by the town guards. I watched one die half a dozen times, crying that the game was bugged the whole time. I guess simply not sapping people wasn't an option.