Server Rules & Terms of Use

Hello! Below, we have outlined our expectations for appropriate behavior on Turtle WoW. These rules flow from our forums, to our discord, to in game. By joining this server you're joining a collective effort of players and staff to create a respectful and friendly community. Please read the rules we have set up to avoid any misunderstandings during your gameplay. Remember, you have a responsibility not only for your own behavior here, but also representing the entire community and the server.

Cheating, botting, modifications & third-party programs, bug & exploit abuse

Turtle WoW is committed to provide a cheat-free environment. The following activities are strictly forbidden:

  • Usage or promotion of any cheats and modifications to client files to benefit your in game characters.
  • The use or promotion of any third party programs to automate the control or actions of your character.
  • Abuse or promote abuse of any bug or exploit to obtain gold, experience, items, reputation, kill NPC's, kill players etc.

  • All reports for the above will be done in private via in-game tickets.

    Multi-boxing


    Multiboxing is the act of controlling multiple WoW clients simultaneously. This can entail having multiple clients open on a single machine or utilizing multiple machines to control the actions of both accounts at the same time for combat or moving. At our server, we permit the use of a maximum of two accounts at a time, with the following exceptions:

  • It is strictly forbidden to multibox if either of your characters is undergoing a Hardcore challenge.
  • It is strictly forbidden to multibox if either of your characters is flagged for PvP, including Warmode.
  • Three accounts are permitted for the use of Summoning Rituals.

  • The use of software to multibox is never permitted.

    Hardcore characters found in breach of the boosting/multi-boxing policies may be subject to a character lock, rendering them unplayable for the offending player.

    Account sharing, GDKP-runs & boosts, gold-selling, and other types of RMT


    Selling and buying gold or other in-game currencies (including valuable items) for real money or donation tokens is strictly prohibited on Turtle WoW, and all gold transactions are closely monitored. Any form of RMT will result in severe consequences for all parties involved. Please do not support individuals who seek to harm our server.

  • Selling or buying characters or boosting services for real money, in-game currencies (including valuable items), or donation tokens is strictly forbidden.
  • HC mode characters are not permitted to get assistance from players outside of their group. (No boosting HC mode players, even for free.)
  • GDKP raids, where groups auction bind-on-pickup or bind-on-equip items for gold, real money, or similar in-game currencies (including valuable items), may NOT be created, promoted or attended. For instance, farming a dungeon and inviting players to wait in the corner for items to drop, with the expectation of payment for the service, is not allowed.
  • However, acting as a mercenary to sell tanking or healing services (not DPS services) for in-game gold is permitted, but not for items or drops, only to be compensated for time and repair costs to assist others with 5-man instances. Mercenaries are not allowed to offer services for raids.
  • Selling or promoting the sale of character names for gold or real money is also strictly prohibited. Any accounts caught engaging in this activity will be suspended, and any reserved names will be made available for use.
  • Trading gold cross-realm is not permitted.

  • Sharing access to your account with others is allowed, as long as it is not used to scam or deceive other members of the community. However, you are responsible for any rule violations that occur while others are using your account. We will not reverse any character changes caused by others while using your account.

    Interactions with staff


    Turtle WoW staff is expected to treat all players with respect, professionalism, and kindness. We expect the same from our players. If a player is found being toxic, disrespectful, manipulative or insulting towards any Turtle WoW Staff member, it could lead to account warnings, suspensions or closures.

    Things to take into account in a RP server like Turtle WoW


    While we don't enforce RP, all players must respect those who decide to RP. Intentional disruption of any RP event or interaction can result in punishments. This includes bad-faith trolling behavior.
    Continued problematic behavior within RP may result in a loss of access to RP GM support for player events.

    Naming rules for a RP server like Turtle WoW


    We do not force our players to use RP-friendly names, but we would be grateful if you contribute to the immersion by using a good fantasy name. However, some name type are forbidden and players will be requested to changed it. It's strictly prohibited to:

  • To use names that reference well known people: politicians, social activists, religious figures, culprits, actors, celebrities, etc.
  • To use names political, religious or controversial connotations
  • To use names which are referencing inappropriate explicit matters: extremism, sexism, racism, mocking certain groups of the people.
  • To use names which are overly vulgar and sexual.
  • To use names created to mimic any staff name.
  • It is forbidden to use real-world country names in your guild names.
  • Chat abuse


    Here at Turtle WoW, we encourage players to come together, form communities, and openly chat with their fellow players. There are some chat rules that we must insist upon to maintain healthy and family-friendly vibe on our server.

    The rule set for the following public channels: /world, /hardcore, /trade, any crowded leveling or recreation zones:

  • Public chats are English speaking only. The only exception are guild recruitment announcements, those can be in your native language.
  • Spam: do not post more than 3 consecutive lines of the same text per minute.

  • It's strictly prohibited to:

  • Discuss politics, religions, or any other socially controversial or vulgar/sexual matters. Keep real life drama in real life.
  • Encourage racism, extremism, sexism, violence, doxxing, hate speech of any kind toward certain groups of people.
  • Insult players, group of players (such as guild) or staff members of Turtle WoW.
  • Promote phishing websites, cheats, inappropriate links to the website containing explicit content.
  • Fail to follow directions of a GM on content that they find offensive or inappropriate.
  • Use non-default font colors for the in-game chats is strictly prohibited.

  • The rules set for other types of in-game communications. Under normal circumstances we do not interfere in conflicts emerged in private chats: whispers, guild chats, groups, raids or custom channels. However, there are certain cases where we could interfere and take actions against certain individuals:

  • If you suspect that someone is committing sexual harassment towards minors, report it immediately.
  • If you suspect that someone is violating your privacy by spreading personal information about you in private chats, report it immediately.
  • Ignore avoidance: If someone who is on your ignore list continues to make new characters to insult you, you may report it to the GMs.
  • Inappropriate promotions and links to phishing websites, cheats, inappropriate links to the website.
  • Joining a custom channel with the intent to harass the players who are having a conversation there.
  • Behavior during PvP encounters


    During PVP encounters, we discourage any toxic behavior or abuse of game mechanics, bugs or glitches. Any of the following behaviors will lead to being issued a penalty:

  • Wintrading. Wintrading is the practice where players throw games on purpose, in turns, for the purpose of collecting the rewards.
  • AFK-ing during a battleground. AFK-ing during a battleground by not taking any action during the match.
  • Refusing to play the match. Refusing to play the match is a behavior in the same vein as AFK-ing in a match, but the player is still at his PC. He just queues to the match for the population and during the match he just moves around so he does not get the AFK status. During this time he refuses any communication with his team members or clearly states he is there just for the population or just to observe.
  • Using multiple accounts to queue. Logging in using two or several accounts to queue both sides so their faction can join, and then leaving without playing the match.
  • Safespotting is the act of PvPing from an advantageous position that cannot be reached through regular jumping or walking. If you got to the position by using a spell, potion, wall climbing, or other additional means, it is likely safespotting.
  • Cross-faction grouping during open world PvP encounters. Horde and Alliance grouping together during open world PvP encounters.
  • Hardcore Characters & PvP

    To prevent griefing, we have implemented several server-side checks to stop Hardcore Characters from accidental flagging for PvP. If the hardcore character dies as a consequence of choosing to tag himself by using /pvp, starting the War Mode challenge, attacking a PvP NPC or buffing/healing a player tagged for PvP, he will not be considered a victim of griefing.

    Griefing


    Griefing refers to the act of a player ruining the gaming experience of another player. We encourage the Turtle WoW community to respect other players different play styles and to not ruin their experience. Everyone plays this game differently and all playstyles should be welcomed.

    To keep the community friendly the following activities are strictly forbidden:

  • Farming quest givers, important quest objectives and important NPC's for long periods of time and blocking other players from accepting or turning in quests.
  • Harassing a player by following them around and tagging mobs they need to kill for a quest or tricking them into getting flagged for PvP without their intent.
  • Kiting a group of mobs into another player's (AoE) spells.
  • Interfering with any player trying to complete The Balance of Light and Dark or the Stave of the Ancients quest chain.
  • Dropping infernals and doomguards on a group of players in low level zones.
  • Block entrances with tents or other spawnable objects.

  • How to report: contact support on Discord or open an in-game ticket with as much proof as possible of the event:


  • Link of video uploaded on : Youtube, Streamable, Vimeo etc.
  • If you plan your RP event it's your responsibility to ensure all your members have PvP flag off. GM will only interfere if you are being tricked into PvP or your event is interfered with in any other fashion.

    As a reminder: staff is not responsible for the actions of the player that griefed and can't take actions against a player that did not do anything as a preventive measure or without any proof being offered. With those in mind, please keep discussions civil when reporting to staff.

    Behavior reports


    Behavior reports will be done in private with as much details as possibile.

  • For chat abuse: Open an in game ticket with character names, date, hour, and chat channel in which the conversation happened.
  • For other types of reports: Open an in game ticket and describe the players behavior with as much details as possible.

  • Reports without details that are done with the intent to slander, insult or start drama will be severely punished. The GM's will review the report, check what is happening and act accordingly to the situation. Different situations will require different penalty's.

    Requesting GM assistance for bugged quest


    When unable to complete a quest due a bug, help can can be requested by contacting a GM using the in game tickets.

    While the following template is not obligatory to use, please provide as much details as possible about the encountered issue so that our support team can understand the situation better.

  • Quest name
  • NPC/Object/Item name
  • Encountered problem
  • Expected behavior

  • Depending of the situation, not all help requests will be met with GM assistance. In some situations players will be requested to open a bug tracker report and wait for a fix from our development team.

    Loot distribution issues


    We will not be involved in most inter-player disputes on loot. However, there are some occasions where we will investigate and assist:

  • If you are in a group or raid, and the loot rules are clearly defined in game, prior to the raid beginning, and those rules are not followed when the time comes to receive loot. You may open a ticket for investigation.

  • Please be aware that we will no longer assist with tickets requesting the transfer of an item from one party member to another in any 5-man dungeon, regardless of level.


    For raiders, we have implemented a new system that allows you to rectify any mistakes on your own:

    In raids where Master Looter mode is enabled, for a short period of 10 minutes after the boss has been defeated, all raid members will have a claim on the item and can receive it via trade, provided they were present during the boss kill, have not left the raid map, and share the same raid ID with the current owner of the item. Each item can only be traded once.

    There will be a map-wide announcement to inform the raid leader about this event. Please note that any requests for manual transfers will be refused from now on.

    Item restoral


    If you have sold or destroyed an important item, please visit NPC Trash Collector Gaston in Ratchet (https://database.turtle-wow.org/?npc=8). He will offer you 128 recently lost items.

    Please keep in mind that you will have to pay their full vendor price to retrieve them.

    Additionally, on our server, the vendor buyback list is always available after a player logs out. Always make sure to check it if you accidentally sell something important.

    Our support team will only assist you in the following cases:

  • If you have lost an important quest item and cannot progress through a quest-chain without it, and it was looted no longer than 1 month ago.
  • If you have lost a legendary item and it happened no longer than 1 month ago.
  • Token refunds

    This server is free, and donations are not mandatory. If you have mistakenly donated money and would like a refund, please ensure that you do not spend your tokens. Only in this specific scenario will our system be able to transfer your money back. For donation rewards purchased from the shop, we can only do a token refund within 48 hours of the purchase. Refunds are not available for Hardcore players.

    Please note, that we do not offer refunds for deleted characters. Items purchased from our donation store are considered soulbound to the character you purchase them on, and will not be refunded if you willingly delete your character. Please request a refund before deleting your character if it is within our 48 hour refund period.

    For Hardcore characters, donated points are automatically refunded upon death or deletion of the character. Manual restoration of these points with the assistance of a GM is not possible.

    Decisions appeal


    Every decision can be appealed for a different outcome. Please open a in game ticket and argue your case. In the case of a ban appeal, login and contact staff via user panel on our website.

    If the ticket contains any of the following, it will be closed without a reply:

  • Insults or manipulation.
  • Accusations of staff favoritism or bias towards players.

  • When the final decision is reached, any further tickets on the topic will be closed without a reply.

    Disclaimer


    This list may not cover all types of behavior. Turtle WoW reserves the right to modify, update, or adjust this document at any time. If any part of this document is changed, we will inform all players. The GM team may take different actions than those specified in these terms of use, as they are responsible for making decisions in unique situations.

    Server Rules & Terms of Use

    Hello! Below, we have outlined our expectations for appropriate behavior on Turtle WoW. These rules flow from our forums, to our discord, to in game. By joining this server you're joining a collective effort of players and staff to create a respectful and friendly community. Please read the rules we have set up to avoid any misunderstandings during your gameplay. Remember, you have a responsibility not only for your own behavior here, but also representing the entire community and the server.

    Cheating, botting, modifications & third-party programs, bug & exploit abuse

    Turtle WoW is committed to provide a cheat-free environment. The following activities are strictly forbidden:

  • Usage or promotion of any cheats and modifications to client files to benefit your in game characters.
  • The use or promotion of any third party programs to automate the control or actions of your character.
  • Abuse or promote abuse of any bug or exploit to obtain gold, experience, items, reputation, kill NPC's, kill players etc.

  • All reports for the above will be done in private via in-game tickets.

    Multi-boxing


    Multiboxing is the act of controlling multiple WoW clients simultaneously. This can entail having multiple clients open on a single machine or utilizing multiple machines to control the actions of both accounts at the same time for combat or moving. On this realm, we do not permit any multiboxing, with one exception:

    Three accounts are permitted for the use of Summoning Rituals.

    Account sharing, GDKP-runs & boosts, gold-selling, and other types of RMT


    Selling and buying gold or other in-game currencies (including valuable items) for real money or donation tokens is strictly prohibited on Turtle WoW, and all gold transactions are closely monitored. Any form of RMT will result in severe consequences for all parties involved. Please do not support individuals who seek to harm our server.

  • Selling or buying characters or boosting services for real money, in-game currencies (including valuable items), or donation tokens is strictly forbidden.
  • GDKP raids, where groups auction bind-on-pickup or bind-on-equip items for gold, real money, or similar in-game currencies (including valuable items), may NOT be created, promoted or attended. For instance, farming a dungeon and inviting players to wait in the corner for items to drop, with the expectation of payment for the service, is not allowed.
  • However, acting as a mercenary to sell tanking or healing services (not DPS services) for in-game gold is permitted, but not for items or drops, only to be compensated for time and repair costs to assist others with 5-man instances. Mrcenaries are not allowed to offer services for raids.
  • Selling or promoting the sale of character names for gold or real money is also strictly prohibited. Any accounts caught engaging in this activity will be suspended, and any reserved names will be made available for use.
  • Trading gold cross-realm is not permitted.

  • Sharing access to your account with others is allowed, as long as it is not used to scam or deceive other members of the community. However, you are responsible for any rule violations that occur while others are using your account. We will not reverse any character changes caused by others while using your account.

    Interactions with staff

    Turtle WoW staff is expected to treat all players with respect, professionalism, and kindness. We expect the same from our players. If a player is found being toxic, disrespectful, manipulative or insulting towards any Turtle WoW Staff member, it could lead to account warnings, suspensions or closures.

    Things to take into account in a RP server like Turtle WoW

    While we don't enforce RP, all players must respect those who decide to RP. Intentional disruption of any RP event or interaction can result in punishments. This includes bad-faith trolling behavior.
    Continued problematic behavior within RP may result in a loss of access to RP GM support for player events.

    Naming rules for a RP server like Turtle WoW

    We do not force our players to use RP-friendly names, but we would be grateful if you contribute to the immersion by using a good fantasy name. However, some name type are forbidden and players will be requested to changed it. It's strictly prohibited to:

  • To use names that reference well known people: politicians, social activists, religious figures, culprits, actors, celebrities, etc.
  • To use names political, religious or controversial connotations
  • To use names which are referencing inappropriate explicit matters: extremism, sexism, racism, mocking certain groups of the people.
  • To use names which are overly vulgar and sexual.
  • To use names created to mimic any staff name.
  • It is forbidden to use real-world country names in your guild names.
  • Chat abuse

    Here at Turtle WoW, we encourage players to come together, form communities, and openly chat with their fellow players. There are some chat rules that we must insist upon to maintain healthy and family-friendly vibe on our server.

    The rule set for the following public channels: /world, /trade, any crowded leveling or recreation zones:

  • Public chats are English speaking only. The only exception are guild recruitment announcements, those can be in your native language.
  • Spam: do not post more than 3 consecutive lines of the same text per minute.

  • It's strictly prohibited to:

  • Discuss politics, religions, or any other socially controversial or vulgar/sexual matters. Keep real life drama in real life.
  • Encourage racism, extremism, sexism, violence, doxxing, hate speech of any kind toward certain groups of people.
  • Insult players, group of players (such as guild) or staff members of Turtle WoW.
  • Promote phishing websites, cheats, inappropriate links to the website containing explicit content.
  • Fail to follow directions of a GM on content that they find offensive or inappropriate.
  • Use non-default font colors for the in-game chats is strictly prohibited.

  • The rules set for other types of in-game communications. Under normal circumstances we do not interfere in conflicts emerged in private chats: whispers, guild chats, groups, raids or custom channels. However, there are certain cases where we could interfere and take actions against certain individuals:

  • If you suspect that someone is committing sexual harassment towards minors, report it immediately.
  • If you suspect that someone is violating your privacy by spreading personal information about you in private chats, report it immediately.
  • Ignore avoidance: If someone who is on your ignore list continues to make new characters to insult you, you may report it to the GMs.
  • Inappropriate promotions and links to phishing websites, cheats, inappropriate links to the website.
  • Joining a custom channel with the intent to harass the players who are having a conversation there.
  • Behavior during PvP encounters


    During PVP encounters, we discourage any toxic behavior or abuse of game mechanics, bugs or glitches. Any of the following behaviors will lead to being issued a penalty:

  • Wintrading. Wintrading is the practice where players throw games on purpose, in turns, for the purpose of collecting the rewards.
  • AFK-ing during a battleground. AFK-ing during a battleground by not taking any action during the match.
  • Refusing to play the match. Refusing to play the match is a behavior in the same vein as AFK-ing in a match, but the player is still at his PC. He just queues to the match for the population and during the match he just moves around so he does not get the AFK status. During this time he refuses any communication with his team members or clearly states he is there just for the population or just to observe.
  • Safespotting is the act of PvPing from an advantageous position that cannot be reached through regular jumping or walking. If you got to the position by using a spell, potion, wall climbing, or other additional means, it is likely safespotting.
  • Griefing


    Griefing refers to the act of a player ruining the gaming experience of another player. We encourage the Turtle WoW community to respect other players different play styles and to not ruin their experience. Everyone plays this game differently and all playstyles should be welcomed.

    To keep the community friendly the following activities are strictly forbidden:

  • Farming quest givers, important quest objectives and important NPC's for long periods of time and blocking other players from accepting or turning in quests.
  • Harassing a player by following them around and tagging mobs they need to kill for a quest.
  • Kiting a group of mobs into another player's (AoE) spells.
  • Interfering with any player trying to complete The Balance of Light and Dark or the Stave of the Ancients quest chain.
  • Block entrances with tents or other spawnable objects.

  • How to report: contact support on Discord or open an in-game ticket with as much proof as possible of the event:


  • Link of video uploaded on : Youtube, Streamable, Vimeo etc.
  • If you plan your RP event it's your responsibility to ensure all your members have PvP flag off. GM will only interfere if you are being tricked into PvP or your event is interfered with in any other fashion.

    As a reminder: staff is not responsible for the actions of the player that griefed and can't take actions against a player that did not do anything as a preventive measure or without any proof being offered. With those in mind, please keep discussions civil when reporting to staff.

    Behavior reports


    Behavior reports will be done in private with as much details as possibile.

  • For chat abuse: Open an in game ticket with character names, date, hour, and chat channel in which the conversation happened.
  • For other types of reports: Open an in game ticket and describe the players behavior with as much details as possible.

  • Reports without details that are done with the intent to slander, insult or start drama will be severely punished. The GM's will review the report, check what is happening and act accordingly to the situation. Different situations will require different penalty's.

    Requesting GM assistance for bugged quest


    When unable to complete a quest due a bug, help can can be requested by contacting a GM using the in game tickets.

    While the following template is not obligatory to use, please provide as much details as possible about the encountered issue so that our support team can understand the situation better.

  • Quest name
  • NPC/Object/Item name
  • Encountered problem
  • Expected behavior

  • Depending of the situation, not all help requests will be met with GM assistance. In some situations players will be requested to open a bug tracker report and wait for a fix from our development team.

    Loot distribution issues


    We will not be involved in most inter-player disputes on loot. However, there are some occasions where we will investigate and assist:

  • If you are in a group or raid, and the loot rules are clearly defined in game, prior to the raid beginning, and those rules are not followed when the time comes to receive loot. You may open a ticket for investigation.

  • Please be aware that we will no longer assist with tickets requesting the transfer of an item from one party member to another in any 5-man dungeon, regardless of level.


    For raiders, we have implemented a new system that allows you to rectify any mistakes on your own:

    In raids where Master Looter mode is enabled, for a short period of 10 minutes after the boss has been defeated, all raid members will have a claim on the item and can receive it via trade, provided they were present during the boss kill, have not left the raid map, and share the same raid ID with the current owner of the item. Each item can only be traded once.

    There will be a map-wide announcement to inform the raid leader about this event. Please note that any requests for manual transfers will be refused from now on.

    Item restoral


    If you have sold or destroyed an important item, please visit NPC Trash Collector Gaston in Ratchet (https://database.turtle-wow.org/?npc=8). He will offer you 128 recently lost items.

    Please keep in mind that you will have to pay their full vendor price to retrieve them.

    Additionally, on our server, the vendor buyback list is always available after a player logs out. Always make sure to check it if you accidentally sell something important.

    Our support team will only assist you in the following cases:

  • If you have lost an important quest item and cannot progress through a quest-chain without it, and it was looted no longer than 1 month ago.
  • If you have lost a legendary item and it happened no longer than 1 month ago.
  • Token refunds

    This server is free, and donations are not mandatory. If you have mistakenly donated money and would like a refund, please ensure that you do not spend your tokens. Only in this specific scenario will our system be able to transfer your money back. For donation rewards purchased from the shop, we can only do a token refund within 48 hours of the purchase. Refunds are not available for Hardcore players.

    Please note, that we do not offer refunds for deleted characters. Items purchased from our donation store are considered soulbound to the character you purchase them on, and will not be refunded if you willingly delete your character. Please request a refund before deleting your character if it is within our 48 hour refund period.

    For Hardcore characters, donated points are automatically refunded upon death or deletion of the character. Manual restoration of these points with the assistance of a GM is not possible.

    Decisions appeal


    Every decision can be appealed for a different outcome. Please open a in game ticket and argue your case. In the case of a ban appeal, login and contact staff via user panel on our website.

    If the ticket contains any of the following, it will be closed without a reply:

  • Insults or manipulation.
  • Accusations of staff favoritism or bias towards players.

  • When the final decision is reached, any further tickets on the topic will be closed without a reply.

    Disclaimer


    This list may not cover all types of behavior. Turtle WoW reserves the right to modify, update, or adjust this document at any time. If any part of this document is changed, we will inform all players. The GM team may take different actions than those specified in these terms of use, as they are responsible for making decisions in unique situations.