2026-01-14 10:17:55

Ethereum founder Vitalik recently discussed an interesting topic in an interview—the story between him and World of Warcraft. Many people have heard a joke: Blizzard nerfed the Warlock class skills, which directly angered young Vitalik, leading him to develop a dislike for centralized systems and eventually dedicate himself to blockchain.

However, Vitalik revealed the truth in the interview. He admitted that he was indeed quite annoyed at the time because of the nerf to the Warlock class, but to say that this was the only reason that prompted him to study decentralization? That’s obviously a joke. In other words, this experience in World of Warcraft might have been a trigger, but it was not the sole reason.

The underlying logic is quite interesting. When a centralized system operator can arbitrarily change rules and weaken your role, and players have no say in the matter, this sense of powerlessness naturally leads to reflection. This also explains why concepts like decentralization, transparency, and community governance are gradually becoming core values in the crypto world—they aim to address these pain points of traditional centralized systems.

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TokenTherapist

· 6h ago

Haha, hilarious. The warlock being cut down somehow led to the invention of Ethereum. Blizzard's move really unintentionally changed history.

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CryptoSourGrape

· 6h ago

If Blizzard hadn't nerfed the Warlock back then, we'd still be playing Warcraft now, not Ethereum.

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QuietlyStaking

· 6h ago

Haha, it's true that being cut by a warlock can really make you angry, but saying that this is the whole reason Vitalik created Ethereum... is still too naive. The pitfalls of centralization are far more than just a simple game; it's really just the beginning. If Blizzard deleting a skill can trigger so much reflection, then what about banks and governments? Just thinking about it feels outrageous. So decentralization is really not some fanciful idea; it's the inevitable counterattack of people who have been hurt deeply by operating systems. The warlock is just a minor issue; the real fear is unlimited power. This story actually tells us: rules are no longer dictated by one person, and only then is there hope. It seems many people still haven't grasped the key point—it's just about wanting a say.

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CounterIndicator

· 6h ago

Haha, I broke my defense. The sorcerer being nerfed surprisingly can change the course of the world The disadvantages of centralization, V哥 has experienced it thoroughly Basically, you only realize what power imbalance is after being cut Blizzard's blow cut out Ethereum, no one believes this story It seems that behind every great innovation, there's a bit of this "personal grudge" element But on second thought, if you have no voice in the game, you must have it in the blockchain. This logic is quite consistent It seems that game designers shouldn't arbitrarily nerf classes; you'll never know what will be nerfed out

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DaoDeveloper

· 6h ago

tbh the warcraft nerf story was always too clean anyway... but yeah, vitalik's point about the governance primitives here is actually wild when you think about it. like, blizzard literally had unilateral power to rewrite the rules midgame. that's not a bug, that's the *feature* of centralized systems lol. no merkle proofs, no on-chain voting, just... gone. your warlock got deleted.

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ReverseTrendSister

· 7h ago

Haha, honestly, the fact that the warlock was nerfed can really break your defenses, but taking it as a creation myth is just too funny. If you ask me, it's a great metaphor—Blizzard adjusts a value, and players have to accept it. This sense of helplessness, magnified a hundred times in the real world, is the Achilles' heel of Web2. But Vitalik, at a young age, was able to see through the system's essence just by understanding the game rules. His breadth of thinking is truly unmatched, no wonder he was able to create Ethereum. Actually, many people in this circle are similar—first, they get hit by centralization at some point, and then they start pondering if there are other possibilities. The nerfing of the warlock was just a trigger.

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