As a digital game, MTG Arena sadly isn’t ineffable. Whenever a new update rolls around, there’s a non-zero chance that something may break spectacularly. Previously we’ve seen busted combos and even broken Commanders render the game unplayable. This time, however, MTG Arena players are battling with not just one bug, but two!
Alchemy Causes Agony
As if it wasn’t hated enough already, Alchemy is to blame for the latest bug on MTG Arena. Specifically, the release of Alchemy: Bloomburrow bugged out the client for a few days. Weirdly, this bug didn’t break any cards or affect gameplay at all. Instead, the release of this Alchemy set broke XP rewards for quests.
Weirdly, it was only quest XP rewards that broke following this set’s release. Daily wins would still give XP as expected, but as soon as you finished a quest, all XP would stop. If you’re trying to complete the Bloomburrow mastery pass, this is obviously a pretty devastating bug.
While some MTG players did miss out, there was a silver lining to this unfortunate happenstance. Since this bug impeded player progress, Wizards was bound to compensate affected players. Fast forward to now, we’re seeing exactly that happen, as Wizards has rolled out compensation.
There’s just one problem, that compensation is bugged too.
Bugs Beget Bugs
Earlier today, Wizards of the Coast officially patched the XP bug and offered compensation to players. Since free codes aren’t really used that much anymore, Wizards delivered this compensation via the Play Inbox. Well… they tried to at least.
Shortly after the update was pushed live, many MTG players discovered there was no such compensation. This led to many questions and even some memes on the subject from disappointed fans. Curiously, this new bug wasn’t universal, as some players did receive the compensation as intended.
Thankfully, while two bugs for the price of one isn’t ideal, Wizards is aware of the situation. On Reddit, WotC_Jay explained Wizards is looking into it, while also noting how they were affected themselves. Notably, Jay also revealed this free XP isn’t for everyone. Instead, it will only be delivered to players who logged in during the time XP was bugged.
Players who are eligible should receive 2,500 XP and a random cosmetic.
“This was supposed to go out to everyone who logged in during the time XP was bugged, but something seems to have gone wrong, resulting in some players (including me) not getting the message. We’re looking into it.”
WotC_Jay
Third Times the Charm
Sadly, when addressing the issue, WotC_Jay did not provide any timeline for when this new distribution-based bug would be fixed. Hopefully, it shouldn’t be long before players are given their overdue compensation. Given the nature of this second bug, it’s unlikely there will be extra rewards piled on top.
Ultimately, as a digital game, it will only be a matter of time before another bug pops up in the future. We can only hope that it’s as simple as this latest one and doesn’t warp Arena’s metagame briefly like before. Regardless of what happens, we can rest assured that the Arena development team is always quick to solve the game’s problems.
Read More: Two New Unplayable MTG Cards Frustrate Players
