Overview

Pirate Software WoW OnlyFangs Drama, also known as Pirate Software OnlyFangs World of Warcraft Guild Controversy, refers to an online controversy stemming from a disastrous run in the dungeon Dire Maul in World of Warcraft Classic hardcore that involved Twitch streamer Pirate Software and other creators from the guild OnlyFangs. The run, which occurred in mid-January 2025, ended with two level 60 (the max level) characters dying (meaning their characters were lost due to hardcore mode), leading to intense debate over Pirate Software’s decisions, particularly regarding his use of spells and abilities that might've helped his guildmates escape or if he abandoned them to save himself. Following this incident, the Twitch streamer faced significant backlash from other players and members of the streamer-oriented guild, resulting in him banning over 2,500 troll accounts from his stream. Others, including many of his followers, argued that it was not his fault. The situation sparked numerous discussions of accountability in the failed run, as well as memes and jokes on X / Twitter, Reddit, YouTube and other social media platforms.

Background

On January 12th, 2025, during a hardcore run in Dire Maul (DM), a World of Warcraft dungeon, streamer Pirate Software (real name is Jason Thor Hall) was playing with a group of fellow max-level players from his guild OnlyFangs when they pulled a large group of enemies and a boss, leading to the party deciding to flee in an attempt to exit the dungeon and escape the monsters.

The group goes back and forth over whether they should just run or try to kill the smaller enemies and flee more easily as the party calls out for various abilities or spells to be used. Pirate Software can notably be seen running toward the entrance of DM further away from his teammates who are still fighting and trying to slow down the enemies in an attempt to save their party from being trapped and killed. Eventually, two level 60 players died, leading to discussions about his decisions during the encounter and accusations that he pulled a "roach out," which is slang for when a player runs away and scatters like a roach with no strategy for the retreat.

That day, Twitch user @CWORDPASS^[1] posted the clip showing the moment Pirate Software ran and left his OnlyFangs guildmates further behind, leading to Snupy and Sara getting killed in the dungeon. The clip amassed more than 117,000 views in a day.

On January 13th, YouTuber and Twitch streamer Xaryu reposted the full footage of the moment in a video that gathered over 11,500 views and 650 likes in an hour.

Developments

Following the incident, Pirate Software allegedly left a call with members of the guild after being pressured to take accountability for the players' deaths following the failed dungeon run. On January 12th, 2025, the X^[2] page @LSF_Forwarder posted a clip of the moment (seen below), which amassed more than 417,000 views and 1,000 likes in a day.

Pirate Software's Response

On January 13th, 2025, streamer Pirate Software posted a statement on X^[6] about the WoW drama, explaining his perspective of the events that led to the teammates' deaths. He wrote that "each person in this group made mistakes including myself. I have never once said I was perfect in my play nor that I was a god gamer. I'm just an ex-Blizzard employee that has played mage for a long time." The post (seen below), gained more than 1,000 views and 770 likes in a few minutes. Full statement below:

To those trying to character assassinate me online for a bad pull in Diremaul WoW Hardcore. This is Hardcore WoW and a lot is on the line when you step foot into a dungeon. Here is a light breakdown of the last 24 hours.

Our party went the wrong way and overpulled multiple packs with a boss. The shotcaller made the call to run then went back on that call. During the run out another pack was pulled as we had opted to skip it previously which is never a good thing. Communication was completely broken throughout this and it was our second time failing the dungeon. Everyone played poorly and two people ultimately lost their characters for it.

Each person in this group made mistakes including myself. I have never once said I was perfect in my play nor that I was a god gamer. I'm just an ex-Blizzard employee that has played mage for a long time.

To pin that on a single person is absurd at best and if you're calling for death and cancellation over it you're too invested in this content in a very unhealthy way. If you're a creator engaging in this kind of behavior then eventually your content wave will end but the relationships you've sullied will be permanent. Hope it was worth it for you.

To those trying to defend me. Don't worry about it. This too shall pass. Do not attack anyone else on my behalf. I've always hated that kind of behavior. I have no intention of stopping making things or not doing stuff as I already have been.

Those who were banned will stay so. I've never liked that kind of knee-jerk reaction behavior in our community before and I will not be changing that now.

For those that don't understand why they will stay banned. We had a ten hour long hate-raid over it live on Twitch. We had to ban nearly 4,000 accounts across all platforms and our moderators received death threats regularly throughout it all. People called for me to be killed both in-game and out of game. They tried to get me banned from Twitch, the guild, and WoW. They tried to make disparaging comments about our ferret rescue or that we somehow hurt animals. They tried to spread rumors saying I was convicted of felonies and many other things.

The internet hate machine will not defeat me or the community that supports me. See you in WoW Hardcore tomorrow.

Online Reactions

Reactions from the online community quickly spread in mid-January 2025, notably being mixed, with some defending Pirate Software's right to play his character as he wishes, while others criticized him for what they perceived as a lack of responsibility for the deaths of two guildmates. Many also argued that Pirate Software's mage character had numerous abilities he could've used to help his party survive the escape, though he claims he was out of mana (or OOM) and was unable to make a difference.

For instance, on January 12th, 2025, Twitch streamer Asmongold voiced his opinions^[3] on Pirate Software's actions during the Dire Maul run, saying he was at fault for not managing his resources and leaving his teammates without proper communication. The video (seen below) gained more than 866,000 views and 21,000 likes in a day.

On the same day, Twitch streamer summit1g^[4] reacted to Asmongold's comments on the Pirate Software WoW drama, pointing out how he felt that Pirate failed to play the game properly resulting in the teammates' deaths. The video (seen below) received roughly 180,000 views and 3,800 likes in a day.

Also on January 12th, 2025, the drama sparked several discussion threads on Reddit. For example, that day, Redditor u/capernoited^[5] explained in a post to the /r/Asmongold subreddit why Pirate Software's actions enraged many WoW players and his guildmates, writing that in the hardcore mode of the game, they die they lose their characters. "When a team calls out 'run' it's like pulling a ripcord. Some people absolutely panic and make mistakes." The reply amassed roughly 16 upvotes in a day.

On January 13th, Twitch streamer and YouTuber Sodapoppin, who is notably the leader of the guild OnlyFangs in addition to being a long-time WoW player, uploaded a video breaking down the entire run and perspective of Pirate Software's stream, receiving roughly 35,000 views and 1,200 likes in two hours.

Search Interest

External References