How WoW's Torghast Felguard Exploit Cheated Mythic+ Records
The Torghast Felguard anima-power exploit that broke WoW Mythic+ records, how overpowered it was, and how players caught the cheated clears.
By:
John Langan
Key Takeaways
- A Shadowlands-era bug let a Demonology Warlock's Felguard keep Torghast anima-power buffs after leaving the tower, turning the pet into a multi-million-health, roughly 175k-DPS monster.
- That overpowered pet bled into high-end Mythic+, where showcase runs one-shot trash and cleared +26 to +29 keys at impossible speeds.
- Two record Chinese-realm Mists of Tirna Scithe runs (+31 and +34) fielding two Demonology Warlocks beat prior records by seven to eight minutes and drew heavy suspicion.
- The bug was found by accident, not weaponized by its discoverer, who used Glyph of Wrathguard to strip the buff and dodge a ban.
- Community scrutiny, cross-referenced Raider.io logs, kill times, and death counts is how anomalous clears get exposed, not automated policing alone.
- Blizzard later closed the loophole, so anima powers no longer persist outside Torghast.
- It is a reminder that Mythic+ and Race to World First integrity, from leaderboards to the Aberrus race won by Liquid over Echo, leans on the community catching what systems miss.
With the outline set, here is what the exploit actually was, how it reached the leaderboards, and how players brought it down.
What the Torghast Anima-Power Exploit Was
Torghast, Tower of the Damned was Shadowlands' roguelike endgame, and its anima powers were run-only buffs designed to stack to absurd heights inside the tower and then vanish the moment you left. The exploit broke that boundary. A Demonology Warlock's Felguard could retain those anima-power buffs after the pet left Torghast, and the numbers were grotesque. One demonstrated case showed a Felguard sitting at roughly 2.6 million health with around 175,000 average damage per second and peaks near 950,000, close to ten times what a typical Mythic raider put out at the time. This piece describes what happened, not how to do it, because the bug is dead and reproducing it was never the point.
How It Reached Mythic+ Leaderboards
A pet that one-shots dungeon trash does not stay in Torghast for long. The buffed Felguard was taken into high keys, where a Chinese-realm showcase blitzed +26 and +29 dungeons at speeds no honest group could match. The bigger red flags were two record Mists of Tirna Scithe runs, a +31 and a +34, both fielding two Demonology Warlocks, that beat the previous best times by seven to eight minutes. Gaming press covered the pattern as strongly suspicious, even though it was never formally proven for those specific runs. When a record falls by that margin overnight, the community notices.
How the Community Caught It
This is the part that matters. Raider.io logs every timed key, so players could line up completion times, in-run death counts, and account ages and see which clears did not add up. A fresh account posting flawless +30 keys across every dungeon reads as a siren, not an achievement. The bug itself surfaced by accident. Its discoverer, worried about being banned, converted the Felguard into a Wrathguard with Glyph of Wrathguard to shed the lingering buff rather than exploit it further. Around the same time, players documented the suspicious runs and compared notes on the anomalous clears. No automated system flagged any of it first.
Why Competitive Integrity Still Leans on Players
The stakes are real. Mythic+ leaderboards, and the Race to World First that runs alongside them, are watched by thousands. Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible saw Liquid take world first with Echo close behind at world second, and that scrutiny is exactly why cheated clears rarely survive contact with the community for long. Blizzard eventually patched the anima-power carry-out so the mechanic can no longer leave Torghast, but the first line of defense was players cross-checking logs. If you would rather climb the honest way, you can browse our Mythic dungeon boosts run by real players instead of chasing shortcuts that get accounts banned.
FAQ
What was the WoW Warlock Felguard Torghast exploit?
A Shadowlands bug where a Demonology Warlock's Felguard retained Torghast anima-power buffs after leaving the tower, making the pet vastly overpowered, with multi-million health and roughly 175,000 DPS, and usable in outdoor and Mythic+ content.
How overpowered was the exploited Felguard?
A demonstrated case reached about 2.6 million health and 175,000 average DPS, peaking near 950,000, close to ten times a typical Mythic raider's output. That was enough to one-shot most dungeon trash.
Was the bug used to cheat Mythic+ records?
It was strongly suspected. Two record Chinese-realm Mists of Tirna Scithe runs, a +31 and a +34 fielding two Demonology Warlocks, beat previous records by seven to eight minutes right after the bug surfaced. It looked suspicious, though press never formally proved those exact runs.
Who discovered the Felguard Torghast bug?
A player found it by accident. Worried about a ban, they used Glyph of Wrathguard to convert the Felguard into a Wrathguard and shed the buff rather than abuse it. The find spread from there.
Did Blizzard ban players for the exploit?
Coverage from the time documented the exploit but did not report a specific ban wave or dated hotfix. Blizzard later closed the loophole so Torghast anima powers no longer carry outside the tower.
Can Torghast anima powers still be used outside Torghast?
No. Anima powers are Torghast-only run buffs, and the bug that let them persist on a Warlock pet outside the tower was patched out. The mechanic no longer works.
Last reviewed 2026-07-01 against Patch 10.2 "Guardians of the Dream"; the underlying Torghast exploit dates to the earlier Shadowlands expansion. Maintained by WowCarry's WoW team.