August 31st, 2012 by Steve Perry
Just days after the official launch of Guild Wars 2 and already there is some drama. A supposed typo on one of the game’s vendors caused a weapon to become available for a fraction of it’s cost, a bug that thousands of players took advantage of and exploited to such a degree that ArenaNet had to step in and lay down the banhammer. Taking to the Guild Wars 2 subreddit, ArenaNet reps explained that players who only obtained a small amount of these weapons would be receiving minor infractions, 72 hour bans. However, for those players who purchased in the degree of hundreds upon thousands of weapons, they would be permanently banned from the game.
While opinions have been heated, it’s hard to feel sorry for any player who obviously exploits a major pricing flaw. However, ArenaNet is looking to give those players a second chance. For one time only, players who were permanently banned how have the opportunity to redeem themselves.
If the player visits support.guildwars.com and files a ticket through the “Ask a Question” tab, they will be able to get their ban reduced to a 72-hour suspension – with a few stipultaions. First, the ticket must be filed with the title “Karma Weapons Exploit Appeal”. Secondly, the player must agree in the body of the ticket that they will delete and items and currency that were gained through the exploit. Once the ticket has been submitted, the team will reduce the ban to 72 hours and give the player the chance to delete said items. Failure to delete the items and currency (and they will check) will result in a re-banning of the account.
ArenaNet’s aggressive stance against exploiting is impressive and should be admired, and the fact that they are offering a second chance for many of these players who obviously and deliberately exploited the game shows that they’re willing to let this be a warning shot. However, players should not expect any mercy should another exploit be detected – or abused – in the future.
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