Blizzard shoots its first batch of cheaters

Tareeq · Post by **Tareeq** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:03 am

We wanted to take this time to make an announcement about a serious hacking violation in World of Warcraft, one for which we have zero tolerance. Certain individuals have been identified as using speed hacks to accelerate their characters. This goes against the theme of fair play that we have instituted for the game, and is in clear violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use.

Those individuals who were caught using the speed hack have been banned from the game and have had their accounts closed. We must stress once again that we are opposed to hacking and cheating of any kind and are dedicated to maintaining a fair environment in our games. This will serve as a final warning to others who are considering using the speed hack. If you are caught using it, you will be banned without question from World of Warcraft and your account will be revoked.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you suspect someone of using the speed hack, or wish to report other instances of cheating, please email us at hacks@blizzard.com. Thank you again for your continued support.

Good. I'm glad they're not suspending, glad they're announcing it and glad they're doing it in groups. This gives the bannings that all important "round them up and shoot them" in terrorem effect.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:31 am

Yep. I knew the game would have hacks, every game does. But I'll bet WoW gets more hack attempts just because of the Bnet crowd.

I'm with you 100%, Tareeq. It makes me happy to see them announce it and do it in groups.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:39 am

No actual firing squad was involved? Awww. Move along everyone; nothing to see here.

Interloper · Post by **Interloper** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 9:34 pm

Curious, what exactly is a "speed hack"? I've heard the term used many times but have no clue what it is. Ya shoot me I'm a Noob I guess.

knob · Post by **knob** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 10:42 pm

Makes you run faster.

jpinard · Post by **jpinard** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:24 pm

Cool, I like this zero tolerance for hacks as well.

jonsauce · Post by **jonsauce** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 12:53 am

Wow, this is awesome. Way to go Blizzard!

It took Mythic over a year to start going after radar users in RvR. Even then they just gave them a warning, and then warned them a second time. It wasn't until the third time they were caught that anything was done about it.

At least some companies actually care about the integrity of their game!

jpinard · Post by **jpinard** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 12:57 am

Yea, it's scary for a company to remove potential customers. That's why it's so nice for a company to put purity of the gameplay above the pocketbook.

Eel Snave · Post by **Eel Snave** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:30 am

There is a reason I didn't get into Counterstrike. I heard reports of rampant cheating, and I decided I didn't need that. That's why I'm glad Blizzard is doing this. I am more likely to buy a game where I know that cheaters will be punished.

Rhett · Post by **Rhett** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:37 am

I think it would be absolutely hillarious if in every town/city square Blizzard showed all cheaters characters being publicly executed (like at 6:00 PM one day). To me that would be awesome

Eel Snave · Post by **Eel Snave** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 12:41 am

Rhett wrote:I think it would be absolutely hillarious if in every town/city square Blizzard showed all cheaters characters being publicly executed (like at 6:00 PM one day). To me that would be awesome

Maybe just a mass execution of their usernames. You couldn't round up the CHARACTERS, more than likely. I would love to see that.

jpinard · Post by **jpinard** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 1:47 am

Rhett wrote:I think it would be absolutely hillarious if in every town/city square Blizzard showed all cheaters characters being publicly executed (like at 6:00 PM one day). To me that would be awesome

That is an awesome idea! Or put their characters in those Medieval Blocks where their head and arms are locked in. Then people could pelt them with tomoatos and such.

knob · Post by **knob** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 10:20 pm

Bot-Using Accounts Banned - Indoflaven on 12/7/04
We have recently verified that certain individuals were using third party "bot" programs to automate their characters in World of Warcraft. A bot is used to play an account non-stop, allowing its user to accumulate money, items, and experience without actually requiring the user to be physically present to play the game. The use of bots is a violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and is absolutely prohibited. Therefore, the accounts identified as having used bots have been banned.

Blizzard Entertainment is committed to maintaining an environment of fair play in World of Warcraft. As stated previously, the company has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating or hacking of any kind. Players caught using a bot program to automate any of their characters' actions will have their characters removed and their account banned. They will not receive a warning. Over 300 accounts have already been banned for offenses of this nature.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you suspect someone of using a bot, or wish to report other instances of cheating, please email us at hacks@blizzard.com or submit a GM ticket in-game. Thank you again for your continued support.

Another batch banned.

Rhett · Post by **Rhett** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 12:28 am

Eel Snave wrote:
Rhett wrote:I think it would be absolutely hillarious if in every town/city square Blizzard showed all cheaters characters being publicly executed (like at 6:00 PM one day). To me that would be awesome
Maybe just a mass execution of their usernames. You couldn't round up the CHARACTERS, more than likely. I would love to see that.

Im sure you could use a nice selection of characters... It would be fun

docvego · Post by **docvego** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 10:09 am

We've found a witch, may we burn her?

The Preacher · Post by **The Preacher** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:31 am

Bring the hammer!

The more effort they put into this up front, the less they should have to later on. Wise indeed.

Terrified · Post by **Terrified** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 11:57 am

Tareeq wrote:Good. I'm glad they're not suspending, glad they're announcing it and glad they're doing it in groups. This gives the bannings that all important "round them up and shoot them" in terrorem effect.

Hi. I'm a long time serious gamer who had looked fondly at WoW but decided it was not for me. (I'm already happily in CoH). But, believe it or not, hearing they are banning cheaters like this is drawing me toward this game.

Damn you Blizzard for effectively and efficiently dealing with cheaters. Now you've got me interested...

yossar · Post by **yossar** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:30 pm

Valael wrote:

Bot-Using Accounts Banned - Indoflaven on 12/7/04
We have recently verified that certain individuals were using third party "bot" programs to automate their characters in World of Warcraft. A bot is used to play an account non-stop, allowing its user to accumulate money, items, and experience without actually requiring the user to be physically present to play the game. The use of bots is a violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and is absolutely prohibited. Therefore, the accounts identified as having used bots have been banned.

Blizzard Entertainment is committed to maintaining an environment of fair play in World of Warcraft. As stated previously, the company has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating or hacking of any kind. Players caught using a bot program to automate any of their characters' actions will have their characters removed and their account banned. They will not receive a warning. Over 300 accounts have already been banned for offenses of this nature.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you suspect someone of using a bot, or wish to report other instances of cheating, please email us at hacks@blizzard.com or submit a GM ticket in-game. Thank you again for your continued support.

Another batch banned.

How can they be certain a person is using a bot and not just doing something repetitive for a long period of time? Can they detect the software? My friend and I used to get temporarily (an hour or so) kicked off battle.net all the time for doing the same runs over and over in Diablo 2. I guess they thought we were using a bot.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:55 pm

yossar wrote: How can they be certain a person is using a bot and not just doing something repetitive for a long period of time?

if i'm ever noticed fishing in game for 27 hours straight i would hope that they would ban me simply due to the fact that from a social viewpoint, I NEED to be.

Biyobi · Post by **Biyobi** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 3:56 pm

yossar wrote:
Valael wrote:

Bot-Using Accounts Banned - Indoflaven on 12/7/04
We have recently verified that certain individuals were using third party "bot" programs to automate their characters in World of Warcraft. A bot is used to play an account non-stop, allowing its user to accumulate money, items, and experience without actually requiring the user to be physically present to play the game. The use of bots is a violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use and is absolutely prohibited. Therefore, the accounts identified as having used bots have been banned.

Blizzard Entertainment is committed to maintaining an environment of fair play in World of Warcraft. As stated previously, the company has a zero-tolerance policy for cheating or hacking of any kind. Players caught using a bot program to automate any of their characters' actions will have their characters removed and their account banned. They will not receive a warning. Over 300 accounts have already been banned for offenses of this nature.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in this matter. If you suspect someone of using a bot, or wish to report other instances of cheating, please email us at hacks@blizzard.com or submit a GM ticket in-game. Thank you again for your continued support.

Another batch banned.
How can they be certain a person is using a bot and not just doing something repetitive for a long period of time? Can they detect the software? My friend and I used to get temporarily (an hour or so) kicked off battle.net all the time for doing the same runs over and over in Diablo 2. I guess they thought we were using a bot.

I imagine that the people they banned were being fairly obvoius about it. Can you imagine something like someone fishing for 12 straight hours?

Terrified · Post by **Terrified** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:14 pm

yossar wrote:How can they be certain a person is using a bot and not just doing something repetitive for a long period of time? Can they detect the software? My friend and I used to get temporarily (an hour or so) kicked off battle.net all the time for doing the same runs over and over in Diablo 2. I guess they thought we were using a bot.

Actually, it's very easy. They monitor the logs for repetitive behavior. Just a program that scans through looking for repeat sequences. If you repeat the same sequence of actions oh, say 250 times, the log alerts a GM. Then the GM goes to your character and says "Hello? You there?" If you respond, or break the repetition, they leave you alone. If you go ahead and do the same thing for a 251st time... goodbye.

yossar · Post by **yossar** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:39 pm

Biyobi wrote: Can you imagine something like someone fishing for 12 straight hours?

In an MMORPG? Absolutely.

yossar · Post by **yossar** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:49 pm

Terrified wrote:Actually, it's very easy. They monitor the logs for repetitive behavior. Just a program that scans through looking for repeat sequences. If you repeat the same sequence of actions oh, say 250 times, the log alerts a GM. Then the GM goes to your character and says "Hello? You there?" If you respond, or break the repetition, they leave you alone. If you go ahead and do the same thing for a 251st time... goodbye.

I assumed that was how they did it if they didn't have a way to detect the software. A good method, but an innocent will probably get banned every once in a while (what if you're doing something easy and repetitive without paying that much attention to the screen? Maybe Blizzard wouldn't consider that "innocent behavior") Not that I care a whole lot...

Anyway, what's so bad about using a bot to do something you could do with a complete lack of a social life and an extremely long attention span? Nevermind, I guess that' the whole MMORPG sales model right there. Reward people for spending massive amounts of time in-game at their computer. Personally I like bots since they level the playing field between the people who play 12 hours a day and those that play 12 hours a week (if that).

knob · Post by **knob** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 3:00 am

I think it's perfectly fair for someone to be banned for using a bot. I hardly ever play WoW because of time constraints, but I still firmly believe that people should have to earn the stuff they achieve in game. It's completely unfair if I had a bot going 24/7 that got me to the max level, while you put hours into doing it yourself.

Besides, what's the fun in using a bot? Why even bother playing?

Coskesh · Post by **Coskesh** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:14 am

I would imagine they would send a tell and ask the potential bot something before banning them. No response = ban.

Think Blizzard opened it's doors wide open for 3rd party hacks with the UI modding they allow.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 4:02 pm

If a bot can reach max level in your game, I think the problem is with your game.

I'd like a game to be more interesting than something that can be played with scripting language.

I assume the bots in WoW are doing things like fishing.

yossar · Post by **yossar** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 1:11 am

Bob wrote:If a bot can reach max level in your game, I think the problem is with your game.

I'd like a game to be more interesting than something that can be played with scripting language.

I assume the bots in WoW are doing things like fishing.

I dunno, some of the Diablo 2 bots are pretty amzing. They can only make relatively short runs on very specific targets, but they do them quicker, safer, and more effeciently than most humans ever could.

The thing that annoys me about the Diablo 2 bots is that Blizzard will ban people for using them, but they do it very infrequently. Frequent enough to scare me from using them, but not frequent enough to stop lots of other people and "ruining" the in-game economy.

yossar · Post by **yossar** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 1:13 am

yossar wrote:
Bob wrote:If a bot can reach max level in your game, I think the problem is with your game.

I'd like a game to be more interesting than something that can be played with scripting language.

I assume the bots in WoW are doing things like fishing.
I dunno, some of the Diablo 2 bots are pretty amzing. They can only make relatively short runs on very specific targets, but they do them quicker, safer, and more effeciently than most humans ever could.

The thing that annoys me about the Diablo 2 bots is that Blizzard will ban people for using them, but they do it very infrequently. Frequent enough to scare me from using them, but not frequent enough to stop lots of other people and "ruining" the in-game economy. But I'm sure if that game weren't so old Blizzard would care more about that.

Octopus Overlords

Blizzard shoots its first batch of cheaters

Blizzard shoots its first batch of cheaters

Re: Blizzard shoots its first batch of cheaters