[Dev Update] Exploits and Bans – 10 January 2008 - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

HuntMaster Avatar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2007

Around

Pillar's of Earth [ROCK]

W/

12 Jan 2008 at 17:16 - 1321

i am sorry you were banned, but this is a good lesson. find a game that you can play offline and online and don't bother with games like mmo's because in the end its not really worth the trouble.

the only reason i still play is because i'v spent so much time developing my character and i still like a few things in the game. but honestly, mmo's are not my thing.

well in california where i live tons of lawyers get payed only if they win.

yup, exactly. if anet wants to cheat, they can cause its their game. exactly what i said with differant wording. but its still cheating.

-Sonata-

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Nov 2007

Pretty Hate Machines [NIN]

Me/

12 Jan 2008 at 17:21 - 1322

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shanaeri Rynale

Sounds like a great approach Sonata. We really need something like this either in the support forms, or maybe in the report command.

E.g /report Exploit. then all the above are auto filled in.

Agreed. Even more helpful would be that if a player checks the box for reporting an exploit, the moment that box is checked, it directs you to your web browser (Like the f10 wiki), to which there is a provided Form a player can fill out with specific fields. Character name and/or username, email so you can be contacted, current location, current time, date, Description box, attachment field for screenshots.

Perhaps I should make an actual rough draft and post it in the suggestions. Here wouldn't be wise. I would take the thread completely off topic. Well, more than I have already heh.

Antheus

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jan 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 17:21 - 1323

Quote:

This will be both my first, last, and only comment on this matter. I have seen from previous posts, it doesn’t seem to matter what the truth is, people have already made up their minds on what to believe in this matter. Everything I have said has been completely truthful, it is your choice to believe it or continue to listen to the lies.

I've seen people in this thread going from "I only visited the outpost once, didn't know and am completely innocent" to stating they only did the run 10,20 times only two pages later.

Right now, all these innocent people have proven consistently to be lying about how much they really exploited. So far, Anet's stance about who received the ban has proven to be consistent.

Quote:

A close friend of mine who had a character on an alternate account saved to the town, that never even did the mission once, had their account banned.

Never? As in never, or only as in 20 times? Just like all those other incorrectly banned players?

Read through the thread. Everyone who claimed they never exploited it, turned out to have used it to run the mission repeatedly.

Quote:

It is absolutely despicable that a formal apology has not been issued for those who have had both their online and real life character defamed by the lies that have been posted about us

No lies so far. Everything in this thread is perfectly consistent with Anet's claims.

And... defamation? Of in-game character?

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 17:22 - 1324

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

yup, exactly. if anet wants to cheat, they can cause its their game. exactly what i said with differant wording. but its still cheating.

Yes, they can "cheat" if they want to. Is this a bad thing?

SirJackassIII

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

Belgium

none

N/E

12 Jan 2008 at 17:29 - 1325

Quote:

Originally Posted by Banned was Erin

/snip

1) Your friends alt was banned because he most likely transfered items to his alternate account.
2) You can be labeled hackers or exploiters. Either way would get you banned anyway. If you prefer exploiters, then fine, you're exploiters.
Apparently, to get it started, a few people likely hacked the game, after which other people could be ferried, which would make at least some people of the 117 hackers.
3) If you didn't do it for the money, then why the hell did you keep on doing it without telling anyone?
4) As for apologies, why the hell do you think ANet ows YOU one? You exploited their game.

Juno Onuj

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2006

Colorado

I Believe You But My Tommy Gun [Dont]

Mo/

12 Jan 2008 at 17:31 - 1326

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

it is when they are at home, off work, selling 60,000 ectos or super pwning in pvp with their "Secret" characters. no one can compete with anet staff characters. they will always be number 1 no matter what.

How many times have you seen this? Cause I never have...

free_fall

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

12 Jan 2008 at 17:33 - 1327

"But to take away something from them they paid real money for? Nonsense.
Playing Guild Wars is not a PRIVELGE to the players. They paid for it in cash."

Excuse me, but that is absolutely incorrect.

privilege -
3. a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
6. an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person: It's my privilege to be here.

Why you pay money for a GW campaign, you are not "buying" the game - the "game" belongs to Anet. You are merely purchasing an access key which grants you the "privilege" of playing their game, subject to certain conditions (as outlined in the EULA).

If you violate those conditions, Anet has every right to revoke your privilege to play their game.

When you go to a movie theatre and purchase a ticket to see a film, you are not "buying" the theatre or the movie - you are paying for the "privilege" of viewing the film. If you are loud and disruptive during the screening, so as to disturb the other patrons' enjoyment of the film, the theatre management has every right to expel you from the premises.

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 17:33 - 1328

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

it is when they are at home, off work, selling 60,000 ectos or super pwning in pvp with their "Secret" characters. no one can compete with anet staff characters. they will always be number 1 no matter what.

I think anyone with any sense at ANet would not do anything like that.

And how would they "super pwn" in PvP? With maxed out gear that's easily achievable by everyone?

Quote:

Originally Posted by free_fall

"But to take away something from them they paid real money for? Nonsense.
Playing Guild Wars is not a PRIVELGE to the players. They paid for it in cash."

Excuse me, but that is absolutely incorrect.

privilege -
3. a grant to an individual, corporation, etc., of a special right or immunity, under certain conditions.
6. an advantage or source of pleasure granted to a person: It's my privilege to be here.

Why you pay money for a GW campaign, you are not "buying" the game - the "game" belongs to Anet. You are merely purchasing an access key which grants you the "privilege" of playing their game, subject to certain conditions (as outlined in the EULA).

If you violate those conditions, Anet has every right to revoke your privilege to play their game.

When you go to a movie theatre and purchase a ticket to see a film, you are not "buying" the theatre or the movie - you are paying for the "privilege" of viewing the film. If you are loud and disruptive during the screening, so as to disturb the other patrons' enjoyment of the film, the theatre management has every right to expel you from the premises.

Entirely true. People can disagree with it, sure, but it's kinda hard to do when they've already clicked the "I Agree" button. I guess read before you leap.

HuntMaster Avatar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2007

Around

Pillar's of Earth [ROCK]

W/

12 Jan 2008 at 17:34 - 1329

Quote:

Originally Posted by Juno Onuj

How many times have you seen this? Cause I never have...

and you never will. they won't come out and say who they are. and no one says they have 60,000 ectos, they just sell ectos for 4.5k everyday they are on. you will never know if they do this or not, but with these "Special areas for staff members only" it is completely possible.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryant Again

I think anyone with any sense at ANet would not do anything like that.

And how would they "super pwn" in PvP? With maxed out gear that's easily achievable by everyone?

they could very easily have better inherant bonuses or higher dmg that goes unnoticed by normal people. they can program anything into the game.

seut

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2005

Europa

12 Jan 2008 at 17:36 - 1330

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

sounds like anet keeps short cuts for their own personal gain. they probably never have to work as hard as normal players do.

as far as i understand pablo24, such hidden outposts are needed for the way Anet has implemented starting missions through NPCs..
not for selfish farming possibilities and not removable without breaking the game

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

and you never will. they won't come out and say who they are. and no one says they have 60,000 ectos, they just sell ectos for 4.5k everyday they are on. you will never know if they do this or not, but with these "Special areas for staff members only" it is completely possible.

they could very easily have better inherant bonuses or higher dmg that goes unnoticed by normal people. they can program anything into the game.

if the devs are really evil and selfish..why going for so much effort and create special outposts, when they could easily edit their own character stats/inventory in the database with a few keystroke?

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 17:37 - 1331

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

they could very easily have better inherant bonuses or higher dmg that goes unnoticed by normal people. they can program anything into the game.

...And you think they would intentionally damage their own game, easily compromising the trust of the playerbase, which includes everyone from you and me to IGN and other game sites, and thus losing sales?????

HuntMaster Avatar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2007

Around

Pillar's of Earth [ROCK]

W/

12 Jan 2008 at 17:39 - 1332

lol as i said, they could. i never said they did. and if they are not caught then their is no problem with trust. to proove my point people are acting like i am out of my mind to even think something like this.

Ducks out and avoids the fanboy linch mob.

edit.
thanks mods, went a bit crazy in here.

i said they could not they are doing so. please learn to read.

also didnt mean to derail the topic.

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 17:41 - 1333

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

lol as i said, they could. i never said they did. and if they are not caught then their is no problem with trust. to proove my point people are acting like i am out of my mind to even think something like this.

"They could" is not the same as "they do", and I highly highly doubt they would.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

Ducks out and avoids the logical linch mob.

Fix'd?

Dr Strangelove

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Dec 2005

Wasting away again in Margaritaville

[HOTR]

12 Jan 2008 at 17:41 - 1334

Quote:

Originally Posted by HuntMaster Avatar

it is when they are at home, off work, selling 60,000 ectos or super pwning in pvp with their "Secret" characters. no one can compete with anet staff characters. they will always be number 1 no matter what.

That's some pretty insane conspiracy theories. You realize no one from Anet has ever won a championship, right? If they're cheating, they're really, really bad at it.

Also, look! Bryant joined the thread! He's been wrongly banned going on 48,000 times now, yet I have never seen a massive whining thread from him. He's literate and intelligent. As a result, most of us believe he didn't do anything wrong.

By contrast, most of these people have been screaming bloody murder on the forums for a few days now, changing their story every couple pages, and trying to split hairs about their ban and whether they really deserved it. From this thread, it seems pretty much everyone thinks you had it coming.

CountAristotle

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Oct 2007

GoL

E/Me

12 Jan 2008 at 17:42 - 1335

This has been good fun and all, but really, it is pointless. For my fellow oddly hated, fairly misrepresented 117 members: hope you all take care, in and out of the gaming experience. The ban for many was grossly mishandled by A-Net who were looking to save face, only to throw the pie into their own.

As for the many A-Net devotees, it's all good. Go ahead, take a sip, drink the Flavor Aid that A-Net has offered you. Heck, has to be good and pure right? I mean, look at how well it worked in Jonestown.

Count
-Peace.

Trub

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2006

Sitting in the guildhall, watching the wallows frolic.

Trinity of the ascended [SMS]+[Koss]+[TAM]=[ToA]

12 Jan 2008 at 17:48 - 1336

Quote:

You want to know how little they actually know about what is going on? They have sent private messages to some of us 117 asking us about how we did this. This is, of course, after receiving emails from support saying logs have been rigorously reviewed and they know exactly what we did, and how many times we did it. Seems rather contradictory on their part. If you know what we did and how often we did it so well, why are you having to ask us how to use this glitch?

This disturbs me, because you are stating to be an educator of our children. ANet appears to be in tracking mode for the original person that 'monkeyed' with the client side, this request from them is reasonable.Let's face it, many of the '117' have already confessed to knowing that 'a friend' had been the 'first one' to enter this Dev area. All information gathered from these communications may actualy fly in your favor, if the truth is forthcoming. The fact still stands: This is a SEVERE breach of the game, and I'm sorry...stating "me and my friends only ran it a few times for kicks" isn't going to go well for those that were banned.

Quote:

A close friend of mine who had a character on an alternate account saved to the town, that never even did the mission once, had their account banned. So what is this lie about you must have done the mission at least 4 times for it to result in a ban?

Why would your 'close friend' keep an account saved in that town? Who told him/her that he/she had to do that? To ferry more? I just can't accept the fact that all these players are stating that it was a glitch, anybody can do it, ....Oh, but you have to have some toons parked there for a while?.I applaude the OP for coming forward and putting light onto this problem, as more of the original 117 banned gamers come forward...some of the pieces are falling into place. I wiil reserve my final analogy until we have a formal announcement from Gaile.
Please, anyone that has valid information...post it here.
We are just gamers, and read these forums for information.
We cannot unban you, we will not attempt your 'glitch.'
So please stop asking ANet to unban you to 'show' them how it is done, Gaile has made her statements to everyone as to what information the programming team has found. We will not know what steps were taken to close this exploit until a formal announcement is made by the owners of this game ANet.
NCsoft made the game we love.
ANet allows you to play that game you bought on THEIR servers.
ANet has every right to make all decisions as to what actions they wish to take on accounts they deem as breaking the rules.
Read the EULA.
Fear the EULA.
IT IS THE GAMERS BOOK OF LAW>
ANet owns all rights to GuildWars...we do not.

dracolord

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2006

none atm

12 Jan 2008 at 18:04 - 1337

Well, i also agree with the bans.

First of all, getting to mallyx normally takes 1.5-2 hours? And you have to finish all the areas of DoA...

Correct me if i'm wrong, but if someone took me somewhere where i could reach mallyx in 5 mins... i'd be a little suspicious. Better yet.... ITS NOT EVEN ON YOUR MAP!!! When you normally fight mallyx, you should have a map, but from what ive heard, you didnt have a map... Sounds fishy to me.

If i had gone to that outpost, I'd have at least looked for information about it TO MAKE SURE IT WAS NOT AGAINST THE EULA. And for all you asking for a warning, did you even READ what gaile posted?

lishi

Forge Runner

Join Date: Jul 2005

12 Jan 2008 at 18:30 - 1338

anyone saying the didnt got a clue are lying or lying to themself.

if you didnt noticed anything suspicious about it then you choose to not notice and keep farming hoping you could get away with it

Messy

huh?

Join Date: Jun 2005

Follow the rainbow, make a left and voila

Guildless

R/

12 Jan 2008 at 18:45 - 1339

Quote:

Originally Posted by ProgTes

I'm sorry for the mess I have created. The best thing probably would have been to sent an email to A-net directly, but I didn't think of it at the moment. I don't know why I brought this up here, maybe I thought it was the right thing to do- it clearly wasn't and I've learned my lesson. To all who I insulted, I was angry and frustrated, and I apologize.

Everything that can be said has been said in my opinion. And to whoever said this a few pages a go, no I don't feel like a hero. I feel like a complete idiot and if I could turn it back I would, believe me.

To the people who got banned: good riddance. You shouldn't have used the exploit, end of story.

You did the right thing, and most of the GW community is glad you did.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puritans Aid

I didnt know I was doing something wrong, and If i had i wouldnt have done it.
I am sorry guild wars/ A NET feels the right solution is to ban anyone who has ever set foot in some town, that people can glitch into, as has been admited.

not for setting foot once... but more like a whole bunch of times. I don't believe you didn't know you were not doing something wrong, but in any event, ignorance is not excuse for breaking the rules.

You guys cheated and got caught. You come here crying looking for comfort and support.... but please understand that is just not going to happen.
If you only went there accidentally, you know what to do. If you went there accidentally more than 4 times... well... I think you are done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Puritans Aid

I am NOT sorry I got caught playing and enjoying the game. I AM SORRY that the guild wars community, and you, think I cheated/ hacked.etc

but that's what you did, you cheated.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SurrealFi

The general opinion (with a few exceptions) seems to be:
__

Permanent ban the ones who used the hack to gain access to this "non existent outpost", remove completly or change the ban to a 300 hours one for the accounts who got brought in there and used the exploit - but didnt use the hack themselves to gain entrance.
__

Two of my friends went there once, they didnt get banned.
One of my friends went there once, or he was dragged along, and got banned.
Two of my other friends also went there not once, but twice (and only killed the big boss once, mind you) and got a permanent ban.

I dont see a pattern. =)

Actually I think the general opinion is = Good Riddance.

The pattern I see is a lot of denial and some serious counting problems. Several players claimed they only went in once, well no twice, ok wait I think 4 times... and it turns out it was quite a few more. At first I felt sympathy for those that got caught in this mess having been there 1-2 times and hoped ANET would look into it. They did... and well, these guys were not being very truthful. So aside from cheating, they were lying. No sympathy here.

If some of your friends went in there only ONCE or TWICE and got banned, have NO doubt they will give them their accounts back. ANET has logs of how many times these guys entered, chat logs as well. No photoshoping there. I am not saying your friends are lying to you, but maybe the are minimizing the number of times they went there. Maybe not. Have them contact support and keep fighting.

@ Sonata.... excellent idea for reporting glitches!!!excellent idea for reporting

leprekan

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

Posers and Wannabes [nubs]

W/E

12 Jan 2008 at 18:45 - 1340

Eventually, if Anet is honest they will admit there was nothing more sinister than a ferry used to farm Mallyx. They have been told step by step how to do it .. sadly there was VERY FEW steps to setup a ferry. No hacking no sinister plots .. just a ferry. The 117 were just tacked to the cross when the exact same type of ferry (duncan zone anywhere etc) was never a bannable offense .. till now.

Those posting their opinion when it is uninformed .. please consider keeping it till this is resolved. Anet closes the tickets sent to support on this topic which leaves us limited options for contacting them. Your flames and random post fluffing are not helping the situation. Will we be unbanned? Most likely not. Many of us would just like the truth to be told.

Clait

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Braveheart World Xi [any]

W/A

12 Jan 2008 at 18:48 - 1341

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kayu Ishida

What was supposed to be a simple solution to an alleged problem has now evolved into something much more sever. For over the past 24 hours I’ve been hearing near to nothing, save hate and garbage, being spewed all across this thread, and any sort of light that is shone upon the masses has been beaten down by ignorance and insults. Enough is enough, and this is all I can take before exploding into a wave of frustration, disappointment, and utter distress.

Seams like there is 4 types of people here. First, our moderators. Second, the Anet developers. Thirds, people that want an explanation and justice. Fourth, people that just want to flame and troll those seeking answers and justice.

I cannot stress enough how ludicrous it is to think that all the infamous 117 are greedy, evil, unforgivable hackers whose sole purpose was to exploit a programming error until all their selfish needs were satisfied while all other members of the Guild Wars gaming community were abandoned in the depths of an economic crash. Does that description sound over exaggerated and harsh? Well, anyone who knows the truth will be forced to agree on the fact that it is an inaccurate perception of the real situation, a situation that only Arena Net and the 117 know the truth behind. I ask you, why are the 117 being accused of such atrocities when there was never any hard, solid proof presented to the public that they were really guilty of the crimes they supposedly committed?

More bad publicity perhaps?

A veil of imprecision shrouds the definitions of “exploiting” and “cheating”, and now should we add “hacking”? I have had the honor of personally knowing a handful of the 117, and I will not be the first to admit that they are not hackers. In fact, they are so far from hackers, one of them can’t even set up Outlook. Does that sound like a hacker to you? None of them know what .dat files are. Are they still hackers? It is despicable when someone is wrongfully accused of being something they are not, and then the majority of the community exiles the accused and kicks them when they are down and stone then until they bleed. When did we all become liable judges? What justification exists that gives us the right to insult and spell out the fate of the defendants?

Everyone is losing out here. However it does shake Anet's foundation of trust. It also shows that they are a company that is unwilling to admit mistakes or show compassion to any involved, including testers.

The definite lines between justice and discrimination are now blurred. Who is wrong? Who is right? The people that are not members of the two parties will never know the real truth, so let’s stop fooling each other. Arena Net is not telling the truth, and the 117 are not telling the truth… so where will this arguing get us?

Probably nowhere. However, Anet developers are reading this. So if they are willing to ignore support tickets, then maybe they wont ignore this. You cant honestly say they give careful consideration and extensive research to act appropriately when it takes them 5 minutes to respond. In addition, send the exact same message to everyone that sent in a support ticket. A copy and paste message off of their FAQ.

The greatest lose that every single one of us will suffer from is trust. Those who were banned will never trust Arena Net again. Those who befriended the 117 will never trust Arena Net again. Those who felt they were cheated by the 117 will never trust the players Arena Net shuns from Guild Wars again. Those who stumble across future glitches will never feel comfortable reporting the instance, because can you truly invest a full amount of trust in the fact that you won’t be banned for accidently exploiting a glitch? Will you ever trust someone who says to you “Let’s go farm so-and-so! There’s an easy way to do it” without fearing you’re exploiting the game? Where does your trust waver now, or better yet has your trust in anything even faltered? If not, then leave the emotions to those who have felt the impact behind the bans.

I don't expect those that were banned, nor those that support those banned, will invest in any further Anet products. Further, it does instill a doubt in the rest of the community. Is Anet acting justly?

I am sorry, Miss Grey, that you were the messenger who was selected to be the bearer of bad news. Being the face of Arena Net, your task was to retell the story the developers and the suits instructed you to relate to the public. I hope you will be able to sleep at night knowing that it’s your job to say what you are supposed to say, while knowing the truth is behind closed doors. No one will believe my friends because of the label you and your co-workers have placed on them. The perfect word was already used to describe the feeling that your accusations have wrought: demoralizing. It really is the perfect word, agreed?

Truely demoralizing. I have lost sleep, study time and friends over this. When I received an Error45, I just wanted to vomit. Even more so, I have lost a product I love and am emphatically addicted to.. Guild Wars.

I’ve grown tired of all of this. I want my friends back. I want them to have their dignity back. What right do you have to deny them of that? So you think they cheated you in a game? Big deal. Their reputation is ruined because of this nonsense, and that is much harder to fix than an imagined economy. My friends have been nothing but kind, helpful, and generous to countless gamers, and this is how they are repaid? Would you like to know a fact, a truth behind the handful of the 117 I know? They are great friends and have shown great amounts of character in this dark and unjust situation. That is more than I can say about several of the people who have posted here. Be ashamed, be very ashamed that you can judge people you don’t know and feel completely comfortable with yourselves...

Now I am ashamed of myself for ranting when I am completely tired and not in the best state of mind. Most sorry to those who has nothing to do with my peeves, and to all gamers out there, good luck to you.

Well said. It summarizes some real issues going on here.. between the constant trolling and flaming.

Fril Estelin

So Serious...

Join Date: Jan 2007

London

Nerfs Are [WHAK]

E/

12 Jan 2008 at 18:52 - 1342

I've only read around 10% of the thread but I can already say that this thread is EPIC. It's the worst fail and the best qualities at the same time, with banned people both in the game and in the forum on the one end, Gaile and a few others who understood the situation right on the other end, and then in the middle the usual discussion where some try to understand and others give their opinion (which, funnily, I guess I'm part of).

It was strange (and good) to see someone say that his faith in Anet got restored because of the communication on this thread. Stop putting your feelings in the rollercoaster of fan forums. Think about it this way: between the OP and the 78th page, there's been only 30 hours!

There's absolutely no end to what people will do, hacking the gw.dat is perfectly normal (and totally against the EULA), discovering flaws is normal (all SW without exception have bugs unless they're formally developped), but the most important in all this affair is ethical hacking. The guy that found the hack is a great reverse engineer who probably worked hard to find this (we need more of these guys to make sure that GW's bugs are found and fixed), but he failed when he opened the door to the exploit (volontarily or not). Some doors should be closed as soon as opened, and this was one.

GG Anet.

Clait

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Braveheart World Xi [any]

W/A

12 Jan 2008 at 18:53 - 1343

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drop of Fear

good morning dear.
Hack or not, u kept it secret for months to exploit it as much as u could knowing it was a critical exploit.
Play with words as u like, post as many pages of rants u believe is appropriate, honest players will keep thanking anet for their effort to protect the game they love from greedy people who exploit it in every possible way they can.

Rant some more, then turn off your monitor, clean your brain from all the crap and ask youself " did i deserve it ?"
If the answer is "yes" then stop posting crap here and either get another copy of gw and play honestly or leave the game.
If the answer is "no" then accept that a.net has the rights to take all the actions to protect their gaming environment.

It is a sad thing. I have only known about it for 1 week. I have been banned for something done for less then 24hrs.. versus the rest of 6500hrs (7hrs a DAY for the last 30 months) of legit playtime.

Dr Strangelove

Furnace Stoker

Join Date: Dec 2005

Wasting away again in Margaritaville

[HOTR]

12 Jan 2008 at 19:02 - 1344

Quote:

Originally Posted by leprekan

Eventually, if Anet is honest they will admit there was nothing more sinister than a ferry used to farm Mallyx. They have been told step by step how to do it .. sadly there was VERY FEW steps to setup a ferry. No hacking no sinister plots .. just a ferry. The 117 were just tacked to the cross when the exact same type of ferry (duncan zone anywhere etc) was never a bannable offense .. till now.

Even if it wasn't hacking, which I don't entirely believe considering that Anet was unable to reproduce it, it was still an exploit. It was certainly not the same as other ferries, given that it involved a hidden dev outpost. This should have been obvious to most people, including yourself. I don't think you can plead ignorance with a straight face when you have 4000+ hours played. Now, you could have covered your ass by posting it on the forums earlier, but greed got the better of you and you decided to keep it hidden - bad plan. Now you're stuck with the consequences. I'm sorry that you lost something important to you, but there is no one to blame but yourself here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by leprekan

Many of us would just like the truth to be told.

Quite frankly, I'm vastly more likely to believe Anet than anything said by the banned people. There's 40 ever-changing stories in this thread by the banned people, and one story by Anet that really hasn't been proven wrong. Who would you trust?

Trub

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Mar 2006

Sitting in the guildhall, watching the wallows frolic.

Trinity of the ascended [SMS]+[Koss]+[TAM]=[ToA]

12 Jan 2008 at 19:02 - 1345

Quote:

Eventually, if Anet is honest they will admit there was nothing more sinister than a ferry used to farm Mallyx. They have been told step by step how to do it .. sadly there was VERY FEW steps to setup a ferry. No hacking no sinister plots .. just a ferry. The 117 were just tacked to the cross when the exact same type of ferry (duncan zone anywhere etc) was never a bannable offense .. till now.

Those posting their opinion when it is uninformed .. please consider keeping it till this is resolved. Anet closes the tickets sent to support on this topic which leaves us limited options for contacting them. Your flames and random post fluffing are not helping the situation. Will we be unbanned? Most likely not. Many of us would just like the truth to be told.

*sigh*
This is a discussion forum.
This is not the Devs only source of information about the exploit.
ANet is gathering their information..or have gathered the information that is needed to explore this breach of the game.
Please refrain from telling members of this Forum to stop expressing their own opinions. That is what a forum is for.
Believe me...the mods delete and ban the more creative flammers.
If you require MORE answers from ANet, and NCsoft....print off the response they had sent you?
If you are 'waiting' for them to review your logs 'more'....stop coming here and telling all these forum posters they are uninformed.
ALOT of the information provided here came from the 117 banned ...and their 'friends'.
Peace.

Clait

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Braveheart World Xi [any]

W/A

12 Jan 2008 at 19:04 - 1346

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryant Again

It's more a lose-lose situation, actually: They can either let the bots go unbanned and acquire large sums of gold, or ban the account and suspend their actions momentarily.

Also, a large amount of bots come from stolen accounts. Whether it's "large amount" or "majority" I don't remember.

A large amount of bots come from the free trial accounts Anet gives away periodically. Including those in game goldsite farmers. You know "go to www.example.com.. 100k = 10 bucks, ect."

Clait

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Braveheart World Xi [any]

W/A

12 Jan 2008 at 19:05 - 1347

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Great Ithqua

You will be surprised there are some that didnt know it was a bug, i was 1 of them.. believe it or not..its not like that area Says This is a bug area please leave -.-.. if it says that every1 will leave

It said "Ebony Citadel of Mallyx - Elite Mission" No different then mapping into Urgoz or Deep.. same message.

Clait

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Braveheart World Xi [any]

W/A

12 Jan 2008 at 19:09 - 1348

Quote:

Originally Posted by Drop of Fear

funny to see how a damn high % of the people banned are from house zu heltzer and cavalon holding alliance.
i would have never expected that

Bigger alliance = more people, more talking, more information spreading.

Bryant Again

Hall Hero

Join Date: Feb 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 19:10 - 1349

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clait

A large amount of bots come from the free trial accounts Anet gives away periodically. Including those in game goldsite farmers. You know "go to www.example.com.. 100k = 10 bucks, ect."

How do you sell money when you can't trade on a trial account? Unless I'm mistaken?

GloryFox

Desert Nomad

Join Date: Jan 2006

Good ol' USA, where everyone else wants to be

Now Plays World of Warcraft on Whisperwind

12 Jan 2008 at 19:12 - 1350

Quote:

posted by Clait
It is a sad thing. I have only known about it for 1 week. I have been banned for something done for less then 24hrs.. versus the rest of 6500hrs (7hrs a DAY for the last 30 months) of legit playtime.

Please read the word Accomplice in wiki and contemplate the meaning.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accomplice

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye

zerulus

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Oct 2005

12 Jan 2008 at 19:13 - 1351

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clait

It is a sad thing. I have only known about it for 1 week. I have been banned for something done for less then 24hrs.. versus the rest of 6500hrs (7hrs a DAY for the last 30 months) of legit playtime.

So they should only ban you if you cheat/exploit their game for long periods of time? I really don't even know how to respond to this crap. It's like someone saying they havn't done anything their whole life then commits a crime and expects to walk without any consequences. You all chose to exploit this and now you pay the price.

Tyla

Emo Goth Italics

Join Date: Sep 2006

12 Jan 2008 at 19:14 - 1352

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryant Again

Entirely true. People can disagree with it, sure, but it's kinda hard to do when they've already clicked the "I Agree" button. I guess read before you leap.

Well clicking the 'I Agree' already means you clicked the 'I Will Not Disagree' button, therefore they lied...

I myself am glad this is being sorted out, and i hope this is a lesson to not only the people who deliberately used the exploit, but ANet aswell for not completely getting rid of the hidden outpost.

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Great Ithqua

You will be surprised there are some that didnt know it was a bug, i was 1 of them.. believe it or not..its not like that area Says This is a bug area please leave -.-.. if it says that every1 will leave

How CAN'T you know this area was more of an exploit?
The time that NF has been out, i think it was more on the obvious side.

HawkofStorms

Hall Hero

Join Date: Aug 2005

E/

12 Jan 2008 at 19:15 - 1353

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clait

A large amount of bots come from the free trial accounts Anet gives away periodically. Including those in game goldsite farmers. You know "go to www.example.com.. 100k = 10 bucks, ect."

That is not true. Trial accounts are not allowed to trade items or money with other players or drop items on the ground in explorable areas (to be picked up my other players). This is done to delibrately prevent what you are talking about.

Now... the spam bots that advertise MIGHT be trial accounts... but not the actual farm bots themselves since they have no way of moving money off their characters.

Clait

Academy Page

Join Date: Jan 2008

Braveheart World Xi [any]

W/A

12 Jan 2008 at 19:16 - 1354

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pandora's box

The DoA mission requires talent, skill, and dedication

The DoA mission is too long and Arenanet knows that. After 2 hours of playing we get the advice to take a break. How many people doing the DoA mission take a break? Personally I never did this mission. Why? Because I need to enter a party with real players so I can't go afk for a while.

Hacking an online game is a bad idea and its ok that hackers get banned. Yet Arenanet should consider the reason for this: the length of the mission. If they advice to take a break after 2 hours than isn't it logical to make sure all missions can be done within that amount of time?

If DoA is too long, then you could argue that the whole of UW and FoW must be as well.

leprekan

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Oct 2005

Posers and Wannabes [nubs]

W/E

12 Jan 2008 at 19:16 - 1355

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr Strangelove

Even if it wasn't hacking, which I don't entirely believe considering that Anet was unable to reproduce it, it still was an exploit. It was certainly not the same as other ferries given that it involved a hidden dev outpost. This should have been obvious to most people, including yourself. I don't think you can plead ignorance with a straight face when you have 4000+ hours played. Now, you could have covered your ass by posting it on the forums earlier, but greed got the better of you and you decided to keep it hidden - bad plan. Now you're stuck with the consequences. I'm sorry that you lost something important to you, but there is no one to blame but yourself here.

Quite frankly, I'm vastly more likely to believe Anet than anything said by the banned people. There's 40 ever-changing stories in this thread by the banned people, and one story by Anet that really hasn't been proven wrong. Who would you trust?

Uh no. It wasn't any different than any other ferry. Speaking as one that used it .. shhh you don't know what you are talking about. The outpost was not hidden .. anyone that went into Mallyx and typed resign would return to it. Not too hidden. If said outpost was meant for testing only .. why did they bother actually building a graphic for it? Why was it named Mallyx's Ebony Citadel (hint: a dev only outpost wouldn't need a name)? Why was there an enter mission button? You Sir cannot answer these questions. So please as I asked in my post .. consider holding your opinion till Anet has time to address this. Gaile was misinformed and I do not hold her accountable for the misinformation. However, would be nice if they corrected what has been said.

I had over 9000 hours thank you. Greed was never an issue I had stacks of legitimate ecto in storage that had been there for YEARS. The personal attacks by uninformed people really need to stop. This ferry was no different than the MANY other ferrys that people were NEVER banned for. Not one of the 117 would have even considered doing this if they thought it was a bannable offense .. that is just common sense.

Again, I ask the people fanning the flames to allow those of us directly involved a chance to communicate with Anet.

dracolord

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2006

none atm

12 Jan 2008 at 19:17 - 1356

Well, you knew it was wrong, you did it anyways, and now you are asking to come back? If I was Anet, i'd ban your IP entirely, looks like you have it light.

Messy

huh?

Join Date: Jun 2005

Follow the rainbow, make a left and voila

Guildless

R/

12 Jan 2008 at 19:18 - 1357

Quote:

Originally Posted by leprekan

Eventually, if Anet is honest they will admit there was nothing more sinister than a ferry used to farm Mallyx. They have been told step by step how to do it .. sadly there was VERY FEW steps to setup a ferry. No hacking no sinister plots .. just a ferry. The 117 were just tacked to the cross when the exact same type of ferry (duncan zone anywhere etc) was never a bannable offense .. till now.

Those posting their opinion when it is uninformed .. please consider keeping it till this is resolved. Anet closes the tickets sent to support on this topic which leaves us limited options for contacting them. Your flames and random post fluffing are not helping the situation. Will we be unbanned? Most likely not. Many of us would just like the truth to be told.

A ferry to a hidden outpost... come on!! You've been around long enough, you should've known better. No NPC's... mostly empty, not mentioned on Wiki... all you had to do is put 2 and 2 together.

This a thread opened to post opinions. As it moves along we become more and more informed. If my choice is believing what Gaile says the guys looking into this came up with and what some posters here have ranted about and caught lying about.... I'll stick with Gaile and co.

I am sadden you are one of them. I read a few pages back you were trying to reach Gaile but her PM box is full. If you didn't use this exploit a bunch of times, I wish you good luck getting things cleared up. She posted an email that goes directly to her....
EMail Link to Gaile

HuntMaster Avatar

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Feb 2007

Around

Pillar's of Earth [ROCK]

W/

12 Jan 2008 at 19:21 - 1358

is there any screenies of this outpost? i'd love to see it. just to see whats in a uberness anet only area.

dracolord

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Mar 2006

none atm

12 Jan 2008 at 19:26 - 1359

Quote:

Originally Posted by leprekan

Uh no. It wasn't any different than any other ferry. Speaking as one that used it .. shhh you don't know what you are talking about. The outpost was not hidden .. anyone that went into Mallyx and typed resign would return to it. Not too hidden. If said outpost was meant for testing only .. why did they bother actually building a graphic for it? Why was it named Mallyx's Ebony Citadel (hint: a dev only outpost wouldn't need a name)? Why was there an enter mission button? You Sir cannot answer these questions. So please as I asked in my post .. consider holding your opinion till Anet has time to address this. Gaile was misinformed and I do not hold her accountable for the misinformation. However, would be nice if they corrected what has been said.

I had over 9000 hours thank you. Greed was never an issue I had stacks of legitimate ecto in storage that had been there for YEARS. The personal attacks by uninformed people really need to stop. This ferry was no different than the MANY other ferrys that people were NEVER banned for. Not one of the 117 would have even considered doing this if they thought it was a bannable offense .. that is just common sense.

Again, I ask the people fanning the flames to allow those of us directly involved a chance to communicate with Anet.

Well, first of all, all of those questions can be answered. They made a graphic so they could see what they were testing. When you have several thousand files, its nice to have a name for something, and more descriptive names are better. There was an enter mission button so they could actually get somewhere to do tests? It's useless testing in an outpost or town.

These are all very obvious answers, and I support anet giving you a ban. And as gaile said, the number of people, 117, is a very small number compared to the population of the rest of the game. Since the people taking advantage of this would have crashed the economy, Anet's quick response has probably saved the game. Although to you it may seem selfish, but banning 117 players so a couple hundred thousand can enjoy their game to the full sounds fair to me, how about you?

ArkonOfTheStorm

Pre-Searing Cadet

Join Date: Aug 2007

Mo/

12 Jan 2008 at 19:29 - 1360

Quote:

Originally Posted by leprekan

Uh no. It wasn't any different than any other ferry. Speaking as one that used it .. shhh you don't know what you are talking about. The outpost was not hidden .. anyone that went into Mallyx and typed resign would return to it. Not too hidden. If said outpost was meant for testing only .. why did they bother actually building a graphic for it? Why was it named Mallyx's Ebony Citadel (hint: a dev only outpost wouldn't need a name)? Why was there an enter mission button? You Sir cannot answer these questions. So please as I asked in my post .. consider holding your opinion till Anet has time to address this. Gaile was misinformed and I do not hold her accountable for the misinformation. However, would be nice if they corrected what has been said.

I had over 9000 hours thank you. Greed was never an issue I had stacks of legitimate ecto in storage that had been there for YEARS. The personal attacks by uninformed people really need to stop. This ferry was no different than the MANY other ferrys that people were NEVER banned for. Not one of the 117 would have even considered doing this if they thought it was a bannable offense. that is just common sense.

Again, I ask the people fanning the flames to allow those of us directly involved a chance to communicate with Anet.

yeah, i didn't assume it'd be bannable.. it was just an outpost.. why would anything instantly assume it was an ill-obtained outpost if it exists even with an "enter mission" button.

it didnt show on map.. neither do urgoz or deep

i'm wondering why, for 6 months, did this admin-only outpost allow access to, and not draw attention from; random people zoning into, and out of it. i meen it was an admin-testing-outpost only.. yet for 6 months they didnt notice anything going on in their own test outpost.. with all of their logs and people reporting it..