In the whole mess that is Huntgate it nearly went unnoticed that a user named “Blister” called out the upcoming changes to Salvage in Module 15 before the official feedback thread went up. They obviously weren’t willing go into any specifics about the “source”, but given that they were right, we think it’s fair to hand out some credibility here. That assumption is important, because the user later followed up by making additional statements about the handling of Huntgate:

Edited for clarity / readability According to my source, the blow back on this has generated some heat from higher-ups and from partners. The concern is that it looks too sloppy to hammer on this specific exploit. Rather than admit any wrongdoing however, the emphasis instead will be on being more consistent with bans for various ToS violations. This includes power leveling, selling AD or items for real world currency (apparently, Facebook groups will be targeted), glitching bosses/traps/other mechanics in dungeons, and having multiple accounts (or GT/PSN ID). Those will not happen all at once, but they’re going to check regularly and have cycles of suspensions and bans in the near future. I don’t understand the reasoning here – exactly how many players do they have that have never done ANY of this? Not good.

Here’s a Little Historic Context

This is certainly an interesting quote, because it actually fits history fairly well. The devs for the longest time did not care too much about banning players. At least that was the overall perception. Back in the day, the “Legit Community” was build around the fact that you could literally not run dungeons without using some sort of tricks. Exploiting was the norm, and specifically dungeon exploits were hardly sanctioned at all. The devs always banned for stuff that directly impacted the economy or their own wallet, but the list of boss glitches that went unpunished is long. Over the years major dungeon exploits became less common, but the impression that support doesn’t properly deal with cheaters remained.

That’s also one of the reason why we around here have decided to post exploits. It was to apply some pressure to fix stuff, to hold the devs accountable. Not properly dealing with exploits in the past also is key to understand why the punishments in some cases this time around were labeled draconic, and the shitstorm, although the devs just got rid of a bunch of cheaters, was insane. Comparing the Huntgate infractions, AD generated mostly, with earlier stuff almost makes them look negligible. What might be the case however is that we witness a shift in how the devs deal with exploits altogether.

Some Concerns Remain

If the post above is indeed true, it means some higher-ups want to fight the environment the game itself created, that they change their approach from reactive to proactive. That’s certainly a good thing, but as “Blister” in the last paragraph correctly points out, comes with concerns nonetheless. Banning for something that was “accepted behavior” for the longest time at least feels weird, even if it is technically covered by the ToS. Now we’re of course back at the ongoing controversy of who’s to blame, the players for exploiting or the devs for letting them?

We do however assume that they’re not banning for exploiting Valindra in Module 2, but for more recent, and more obvious, stuff. If there’s indeed a change of approach however it definitely can’t hurt to also become a little more transparent about what is considered an exploit and who has been punished. Then this could really be a major gain for both the game and its community.

What’s your take on this topic ? Will the devs now ban more frequently, and for a wider range of violations? Share your thoughts and experience on our social channels, in the comments below, or visit our message board!

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