Players are arguing that their punishments are too severe

Jan 4, 2013 10:53 GMT  ·  By

Developer ArenaNet has issued a number of permanent bans for Guild Wars 2 linked to an exploit that allowed players to multiply their ectoplasm inventory. The mechanics that permitted them to cheat was introduced in the Wintersday event in late 2012.

Gaile Gray, a community and support representative at ArenaNet, stated, “Any time you take one thing and can make two, and then four, and then 16 – ya gotta know that’s just wrong. And to perform that action hundreds and hundreds of times? That’s called exploitation, and that’s against the User Agreement, the Rules of Conduct, and all that is holy.”

It seems that the game developer only resorted to the extreme measures after another round of bans linked to the same issues.

Some of the players who tried to cheat and were forgiven apparently quickly returned to their old ways and ArenaNet made the decision to make bans permanent in order to give gamers a bigger incentive to play fair.

Gray adds, “We’ve been more than kind, in the past, and everyone needs to own up to his/her errors and recognize: We all are part of the game economy, and those who exploit it are hurting the rest of us. Exploit closed. Worst offenders terminated. That’s what has to happen to make things right for all of us.”

A number of banned players are continuing to argue that the punishment they have been handed out is too serious for their offence, but it is unlikely that ArenaNet will allow them to return to Guild Wars 2.

Guild Wars 2 is a MMO, but does not rely on a monthly subscription, using in-game transactions and the price of the game box to fund future development.

This means that cheaters need to be ejected from the game as soon as possible in order to ensure a better Guild Wars 2 gaming environment for newcomers.