14 DAY TRIAL // Evidence suggests that Blizzard, the creator of Starcraft 2: Wings of Liberty, is banning those users that rely on trainers and other external programs to affect the single player portion of the real time strategy game, even if they are not interested in cheating in the multiplayer element of the game.
A gamer nicknamed “gm0ney” has used a trainer created by CheatHappens to get unlimited minerals in game, eliminate cooldowns and make units invincible and Blizzard has suspended the player for 14 days.
CheatHappens quotes gm0ney as saying, via e-mail, that, “I was mostly shocked. Although with all of the news about bans and suspensions coming up, I was somewhat prepared. Blizzard has made it very public in the few months since the game’s release that they would take immediate action against anyone found cheating in any form of StarCraft 2.”
The defense of the decision from Blizzard mentions that, “While single player games only appear to be you and a computer at first, your achievements and gamer score also carries weight and prestige for your online play.”
It's true that the integration between Starcraft 2 and Battle.net means that players who use nefarious means to gain achievements in the single player section might gain a measure of appreciation from friends and other gamers that have not managed to perform the actions needed to get them without any cheats.
But it seems a bit heavy handed to punish those who cheat only to make their gaming experience easier and do not try to gain an unfair advantage in the multiplayer part of Starcraft 2, especially when taking into account that trainers and cheat programs have been part of PC gaming for years.
The official stance from Blizzard is that, “We take cheating in our games very seriously. If you’re caught cheating in Starcraft 2, Blizzard, as per the terms in the EULA reserves the right to ban your battle.net account and/or CD key from ever playing again, online or off. We strongly recommend that you avoid using any hacks, cheats or exploits.”