13 February, 2016 - Archeage bans guild members for use of exploits - An official post on the Archeage forums discusses the disciplinary action that is being taken against members of the Rage Quit guild, a guild on the North American server Nazar, for exploits used to kill Leviathan, a mythic - and so far, undefeated - creature in the game.
Senior Community Manager Celestrata Bloodsong detailed the exact disciplinary action that was taken in response to members of the Rage Quit guild using an exploit to kill Leviathan. First, all 53 participating members of the Rage Quit guild have had their accounts permanently banned, with no appeals, and the Rage Quit guild has been disbanded. Additionally, any Hero that was found to be participating will have their council seat revoked. And lastly, the loot that was dropped by the creature has been removed from the world. No one in guilds or groups which were attempting to contest the kill will have any action taken against them; per Manager Bloodsong; "Our combat logs show us which adventurers were contesting the kill, rather than attempting to claim it."
Senior Community Manager Bloodsong further elaborates on the issue, explaining that no member of Rage Quit came forward to report the issue save for one member, Collusion, who "...made the public statement that he will only pass over details of the kill if the ArcheAge team offers him compensation within the game." Community Manager Bloodsong explains that Archeage has a zero tolerance policy for exploits, but that had the guild simply made the exploit known, that the response would have been very different; "Had the guild contacted us to let us know what happened and avoided using the items for profit, we still would have removed the treasure from their possession. But, we would not be considering the harsh actions we are currently undertaking."
Our Thoughts:
While exploits and cheating are always grounds for swift action, the situation here is complex; some members of the guild claim innocence, while the behavior of others is less ambiguous. Hopefully the investigation will be just, but thorough.
Source: Archeage Official Forum Post
