The sandbox MMO ArcheAge banned several accounts worth several thousand dollars due to the APEX exploit. This statement was made by CEO Scott Hartsman in response to a caricaturing comic.
Trion Worlds, the operators of ArcheAge, must hear some criticism on social media. Not only do exploits like the wonderful APEX duplication cause problems, but also how Trion Worlds imposes penalties is under criticism.
A comic strip has now been published on reddit that criticizes Trion Worlds’ “ban” policy. “The small ones get hanged, the big ones run free,” could summarize the comic: A Trion Worlds employee hears the complaints about the problems in the comic, goes out, and bans many innocent free-to-play players in an Oprah Winfrey “You get a ban, you get a ban, everyone gets a ban” memorial mode, while sparing the “big exploiters.” After all, they bring in money.
This comic caught the attention of Trion Worlds boss, CEO Scott Hartsman. He commented on the comic and said he regrets if it comes across that way and if this is the perception. Last Sunday, due to the APEX exploit, some big fish were banned. The most valuable among them was worth several thousand US dollars. Hartsman probably means how much money the account has already invested in the game. Several others in the range of “several hundred dollars” were also among those banned.
