A hotfix for an exploit in the MMORPG Neverwinter is currently causing fans to go up in arms. This is due to a massive banning wave, despite many viewing the long-known issue as a feature.
Is it fair to ban many players for an exploit that the developers have long postponed fixing? The Neverwinter community is certainly furious about it.
An exploit moves the Neverwinter fans
What happened? Since the preview phase of the latest adventure module Ravenloft for the MMORPG Neverwinter, an exploit has been known that allows players to enrich themselves unfairly.
This issue has been reported to the developers several times. When Cryptic Studios responded on September 12 and announced a hotfix, players were not very enthusiastic. With the announcement of the patch came the threat to take action against anyone who had exploited the issue. And so it happened.
Bans were issued. The exploit has now been fixed, but the community is still furious.
An exploit allowed for “earning” premium currency
What kind of exploit was it? In the Ravenloft module, a wanted quest from the Barovia hunts could be performed an unlimited number of times. This was not intended. Players received rewards each time, allowing them to earn 100,000 Astral Diamonds and thousands of gems in about 30 minutes.
This exploit was executable in both the PC version and the versions for Xbox and PS4.
Why are players angry? The Ravenloft module was released on June 26 for PC and on August 28 for PS4 and Xbox One. However, the exploit was known during the module’s preview phase before release, and players reported it. The developers did not act.
As a result, many considered this issue a feature and exploited it accordingly. Now the developers cracked down hard and referred to the terms of service, which state that such exploits may not be used. A banning wave ensued. Allegedly, even players who had only performed the exploit once or twice were banned without any notification.
Players are now going up in arms and claim that they find Cryptic Studios’ behavior unfair. If the exploit was so severe that players had to be banned for it, then the developers should have reacted much earlier.
Allegedly, even real money items were removed
Additionally, there are reports that the developers are removing items from players’ inventories, including items that were purchased with real money. Currently, there is a wave of criticism. Among other things, many do not understand how so many players could be banned when Neverwinter has been struggling with declining player numbers.
The developers remain silent: Currently, there has been no statement from Cryptic Studios regarding the situation other than a reference to the terms of service. A rollback has not yet been announced. Apparently, the developers want to manage the situation through bans and the removal of unlawfully acquired items while preparing for the release of the next module “The Heart of Fire”. The situation is still very tense.
The free-to-play MMO Neverwinter is based on Dungeons & Dragons - worlds, classes, and the backstory are based on the famous pen-and-paper role-playing game. Th...
