Bless Online has permanently banned 161 players since activating the anti-cheat protection “BattleEye”. However, players are comparing the punishment for hackers to the punishments for users of the dupe bugs. They complain about why no one from the dupers has been permanently excluded from the MMORPG.
A cheat-free experience
Hackers are haunting Bless: It didn’t take long for some players to find ways to gain advantages in the game through the modification of game files in Bless Online. For a long time, it seemed as if Bless developer Neowiz was powerless against the hacking players. However, in early July, Neowiz asked players for active assistance. Players were to submit video evidence showing cheating players. At the same time, Neowiz activated the anti-cheat protection BattlEye.
Today, about a week later, Neowiz announced the first results.
- 161 players have been banned.
- The banned players currently see only a message in the game informing them that they cannot connect to the server. Neowiz wants to revise this so that players know they have been banned.
- Neowiz continues to work on discovering hackers and making Bless cheat-free.
Not everyone is a hacker: Players who have modified the .ini files to improve the game’s performance need not worry. While it is a modification of the game, it is not a reason to be banned.
What happened to the exploiters?
Players duplicated items: In the comments, some players praise Neowiz and congratulate the developer on their work. However, others compare them to the players who exploited in Bless. They do not understand why Neowiz punishes hackers with a permanent ban, while exploiters are only temporarily suspended.
Players who used the notorious dupe bug faced a maximum of a 14-day suspension. There was no wipe of the server data after the dupe bug. Many players felt that the economy of the game was completely destroyed by the dupe bug.
The Chili high: Around the same time, another exploit emerged, allowing players to farm the item “Chili” quickly and easily at certain collection points on the map. They then sold this Chili at the market or directly to a vendor. At a price of around 4 silver, players could easily farm gold this way. In response to the exploit, Neowiz lowered the price of the Chili, but the damage was already done.
The exploiters reacted calmly to the price drop. They said they would simply buy back the Chili for a tenth of the price and sell it at the market.
Duping is not cheating: The community manager, Pentha the Panther, addresses the players’ criticism in the official Discord channel of Bless Online. Duplicating items is not cheating, which is why players were only temporarily banned for it.
What the banned players say
Falsely accused: A few of the banned players speak out on Reddit and in the comments on Steam, claiming they were unfairly blocked. They may have modified files that they did not intend to modify when they adjusted the .ini files. Other players say they used programs that automatically adjusted the .ini files for them.
Hacker reveals himself: A player on Reddit admits that he hacked and earned 30 gold by farming Turban Brothers . Since he was also banned, he questions whether hackers or exploiters have harmed the game more. He sees himself more as a light hacker and finds the ban somewhat unfair.
Players react differently to the statements of the exposed hacker:
- Many players believe that Neowiz stepped into too many pitfalls at the release of the game.
- Some players see the damage caused by exploiters as greater.
- Other players believe that hacking is not good and harms the game.
A player clarifies in the comments that players should be banned regardless of the severity of the offense. He also hopes that the chili farmers also hacked and will be permanently banned for it.
