On Astellia, there was an unusual incident on Tuesday. Players were able to enter an area that shouldn’t actually exist yet. Now they are being punished for entering and are quite upset.
What happened? On Tuesday, October 15, players were briefly able to enter the PvP area Avalon, which wasn’t supposed to be accessible yet. The developers quickly disabled it and pointed out that there are currently missing quests and NPCs in Avalon.
However, some players had already made it into the area and gathered items and progress there. Therefore, all players who entered Avalon received a trading ban:
- The ban is meant to prevent items from the PvP area from circulating. They could provide advantages over other players.
- The ban is set to last until October 22, but it will be lifted once all items from Avalon have been deleted.
Players affected by the ban are dissatisfied with the reaction from the developer Barunson E&A. From their perspective, they did not make a mistake.
Players are upset about a punishment that shouldn’t be
What do players think about the trading ban? Almost all affected players voice their negative opinions about the trading ban in the official forum. They feel unjustly punished because they couldn’t have known that Avalon was not yet released.
A user named Skyver writes:
I was on Avalon with a few guildies for maybe 20 minutes – did a green quest, captured a stone, and participated in a short PvP. […]
We did not “bug in” there; it was opened normally. We did not gain any advantage from it, but simply enjoyed the opening innocently.
Even users who are not affected think the punishment is too harsh. A user named Aya writes:
I wasn’t in, but I still don’t understand how one can come up with the idea of punishing players. The affected players neither cheated, exploited, nor engaged in bug using … at least not knowingly.
That you want to remove the items is clear, but punishing others for your own mistakes …
Only a few players defend the developers’ actions. They see it as the only way to prevent items from the new area from entering the trade.
What does the Community Manager say? Meanwhile, CM Venecia has spoken in the forum. He emphasizes that the trading ban is by no means intended as a punishment, but serves to maintain fairness:
The mistake was on our part and we do not deny that. I would like to officially emphasize again that this is in no way intended as a punishment, or something we like to do. […]
Our only concern now is to offset the effect that this had on the game. Overall, only very few players were affected (~ 120 players). We are not banning any accounts, as this was obviously an oversight, but we will take all necessary actions to ensure that this mistake does not affect the overall game.
However, Venecia could not yet say how long the trading ban will last.
This action is not the first misstep that players accuse the developer of. Previously, there were already discussions about gold sellers and bots and pre-order rewards.
PvP Season and Halloween
What else is happening in Astellia? On October 14, the first PvP season started in Astellia. In this, players can compete for weekly prizes and a reward at the end of the season.
The focus of these rewards is the currency Zender, which can also be used to purchase some shop content.
When does the Halloween event start? On October 22, Halloween will arrive in the MMORPG. It is expected to bring spooky decorations, Halloween-themed events, and plenty of sweets.
There will also be a limited mount skin available in the cash shop. More detailed information about the event will probably not be available until next week.
