Once Human has been struggling with cheaters since its release. The development studio is now taking action and banning a whole host of fraudsters. However, even players who did not use cheats are affected.
What is the situation in Once Human? The game by Starry Studios is only a few days old, yet it is already plagued by cheaters. Numerous players report that they have encountered fraudsters. This is not unusual for a free-to-play game.
Therefore, the developers, who generally respond quickly to issues, have now swung the ban hammer. In one go, 430 dishonorable players were banned. Most of them are actual cheaters, while others are regular players who simply used one or the other trick.
Cheats and exploits lead to bans
Who was banned? It should be clear that using cheats in a game like Once Human is not allowed. Players who used them were banned and know why that happened.
They were punished severely. The ban lasts not one month or a year, but a staggering 3,600 days. This amounts to almost 10 years.
A smaller portion of the banned players did not use cheats and may have been surprised at first by the ban. In their case, exploiting bugs is the issue.
In a blog post on the developer’s website, they write:
We recently found that some players exploited bugs to gain unfair advantages. This undermines not only the fairness of the game but also affects the overall player experience.
Starry Studios on the Once Human website
Specifically, it concerns a bug that allowed players to enter forbidden zones. Items obtained from this were confiscated by the developers. The punishment for this is significantly lighter than that of the cheaters. It lasts only between 7 and 30 days. Cheats and exploits are not necessary to succeed in Once Human. On MeinMMO, you will find 9 useful tips for survival.
Banned players have been publicly shamed
How does Once Human deal with banned players? A ban alone seems not to be enough for the developers. Therefore, all usernames, the duration of the bans, and the exact reasons have been published in a list on the studio’s website.
This makes it visible to everyone who the wrongdoers are. Perhaps this acts as a deterrent against cheaters or simply informs those who did not understand why they were banned.
The bug along with the exploit that sent some unsuspecting players into a hiatus has now been fixed. It can be assumed that Starry Studios will act similarly with future bugs. Fairness and equality of opportunity are important to the developers of Once Human. An MMO expert has thoroughly tested the game and drawn a provisional conclusion after 160 hours.
