A ban wave has struck in WoW: Shadowlands and WoW Classic. It affects many cheaters – but also many honest players.
Bots and cheaters are a never-ending problem in World of Warcraft – whether Retail or Classic. Blizzard’s attempts to remove them from the game resemble a game of cat and mouse. New cheat programs are constantly developed, and Blizzard regularly initiates ban waves to catch many cheaters at once without revealing what caused their downfall.
Such a ban wave occurred just a few hours ago.
What happened? A ban wave has overwhelmed players of World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and WoW Classic. Numerous accounts were temporarily or permanently closed. Reports from players whose accounts are banned are piling up in the World of Warcraft subreddit. Many players also post dialogues from Discord servers of bot and cheat operators. Multiple programs have apparently been targeted.
What programs were involved? iMorph and JMorph are programs that clearly violate Blizzard’s terms of service. They allow users to modify various textures and models in-game, altering their appearance. For example, a mage could visually display in the plate armor of a paladin. Although this is only shown on the user’s computer, it is still prohibited. With the help of these programs, other details could also be modified:
- For instance, walls could be made transparent to see the flag carrier in Warsong Gulch through walls during PvP.
- Objects could also be enlarged and colored in bright shades to make herbs or enemy players more noticeable.
All of this – even just redesigning one’s armor – violates the terms of service and constitutes manipulation of game data.
Additionally, there are numerous botting tools. Some multibox botters show how all their accounts were suspended simultaneously.
What penalties were imposed? The penalties vary depending on the offense. Most players report account suspensions lasting 180 days – roughly six months.
However, there are also reports of penalties lasting up to 10 years or even permanent bans.
“Help, I was banned unjustly!“
This is why players are shouting: A large number of players report being banned unjustly. This is because users of the addon “ConsolePort” are also affected. However, this addon is legal and helps to play WoW with various controllers. This addon is recognized by Blizzard and should not lead to a ban.
Shortly after the wrongful bans, many penalties were reversed for players using ConsolePort. If you are using the addon and are still banned, contact support. The incorrectly imposed penalties are reported by players on Reddit to be quickly reversed by Blizzard.
Why now? That a significant ban wave is happening right now is probably no coincidence. After all, the pre-patch for BC Classic is currently running in WoW Classic, and many players are eagerly anticipating the launch of the first Classic expansion.
The ban wave ensures that there will likely be significantly fewer bots and cheaters at the start. Furthermore, it sends a positive signal to players with the message: We are taking care of the bots, we are addressing the issues.
