Players who exploited the artifact power exploit in WoW will face not only a ban but also an additional penalty from Blizzard.
In the past few days, there was a bug in World of Warcraft that allowed players to complete a world quest multiple times. By repeatedly completing this quest, it was possible to earn several thousand artifact power within just a few minutes. Many players took advantage of this bug and increased their artifact power dramatically. Initially, Blizzard only mentioned a ban for these players. However, the second penalty that the exploiters would face has now been revealed.
This much artifact power is worth a ban!
The first penalty for exploiting this bug is a temporary ban from Blizzard. The problem with this penalty is that it is not harsh enough. Many players have decided that they are willing to accept a ban in exchange for such a significant amount of artifact power.
Entire raids were cancelled so that players could exploit the bug and thereby raise their artifact power into the millions. In just a few hours, one could farm such a high amount of artifact power that normally would take months to achieve. For many players, risking a ban was simply worth it. However, there is a catch.
What comes around goes around
After some players were angry about the “light” punishment for the exploiters and communicated that to Blizzard on social media, Blizzard announced new information. Via Twitter, they confirmed that the farmed artifact power would be taken away from the “bad” exploiters. This meant that the time they spent exploiting this bug was completely wasted.
If you only tried this exploit 2-3 times to get yourself “a bit more” artifact power, you probably do not need to expect a penalty. This specifically concerns players who have exploited the bug excessively.
On Reddit, the mood after this announcement was at an all-time high. Users were especially pleased about the “justice” that the second part of the penalty brings to the exploiters. Whether the removal of the artifact power was planned long ago or was decided after the “shitstorm” from the community is unclear.
The community likes the new penalty and seems satisfied, as can be inferred from the comments on Reddit…
