Martin Fury cheat draws Blizzard ire
by Adam Holisky 
Apr 30th 2009 at 5:37PM
WoW Insider had a chance to sit down today and talk with Karatechop, the man at the center of the cheating scandal that has been rocking World of Warcraft to its core.We'll have the full interview up for you soon (later today hopefully, or tomorrow at the latest), however one thing we learned from the interview is that his account has been closed, permanently. While we cannot verify this with Blizzard directly, as there are privacy concerns that forbid them from talking about other people's accounts, we can verify that the account administrator who dealt with the closure is real, and that the template used in disseminating the account closure information is legitimate.
The account closure email was forwarded to us from Karatechop during the interview, and we are confident in its authenticity. You can see the full email after the break. We have his express permission to reproduce and report on the actions taken against his account.
The other thing to note is that despite claims on other websites, he is not an employee of Blizzard. There is no evidence to support such claims, and he made a point of telling us today that he is in no way affiliated with Blizzard Entertainment, which we believe.
The full account closure email, sans personally identifiable information, after the break!
From: "wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com" <wowaccountadmin@blizzard.com>
To: REMOVED
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 6:30:24 PM
Subject: World of Warcraft - Account Issue
Salutations,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding the World of Warcraft account you are using. We apologize for any gap in communication, yet our in-game Player Relations team sent an email detailing the account issue and resolution to the registered email address on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 7:55:14 PM Pacific Standard Time. We have included a copy of the original message for your review and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced.
*********************************Original Email*******************************************************
Subject: World of Warcraft - Account Closure
****Notice of Account Closure****
Greetings REMOVED,
Account Name: REMOVED
Realm: Vek'nilash
Character Name: Karatechop
Account Action: Closure
Reason for Action: Terms of Use Violation - Abuse of Game Mechanics
• Using or exploiting errors in design, features which have not been documented, and/or "program bugs" to gain access that is otherwise not available, or to obtain a competitive advantage over other players;
• Anything that Blizzard considers contrary to the "essence" of the Game.
After a thorough investigation, Account Administration has determined that the account above was found to have participated in exploitive activities.
The character, "Karatechop," on the realm "Vek'nilash" was found to have obtained an item (inaccessible by standard game play) from another player and trivialized the World of Warcraft raid contents with the exploitive use of this item. Consequently, this character was able to assist with the accumulation of items and achievements through the use of this item that is not obtainable by "normal" means.. The character's actions gave the account an unfair advantage over all other players. As a result of the violation of the World of Warcraft Terms of Use, this account will be permanently closed.
This action has been taken in accordance with the Terms of Use (http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/legal/termsofuse.html) and our In-Game Policies (http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/20309). Any recurring subscriptions on this account have been suspended to prevent further monetary charges.
Only the Account Administration department can address disputes or questions you may have about this account action. To learn more about how we are able to assist you, please visit us at http://us.blizzard.com/support/article/21505.
Regards,
REMOVED
Senior Account Administrator
Blizzard Entertainment
www..blizzard.com
*********************************Original Email*******************************************************
Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter. Please feel free to contact us with further questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
REMOVED
Account Administrator
Blizzard Entertainment
www.blizzard.com
----------------------
"Players who buy gold are supporting spamming, botting, and keylogging."
http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/basics/antigold.html
"How to Stay in the Game"
http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?articleId=21506
Filed under: Bugs, News items
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 13)
Solnova Apr 30th 2009 5:42PM
Good.
ezmode Apr 30th 2009 5:49PM
I don't see how it is good to ban a player for a mishap in giving him a GM item. Unless the player obtained the item through some dishonest means I don't think he should be punished for something that Blizzard sent him. Who wouldn't want to check that thing out at least one time??
Veras Gunn Apr 30th 2009 5:53PM
He should have sent a message to a GM if he didn't want his account banned, not use something he obviously should have had access to.
Solnova Apr 30th 2009 5:53PM
He knew it was a cheat. I don't care who you are, or how you got it - you see something like that in your inventory, and you know something's wrong.
He could have walked out into the forest, used it on a boar, and then ticketed a GM and said, "something is wrong." Instead he steamrolled through Ulduar before throwing up his hands and saying "Oh gosh! I got this thing in my inventory, I have no idea where it came from!"
He got what he deserved.
shkss Apr 30th 2009 5:56PM
I think it's the fact that he tried it out then went and soloed all of Ulduar without reporting the item that is counted as the "exploit" here, not the fact they sent it to him. If he'd used it on a boar Blizzard probably would have slapped him on the wrist, but he didn't report the error and probably wouldn't have 'till he got bored of it by the sound of things.
If someone's willing to ruin the gameplay by choice, why should Blizzard let him keep playing?
RipeTomatoe Apr 30th 2009 5:56PM
I'm surprised his guild let him do that, I know that my guild would never take part in a run that is hijacked to take fun and skill out of it. I do think it's good his account got banned.
elstor Apr 30th 2009 5:57PM
You can say that now, but can you say that when YOU get the item? Doubt it.
elstor Apr 30th 2009 5:59PM
And I meant that at those who said, "report it right away"
Solnova Apr 30th 2009 5:59PM
@elstor: yes. because having my account is worth more than being able to destroy bosses with a click for twenty minutes.
kilana Apr 30th 2009 6:03PM
The bank put a million dollars in my bank account. I know it's a mistake, but I go ahead and spend it. The bank comes after me a day later and wants the money back, I say 'it's your mistake'"
Bank charges me for theft. I lose.
snowleopard233 Apr 30th 2009 6:15PM
Would I have done the same thing had i found the item. Hell no!
If you found a suit case full of cash in your mailbox would you have kept it? Hell no! Because somebody very powerful is probably looking for it and they'll break your legs if you go spending their dough.
Being a savvy person is understanding that when something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Everything comes with a price and this player should have realized that this would have caught up with him.
If I found it in my mailbox, I probably would have assumed someone was hacking me or something (Because I'm internet paranoid like that) and contacted a GM. Either way I wouldn't have been as stupid to assume it was a gift from the Epics Fairy.
LandMineHare Apr 30th 2009 6:19PM
@Kilana: Yah, but you see, that million dollars is coming out of the banks profits and pockets.
Karatechop was only trivializing the game for himself and anyone else who wanted to have it trivialized. He wasn't forcing anyone to do it, people volunteered to join. It's not like he went into YOUR raid that you were struggling with and killed everything for you and took the fun out of it.
"• Anything that Blizzard considers contrary to the "essence" of the Game."
Alc Apr 30th 2009 6:20PM
They banned his entire guild, regardless of whether or not they went to Ulduar. Plus Blizzard has an expressed policy of, if it was mailed to you, its yours. We don't know that he got in in a malicious way. If the fault was on Blizzards part (and it sounds like it is), Blizzard should own up and take the repercussions, not this dude.
@ Kilana:
Actually, if the bank put millions of dollars into your account it is your money. This has happened before and it caused a lot of controversy. The man ended up giving back the money though however it was still his money (legally that is). He was sued for it and still won.
Huma Apr 30th 2009 7:03PM
@ezmode
If someone accidentally gave you a nuke, and you decided to launch it at NYC, who's fault is it for the billions of people dead? Mmm?
Blizz DID give him the weapon, but HE used it for his own personal gain.
McRaider Apr 30th 2009 6:43PM
Simply, if you want to be able to kill bosses with a single hit, get your own server and get martin thunder/fury and kick ass. Ofc that's kinda illegal, but you'll probably won't get caught so easily :P
Kakistocracy Apr 30th 2009 6:50PM
"Using... features which have not been documented"
I bought the new engineering bag schematic before it was listed in any patch notes, should I be banned?
Also, is the use feature on an item "the exploitive use of this item"?
kabshiel Apr 30th 2009 6:50PM
Umm...no. If the bank accidently puts millions of dollars in your account and you spend it knowing that it's not your money, you're in really big trouble. If you do not report the error, you will go to jail.
If you do report the error and the bank doesn't do anything about it, you still probably shouldn't spend it. The bank can remove it at any time and leave you with bouncing checks.
Jay in Oregon Apr 30th 2009 7:17PM
Elstor:
Before this incident? Yeah, I might have tried it out on a couple of mobs, but I'd have thought it was obviously a server glitch or something and would have reported it sooner rather than later.
I sure as hell would not have ran around oneshotting Ulduar hard modes, as anyone with an ounce of common sense would know that doing so would bring down a ban. Karatechop and his guild were idiots and deserve whatever punishment they get from Blizzard. (I called the invoking of the "Anything that Blizzard considers contrary to the 'essence' of the Game" section of the Terms of Use.)
After this incident? As soon as I saw it in my mail, I'd report that the item was mailed to me incorrectly and not touch it with a ten-foot pole.
This kinda reminds me of this old story from WowInsider:
http://www.wowinsider.com/2008/04/14/forum-post-of-the-day-player-tries-to-scam-gm-for-epic-flight-t/
TL,DR summary: Blizzard has access to a surprising amount of information about the actions of players in the game and can and will use it if necessary. Unless Karatechop's guild held all of their discussion about how to handle Martin Fury in a private Vent server or some other out-of-game forum, Blizzard has a pretty good idea of who did what regarding that item.
Quyt Apr 30th 2009 8:33PM
I hope the Blizzard employee who f'd up (if that's the case) got the sack as well, otherwise to ban only the player is unfair and excessive.
vazhkatsi May 1st 2009 12:45AM
He not only got himself banned, but he said he "surprised" the other members of the raid by using it on FL, so he purposefully and maliciously involved other in what he knew was probably not an intended action. he deserves what he got, this isn't like finding money or a gun, this is like finding a million dollars, buying 24 guns, putting them in 24 random kids backpacks, those kids getting arrested, along with you and their parents, then laughing and saying that its not your fault because it wasn't your money so whosever money it was, its their fault.
And hell no. I would not use the item if i got it in game, i enjoy raiding for downing bosses by my own skill and ability, and those of my teammates, not pulling out a dev tool and one shotting everything.