Blizzard issues official statement on Raid Finder exploit consequences
by Fox Van Allen 
Dec 6th 2011 at 3:00PM
Raid Finder Loot Exploit Suspensions
Shortly after patch 4.3 was released, we became aware that some players were abusing an exploit to obtain loot from the same Raid Finder bosses multiple times in a single raid lockout period (one week). The Raid Finder loot mechanic is of course intended to only allow a person to roll on boss loot drops once per raid lockout period. The raid lockout mechanic has been a mainstay of the World of Warcraft rules since Onyxia and Molten Core, ensuring that no one can obtain loot from a boss more than once per lockout. Due to the nature of the exploit and the clear intent of those who abused it, they've been issued notices and given temporary suspensions from the game. We're also working to remove all Raid Finder items from those who used the exploit.
It's good to see Blizzard taking action on this. Certainly there will be some who will believe this to be too mild a punishment. But given the number of people who abused the exploit (Paragon was far from the only guild doing this) and a need to hand out punishment evenly and consistently, a temporary suspension appears to be the right solution.
Brace yourselves for what could be some of most exciting updates to the game recently with patch 4.3. Review the official patch notes, and then dig into what's ahead: new item storage options, cross-realm raiding, cosmetic armor skinning and your chance to battle the mighty Deathwing -- from astride his back!
Filed under: Cheats, Blizzard, News items, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 6)
vocenoctum Dec 6th 2011 3:04PM
Supposedly 8 days if you received loot, 3 days if you were just in the group.
spikepoint Dec 6th 2011 3:13PM
That seems a bit severe to the people that were just in the group... (unless the exploit was done in such a way that they all would have had to know?)
Ben Smith Dec 6th 2011 3:32PM
@Spikejoint
I believe that you had to have everyone leave the instance and zone back in, so everyone in the raid would have had to cooperate, even if they weren't the ones benefiting.
vocenoctum Dec 6th 2011 3:37PM
Right, this was 25 people in a guild group gaming the system to benefit the mains. Even if they didn't get loot personally they were still part of the exploit.
spikepoint Dec 6th 2011 4:20PM
In that case I think they should have gotten 8 days as well, actually. They were just as wrong IMO. I hadn't known how the exploit was done, and I thought that maybe those people could have been involved unknowingly.
Zim Dec 7th 2011 7:07AM
What i don't get is why any decent guild in ilvl 391 heroic firelands gear would even need to do this for ilvl 384 faid finder kit?
Rajah Dec 7th 2011 7:48PM
While my initial reaction was that the announced punishments were about right, I've been reconsidering this. In addition to forfeiting their ill-gotten gains, I'm thinking now that the suspensions should be for the sum total amount of time the perpetrators' actions inconvenienced the WoW community as a whole, divided among the number who participated in the exploit. Reportedly, the realms were down for an additional 3 hours on Tuesday so that Blizzard could go through the databases and relieve the thieves of their tainted loot. With 10 million subscribers, that sizes the impact of their escapade to 30 million hours. Let's be generous and estimate high on the number of conspirators. Call it 1000. The penalty would then divide out to an average of 30 thousand hours per miscreant. Again, so as not to be too draconian, we can round down to an even 1000 days each. This seems to me to be an eminently just and modest proposal. And as others have noted, 1000 days is merely a temporary suspension, not a permanent ban. What do you think of my solution?
theredrow Dec 8th 2011 4:23AM
The problem I have with it is this:
I was in a random raid finder. That is to say, I was the only person I knew there.
An item from the first boss was passed on by the whole raid (int mail something).
After wiping on the third boss, we run back into the raid. On the way back, someone must have looted the item, because I've still got a good 24 hours left on my ban.
Enforcing the rules is great, but if someone appeals, don't just tell them "Tough shit, run with your guild next time." That kinda defeats the purpose of the raid finder, to me.
Schadenfreude Dec 6th 2011 3:04PM
The bans Blizzard is handing out should be sufficient-- the race to heroic firsts is time-sensitive so this will put the cheating guilds severely behind.
km Dec 6th 2011 3:12PM
ugh...they weren't banned. They were given SUSPENSIONS!!!
There is a frigging difference in the terminology.
Learn 2 know the difference
MattKrotzer Dec 6th 2011 3:32PM
...because the semantics are the important part of the story.
Given the context, you knew his meaning. There's nothing gained or lost by someone referring to it as a ban, rather than a suspension. You can't log in. You're banned. Is it temporary? Yes. That makes it a suspension. Or a temporary ban.
It doesn't matter.
teejmorrison Dec 6th 2011 3:33PM
@km you're an idiot
(cutaia) Dec 6th 2011 3:33PM
You know...the word "ban" just implies that someone's prohibited from doing or using something. By mere definition, the word ban doesn't require, or even imply, permanence, even if it's generally used for such situations. You'll do your blood pressure a favor if you save your anger at the words people use for when they're actually using them incorrectly.
mtsadowski Dec 6th 2011 3:44PM
(cutaia) makes a very cromulent point and should embiggen us all.
MattKrotzer Dec 6th 2011 4:15PM
...in my pants.
wackydavo Dec 6th 2011 4:23PM
@MattKrotzer
Did you have a toon named Josin on the Cenarius realm for a while? There used to be one in my guild, and I'm wondering if it was you.
MattKrotzer Dec 7th 2011 12:52AM
Not on Cenarius. I've never joined a guild on any server but Steamwheedle Cartel.
Phorx Dec 6th 2011 3:05PM
I'm glad this was caught so quickly. It's sad that so many high-end guilds got greedy and did what they must have known was wrong, just to try and beat the other guys to world-first kills. I hope the bans are enough to throw all those plans out the window for the cheaters involved.
Angrycelt Dec 6th 2011 4:18PM
Maybe it's time Blizz locks out the accounts of the mega guilds like Paragon from even entering the PTR. Yeah, I know there's ways around that, but it'd be a good first step. Those guys don't go into the PTR to help Blizz, they go to find the quickest route to world firsts. I'd bet that none of the exploits they found during the PTR that they used ever were reported. I'm sure they reported graphic bugs or weird dialogue, but nothing that would take away their edge.
When world firsts happened on the day 4.3 went live, you should know that the system isn't working as intended.
Jackwraith Dec 6th 2011 5:29PM
Having the top-end guilds test your content to its limits would probably override any hesitancy on the part of the designers worrying about world-firsts. The really ridiculous part about this is that said top-end guilds are still probably being observed by Blizzard when the content goes live, so why would groups like Paragon decide it's OK to freebase on a bug like this? Pretty short-sighted on their part.