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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsParagon: We're sorry we cheated
by Fox Van Allen 
Dec 6th 2011 at 1:00PM
Paragon had come up with a plan to run the Raid Finder multiple times, once for each raider. While executing the plan, they noticed and exploited a bug that allowed the raid the ability to loot passed gear -- a violation of Blizzard's rules. The exploit has since been hotfixed.We acknowledge that using this unintended behavior, which was quite clearly a bug, to our gain, was wrong. The fact that others were using it as well is no justification for doing it ourselves. We apologize for doing it, and accept whatever consequences follow.
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, News items, Raiding
Reader Comments (Page 3 of 11)
Edymnion Dec 6th 2011 1:53PM
Not big enough, IMO.
arx Dec 6th 2011 2:30PM
I am the one who wrote the apology. I had an unfinished draft written before any news of suspensions hit, and when that happened, I posted it asap. Cooler heads (both ours and yours) usually prevail, which is why it wasn't ready earlier.
Obviously I can't provide you with any proof of this, but we have been open the whole time on what happened, and our thoughts about it. All I can do is say how it went, and you'll have to either accept or reject that.
Puntable Dec 6th 2011 1:10PM
Not banned, it looks like they will be getting an 8-day suspension.
rcs5024 Dec 6th 2011 1:11PM
I'm surprised I haven't heard much of the double dipping Madness fight in week one. I know Exodus at least has some raiders who downed DW twice last week.
omri.wallach Dec 6th 2011 1:12PM
I do like that their apology stated that they accept whatever consequences follow. I hope ALL the guilds that exploited this bug accept consequences for cheating instead of bitching about it. I also hope this means Blizzard isn't afraid to punish those guilds that cheated.
bethontheharbor Dec 6th 2011 1:12PM
Ok how many times have they exploited? They admitted they knew it was wrong. Thats like someone whos been to prison for dui manslaughter, having another offense and telling the judge, "I'm sorry, after killing the last pedestrian, I knew it was wrong to get drunk behind the wheel and kill this one."
I don't care how well known in the wow community someone is, this wasn't an accident like swifty and the server crash. It was taking advantage of an exploit, and they KNEW doing so was against blizzes rules. they just thought they could slide.. Ban hammer time.
Zak Dec 6th 2011 1:24PM
Oh come on, this is not as serious as the example you use. The cheaters didn't affect other players in any way. These are hardcore, professional raiders that only care about being number one. Blizzard isn't going to forever-ban its biggest fans.
What they did was wrong and they will be punished. Losing out on a world first is a big deal for these folks.
LandMineHare Dec 6th 2011 2:23PM
@Zak To be fair, bots don't really affect other players either except regulate server economy, allow players to be lazy, and farm mobs.
Ben Smith Dec 6th 2011 1:15PM
I realize they are probably only doing this because they want to keep their sponsors happy, but I am glad to see it either way.
MikeLive Dec 6th 2011 1:16PM
Wasn't it Paragon last year or year before who got caught cheating and lost a world's first?
ajdinorcia Dec 6th 2011 1:23PM
That was Ensidia
http://wow.joystiq.com/2010/02/04/ensidia-temporarily-banned-for-exploits/
Task Dec 6th 2011 1:23PM
@Mike
That was Ensidia, and they were banned for the use of Saronite bombs during the fight which reset the platform repeatedly.
MikeLive Dec 6th 2011 1:24PM
Ah, okay, thanks!
PeeWee Dec 6th 2011 1:36PM
Ensidia, exploiting that Saronite charges' siege damage actually repaired the platform in LK HC.
loop_not_defined Dec 6th 2011 2:06PM
And it was Exodus that exploited Yogg-Saron the year before:
http://wow.joystiq.com/2009/06/29/exodus-punished-for-exploiting-yogg-saron-encounter/
StClair Dec 6th 2011 5:33PM
In conclusion, "top" guilds cheat.
MikeLive Dec 6th 2011 5:34PM
Why was I downvoted for asking a simple question?
Pyromelter Dec 6th 2011 1:18PM
Here's a question regarding suspensions:
If someone gets suspended for 8 days, do they still have to pay for those 8 days?
DarkWalker Dec 6th 2011 3:38PM
I believe Blizzard keeps charging the player. From a legal point of view, though, I believe the safest course of action would be to freeze the account, and not charge it for the time it was suspended; otherwise, Blizzard would be taking the player's money while at the same time refusing to provide the service they are being paid to do.
Skarn Dec 6th 2011 4:11PM
The ban e-mails do mention that all recurring payments are canceled, so new charges won't hit during the bans. They don't suggest that there will be any refund and I wouldn't expect one.