All I want is 1 screenshot.

[Tharkkun]

more generally it just seems like good economics. blizzard has established that they view botting as a non=-permaban offense now. retroactively adjusting account status for the glider and archychat bans isn't a huge leap since they have moved the goalposts out of the stadium already. let folks resurrect their old accounts. take the revenue and run. Why not?

now as far as OP, to spend 10k/29kEUR, obviously one suspects this particular account has an economy exploit problem on a scale beyond anything most players can imagine (buying gold I assume? how do you spend 10k/29k EUR?). While blizzard has also moved into this market, I have not heard that accounts trying to make an end-run around their legal monopoly on gold selling aren't getting permabanned anymore.

I agree. Because if they are stupid enough to cheat yet again they will get a 1 year ban or more due to prior history. I think it's a win/win situation to remove the ban on old accounts if the player opens a ticket for it. I wouldn't do it globally though.

[Kazgrel]

Ooo neat, the weekly "omfg I got banned fuck u blizz" thread.

[Tharkkun]

You're not permabanned for 1 ban.

Prior to the penalties changing a year or two ago it was a perma ban. Any offense on the same level as botting was a permanent ban. Now it's a 6 month suspension. My old GM hacked the account of a guild mate who left our guild in Vanilla and took all the mats we gave him for his Thunderfury. His forum password was the same as his game. He got caught and his account is still banned to this day.

[athrun7189]

This is clearly a working troll, this cant be true.

[BananaHandsB]

Never heard of a perma ban for a first time botting offense....6 month, MAYBE, but never perma....these stories are always watered down versions of the truth aimed at putting blizzard in a bad light due to ban salt.

- - - Updated - - -

Prior to the penalties changing a year or two ago it was a perma ban. Any offense on the same level as botting was a permanent ban. Now it's a 6 month suspension. My old GM hacked the account of a guild mate who left our guild in Vanilla and took all the mats we gave him for his Thunderfury. His forum password was the same as his game. He got caught and his account is still banned to this day.

Apples and oranges. Compromising accounts and botting aren't even the same category. It's still a perma ban for compromising accounts.

[Paula Deen]

There was no Ban Wave 5 years ago.

The closest Ban Wave to that date would be 2010, so 6 years.

[Stormspellz]

no one gets perma banned on their go around, even the pvp scum cheaters.

[BarosanuNr1]

Private realm > Identical character > Screenshot.

Lazy man's option: Model viewer > Identical character > Pretty background > Screenshot.

[Pony Soldier]

Hey the way I see it you shouldn't go against the game's rules in the first place. You had to have known that botting would get you banned if you were caught. If you did it anyway knowing full well of the consequences then you deserve it. So stop acting like you deserve something in return just because you put so much time and money into it.

You cheated and got caught now deal with the consequences.

[Kardagh]

You guys are insane if you think botting for 1 hour should get you permabanned and I'm talking as someone who has never used any kind of bot. Then is it fair that people who abused world boss only get seven days? give me a break.

Well this is MMO-Champ, everyone here is a saint remember

Considering it was for archaeology i find it baffling they would even give you a ban, i mean who are you conning out here? What unfair advantage does archaeology give you? It's a boring (and has always been) system of repetitive grinding, and the only reward is vanity items.

You have my sympathy OP, even if no one else wants to give it. Humans are humans, punishment should fit the crime. Alas it seems chopping a hand off for stealing an apple seems acceptable by posters standards here.

[Vankrys]

you won't make blizzard budge. To them you are nothing.

Blizzard makes games and provide services, you like the game you give them money, that is the extent of the relationship. They are not your friend and i really doubt they would make an exception of their banning rules for you, too risky and like i said, you are nothing for them.

Either start a new account, or move on, best edvice i can give you. Blizzard won't budge.

[endersblade]

I'd say... that they could look into each case separately if a plea is made. Sure, you cheated, and they banned you, but... I don't think that breaking the rules just 1 time should warrant a permanent ban. If you do it again? Sure, get lost, but for just once? I don't agree.

Blizzard hasn't always had the same rules for handing out suspensions and bans. I think I know what banwave he's talking about (it was newsworthy after all), I got hit in it too. I lost an account that had three spectral tigers on it. This was back before b.net. Back then, they handed out bans a lot more than they do now. Now, you get caught botting, they just suspend you over and over again. I have an account that's on its 7th suspension (the first few weren't 6 months long, like they do now).

[Quibble]

Way to extrapolate things out of context to prove your point. Why no permaban for people who killed naz'ak 200 times/did the world quest 1000 times/used honorbuddy? Nice double standards you got there.

Maybe botting and using exploits... are just not the same?

One is using ingame bugs, to do stuff you shouldn't be able to.. but you still have to play the game yourself.

Botting is removing the player, allowing someone to "play the game, 24/7" without ever having to play themself..

Those things are obviously not the same..

Anyone botting, should in my opinion be perma banned.. apparenly blizzard looks different on this today than previously, but to fucking bad if you got caught when they still perma banned, suck it up and stop whining (OP).
I also think, that massive use of ingame exploits should be reason for perma ban.
But blizzard makes the rules... either follow them, or get lost.

[prwraith]

Because none of us can imagine what you can buy with 29k in Blizzard games? Does he have 20 friends who he pays the WoW sub for 12 years?

I think that's really the oddest part about this. I mean i've been playing mmo's since 2000 and even that's only 3,000 USD. That's roughly 2600 name changes to make up the difference...the op is on something.

[Deficineiron]

29 000 or 10 000 a "rounding error" Hope he doesn't do his own taxes ^^ - he also went from playing Blizzard games for 12 year, to 10 years, though I give him that 4,5 years ago (that was when he got banned) he has forgotten if he botted 1 or 2 hrs.

To people who say Blizzard handled bans different in the beginning: 4,5 years is not the beginning. Who got a perma-ban ever end of Cata / start of MoP.

Yes, there is some cynicism in replies here, but I don't see a reason to be disturbed at criticism. It is needed with a story that has so many holes and OP is not addressing them. Not even the people who defend him can come up with an idea how to spend 29 000 Euros on Blizzard games.

BTW, I think a permaban would be too harsh for 1-2 hrs of botting.

You need to be more elastic with numbers. The number aren't supposed to be strictly accurate in themselves, but to be the right size of number to get the desired reaction as best possible. It may be 10k euro wasnt enough, so 29k is the new number. Both need to be taken at face value by other posters, since both represent the emotional truth of his posts. Next time it may be 45 or 55k euro. doesn't matter, all are equally valid.

also, nitpicking on years playing blizzard games ignores that the statement has 2 major data points - date started and today's date (assuming he plays still). both, under the new flexible-reality posting guidelines, are variables. In order to make the numbers right, it can be 2014, 2016, or even 2018 today. No need to get picky.

Please get with the program on goodfacts vs realfact mr det. You have to embrace the madness to avoid insanity.

[Dartz1979]

It's typical blizzard they are the "shinra incorporated" of online gaming they do not care about anyone but making the money a final fantasy 7 reference if you didn't know. :-)

[Sentynel]

It's typical blizzard they are the "shinra incorporated" of online gaming they do not care about anyone but making the money a final fantasy 7 reference if you didn't know. :-)

Yea, how come a for-profit company cares about their money?

If they only cared about $$ they wouldn't ban anyone at all since it's extra monthly revenue for them.

[Constraint]

Apply that to 5 million players.
"You can break the rules, but only once!"

And: No one is perma-banned for botting on the first time. It scales up until perma, but those banwaves get you for 6 months first or something like that.

That didn't used to be true. Before someone at Blizzard realised they actually make more money if they don't perma-ban, you would almost ALWAYS be permanently banned for cheating/botting/hacking or anything like that, without so much as a bat of the eyelash.

[Deficineiron]

I like the bit of "You have to embrace the madness to avoid insanity" - with everything else I disagree.

You were close to insight here. 1+1 can be 10k or 29k. 10 years = 12 years.

I suggest some authors who can illustrate the value of this type of thinking. A guy named George Orwell wrote a book with a good example. you can get it on amazon, it is called 1984.



on your non-math factual question - the archybot bans were permanent in many cases.

[MyndZero]

I have played this game since 2004.

I have spent 29 000 euros on blizzard games during this time ( keep in mind transactions are not kept track of past 2010 ) I spent huge amounts on name changes before 2010 ( i changed name on every 3 days when the cooldown went of )
------------------

During 12 years I broke the rules 1 time. I archeaology botted for 1 hour, decided it was not for me and stopped. This was exactly 5 years ago and 300 days.

Later i was cought in a major banwave and i was permenantly banned.

-----------------

I grew up on the account. That was my childhood.

I mail blizzard every year, i phone them and I send letters. I am not asking them to unbann me, i broke the rules.

But is it REALLY to much to ask? ALL i want in return is to be able to take one godamn screenshot of my character to bring with me as i move on with life, as a memory.

Are they really that f*ing cold?

You could of used the armory to get that screenshot