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Further steps to a better Neverwinter

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  • sonofraistlinsonofraistlin Member Posts: 178 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    I still welcome the annoucement as good news...well done PWE
    “and someday, fat innkeepers will bow to me.”
  • tripsofthrymrtripsofthrymr Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,624 Community Moderator
    edited August 2014
    Thank you for taking the time to confirm to the community that substantial sanctions were put in place. That is an important step in maintaining trust.
    clonkyo1 wrote: »
    IP bans for those exploiters would be a nice start

    Take it from someone that holds three patents in the field of internet device identification - IP bans do not work.

    Permanently banning accounts would require exploiters to start over, if they choose to continue with the game. That should be sufficient.

    Temporary bans can only be effective if combined with account-impacting penalties (e.g. removal of all AD, removal of anything that an audit shows may have been purchased with illicit AD). Temporary bans without additional teeth are a green flag to go ahead and cheat next time.
    Caritas Guild Founder (Greycloak Alliance)

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  • hustin1hustin1 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,464 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    charononus wrote: »
    Simple answer.
    Dynamic IP Addresses are ip addresses that change. Your cable/dsl modem requests a ip address from the isp and gets assigned a random one from a block of addresses the isp uses. If you lose power or restart your modem, you will likely get a different one, and someone else will eventually get your old one.

    Nearly everyone uses DHCP as it's necessary in a world with IPv4 and so many devices needing to connect. As such, there is really no way to uniquely identify a user with just an IP. And, as others posted, MAC addresses are easy to change.

    Nothing short of an internal CPU ID would be effective, but be very careful what you wish for: such a thing would mean that not only Cryptic but everyone else could track you -- not only what you do online, but which device you're using. Over time, gather enough disparate information and you could piece together kinds of information about someone that one might not expect. It's a real potential Pandora's Box.
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  • anharmonanharmon Member Posts: 175
    edited August 2014
    I'm not a computer person, anybody know if there's an effective way to ban a computer? Is there something NW could track for every unique computer that accesses the server (and is difficult to fake)?

    I mean, I'd support a computer ban. That would throw bots and exploiters way off. Especially bots, can you imagine?
  • charononuscharononus Member Posts: 5,715 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    anharmon wrote: »
    I'm not a computer person, anybody know if there's an effective way to ban a computer? Is there something NW could track for every unique computer that accesses the server (and is difficult to fake)?

    I mean, I'd support a computer ban. That would throw bots and exploiters way off. Especially bots, can you imagine?

    Nothing legal.
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  • shurato2099shurato2099 Member Posts: 171 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    anharmon wrote: »
    I'm not a computer person, anybody know if there's an effective way to ban a computer? Is there something NW could track for every unique computer that accesses the server (and is difficult to fake)?

    I mean, I'd support a computer ban. That would throw bots and exploiters way off. Especially bots, can you imagine?

    See the guy directly above you. CPU IDs would do it but the ramifications of that are -way- scary. On a f2p game there's no way to keep them out forever, the best you can do is set them back a bit when you can and try to make the game unprofitable for them to operate in.
  • charononuscharononus Member Posts: 5,715 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    See the guy directly above you. CPU IDs would do it but the ramifications of that are -way- scary. On a f2p game there's no way to keep them out forever, the best you can do is set them back a bit when you can and try to make the game unprofitable for them to operate in.
    Even CPU ID's aren't fool proof see other comments about virtualization.
  • godlysoul2godlysoul2 Member Posts: 661 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2014
    I do appreciate the communication and the action being taken, but ultimately I am still very disappointed. From those I have talked to involved and highly connected with others involved, nearly all bans associated with this exploit appear to be short term temporary bans. Is this really effective to discourage and discipline those who are abusing exploits? Issuing a statement that people got banned is nice for dealing with those "on-the-fence", or uninformed individuals hearing about exploits, but those of us in touch with people in the community who appear to be the heavy, primary exploiters, (who also work with each other to inform/execute these exploits), know the truth. That truth is that these disciplinary measures appear to be no different than previous exploits aside from a temporary ban rather than slim to no action taken. Perhaps AD could be confiscated from banned accounts, but this is just wishful thinking, aside from the fact that I know individuals who were not banned in any reasonable amount of time on exploited accounts, (if at all), giving time to disperse/transfer exploited funds.

    These methods are not effective and do not discourage future exploiting. (It in fact, encourages it). Either permanent banning needs to be implemented (relatively quickly from exploit fixes, if not immediately), or something needs to be done to quickly confiscate most, (if not all), of exploited gains. I could not care if someone needs to wait 7, 30, or 50 days to access an account after an exploit. Ultimately any action taken that does not effect the exploited currency is ineffective action regardless of the situation. I do not support permanent bans because it is a way to prevent those involved in exploits from enjoying the game. I support it because it is a way to remove exploited AD since it appears they are not tracking and removing it, (which is why these exploits are so detrimental and infuriating to us as players). In fact, I would be completely fine if no type of ban were to be issued at all as long as exploited currency were to be found and removed, but this is not happening. (Although, it would also not address the perception of exploiting being a reasonable activity if there were no repercussions).

    I do appreciate the effort, but until action is done which will actually fix the negative results of exploits in a permanent way, (currency or item gains), people will continue to be angry that others are able to get what they work so hard for or pay so much for by simply exploiting. It may be a big step for this game to start taking some action against exploiters, but until exploits and exploiters are truly dealt with in ways which fix the negative impacts of those exploits as well as discourage those involved, (as nearly all other games would do seeing as they take these extremely seriously), exploiting will be encouraged.

    It is not easy, but this is an issue that directly effects motivation and perception of success in the game which are absolutely key fundamentals. The game cannot hold its value in playing/paying in it if what one works or pays for is gained by others through exploiting. Something needs to change.
  • d4rthd00fusd4rthd00fus Member Posts: 453 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    The real sickening thing is that part of Neverwinter's legacy is the quest sharing bug from Mod1 where a quest was listed as sharable and many people took advantage of this to get a small time advantage in moving through the atrociously grindy sharandar quest tree. Many folks got caught up in that not knowing what they were doing was wrong and were simply using a mechanic that Cryptic put in the game. Tons of folks got perma and I mean PERMA banned for the simple act of sharing a quest. These folks are lost forever and will likely never again touch a PWE game due to the heavy handed handling of this. Veterans will remember this well.

    Cryptic learned a lesson it seems from the backlash this caused in the community, but learned it in the wrong way. Ever since then, even the most egregious exploits have been handled with a slap on the wrist and a temporary ban. This isn't right guys. We bust our butts doing things the right way and to see the folks getting away with things like the stat exploits and now outright destroying the economy of the game for their own gain is more than disheartening, it's disgusting. It's the same people doing it too. They learned that they can get away with murder, so they just keep on killing (the game).

    If PWE/Cryptic truly wants to right this ship they need transparency. Numbers would be nice, but I can understand their hesitance to providing that info. For the folks they have definitively determined contributed to all of our pain they need to come out and say we will not see those accounts ever again (both the shell accounts used for the exploits as well as the ones receiving the proceeds). Simply send an email to the 'sploiters explaining that the temp ban was to prevent further harm to the game while they completed their investigation. Now that it has been completed, the irreparable damage done to the game leaves them with no choice but to permanently disable their accounts. Have a nice day.

    -my 2 cents, adjusted for inflation
  • schweifer1982schweifer1982 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,662 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Indeed, that's a quite interesting question: When an account is banned, are their active listings removed? Just imagine 25k zen requested per every player banned and every account related to them.

    Btw, thanks for the good work, we really appreciate it.

    I have the same question.

    Also we all know after emergency update the zax blacklog dont increased its still 13kk so i think too the exploited AD are not removed from the game its still in zax blacklog.
    So i think there are more then 5 000 000 000 Cheated ad in NW and all those ad are in zax blacklog.

    I ask the devs to look on this and investigate it .
    GWF 3700Ilvl Éjsötét & ProPala 3200Ilvl Menydörgés (main) & Szürkefarkas 2600 ilvl
  • mconosrepmconosrep Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Nice words, but they are ringing somewhat hollow.

    Yeah, several people I know in-game who more or less admitted to being 'Lucky' with this exploit are back, and they are a lot better off than before. I am pretty sure that even people who used the exploit AFTER it became public knowledge didn't always get their exploited AD confiscated....
  • zshikarazshikara Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 796 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    I feel that everyone who knows people who are benefitting from exploiting this game should report them to the admins. If you've already done this once, do it again. If this keeps happening eventually cryptic should do something about it when the same names get flashed in their face multiple times per week.
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
    ...
    Tired of running dungeons with exploiters and cheaters? Join the legit channel by visiting http://goo.gl/1zfnTS to apply!
    Performing ritual pony sacrifices to Tiamat to earn favor with the RNG Gods since 2014.
    ...
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  • kattefjaeskattefjaes Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users Posts: 2,270 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2014
    magenubbie wrote: »
    Is this still happening in the civilized world? That's so last century. Anyway, you could use MAC addresses instead. They are already logged as part of the computer verification process, so why not use them? You can even use them to find alternate accounts of offenders.

    Because MAC addresses are changeable locally, and do not propagate out beyond the local network segment for verification, either.

    I'm afraid it's a pretty stupid idea to get into a technology and privacy violation arms race with the world, anyway. Trying more intrusive methods likle using CPUID would be throwing down the gauntlet to attract the attention of the time rich and technologically savvy, who wouldn't otherwise care about one silly MMO. It would also be a PR nightmare that makes the current lamentable series of events look mild.

    Heck, Cryptic can't even make their client work properly on eight cores, much less roll their own equivalent of a Blue Pill detector to avoid being completely subverted by virtualisation.
  • athegatesathegates Member Posts: 2 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    It's one thing to let a machine hand out bans without verifying that an account ever even had the required item for an exploit let alone exploited it, it's something else though when an email to support gives the distinct impression of getting an automatic response without actually checking logs.
  • hiukulimushiukulimus Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 117
    edited August 2014
    akromatik wrote: »
    Greetings adventurers!

    Last week, an exploit was brought to our attention by our ever-vigilant community. Due to the nature of the exploit, immediate action was required. We are following through with our investigation and have taken action against those who abused this exploit. We wanted to update you and let you know that we’ve banned many of the accounts that were involved with the exploit. We hold our player’s safety and the integrity of Neverwinter above all else.

    Thank you very much for your support.

    Edit: I'd also like to add that due to our policy surrounding our players' privacy, we cannot discuss specific actions taken on a given account. If you feel you have been banned in error, please contact our support team via support.arcgames.com


    Akro, i really appreciate this offical statement ...
    its a step that lead hope for "legit"players to enjoy more this game.

    But its a little step... i hope pwe is tracking also who has exploited tons of AD in past months when the exploit was still unknown to 99% of the community. Those exploiters are the real problem.

    anyway good job :)

    p.s your stream is really funny XD keep going that way :D
  • myowmyowmyowmyow Member Posts: 1,923 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    godlysoul2 wrote: »
    I do appreciate the communication and the action being taken, but ultimately I am still very disappointed. From those I have talked to involved and highly connected with others involved, nearly all bans associated with this exploit appear to be short term temporary bans. Is this really effective to discourage and discipline those who are abusing exploits? Issuing a statement that people got banned is nice for dealing with those "on-the-fence", or uninformed individuals hearing about exploits, but those of us in touch with people in the community who appear to be the heavy, primary exploiters, (who also work with each other to inform/execute these exploits), know the truth. That truth is that these disciplinary measures appear to be no different than previous exploits aside from a temporary ban rather than slim to no action taken. Perhaps AD could be confiscated from banned accounts, but this is just wishful thinking, aside from the fact that I know individuals who were not banned in any reasonable amount of time on exploited accounts, (if at all), giving time to disperse/transfer exploited funds.

    These methods are not effective and do not discourage future exploiting. (It in fact, encourages it). Either permanent banning needs to be implemented (relatively quickly from exploit fixes, if not immediately), or something needs to be done to quickly confiscate most, (if not all), of exploited gains. I could not care if someone needs to wait 7, 30, or 50 days to access an account after an exploit. Ultimately any action taken that does not effect the exploited currency is ineffective action regardless of the situation. I do not support permanent bans because it is a way to prevent those involved in exploits from enjoying the game. I support it because it is a way to remove exploited AD since it appears they are not tracking and removing it, (which is why these exploits are so detrimental and infuriating to us as players). In fact, I would be completely fine if no type of ban were to be issued at all as long as exploited currency were to be found and removed, but this is not happening. (Although, it would also not address the perception of exploiting being a reasonable activity if there were no repercussions).

    I do appreciate the effort, but until action is done which will actually fix the negative results of exploits in a permanent way, (currency or item gains), people will continue to be angry that others are able to get what they work so hard for or pay so much for by simply exploiting. It may be a big step for this game to start taking some action against exploiters, but until exploits and exploiters are truly dealt with in ways which fix the negative impacts of those exploits as well as discourage those involved, (as nearly all other games would do seeing as they take these extremely seriously), exploiting will be encouraged.

    It is not easy, but this is an issue that directly effects motivation and perception of success in the game which are absolutely key fundamentals. The game cannot hold its value in playing/paying in it if what one works or pays for is gained by others through exploiting. Something needs to change.

    This is an EXCELLENT post! If this information is true (and it appears to have a valid feel), then I have lost quite a bit of trust in PWE/Cryptic. Exploited AD/goos MUST be removed from the economy! I also feel that permanent account bans MUST be given or the ban process is a HUGE waste of time. These bans should be email address specific, so if someone wants to play again, they must create/use another email address.
    SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! SEC! (repeat indefinitely)


    myles08807 said, "Back in my day, we didn't have any of this fancy Mulhorand gear while we were leveling . . . we walked uphill both ways while dying once every five seconds while leveling, and we liked it fine!" . . . Now, get off my lawn, you kids!"
    pointsman said, "I don't rue the game. In fact I don't feel any regret for the game at all."
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  • mconosrepmconosrep Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    myowmyow wrote: »
    This is an EXCELLENT post! If this information is true (and it appears to have a valid feel), then I have lost quite a bit of trust in PWE/Cryptic. Exploited AD/goos MUST be removed from the economy! I also feel that permanent account bans MUST be given or the ban process is a HUGE waste of time. These bans should be email address specific, so if someone wants to play again, they must create/use another email address.

    An easy way to gauge whether exploited AD has been removed from the system is to look at the ZAX backlog and enchantment prices.

    Enchantment prices have fallen by about a 1/3 after the exploit was stopped so we can assume that the exploit AD was providing as much as a third of the buying power before this. However the ZAX has been constant at around 13 million backlog since then. Sadly, this would seem to indicate that while no more AD from 'lucky' players is flooding the market, there hasn't actually been a significant amount removed either......

    This (admittedly very rough) analysis would seem to back up all the stories from players who are aware of exploiters that have still kept their huge gains.
  • djarkaandjarkaan Member Posts: 883 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    mconosrep wrote: »
    An easy way to gauge whether exploited AD has been removed from the system is to look at the ZAX backlog and enchantment prices.

    Enchantment prices have fallen by about a 1/3 after the exploit was stopped so we can assume that the exploit AD was providing as much as a third of the buying power before this. However the ZAX has been constant at around 13 million backlog since then. Sadly, this would seem to indicate that while no more AD from 'lucky' players is flooding the market, there hasn't actually been a significant amount removed either......

    This (admittedly very rough) analysis would seem to back up all the stories from players who are aware of exploiters that have still kept their huge gains.

    Exploiters were not putting Ad in the ZAX, why would they? They could afford everything off the AH.
  • mconosrepmconosrep Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    djarkaan wrote: »
    Exploiters were not putting Ad in the ZAX, why would they? They could afford everything off the AH.

    Laundering currency exactly the same as people did on Caturday....


    Primary exploit (mule) accounts might just buy items (of course this can include ZEN items too don't forget) and move them around make the trail harder to follow, but the exploiters' main accounts would have no reason not to transfer the AD into ZEN as ZEN is far more valuable than AD.....

    Even more relevantly there are restrictions on what accounts that have not spent any real money on the game can buy from the AH, but no such restrictions on what ZEN items they can purchase from the store. So my (rough) calculation about the exploit AD comprising a third of the AD inflow recently may have been very conservative....
  • jrfbrunetjrfbrunet Member Posts: 388 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    akromatik wrote: »
    Greetings adventurers!

    Last week, an exploit was brought to our attention by our ever-vigilant community. Due to the nature of the exploit, immediate action was required. We are following through with our investigation and have taken action against those who abused this exploit. We wanted to update you and let you know that we’ve banned many of the accounts that were involved with the exploit. We hold our player’s safety and the integrity of Neverwinter above all else.
    How many permanent bans have been issued? (which may be the only feasible way to permanent remove some of the exploited AD from the economy)

    akromatik wrote: »
    Greetings adventurers!
    Edit: I'd also like to add that due to our policy surrounding our players' privacy, we cannot discuss specific actions taken on a given account. If you feel you have been banned in error, please contact our support team via support.arcgames.com
    But you can discuss specific actions taken on a given number of accounts without identifying any individual accounts, thus keeping privacy intact.

    I think everyone realizes that an exploit of this nature can never be prevented, no matter how big and talented a programming team may be; however, the actions taken after an exploit discovery (or lack thereof) show the true colors of a company.
    Where'd my blinky-blinky path go?
  • lycragirllycragirl Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 53
    edited August 2014
    jrfbrunet wrote: »
    How many permanent bans have been issued? (which may be the only feasible way to permanent remove some of the exploited AD from the economy)



    But you can discuss specific actions taken on a given number of accounts without identifying any individual accounts, thus keeping privacy intact.

    I think everyone realizes that an exploit of this nature can never be prevented, no matter how big and talented a programming team may be; however, the actions taken after an exploit discovery (or lack thereof) show the true colors of a company.

    Now this really worries me. I got a plannar out of a box, posted it on the AH and it failed to sell, so I took it to Rhix and got the resonator. Can it be used as intended? I desperately don't want to inadvertently use an exploit. I've never used a resonator before so how do I know if it's functioning correctly?

    Edit: Wrong quote. I meant to quote the pic claiming the exploit was still working! Sorry, Brain not WAI....
  • myvain8myvain8 Member Posts: 8 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    lycragirl wrote: »
    Now this really worries me. I got a plannar out of a box, posted it on the AH and it failed to sell, so I took it to Rhix and got the resonator. Can it be used as intended? I desperately don't want to inadvertently use an exploit. I've never used a resonator before so how do I know if it's functioning correctly?

    I and some other players were banned for that : normal use of planar idol & resonator after that the exploit was patched... sorry :/

    Edit : That's why someone need to give some explanation, to know what was made and what he is allowed to do or not without risking collateral damages.
  • beckylunaticbeckylunatic Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 14,231 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    The Rhix store is currently disabled, so both Jeweled and Planar Idols are completely useless. I'm slightly ticked that I have Idols I was expecting to be able to use normally when I got around to it, which I now can't use at all.

    At least I don't have to worry about getting banned over them.
    Guild Leader - The Lords of Light

    Neverwinter Census 2017

    All posts pending disapproval by Cecilia
  • loboguildloboguild Member Posts: 2,371 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Are Astral Rifts still mineable?
  • beckylunaticbeckylunatic Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 14,231 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    People saying they've been banned just for using a resonator they already had would seem to indicate that they are.
    Guild Leader - The Lords of Light

    Neverwinter Census 2017

    All posts pending disapproval by Cecilia
  • lycragirllycragirl Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 53
    edited August 2014
    The Rhix store is currently disabled, so both Jeweled and Planar Idols are completely useless. I'm slightly ticked that I have Idols I was expecting to be able to use normally when I got around to it, which I now can't use at all.

    At least I don't have to worry about getting banned over them.


    Rhix gave me a resonator in exchange for my Planar this afternoon. I haven't attempted to use it for fear of inadvertently exploiting anything.

    If someone who has used one legitimately can tell me exactly what to do and what to expect, I'll try it.
  • loboguildloboguild Member Posts: 2,371 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    lycragirl wrote: »
    Rhix gave me a resonator in exchange for my Planar this afternoon. I haven't attempted to use it for fear of inadvertently exploiting anything.

    If someone who has used one legitimately can tell me exactly what to do and what to expect, I'll try it.

    I wouldn't risk it honestly, they have been banning people for 7 days that legitimately mined Rifts. Wait until this is all sorted out.
  • iambecks1iambecks1 Member Posts: 4,044 Arc User
    edited August 2014
    Just click it and your characters eyes glow and you get a trail to follow to a whirly pink/purple thing that you interact with and then get between 40 and 50k refined AD , I have two but theres no way in hell I'm risking it two days before a new module xD
    YourSecretsAreOurSecrets.gif
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