So Bioware, about people bypassing the locked part on Ziost to fight the OP Boss etc.

[midianlord]

BTW, to everyone saying that Bioware should have let people know in a better way what was going on, I'm sorry but there has to be some personal responsibility here. Everyone knows that Bioware posts important information on the website and the twitter feed. If people choose not to check the Dev Blog, then thats not really Biowares fault. Further, even if they had put in a message that could be clicked away ig, or put it on the splash screen/launcher, people would still complain about not having seen it and people would still be ************ about biowares poor job at communicating. People have their own responsibility, if they choose not to check out whats going on its not really Bioware's fault.

 

That's the problem with this generation of MMOs:

 

No-one takes responsibility because there is no need to. Everything is just handed out predictably, everyone's a special little snowflake, in their own happy little snowflake world.

 

Why police themselves when everyone will get the handout eventually, anyway?

 

Why be a community that enforces its own standards when there is no need to be?

 

There is no fundamental-level community integrity in this game anymore, if there ever was. F2P in general, and that *********** repellent cash-shop in particular exacerbate this, but it's not their fault, either.They're just meeting a demand that already exists, and is re-enforced.

 

We can be better than this, if we choose. The consequences of not doing so are no-one's fault but our own, and here we have a consequence of that choice.

 

It really is that simple.

Edited May 2, 2015 by midianlord

[DarthVengeant]

An exploit is an exploit.

 

The rules either apply equally to all, with equal enforcement for all, or why even bother having rules at all?

 

If this game wasn't as tied to an almost exclusively-vertical/gear-based progression model, then one could argue that it's no big thing, as there'd be (ideally, many) other legit ways to get the gear/rewards, but there aren't.

 

How far are you going to let it go before the fundamental integrity of this game's entire progression-model is undermined?

 

I just hope that the exploiters' game-bans extend to the forums as well, the last thing i want to see is a bunch of sanctimonious ****-posting from the cheaters making themselves out to be the victims (like there isn't enough of that already)...

 

Get a load of the comments in the thread on this matter on Dulfy if you want to wallow in it, though:

 

Odious. Just odious.

 

Ya, because some dude who you don't know who did the "exploit" and got a few pieces of gear effects you, your game, and your life somehow. LOL. Talk about completely ridiculous.

 

Its a video game.... You and alot of other people are taking this WAY too serious. Get your priorities adjusted. People rambling on and on for pages about this as if someone committed a crime, like it effects them somehow, when it doesn't.

Edited May 2, 2015 by DarthVengeant

[jrwellworth]

They got a trophy AFTER being somewhat responsible for spreading the Ravager Exploit, at least on the Harbinger Server, and there were rumors they were responsible for spreading it to other servers as well ((though I'll admit I have no proof of that, hence why I said it is a rumor)). I wouldnt be surprised in the least if the people that are in Zorz who admitted to having done it on reddit also got a ban or if Bioware is making them a special poster to commemorate it.

 

You guys do know it was just an 8 man raid team from <zorz> that got special mention and posters for putting in the time to beat the hardest content in game. Again. Why folks just can't be happy when something good happens to others, I will never know, but I do know it is why we can't have nice things. On topic, the transparency was nice, along with the updates.

[Ratajack]

Ya, because some dude who you don't know who did the "exploit" and got a few pieces of gear effects you, your game, and your life somehow. LOL. Talk about completely ridiculous.

 

Its a video game.... You and alot of other people are taking this WAY too serious. Get your priorities adjusted. People rambling on and on for pages about this as if someone committed a crime, like it effects them somehow, when it doesn't.

 

If a player has no sense of integrity and exploits, it may not affect ME personally, but it can and usually does affect those players with whom the exploiting player comes into contact. This is, after all, an MMO--a MULTIPLAYER game, NOT a single player console game where no one will know if you use cheat codes.

 

If players in guild A choose to exploit and gain that 204 main hand weapon, would they not have an advantage in ranked PVP against a team from guild B that chose NOT to exploit? It may not affect me personally as I generally choose not to PVP and i do not engage in ranked PVP, but it WILL affect other players.

 

Cheating is cheating, no matter how you try to justify, or otherwise excuse, it. Those caught cheating by exploiting their way into the restricted area deserve whatever action BW chooses to take, and probably deserve a STIFFER penalty.

[Ghisallo]

Ya, because some dude who you don't know who did the "exploit" and got a few pieces of gear effects you, your game, and your life somehow. LOL. Talk about completely ridiculous.

 

Its a video game.... You and alot of other people are taking this WAY too serious. Get your priorities adjusted. People rambling on and on for pages about this as if someone committed a crime, like it effects them somehow, when it doesn't.

 

Hey look a BS rationalization... I am shocked.

 

Long story short... Some of those gated off mobs drop items that would make OPs progression easier...so the competitive guilds that refuse to exploit are at a disadvantage for progression. Exploits can indeed effect other people.

 

An MMO needs rules just like any other group as well. Now there are a lot fewer rules in an MMO but the rules it have need to be enforced in an unbiased fashion. If they are not and you instead start saying "well this one isn't a big one or that one is a nothing", well you may as well have no rules.

[midianlord]

Ya, because some dude who you don't know who did the "exploit" and got a few pieces of gear effects you, your game, and your life somehow. LOL. Talk about completely ridiculous.

 

Its a video game.... You and alot of other people are taking this WAY too serious. Get your priorities adjusted. People rambling on and on for pages about this as if someone committed a crime, like it effects them somehow, when it doesn't.

 

If you truly can't/won't understand why this extends beyond the end of your own nose, and why this sort of thing kinda, like, matters in an MMO, then I can say nothing else to you except:

 

**** off back to your aim-bots and wall-hacks in CoD (Certified Online Daycare), kid.

 

The adults are talking now.

Edited May 2, 2015 by midianlord

[Danery]

Ya, because some dude who you don't know who did the "exploit" and got a few pieces of gear effects you, your game, and your life somehow. LOL. Talk about completely ridiculous.

 

Its a video game.... You and alot of other people are taking this WAY too serious. Get your priorities adjusted. People rambling on and on for pages about this as if someone committed a crime, like it effects them somehow, when it doesn't.

 

Its not just about the gear, though that is a big part of it. Its also about the fact that they are gaining access to content that other people cant do because we choose not to cheat. Why should they get early access to content when they pay the same subscription cost that I do? What makes them so much more special than the 99% of the paying crowd that they should get access to it before anyone else, simply because they have no lives and can spend hours platforming looking for a bugged area?

 

And why should they get access to gear earlier than anyone else, when they signed an agreement that said they would not exploit bugs? And no it wasnt a crime, but it was a violation of the ToS and the EULA and subject to punishement which they got

Edited May 2, 2015 by Danery

[Infernixx]

If you truly can't/won't understand why this extends beyond the end of your own nose, and why this sort of thing kinda, like, matters in an MMO, then I can say nothing else to you except:

 

**** off back to your aim-bots and wall-hacks in CoD (Certified Online Daycare), kid.

 

The adults are talking now.

 

Yeah!

[Max_Killjoy]

This whole thread = YAWN.

 

Big flipping deal.

[GadgetDon]

BTW, to everyone saying that Bioware should have let people know in a better way what was going on, I'm sorry but there has to be some personal responsibility here. Everyone knows that Bioware posts important information on the website and the twitter feed.

 

I just checked the blog. Hmmm. Nothing in their either about the content being split into two parts or about this labelled an exploit. But surely it's in the twitter feed. Nope, not there either.

 

Communication on this has been LOUSY. Nothing anywhere leading up giving a hint that the content would be staggered. No message now on the "public face" areas (blog and twitter). Didn't post in the forums until people were asking why they couldn't progress. If someone hadn't been through the content yet, no way of knowing they shouldn't have joined an op to take down a big boss until a forum post announcing the hammer being dropped.

 

The devs/community team have a lot of means of communicating issues to the players. NONE of these were used in this case. Unless you spend as much time in the forums as you spend playing the game, you'd have gotten the mushroom treatment.

 

And the problem with the handling of exploits is that it's not an exploit until the devs say it is. Clearly the game is set up not to allow you to send bound gear to alts, but some people figured out that you can rip the mods, put in legacy gear, and it's now bound to legacy. Was called an exploit by the players but never punished as one.

 

End of this week, I transferred 500 basic comms to an alt. The game design is so you can't do that, but there's a not-difficult way. Did I engage in an exploit, or was I merely very clever with the game mechanics? The only time I'll know is when punishment happens.

Edited May 2, 2015 by GadgetDon

[Danery]

Could they have done a better job when 3.2 was released of communicating some of the content wouldnt be availabe until Monday? Sure. But the information IS in the blog post, you're obviously just not looking for it. But the fact that there was a huge red gate to the next area and the only way to get there was to look for a bugged way to get over an impassable mountain should have been people's first clue. If you are using a bug to get something, then its an exploit. Whether Bioware chooses to act on it is up to them. But if you find something that you think is a bug, you should be /bug reporting it to find out. Thats your obligation as much as anyone elses. You don't just keep doing something you arent supposed to be able to do until the Devs say something about it and then whine when you get punished.

[Danery]

BTW what is and is not an exploit is clearly defined. It isnt dependent on when the Devs post and say it is or isnt.

[Infernixx]

Today, I learned that some people need to be told bluntly in small simple to understand words that they shouldn't try to get past a gated and walled off section of the game.

[MisterBlackJack]

Yes.. a REAL ROADMAP from BW would be nice... part of the reason guilds like ZORZ are leaving I'm sure and likely more guilds might be just as public, but many have silently decreased in progression players already.

 

I agree with Dawn.. why does it matter if someone else can get this mainhand? Should the RNG Revanite gear token get yanked from this boss too since it could be a 198 mainhand that is only available killing Revan in HM, but this is a SM run? Sorry, but that really sounds like special snowflake syndrome here.

 

 

• Maybe the next round of Operations will have one less boss and this is to balance that out?
  
• Maybe BW has finally realized making "Hardmarish" for 1%-3% of the population was a BAD idea and waste of resources and is cutting folks a break here.
  
• Maybe the ONLY way to get people to go after this boss is to put in a big carrot... lets be honest most guilds would hit it once for Achievement's and never look back. How long did guilds farm NMP? How long did they farm TC?
  

 

I think It's nice to see another TC based boss that drops gear people want/need. If it's JUST the mainhand then no big deal... it's one item. Keep in mind player community "appears" to be getting smaller as we move into the summer and lack of content is driving that as well. Less people makes it harder to get 8 people for multiple hours to raid. ONE boss.. much easier to spend 1-2 hours tops to get players (Casual mostly) and keeps people in game. Me personally would like to see MORE bosses like this that can be done ONE-OFF from scheduled RAIDS.

 

Finally.. WHO CARES? It's something to do on that planet now! If it drops Matter Trans mats then even better.

 

I disagree with you on "Hardmarish" ops. I hope Bioware continues with harder hardmodes and challenging storymodes. It helps prolong the content cycle. I would be happy if they just go into a new ops with Hardmarish Hms and skip NiM Ravagers and ToS for later after the "stale content" goes away

[Max_Killjoy]

Today, I learned that some people need to be told bluntly in small simple to understand words that they shouldn't try to get past a gated and walled off section of the game.

 

Today I learned that some players really, REALLY care about things that don't affect them in the slightest.

 

OK, that's not true -- I learned that a long time ago.

[branmakmuffin]

Today I learned that some players really, REALLY care about things that don't affect them in the slightest.

 

OK, that's not true -- I learned that a long time ago.

Today I learned that Max_killjoy thinks cheating is OK as long as you don't get caught.

[Danery]

Today I learned that Max_killjoy thinks cheating is OK as long as you don't get caught.

 

No.. its ok to get access to content other people cant get into until the 4th by cheating despite the fact that we all pay the same sub cost. Those people are leet and deserve it.

[lightSaberAddiCt]

Today I learned that some players really, REALLY care about things that don't affect them in the slightest.

 

OK, that's not true -- I learned that a long time ago.

 

Wow took Pagy 29 pages, and max over 40 pages to start trolling exploit threads. These guys are really losing their touch.

[GadgetDon]

Could they have done a better job when 3.2 was released of communicating some of the content wouldnt be availabe until Monday? Sure. But the information IS in the blog post, you're obviously just not looking for it.

 

If you mean this line:

 

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your adventures on Ziost. I assure you, this is only the beginning. The stage is being set for what is going to be an incredible journey.

 

That's usual marketing blather announcing that more stuff will come later, not "we split it in two". If you mean something else, quote it please. And again, I'm talking blog posts, not forums. As players, we get emails about blog posts, not about postings in the dev tracker. And given the large number of posts in the other thread about "why doesn't the planetary monitor work",most people didn't see it.

[GadgetDon]

I disagree with you on "Hardmarish" ops. I hope Bioware continues with harder hardmodes and challenging storymodes. It helps prolong the content cycle. I would be happy if they just go into a new ops with Hardmarish Hms and skip NiM Ravagers and ToS for later after the "stale content" goes away

 

Oh goodie, you should get what you want and to hell with everyone else.

 

It's a good thing that there are hard and really hard modes for those who like that and have the skill and gear to complete it. Yay for you!

 

But to say "It ALL has to be like this, there can't be easier versions of it for players with less gear and less skill" is showing a complete disregard for players with different styles.

 

Level 50 had it right, for flashpoints. There were tacticals (easy peasy), Flashpoints (required a bit more understanding of roles and such) and hardmode flashpoints. Level 55 had tacticals, level 50 HM flashpoints (which for the most part were like storymode for level 55 players), and level 55 HM flashpoints. And both 50 and 55 had daily missions that didn't depend on signing up for everything in the GF.

 

Level 60 launched with tacticals and HM 60 - HM55 was added and they counted towards the weekly but they don't anymore. I'm not saying they should, but there should be a HM55 daily or weekly.

[Danery]

If you mean this line:

 

 

 

That's usual marketing blather announcing that more stuff will come later, not "we split it in two". If you mean something else, quote it please. And again, I'm talking blog posts, not forums. As players, we get emails about blog posts, not about postings in the dev tracker. And given the large number of posts in the other thread about "why doesn't the planetary monitor work",most people didn't see it.

 

I am talking about the Dev Tracker which every single player has access to and which tracks every single post a dev makes. If you are too lazy to check that but not too lazy to check the blog then thats on you not the Devs

[Confucious]

Just like the Ravagers Exploit was a Christmas Present from Bioware. People who wanna cheat will come up with any excuse to excuse their actions and try to defend themselves in the hopes they can avoid punishment. If people arent reading the forums, and seriously think that having to get summoned or do some insane jumping and maneuvering to do end game content then I have to wonder how long they've actually been playing. Yes there have been some things in the game that required some really awkward jumping or terrain maneuvering to get to, but they sure as hell didnt get you to an op instance that dropped a BiS Weapon, so claiming that because its been required for a crappy datacron means it could have been intended to get a BiS Mainhand is just idiotic.

 

ESPECIALLY after Devs posted that it was INTENDED that we could not do the content until next week

 

Then they shouldn't have released it! The moment a bug becomes beneficial its an exploit but when a bugs a bug---well then its just that!

 

Speaking of Ravagers, I knew a guy that ran all his toons thru but the moment others did he was all "THEY NEED TO FIX THIS ****"! lol,

 

QQ more please

[Danery]

Then they shouldn't have released it! The moment a bug becomes beneficial its an exploit but when a bugs a bug---well then its just that!

 

Speaking of Ravagers, I knew a guy that ran all his toons thru but the moment others did he was all "THEY NEED TO FIX THIS ****"! lol,

 

QQ more please

 

Oh please. Go show me a game that doesnt have bugs in it at all anywhere. They fixed what they knew about. Stop blaming Bioware because you feel self-entitled to access content before anyone else so you can act like you are so much more awesome

 

And yes you are right, when people use a bug to gain an advantage its an EXPLOIT. Thats the definition of exploit in the gaming world, and how its defined in the ToS and the Rules of Conduct

Edited May 2, 2015 by Danery

[azudelphi]

Then they shouldn't have released it! The moment a bug becomes beneficial its an exploit but when a bugs a bug---well then its just that!

 

Speaking of Ravagers, I knew a guy that ran all his toons thru but the moment others did he was all "THEY NEED TO FIX THIS ****"! lol,

 

QQ more please

 

It's not so much QQ as it is established that the bypass was not working as intended. They've laid out the deal for how they wanted it to go, and it was so it could be a staggered release. Trying to say, "Well, staggered release was basically asking for us to cheat... therefore we should be forgiven" is not a strong stance to take.

 

Rationalize it however you want, fact is it is declared as being an exploit over a bug. They have handled this well (which is a reassuring surprise).

[Confucious]

Oh please. Go show me a game that doesnt have bugs in it at all anywhere. They fixed what they knew about. Stop blaming Bioware because you feel self-entitled to access content before anyone else so you can act like you are so much more awesome

 

And yes you are right, when people use a bug to gain an advantage its an EXPLOIT. Thats the definition of exploit in the gaming world, and how its defined in the ToS and the Rules of Conduct

 

Your funny, i didn't access anything... you mad?

Its all just bad programming, Exploration is encouraged in this game, I stand by what I said!