Players BANNED for going to Ilum? Suggestions to Customer Service

[Zorvan]

I highly doubt a Bioware employee would spell "Ilum" incorrectly. Not to mention every email I've EVER gotten from them has has the same colour/theme as this website. Try harder.

 

And not every email I've gotten from them has the color/theme of the website. Try harder.

[TYBERzan]

If this is true, then whoever made the decision to ban people over it needs to be fired immediately, and in a very public manner.

 

It's like being a special forces operative behind enemy lines -- if you are caught, you are disavowed by your own government. Unless you are banning people who are hacking and/or gold selling, then pick a scapegoat and point the finger, Bioware.

 

I agree they ned to make an example to keep the playerbase from raging.

[Tedstery]

Quote from the CS mail, and yeah sure, its wrong, but till then i smell BS.

[pattongb]

No, they got banned for having the desire to explore and add a little challenge to break the absolute monotony of the game for themselves, instead of being sheep just following the little treadmill from point A to point B.

 

 

 

Wanna show me where in the EULA or ToS it says you can't open a level 50 chest or harvest a node in a level 50 area at level 1? I'll wait while you look it up.

 

And we will wait for you to actually read the entire thread rather than just posting randomly.

 

AGAIN: The OP is a liar, this has already been established. Yet he continues to bump his own post claiming he is just trying to keep people informed of the CS policies of BW.

 

What he is really doing is sitting back and watching people who dont even know what they are posting (because they didnt read the whole story) and laughing at the idiocy of people who keep dribble like this bumped up to 50+ pages.

 

NOONE was banned for leveling slicing to 400, going to Ilum and farming nodes.

 

The OP was banned (if he even was, that is still very much in doubt) for using opposite faction players to "flip" nodes to have them constantly respawn and provide unending bounty.

 

The fact that coding, or game mechanics allows this exploit to happen (at the moment) does not make it right.

 

What is even funnier than the people who are suckered in by the OP's lie about being banned for simply farming in a high level area, are the people who understand the OP was using an exploit and still believe its not his fault.

 

Apparently if I go into Wells Fargo and my teller walks away for a minute to talk to a manager, and accidently leaves the till open, its ok for me to take the money.

 

I mean theres a whole host of reasons why I can justify it right?

1- She should have been better trained. Not my fault she wasnt.

2- Wells Fargo should have implemented safety features to prevent this from having, not my fault they didnt.

3- I know its a bank, but hey money shouldnt be left withing reach of a customer! Not my fault the way they handle money is "broke".

 

I mean christ I could go on and on.

 

One of the biggest issues with the world today is as humans we seem to be getting to the point of being able to justify anything. Further noone takes responsibility for anything anymore. Sad.

 

People like the OP who use unintended game mechanics (opposite faction players working together to achieve goals) to exploit the game for money, armor, xp etc..throw the entire balance of the game off and effect the rest of us in countless ways.

 

But you go ahead and keep "excusing" his actions.

Edited December 31, 2011 by pattongb

[Ken_Scades]

soooooooo.....

we all know by know that there is "nothing" up to "even less then nothing" to this ban story.... this thread is just flaming right now. So please, tell me, why doesn't any administrator close this thread already???

[TYBERzan]

And we will wait for you to actually read the entire thread rather than just posting randomly.

 

AGAIN: The OP is a liar, this has already been established. Yet he continues to bump his own post claiming he is just trying to keep people informed of the CS policies of BW.

 

What he is really doing is sitting back and watching people who dont even know what they are posting (because they didnt read the whole story) and laughing at the idiocy of people who keep dribble like this bumped up to 50+ pages.

 

NOONE was banned for leveling slicing to 400, going to Ilum and farming nodes.

 

The OP was banned (if he even was, that is still very much in doubt) for using opposite faction players to "flip" nodes to have them constantly respawn and provide unending bounty.

 

The fact that coding, or game mechanics allows this exploit to happen (at the moment) does not make it right.

 

What is even funnier than the people who are suckered in by the OP's lie about being banned for simply farming in a high level area, are the people who understand the OP was using an exploit and still believe its not his fault.

 

Apparently if I go into Wells Fargo and my teller walks away for a minute to talk to a manager, and accidently leaves the till open, its ok for me to take the money.

 

I mean theres a whole host of reasons why I can justify it right?

1- She should have been better trained. Not my fault she wasnt.

2- Wells Fargo should have implemented safety features to prevent this from having, not my fault they didnt.

3- I know its a bank, but hey money shouldnt be left withing reach of a customer! Not my fault the way they handle money is "broke".

 

I mean christ I could go on and on.

 

One of the biggest issues with the world today is as humans we seem to be getting to the point of being able to justify anything. Further noone takes responsibility for anything anymore. Sad.

 

People like the OP who use unintended game mechanics (opposite faction players working together to achieve goals) to exploit the game for money, armor, xp etc..throw the entire balance of the game off and effect the rest of us in countless ways.

 

But you go ahead and keep "excusing" his actions.

 

You ASSUMED that that is what happened you have no facts so stop talking until we have facts.

[Catchmeifucan]

soooooooo.....

we all know by know that there is "nothing" up to "even less then nothing" to this ban story.... this thread is just flaming right now. So please, tell me, why doesn't any administrator close this thread already???

 

Because if they closed it, every one (trolls) would be saying bioware is covering it up. Better to keep it open imo

[Workerdrone]

2) If you level up your slicing and that's the best/only place to get slicing XP, what should you do? Stop slicing until your level catches up?

My alt is 19, standing in Fleet, and has 400 Slicing without ever going near Ilum.

3) Beyond these screenshots, there is no further proof. You are welcome to google search for results, and see deleted posts, but aside from a public post from Bioware (who will not discuss the events of peoples accounts, it's considered private) So please do not ask for any more proof. There's none to be had.

And here's why people are getting banned: http://www.swtormovies.com/movieview.php?id=663

 

Notice how it has nothing to do with leveling Slicing?

[sigilaea]

I've already been to Ilum on a low level toon. Many deaths. Looted a chest. Nothing happened. Case closed. Edited December 31, 2011 by sigilaea

[thebigpalooka]

Hey. Even if everything went down exactly as the purportedly banned player says it did (leveling slicing/looting on Ilum), he still doesn't have much room to complain, because what he did was still against the TOS. It's actually in the Rules of Conduct. (http://www.swtor.com/legalnotices/roc , and you can find the link to it in the TOS too, under section 5). Scroll down to section B., and it's #6.

 

This is what it says:

You may not engage in any conduct or practice that results in an Account containing items, objects, currency, character attributes, rank, or status that are inappropriate for the level or rank of the character contained in the Account, i.e., "item loading,".

 

If you want, you can argue about what constitutes 'inappropriate', but that's where 'recommended levels' come in. If it's not somewhere you can participate in normal gameplay, you're probably not supposed to be there. So yeah.

[chizhik]

If this story is true (and it looks legit to me), this is an ugly mess. May I loot chests and nods in a level 28+ zone as a level 25? How about level 35+ zone? How about the starter 1- 10 zones? After all, there is a clear warning in game that the resources there intended for low level characters, as indicated by level ranges on the in-game map. So, when it comes to resource gathering, what exactly is and isn't exploiting? How far out of the intended zone level range do I need to be to get slapped for farming mats there? Edited December 31, 2011 by chizhik

[Skizzik]

How about a level 50 "interfering" in a low level area, where they can easily kill mobs, possibly killing a boss that players of the correct level need in order to complete quests and thusly spoiling the gameplay for them, is this not the same thing in reverse, or is it beucase its gear and money, ie material gain that makes it worse?

The whole thing is a joke imo, and the mods on here censor everything they dont like it seems to.

 

Or how about level 50's going into the starting areas and telling everyone how their class story turns out? I've already seen that, and imo, it's worse than going into a high area to loot a lockbox. I'm starting to have second thoughts about continuing playing this game.

[Jedi_Wannabe]

If this story is true (and it looks legit to me), this is an ugly mess. May I loot chests and nods in a level 28+ zone as a level 25? How about level 35+ zone? How about the starter 1- 10 zones? After all, there is a clear warning in game that the resources there intended for low level characters, as indicated by level ranges on the in-game map. So, when it comes to resource gathering, what exactly is and isn't exploiting? How far out of the intended zone level range do I need to be to get slapped for farming mats there?

 

SO, what happens if a level 50 character drops their crew skills and takes different ones? Can a level 50 go back to low level zones to gather materials for their new skills?

[frankdicesare]

total bull, they didnt even say how long the ban was for. dont beleive everything you see

[_Miranda_]

I always thought the levels shown were friendly suggestions, to help guide new players to the appropriate planets.

 

You know... like in every other game?

 

It's absurd if people are being banned for going there. I'd be inclined not to believe it, but with some of the choices Bio has been making, I wouldn't be surprised.

[Engleheart]

Someone at Bioware needs fired TODAY if this is true. Bioware is making some pretty stupid mistake right out of the gate. I just can't fathom who in there right mind would think a ban was a good idea.

 

 

Edit: but you know they will not say a word about it even if it is un-true. Bioware is showing a true disdain for speaking to us Customers.

Edited December 31, 2011 by Engleheart

[Gohlar]

There is more to this story and anyone with any common sense knows it.

[Poisonmouse]

Wouldn't adding a level cap to high level areas solve everything? So you have to be a specific level to go to a specific area? Then there'd be no need to ban people who could possibly exploit and then there'd be no accidental bans for those just exploring.

 

Y'know... logic.

[Leggomy]

Someone at Bioware needs fired TODAY if this is true. Bioware is making some pretty stupid mistake right out of the gate. I just can't fathom who in there right mind would think a ban was a good idea.

 

 

Edit: but you know they will not say a word about it even if it is un-true. Bioware is showing a true disdain for speaking to us Customers.

 

They cannot discuss account actions in public. It is against the privacy agreement. Look you dont have to like the rule but you now know its a rule. If you want to keep your account safe dont do it.

[Engleheart]

They cannot discuss account actions in public. It is against the privacy agreement. Look you dont have to like the rule but you now know its a rule. If you want to keep your account safe dont do it.

 

lol, ok well maybe i should have read it first...I just didnt think they would fill it full of stupid crap, that no other mmo would ever dream of doing.

[Roycerson]

If this story is true (and it looks legit to me), this is an ugly mess. May I loot chests and nods in a level 28+ zone as a level 25? How about level 35+ zone? How about the starter 1- 10 zones? After all, there is a clear warning in game that the resources there intended for low level characters, as indicated by level ranges on the in-game map. So, when it comes to resource gathering, what exactly is and isn't exploiting? How far out of the intended zone level range do I need to be to get slapped for farming mats there?

 

Is this why some toon asked me what I was doing on Ord Mantell as a higher lvl Jedi and went away whit an oh... when I told him class quest? What if I decided to scavenge what I found when I was there. What if I just wanted datacrons and scavenged low lvl stuff while there, or killed and looted a teeny Champion mob in order to get there? I don't like this either. Doing pvp and space battles means I'm always a higher lvl than the area my class quests send me. If I unwittingly get banned I will be irate. I'm the sort who would quit SWTOR forever out of principle even though I would miss it greatly.

[Syonco]

HAHA failo'Ware you suck!

[Zeila]

Players are being banned from the game for going to Ilum. Apparently: The planet states that you are required to be level 40+ before traveling there according to the customer service mail. And as such, he is getting banned!

 

Constructively speaking, I find it hard to believe that customer service would BAN players over this.

 

1) If a zone is supposed to be restricted to a certain level, why not LEVEL LOCK it? Prevent people going to the planet instead of banning them without warning! Is there a disclaimer that going to Ilum too early will get you banned? NO! It's not in the EULA either.

 

2) If you level up your slicing and that's the best/only place to get slicing XP, what should you do? Stop slicing until your level catches up?

 

3) INFORM your customer base! Let them know that traveling to this planet is considered a bannable offense! The game is almost A WEEK OLD and players are already being banned without warning!

 

4) Stop closing the forums posts about it. LEARN from the mistakes, get the players feedback, and grow from it. SILENCING community pain points will not solve the problem, it will only aggravate the community (and ultimately, make the topic spill into private forums)

 

Ultimately, please stop punishing players for playing the game. Own the mistakes of CHOOSING not to level lock the zone, and CHOOSING not to inform your players that these activities will result in banning, and CHANGE IT. TELL your paying customers that THIS WILL GET YOU BANNED!

 

Edits: Players requested screenshot

 

 

Edits: Things learned through the posts:

 

1) These players received a temporary ban, but no verbal warning.

 

2) The grammar of the email provided by Bioware is poorly written, and very vague as to the infraction.

 

a) Bioware's customer service emails do not have a color background. They are black text documents with no art regardless of if you are being warned about your forum posts, or banned from playing.

 

3) Beyond these screenshots, there is no further proof. You are welcome to google search for results, and see deleted posts, but aside from a public post from Bioware (who will not discuss the events of peoples accounts, it's considered private) So please do not ask for any more proof. There's none to be had.

 

4) Even if you choose not to believe it because it's unbelievable; that's fine by me! That's why I created this topic. I felt that how this was handled was ridiculous.

 

Where is the actual proof?

[drealmer]

Thing is if they don't want certain levels traveling to certain areas, just make them off limits, it's about as easy of programming as could be. "we're sorry, you can't travel to this planet yet" message and they unlock (like gear) once you reach the appropriate level.

[ProfessorWalsh]

This isn't about the planet guys.

 

I bet if the character was level 50 it would have been the same result. This isn't about being on Illum at a low level, this is about being on Illum at a low level and engaging in an infinite credit exploit.

 

Basically they found a lock box, then consorted with a player on the opposing faction, and kept flipping the zone to reset the lock box, so they could instantly loot it, and gain more credits, then flip the zone and lather, rinse, repeat.

 

Edit:

Special note:

 

I was very vague on this because we aren't supposed to post how to do exploits, so, no before anyone else asks me. No I am not telling exactly where/how to do this and the answer to why is simple:

 

1. It is against the rules for me to do that.

2. I don't actually know how to do it, just a vague idea of supposedly what goes down.

Edited January 1, 2012 by ProfessorWalsh