Blizzard has once again laid the ban hammer down on bots taking up residence in the Tavern.
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Players who fire up Hearthstone should hopefully see a decrease in 'bots', automated programs that play the game for you. This is a persistent problem in nearly every game that has some element of real world currency involved, but doubly so with Blizzard titles, a lucrative and wide ranging market. World of Warcraft has fought long and hard against bots and gold farmers who disrupt the gameplay and economy of the game.
Forum mod Zeriyah posted recently: 'In our continued efforts to promote a fair play environment within Hearthstone, we have permanently banned Hearthstone accounts found to be using third-party programs that automate gameplay, which is a violation of our Terms of Use."
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Adding, "We will continue to closely monitor Hearthstone and take action as needed to protect the game environment. Hearthstone accounts found to be cheating in any form will be permanently closed without warning."
Late last year, the Warcrawler site was shut down amid a massive sweep of bans. Players caught up could appeal, and most were only offered a three month suspension, which is finishing up right around now, come to think of it. Now, perhaps it is just coincidence or they are simply the natural life cycle of bots. It seems...providential that this recent wave should hit when a good number have gotten their accounts back.
Blizzard does make it quite easy to bot some of their games, especially Hearthstone wherein a lot of the gold-getting rewards do no actually involve the need to win, just to play. We might expect more banning when Heroes of the Storm comes out of Beta later, as that is a very accessible MOBA title that only ever requires you to play, not to win.
"If you believe that you've encountered a possible bot or other form of exploitation, please let us know by emailing our hacks team at hacks@blizzard.com."
We'll see you in three months, at the next round of Hearthstone ban hammers.