A bug was recently discovered in the newly released Elder Scrolls Online that allowed players to duplicate items in their bank and repeatedly resell them, wrecking the in-game economy.
ZeniMax has now fixed the issue with Patch 1.0.4, but it's unclear how the developers will address the problems caused by the glitch.
This dupe was apparently easy enough that it could be done by accident. Objects placed in guild banks could simply be withdrawn over and over again, which turned into a well of infinite gold if done with a valuable item.
Unearned currency flooded the market because of this, and ZeniMax temporarily locked access to guild banks once the issue became widespread. With infinite gold readily available before the fix, players were purchasing gear that normally takes a very long time to access and making the efforts of legitimate players meaningless.
What's question now is what the developers should do now to fix these issues. They may be able to see what items were duped, and who took advantage of the glitch, but tracking all of the illegitimate money generated and banning those involved is probably a very difficult task at this point. That may be the only course of action, though, as the players who invested hours into the game will not be happy if all of their real progress is wiped.
Hurting the loyal player base that Elder Scrolls Online does have at this point is the last thing it (or any new MMO) needs, especially since the game has not been so well received and charges a monthly fee. Also concerning, particularly considering the subscription, is that this glitch was supposedly pointed out by many players in the beta and ZeniMax failed to solve the problem.
They have an uphill battle now to regain good faith and solve the issues caused by the duplication bug, but at least the game can no longer be abused. Keep an eye out for more news on Elder Scrolls Online's future.
