Mass Banfest 130 billion Gil taken out of circulation shocker

jamos

Just started toaday and this happens  !!!





From: FINAL FANTASY XI

Mar. 22, 2007 04:00



We would like to report the termination today of multiple accounts held by players involved in the usage of third-party tools or cheats, or engaged in RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.



Based on the results of our investigation, over 6,800 PlayOnline accounts were terminated while over 1,100 accounts were temporarily suspended. Details of the violations are as follows:



- Usage of tools that allow enhanced character movement. Approx. 1,050 cases



- Usage of tools that circumvent game mechanics with respect to the timing of ability use, etc. in certain areas or at points where Notorious Monsters appear. Approx. 500 cases



- Using cheats to automatically repeat a particular action. Approx. 2,650 cases

* The above number reflects the total number of accounts banned within the period of a month. This does not include individual cases handled by GMs.



- Accounts from people that were previously confirmed to have RMT connections, or that had violated the user agreements but re-subscribed to PlayOnline. Approx. 2,500 cases



- RMT-related activity

Approx. 1,200 cases



The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 134 billion gil from circulation.



We would like to remind players that as well as adversely affecting game balance, the use of third-party tools or cheats can also have consequences that are not immediately obvious, such as introducing damaging viruses, and comprising the security of private account details. Usage of third-party tools will not be tolerated within FINAL FANTASY XI, and we will continue to severely penalize any players found to be in violation of the PlayOnline Member Agreement.



As we continue to ensure a fun and balanced environment for FINAL FANTASY XI, we hope that our players enjoy the game as it was intended and take care to avoid involvement in activities that violate the PlayOnline Member Agreement.



Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.



Sokaku

Wizardry

although it brings a smile whenever i see games taking a stance on this topic,it really has me wondering how much is the truth.Everywhere i would expect players to cheat and bot,they are still there each and every day.I did notice that it says these bannings are not the results of GM's individual cases,this part i am certain of because GM-DAVE and his lazy ass cohorts are a bunch of in competant GM's i have ever seen.

If you try reporting to any GM they don't do squat ,besides making you wait forever in an attempt that you give up your Gm petition.This is the best part,they ask you to give a complete explanation of the problem in your petition,yet the most words you could possibly type in that pathetic little box is like 8-10 rflmao.What i would like to know ,is who exactly is performing these bans if not the GM's?

There will always be at least 3 RMT in castle oztroja and at least  2-3 fish bots in windhurst woods or sandoria.This has been the same for everyday since day 1 of this game,so bragging about mass bannings really has me wondering on the validity of this.What's even better is the obvious naminator names these RMT use and they stick out like a sore thumb to any gamer with half a knowledge.How can they stick out so easily to all the gamers yet there is no GM intervention whatsoever?Then read about mass bannings ..hmmm ya right.

SWGLover

 

Every little bit helps!  

 

 

 

Zikiel

It's always good to see them do something. However, let's watch the economy; the removal of all that gil tends to have adverse effects.

whitedelight

Naw, they will just switch games and go sell WoW gold.

Suplyndmnd

Vermillion Cloak:



Sold for 2,000,000 March 17th

Sold for 1,600,000 March 24th



That's not adverse, that's f'ing insane!



Noble's Bed:



Sold for 100,000 March 17th

Sold for 50,000 march 23rd



Noble's Tunic:



Sold for 2,370,000 March 17th

Sold for 1,950,000 March 24th



I could go on but I think those 3 show what exactly this massive crackdown is doing for the economy.  Personally, i think they're cracking down a bit too hard now.  Sure, it was allowed to run rampant for a very long time and something needed to be done but just like an unemployment rate, a small % is always a good thing.  This mostly affects those who play legit and by the rules more than it does the people who buy Gil.  It punishes us even more so as the prices have gone down drastically I doubt the price on purchased Gil has.  So they are, in turn, becoming richer as the poor become poorer because even though the prices are dropping, the real players (those who farm) are earning less income.

andrewattheU

but arent the things they want to buy also decreasing in price

Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by andrewattheU

but arent the things they want to buy also decreasing in price

This is my theory as well but the only problem is people buy armor at the 150k price then have to sell for 60k.  Well, the RMT's flood the market and when they need armor, it's 150k again.  Catching the ebbs and flows are what's hard.  If you're constantly buying high and selling low then you're having to work over time just to get armor, or whatever it is you are needing.  If they can get rid of the RMT's or stop the massive flux's then the economy should stabilize.  As it is now, it's as stable my crazy uncle Pete.

andrewattheU

I thought they were getting rid of the RMTs??

benhamine

Originally posted by Suplyndmnd

Originally posted by andrewattheU

but arent the things they want to buy also decreasing in price

This is my theory as well but the only problem is people buy armor at the 150k price then have to sell for 60k.  Well, the RMT's flood the market and when they need armor, it's 150k again.  Catching the ebbs and flows are what's hard.  If you're constantly buying high and selling low then you're having to work over time just to get armor, or whatever it is you are needing.  If they can get rid of the RMT's or stop the massive flux's then the economy should stabilize.  As it is now, it's as stable my crazy uncle Pete. With them cracking down like this on RMT's, I doubt that RMT's will be as big of a problem as they have been in the past.  Plus, I do believe that Square will be more consistent about this.  They seem to want to change this now which means it will be something that they will be looking into closer in the future.  I doubt that this will be the last time that there are a severe amount of RMT's out there but they will gradually fade away as Square does their mass bannings.



-Benhamine

WSIMike

Originally posted by Wizardry


although it brings a smile whenever i see games taking a stance on this topic,it really has me wondering how much is the truth.Everywhere i would expect players to cheat and bot,they are still there each and every day.I did notice that it says these bannings are not the results of GM's individual cases,this part i am certain of because GM-DAVE and his lazy ass cohorts are a bunch of in competant GM's i have ever seen.
If you try reporting to any GM they don't do squat ,besides making you wait forever in an attempt that you give up your Gm petition.This is the best part,they ask you to give a complete explanation of the problem in your petition,yet the most words you could possibly type in that pathetic little box is like 8-10 rflmao.What i would like to know ,is who exactly is performing these bans if not the GM's?
There will always be at least 3 RMT in castle oztroja and at least  2-3 fish bots in windhurst woods or sandoria.This has been the same for everyday since day 1 of this game,so bragging about mass bannings really has me wondering on the validity of this.What's even better is the obvious naminator names these RMT use and they stick out like a sore thumb to any gamer with half a knowledge.How can they stick out so easily to all the gamers yet there is no GM intervention whatsoever?Then read about mass bannings ..hmmm ya right.

They post these reports every month and have for a while now. The reason they specify that they don't include specific cases handled by GMs is because they have a task force specifically assembled to handle those issues pro-actively; they don't wait for a GM-Call to be filed. The numbers they post are the result of that task force's actions on a monthly basis. This leaves GMs to deal with normal player issues instead of being tied down in constant on-going RMT investigations which require more than just a cursory glance - they have to do proper research for each case to verify if it is actually RMT or not.



Also since SE started doing this the prices have come down *drastically* across the board.  This isn't just a one-off incident.. This is an on-going trend.



Since SE changed the status of many high-demand drops that used to be monopolized by RMT/botters, we now see the RMT sticking to fishbotting all over the place. How did SE address this? In a most humorous way, I think.. They now have specially created Goblin Bounty Hunters that patrol the shorelines in popular fishing areas, attacking anyone too low for that area - this specifically includes fishbotters who are usually level 1and completely unarmed. Is it working? Well, I've seen more than a few mentions of "there are no fishbotters in Qufim!"... as well as other spots.



So I'd say it's working.



It's easy to poke fun at and dismiss the efforts.. but if you do some research and ask around you'll find that SE is probably one of the leaders in the industry of taking RMT very seriously and dealing with it.