Cheater & hacker update 11/18

Replies

  • ... The Carpenters? A Rock Band?

    Hahaha! This!
  • Boov wrote: »
    I don't really care about how players buy their crystals tbh, whether they're rich, rob banks or buy them on the cheap via 3rd party apps. Gameplay wise it's all the same from my end.
    calling them cheaters seems a bit disingenuous to me.

    Buying crystals off a third party site would be cheating because those crystals were almost certainly hacked or gotten from some other prohibited means. Think about it--there's no "transfer crystals" function, no way to donate crystals, nothing. So in order to sell them you would need some sort of illegal way of transferring them from one account to another, or create a digital code to "buy" them from iTunes (or whatever) without using the in-game store--otherwise you'd be selling at a loss.
    Ceterum censeo Patientia esse meliat.
  • the real question is, how come I haven't seen a crystal hack without having to do a survey?

    do those hackers actually complete the surveys?
  • Hmm. Checks top 50: Revan x 30. Traya x 15. Nightsisters x 2. Bastilla x 3.

    Nope, no change.
    yeah the found few none on my shard so I guess I shouldn’t care lol they can scratch the surface but their will just be those better at getting free crystals and not making it obvious so they r not caught not the first game to be hacked some need to because they r not free to play friendly but wouldn’t consider this one one of those but if u can’t play u resort to finding ways to catch up to those that can no difference in my eyes with someone that buys crystals or gets them for free there accounts will look exactly the same one will just have more expendable cash lol

  • Boov wrote: »
    I'm honestly a bit curious why everyone seems to be so happy about this. Do you guys really dislike other players buying an account or getting crystals cheaper so much? I mean, i get that you don't want other guys to get things cheaper or still face an account of a player who stopped playing because they're your competition in arena, but it's not like you can notice a difference while playing between a legit whale and a crystalfraud/bought whale account. What leaderboard you're placed on when you started playing most likely plays a far bigger roll in your ingame performance than these accounts that are getting banned ever did.
    Maybe i'm completely wrong about this, but the way i see it is that ea/cg are mostly protecting themselves against theft instead of banning cheaters who're actively ruining the game by hacking.
    Don't get me wrong, i do think "thiefs" should be punished, but it's not like i'm cheering when the local supermarket busts a thief or anything like that (eventhough pricess may go down if theft goes down, wich would be in my interrest).
    Very much, yes. I work hard and I follow the rules. I don't finish at the top of arena because I don't spend much money on the game (I've been playing since February of 2016 and would estimate I've spent maybe $300 in total) and I don't mind that I finish around 100 most days because I earned that placement.

    If you buy an account you didn't earn the placement. Someone else earned it and you just came along to profit from it.

    Crystal fraud is a whole other matter, and one that affects everyone. The fraudster rationalizes it by thinking that the only person they're hurting is the company, and that's okay to them because the company is a faceless entity that's making millions of dollars. Thing is, they're making millions of dollars because this is a good game, and it's a game that they've been working on for years--it cost millions of dollars to get the licensing, build the infrastructure, maintain the servers, pay their employees, and do all the other things it takes to create a game that won't actually make a dime until it goes live after months and months of labor to go live. And, even once it goes live, it's not guaranteed to be a success. Look at the app store and see how many games come and go and never turn a profit--for every Galaxy of Heroes or Clash of Clans there are a dozen games that flop. This is all a long way of saying that folks at CG worked hard to get this game started and maintain it, they deserve to be paid.

    Fraud affects us as players more directly, because we're competing with the fraudsters on an uneven playing field. But also because it means the company has to make up for the revenue lost to fraud somehow, and that usually comes from raised prices, fewer giveaways, or other methods that basically mean a slightly worse experience for the users.
    Ikey wrote: »
    Dk_rek wrote: »
    Keithkia wrote: »
    Are these bans permanent?

    For the most part yes.

    In the past we've tried to rehabilitate these types of abuses with intricate and severe account adjustments... but with so many this go round we're just going to a perma-ban.

    We may entertain reevaluations in a few months, but I can not emphasize enough how low of a priority it is to set aside time to accommodate cheaters. They cheated, they're gone.

    LD

    Just so you know on Reddit they are posting something like 2 week bans...or even in the past..

    That's crazy they can buy themselves to first by cheating get 2 weeks off then get to go right back to first place.....

    That would almost BE AN INCENTIVE to go out and try to cheat....that would be INSANE..

    It HAS to be permanant or everyone in their brother is going to go out and try to do this..

    I know better than to let reddit rile me up but those guys have a point about temp or suspensions that woudl allow them to come back would just encourage more people to cheat.



    Yeah I read those reports. It gives me pause, knowing the truth and such.

    We don't share specific account information, but I can tell you that at no point has an account that was found guilty of crystal fraud been released back into the game without a serious, and I mean serious adjustment.

    This can and often would include the removal of event exclusive characters. Which in the case of our game means they will never be able to obtain them (e.g. BB8, Yoda, CLS...) Oh and all currencies, items, a bunch of gear and a smattering of high value heroes.

    But really, if they got back into the game in a couple of weeks, the account was a shell of its former self.

    Also this was likely during a time when we were still grasping at the magnitude and reach of such violations, thus release said accounts for further monitoring helped to yield much needed information.

    LD

    @CG_LucifersDaddy This isn't true at all. I know a bunch of people last year that you caught cheating using the very same method, and a soft ban was sanctioned. They're still very much playing today.

    That was last year. Read LD's posts again--they've been looking into this for a very long time and didn't realize the full extent of it when they first started last year. Those punishments are going to escalate.
    Ceterum censeo Patientia esse meliat.
  • How much can you sell an account for that is 3.3 miilion GP, tons of Zetas. Pretty darn good ships. Im not asking cause I want to sell mine. Im just curious. I was surprised to find out this game is so popular peeps are buying accounts.
  • capifico22 wrote: »
    Shocking that a certain guild got banned.

    My instincts say a certain team might be impacted.
  • For all of you that say there is no difference in p2p and someone that uses a hack, there is a huge difference. P2p is what pays the bills for them to continue this awesome game. The ones that hack or otherwise get crystals in fraudulent manner is something every single online company has to battle. Whether it be your banking, Amazon or any other website you use daily,it is illegal by the TOS documents. If there was no way for them to make money, the game would not be here, plain and simple.
    Never tell me the odds...
  • Boov wrote: »
    I don't really care about how players buy their crystals tbh, whether they're rich, rob banks or buy them on the cheap via 3rd party apps. Gameplay wise it's all the same from my end.
    calling them cheaters seems a bit disingenuous to me.

    Sound like you are a cheater then...
  • Shadroth wrote: »
    @CG_LucifersDaddy thanks not only for the actions taken but for taking the time to randomly converse with the player base in this thread. Cheers mate 👍

    You kidding? Crumb would hunt me down if I dropped this post and went back to my cave without making sure all is understood.

    But really it is my pleasure... I fracking love games and the communities they build. No way am I gonna not take this chance to converse.

    LD

    Maybe you can ask crumb to respond to his own posts. Sith raid feedback anyone!!
  • Obi1_son wrote: »
    capifico22 wrote: »
    Shocking that a certain guild got banned.

    My instincts say a certain team might be impacted.

    I see what you did there lol
  • Obi1_son wrote: »
    Boov wrote: »
    I don't really care about how players buy their crystals tbh, whether they're rich, rob banks or buy them on the cheap via 3rd party apps. Gameplay wise it's all the same from my end.
    calling them cheaters seems a bit disingenuous to me.

    Sound like you are a cheater then...

    I wouldn't go that far. A lot of people just don't think about how ethics affect everyone. They look at a cheater and think, well they're not cheating me--but they're cheating everyone.
    Ceterum censeo Patientia esse meliat.
  • I have no sympathy at all for anyone that purchased via 3rd party vendors, you basically are supporting professional criminal gangs. The money you gave those ‘3rd parties’ will be used for other criminal activities far worse than just credit card fraud.

    While those that have used 3rd parties may be ignorant to this fact, it doesn’t change your funding of criminality.
  • "When the time comes, no one will be able to stop our plan to execute Order 66." - CG on Hackers
  • Excellent beginning to solving a large problem in the SWGOH community.

    Hope to see more progress soon.

    Well done @CG_LucifersDaddy
  • So you banned a large group of giant whales, who have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in this game, just because they are said to have "purchased third-party crystals".

    And leave a player like me, who hasn't spent a penny in three years and don't even have Raven, to get the first place in the arena.

    You know that some countries and regions have blocked Google and Apple. Many people have no other channels to buy stuff but through third parties and VPNs, right?

    You know that, right?

    What can I say?

    Respect, man, respect.

    No matter what your shareholders and bosses will do to you in the future as EA's stocks continue falls down, you will always have my respect.

    And I will keep playing without buying anything until the day this game shutdown.

    I will always remember to press F button for you.


    Yours,
    F2P player who played this game for 3 years.
  • majorjohn
    19 posts Member
    edited November 2018
    Dk_rek wrote: »
    Keithkia wrote: »
    Are these bans permanent?

    For the most part yes.

    In the past we've tried to rehabilitate these types of abuses with intricate and severe account adjustments... but with so many this go round we're just going to a perma-ban.

    We may entertain reevaluations in a few months, but I can not emphasize enough how low of a priority it is to set aside time to accommodate cheaters. They cheated, they're gone.

    LD

    Just so you know on Reddit they are posting something like 2 week bans...or even in the past..

    That's crazy they can buy themselves to first by cheating get 2 weeks off then get to go right back to first place.....

    That would almost BE AN INCENTIVE to go out and try to cheat....that would be INSANE..

    It HAS to be permanant or everyone in their brother is going to go out and try to do this..

    I know better than to let reddit rile me up but those guys have a point about temp or suspensions that woudl allow them to come back would just encourage more people to cheat.



    Yeah I read those reports. It gives me pause, knowing the truth and such.

    We don't share specific account information, but I can tell you that at no point has an account that was found guilty of crystal fraud been released back into the game without a serious, and I mean serious adjustment.

    This can and often would include the removal of event exclusive characters. Which in the case of our game means they will never be able to obtain them (e.g. BB8, Yoda, CLS...) Oh and all currencies, items, a bunch of gear and a smattering of high value heroes.

    But really, if they got back into the game in a couple of weeks, the account was a shell of its former self.

    Also this was likely during a time when we were still grasping at the magnitude and reach of such violations, thus release said accounts for further monitoring helped to yield much needed information.

    LD

    First, I want to express my thanks for your teams, for all your hard works in building a fair and positive gaming environment.

    I noticed some members in my guild were banned, and I believe it was related to buying crystals from third party. From their perspectives, they dont understand why they were banned for spending hard-earned money buying diacount crystals. I did a lot of works explaining to them what is credit card fraud and how this happened.

    I would say, this is a very painful and hard lesson for them, and in some extend, they are also the victims. When I can buy discount giftcards in Costco in US, people from other countries dont have such opportunity. Thats why they bought discount 3rd party crystals and got scammed.

    Some of them are willing to pay however much they owe to CG (if their past purchase turned out to be fraud) to get their account back. I just hope to ask if this could be a possible option?

    Thanks and I apprciate your time!
  • I don't think you have enough time to be making quotes
  • Even though this won't help me one bit, I'm glad to see CG take very deliberate steps toward discouraging hacking in this game. I've played other games where hacking was prevalent and a huge negative vibe for the die hard players, and just overall discouraging for anyone to even try very hard to stay up top in the boards. It's especially bad for those legit pay players who have paid into the system only to run into this type of activity.

    Thank you, dark overlord, for your sinister will!
  • To those wondering if this is actually affecting the ranks, it is. All the banned are falling out of top 50. They are unable to defend and earn their way back up. Both fleets and Arena I see folks slapping these people who locked up 1-10 ranks falling back to where I can’t see them beyond top 50 in just the last few hours since the announcement.

    The aforementioned guild was heavy on my shard and they have seemed to fall out. The P2P guild is still hanging out and I am glad to see they are instinctually not under investigation and still have fat wallets to play.

    /cheers and noble gaming.
  • As far as I know, many whales who have spent a lot of money have also been banned.
    Is there any misunderstanding, or have you made some mistake?
  • With bundle at 15€ for only 30 shards... I am not surprised there is cheater on this game...
  • CaptainRex wrote: »
    Phew! Glad I ignored those "FREE ONE MILLION CRYSTALS" ads ;)
    Keep on fighting the good fight!

    Those never worked, it's modded apks that they seek to remove
  • @CG_LucifersDaddy, Hi, thank you for your hard work, I would like to askt, that is there a way to know the name of the cheaters? Or can you change the names to cheater or something so we can attack them first and get rid of them as soon as possible? Im in a really old shard and strugling to get into top 50 without Traya or Revan. Also I checked how many Revans are in my shard. Right now there are 20. Last week it was only somewhere between 5-10. Sorry I cant remember the exact number. I dont know If some of them are cheating or they just switched now from Trayas, but it is a little suspicious. Thanks again for adressing this matter and keep up the good work, also sorry for my english, it isnt my native language! 😉
  • USAFmedic129
    1538 posts Member
    edited November 2018
    HJoci30 wrote: »
    @CG_LucifersDaddy, Hi, thank you for your hard work, I would like to askt, that is there a way to know the name of the cheaters? Or can you change the names to cheater or something so we can attack them first and get rid of them as soon as possible? Im in a really old shard and strugling to get into top 50 without Traya or Revan. Also I checked how many Revans are in my shard. Right now there are 20. Last week it was only somewhere between 5-10. Sorry I cant remember the exact number. I dont know If some of them are cheating or they just switched now from Trayas, but it is a little suspicious. Thanks again for adressing this matter and keep up the good work, also sorry for my english, it isnt my native language! 😉

    The Revans most likely took a long time to gear up for those folks. I have 39 Revans on my shard now, where originally I thought there were just 19. There are more GS10 Revans in the 200-50 range I compete against every day. Nothing naferious there.

    What does make me wonder is the sudden influx of 7* Chimeras when there has not been an event in months. One day the ships were 6* and then all of a sudden they’re rocking a 7*. They could also have just been trying to earn 2 mil to upgrade and poured credits into fighters and abilities instead of leveling the capital ship.
  • HJoci30 wrote: »
    @CG_LucifersDaddy, Hi, thank you for your hard work, I would like to askt, that is there a way to know the name of the cheaters? Or can you change the names to cheater or something so we can attack them first and get rid of them as soon as possible? Im in a really old shard and strugling to get into top 50 without Traya or Revan. Also I checked how many Revans are in my shard. Right now there are 20. Last week it was only somewhere between 5-10. Sorry I cant remember the exact number. I dont know If some of them are cheating or they just switched now from Trayas, but it is a little suspicious. Thanks again for adressing this matter and keep up the good work, also sorry for my english, it isnt my native language! 😉

    The Revans most likely took a long time to gear up for those folks. I have 39 Revans on my shard now, where originally I thought there were just 19. There are more GS10 Revans in the 200-50 range I compete against every day. Nothing naferious there.

    What does make me wonder is the sudden influx of 7* Chimeras when there has not been an event in months. One day the ships were 6* and then all of a sudden they’re rocking a 7*. They could also have just been trying to earn 2 mil to upgrade and poured credits into fighters and abilities instead of leveling the capital ship.

    Possible, re the chimaeras, But, if im not mistaken, you get two mil ship credits when you beat the final tier.
  • DarthAndeui
    5 posts Member
    edited November 2018
    I'm a player from CN mainland who have played this game for three years. During last few days, lots of my friends' accounts were banned permanently due to the third party crystal sources.

    To play this game, we must utilize the VPN(which is also blocked) so we can get access to Google play、Yutube or even Discord, for we are SW fans and really like this game.

    The third party domestic venders indeed provide a more CONVENIENT and cheaper method especially for those people who don't know how to use VPN.

    Sadly, you just banned their accounts, throw thousands of dollar they spent like rubbish, WITHOUT any advance NOTICE. I just presume that you are not capable to find and punish venders so you take the easiest way to pick up your esteem?

    Since there's no friend in game, I quit.
  • If EA write in rules that its forbidden to get cristals from 3rd party players should understand that . I think that permanent ban should be a great punish
This discussion has been closed.