World of Warcraft halted an army of cheaters with a massive player ban

A "large number" of cheating World of Warcraft players were banned from the popular game for six months for using "bots" that allow players to automate some of their play, the popular game's maker announced this week.

Although Blizzard Entertainment's statement on the ban didn't include an exact figure, it's possible that more than 100,000 players are on an involuntary vacation from World of Warcraft. That number comes from a conversation between one player and a Game Master, an in-game employee of Blizzard. A Blizzard spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.

What is clear from Blizzard's statement, however, is that many of the banned users were using the World of Warcraft equivalent of performance-enhancing drugs: "bots."

"We've recently taken action against a large number of World of Warcraft accounts that were found to be using third-party programs that automate gameplay, known as 'bots,'" the statement reads. "We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft, and will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated."

The statement also encourages people who spot other players using a "bot, exploit, or cheat" in violation with the game's terms of service to report them to Blizzard.

World of Warcraft —  a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG) — has more than 7 million active subscribers, according to Activision, which owns Blizzard.

The company has previously punished users who violate their terms of use — and has even taken bot-makers to court in the past. But the mass ban came as many of the game's users were becoming fed up with the increasing presence of automated players, particularly those using a piece of software called "Honorbuddy" to fight their battles for them.

Bots, essentially, allow players to have software automatically play parts of the game for them. Although it might sound like a bot ruins the point of even bothering to open an account for a game — why pay to play if you don't actually want to play? — there are some elements of World of Warcraft that make automation tempting for dedicated players who want to progress to higher, more interesting levels of play.


If you've ever played an online multi-player game, you've probably heard the term "grinding." Essentially, "grinding" means the same thing here as it does in the workplace, unless your workplace is a secret revival of MTV's "The Grind," in which case it does not mean the same thing at all.

In gaming, a "grind" is a repetitive task. Players can grind by killing the same monsters over and over again in order to gain experience and progress to a higher level in the game. In World of Warcraft, players might grind a crafting skill like mining in order to progress to the point where they can make cooler items. You might also hear the term "farming" to refer to similar repetitive tasks that are aimed at acquiring specific, usually rare items that sometimes drop from certain enemies in the game. "Farming" is about as action-packed as an actual day of vegetable farming.

If this all sounds kind of boring well, yes. It certainly can be. Which is why some players will use a third-party bot do the work for them.

FIFA 15 TOTW 35 with Alves, Cavani, and Cleverley - mmobeys.com

Another week passes and EA Sports reveal their latest Team of the Week number 35, as seen within the image below. This includes Hat-trick heroes and the official EA Sports FIFA Twitter page made that clear in their tweet, especially considering they tweeted the message directly to Premier League Man City player Sergio Kun Aguero and Paris Saint-Germain player Edinson Cavani.

We also notice Aston Villas loaned Tom Cleverley in the top line along with Neven Subotic, Bastian Oczipka, and RCD Espanyol defender Diego Colotto. Take a look at the full FIFA 15 TOTW 35 below, and then share a comment with your thoughts about this lineup.

While we welcome this news, its also true that many Product Reviews readers want to see the FIFA 15 Team of the Season. You will need to wait a little longer for that, although please share your TOTS wish list in the comments also.

We have noticed a few of our readers stating theyre, not buying any packs until TOTS. Its clear this is the message on Twitter as well, with many tweets asking for the release of a new tournament, special packs and also TOTS as soon as possible. What do you want next from FIFA 15?