New MMORPG permanently bans hackers in the beta – players discuss: are they allowed to do that?

The new sandbox MMORPG Fractured has entered beta. There, a guild used targeted hacks for the game and thus cheated unfair advantages. Members of this guild have now been permanently banned, also for the finished MMORPG. This step is being discussed in the community.

What exactly happened?

• On April 6th Fractured started the closed beta. The beta is meant to find bugs and alert developers to exploits and issues.
• A hardcore guild that was very actively involved in the MMORPG found a memory hack that allowed them to unlock over 200 talent points. Actually, the game only offers 60 per character.
• Instead of reporting this bug, they used it to gain an advantage in PvP in the beta. The boss of Fractured reacted and banned the players permanently.
• This action is now causing discussions: May beta testers who are ever supposed to uncover errors in the game be banned?

Bugs must be reported and not exploited

What does the boss say exactly? In a statement by Jacopo Pietro Gallelli, the head of Fractured, it is said that the beta should be used to uncover bugs and hacks. This is an important part of the beta.

However, these errors should then also be reported to the developers and not used to your own advantage. Those who don’t do this can be subject to suspensions of days or even permanent bans.

How are the players reacting? Different. A majority in the MMORPG reddit stands behind the decision of the developers. For example, user firey21 says:

I think the developers did the right thing. The purpose of the beta is to test and find issues to report…not exploit. Why keep people who don’t report problems in a beta when there are people who can wait and spot the problems?

Others say that while not every bug or exploit needs to be reported, those who use external tools to gain access to a game’s memory and don’t report it would continue to use such hacks in the game’s later release state. So a ban is justified.

But there are also opposing opinions. Some users on reddit see the developers as responsible for fixing the problems found. Just because a player doesn’t report them doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be banned. If there’s any ban at all, it’s for the beta, not the finished MMORPG.

It is currently still unclear whether the guild has reported the error after all. According to their own statements, this is said to have happened in an alpha as early as 2020, but the developers are said not to have reacted since then. This part has not yet been commented on by the boss.

Guild wants more PvP and rails against PvE players

What kind of guild is this anyway? The hackers and exploiters are said to have been well known in Fractured. Because they are bothered by the direction that the MMORPG is taking:

• They are hardcore PvP players who would like to see more PvP in Fractured. PvE Carebears are designed to destroy the game.
• But the developers decided that in the current human world, players who have disabled PvP can be attacked but keep their equipment. On the other hand, if you just attack PvE players like that, you get a debuff and can end up in jail if you die and lose all your equipment.

The guild is said to have already complained loudly about this in the official Discord and also in the in-game chat.

What do you think of the developers’ decision? Do you find the ban understandable or are you more on the side of the players? And how do you see Fractured in general? Does the MMORPG sound promising?

Anyone who has not yet dealt intensively with Fractured will find a list of all features and special features here:

New sandbox MMORPG Fractured offers a separate world for every type of player