While it’s unclear how widespread the bans are, the first we heard of them was from content creator Gladd. A longstanding member of the Destiny community and challenge runner, Gladd posted a video this weekend explaining that he had been permanently banned from Anthem for “economy exploitation.”
In the video, Gladd admits to using several loot farming methods in order to quickly acquire Masterwork and Legendary gear as well as an exploit with the Storm Javelin that gave unlimited Ultimate usage when activated. He accepts culpability where it concerns exploiting the game’s systems in order to farm items, but does not feel the ban was deserved. In fact, since BioWare only gives a vague reason for the ban it’s impossible to determine what triggered it and how others can avoid one.
Whether or not he should be permanently banned from the game, however, is another issue entirely. Did BioWare ban him for sharing the exploits? Most likely, but there are plenty of other content creators who made videos highlighting these farms and who are not banned. At the same time, it’s in BioWare’s right to ban anyone who uses an exploit since it goes against the game’s Terms of Service.
Farming and exploits are nothing new for loot-based games and typically developers try to work quickly to remove them from the game. It only took a few days for BioWare to patch out the ability to farm chests in Freeplay, a farming method that Gladd and plenty of other players used when it was discovered.
Other farming methods and exploits do still exist in Anthem, but it seems as though the developer has more on its plate at the moment. There are still plenty of bugs and game-breaking issues for BioWare to address in Anthem, so trying to figure out ways to block exploits is likely low on the priority list. In other words, be warned that there are exploits and loot farming methods out there, and they can carry serious consequences.
The good news for Gladd is that BioWare has reached out and is looking into the ban. However, players without a social media presence or a platform to voice their complaints might not be so lucky. Hopefully, Gladd’s experience will help get others unbanned.
What’s more, this situation should inspire a new debate about exploiting in l00t-based PvE games. While it can be argued that these players are “ruining” the experience for themselves and not hurting anyone else, there are others who feel that it diminishes the integrity of the game. Nevertheless, loot caves and loot farms are always going to appear and banning anyone for using them is going to turn away a lot of players.
