Guild Wars 2 devs addressing account hacks, bots

ArenaNet is going to great lengths to ensure the quality of the game experience in Guild Wars 2, including disabling key features to combat the rising number of account hacks and provide ways for players to secure their hard-earned gear and cash.

The dev team took to Reddit again to explain issues with the game and what they are doing to fix them. The post explained that email authentication for password changes is in the works to aid in account security to battle the growing number of account hacks seen since the game launched. The developer believes the hacks are occurring because of emails and passwords stolen from other games and trojan horses placed on victimized computers. In-game mail was also disabled to prevent the looting of hacked accounts..

An issue with the party and guild system and the overflow world feature is also being addressed, while the developer also announced plans to immediately start the three-day banning of "casual" botters. A second offense could result in a permanent ban. It was also revealed that trading post feature was in maintenance and still being tested.

An ArenaNet developer was on Reddit earlier this week talking to players about why it was suspending accounts, including providing specific examples of chat or name abuse.

ArenaNet co-founder Mike O'Brien told Time that the player enjoyment trumps game sales: "If we got to a point where sales continued to be off the charts, and it threatened the experience that players are having with the game, then we'd just turn off sales."

Be sure to follow our playthrough of the game with our ongoing Guild Wars 2 diary series.