It would be safe to assume that-- after the first wave of StarCraft 2 account suspensions and bans-- Blizzard means business when it comes to cheaters. But apparently some gamers just didn't get the hint, and are now feeling another swing of Blizzard's almighty banhammer.
"We recently issued a new round of account suspensions and bans to StarCraft 2 players who were in violation of the Battle.net Terms of Use for cheating and/or using hack programs while playing," the company said in a blog Tuesday. "In addition to undermining the spirit of fair competition that’s essential to play on Battle.net, cheating and hacking can lead to stability and performance issues with the service. As always, maintaining a stable, safe, and secure online-gaming experience for legitimate players is a top priority for us, and we'll be continuing to keep watch on Battle.net and take action as needed."
The first wave of StarCraft 2 suspensions and bans took place at the beginning of October, affecting over 5,000 accounts. Initially there was some confusion as to why some accounts were targeted, however Blizzard quickly explained that the banhammer wasn't just feeding off those using the built-in single player cheats, but was also going after players using 3rd-party hack programs and/or modifications that support both single and multiplayer modes.
"If a StarCraft 2 player is found to be cheating or using hacks or modifications in any form, then as outlined in our end user license agreement, that player can be permanently banned from the game," the company in October. "This means that the player will be permanently unable to log in to Battle.net to play StarCraft 2 with his or her account. Playing StarCraft 2 legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client."
But what about the built-in single-player cheats? Why can accounts be suspended due to their use? According to Blizzard Support, its related to Achievements and the gamer's overall score. "While single player campaigns may only appear to be you and a computer at first, your achievements and gamer score also caries weight and prestige for your online play," the company said last month.
Blizzard did not reveal the total number of accounts affected by the latest bans and suspensions.