I should preface this by saying that this isn’t about me. My account isn’t banned or anything. I got bored and started reading through forums and now I’m a bit concerned about some of the various things that can lead to an account closure. I’ve played WoW for 20 years now. If my account were ever closed, I’d be devastated. So I’m hoping I can get some clarification for things that concern me:
I’ve seen various people mentioning that having software like Visual Studio on your computer can lead to a ban for hacks in some cases. Is this actually true? If so how do I avoid that? I do development work for fun sometimes so I have Visual Studio, SQL, Eclipse and other development software on my computer. It’s not for my job or anything, I have my own work laptop for that.
I’ve seen reports of being being banned for exploits for having multiple accounts. I have 3 accounts for selling summons in WoW classic to help pay for raid consumables. Am I in danger of being banned for this? I keep them in separate windows and then just click over into them when needed.
I use a VPN sometimes for non WoW purposes and I’ve seen people mention they’ve gotten suspensions for it. Is this true?
I’ve seen people mention that you can get suspended or banned for remoting into your computer and playing WoW. Is this true? I have a Windows tablet I use when I’m not at home to connect to my home PC using Parsec to play games.
I’ve seen people make threads about being suspended or banned for someone else having paid then gold through illegitimate means. I sell stocks boosts in Classic Anniversary as well as do profession work in retail WoW to help fund my in game needs. Am I in danger of being suspended or banned for this? How am I meant to know I’m getting illegitimate gold?
Thanks for any clarification that can be provided.
Just having software like Visual Studio, SQL Server, Eclipse, Python, etc. installed has zero effect on your account or licence. Blizzard does not issue account actions just because it is installed (although there are exceptions to this). Account actions only occur if software is interacting in such a way that allows for automation, memory modification, botting, input broadcasting, etc.
Tools like AutoHotKey or using external macro tools to create key sequences is viewed as automated and will be actioned accordingly.
Multiple accounts will not result in an account closure or suspension. There are many who play two or three at once! There are a few rules with that:
No input broadcasting to multiple clients
No streamlining (including built-in Windows tools)
Each client must receive its own inputs manually
Clicking into each window individually is fine.
You cannot be suspended for simply using a VPN. You may encounter additional security checks, but account actions for VPN use is exceptionally rare.
Receiving illicit or purchased gold will lead to account actions, including account closure. Buying gold is a violation of the World of Warcraft EULA (End User Licence Agreement) and they can determine if the gold is legitimate or not.
There is a lot of misinformation out there as some people like to spin stories and wild theories regarding certain things Blizzard does. Whether that’s for views, up votes, or “social cred”; it’s most likely misinformation.
The Customer Support forum and Blizzard’s support site would be the best place to find accurate information!
The long and short of it is that there will never be a decisive yes given to [insert third-party program/application here] as Blizzard cannot know for certain that development decisions down the road won’t lead into red flag territory for their own medium.
They will also never explicitly state what was or how any program was detected as that information could prove to be critical information for the very parties they have a vested interest in keeping out of their game.
While generally, simply having it doesn’t lead to any situations, the only 100% way of avoiding a potential sanction with any given program in the future is to just not have that program installed on your system, full stop. If you must have it, always ensure that it doesn’t have any processes running in the background at the same time you want to play WoW.
A Battle.Net account can hold up to 8 individual WoW licenses. They were not banned for simply having them, but for what shady activities they were indulging in with them. A large point of misunderstanding is when it comes to multiboxing. You can play multiple licenses at a time, you just cannot use any sort of program or Windows feature that can streamline the process in any way.
Though your specific use does tie in with your final bullet point which is simply that you can’t possibly know. But unfortunately that’s just a risk you have to weigh for yourself. Blizzard has been fighting the RMT war for over two decades and sometimes it escalates to a point where the occasional casualty must happen in order for the larger point to make it across.
No. In conjunction with an attempt to be sneaky with account-sharing across the continent or on another continent entirely, however? Absolutely.
The security software might throw a flag and simply have you check in with the Authenticator app to prove it’s you, however.
When using a VPN, make sure it’s static and not dynamic. Blizzard knows what to look for when it comes to them, but they weren’t born yesterday and have ways to detect nefarious intent.
In the past, yes.
Since Microsoft’s acquisition in 2023, it has been less black-and-white. Options that had been previously prohibited are now permissible.
Of note regarding gold: no it doesn’t matter if you knew it was tainted. If it was tainted and you got it in an unsupported transaction, you’re getting a suspension. Supported means AH and crafting orders using the game’s work orders system. (You’ll still get clapped if you put up a worthless grey for a ridiculous amount of gold and get tainted gold, though. You’ll be safe if you’re just selling stuff at market prices - not “a useless bear butt for 3 million gold.”)
No. I have tons of developmental software on my PC, that I also game on, and have never had an issue. Obviously, don’t be running any debuggers that might try to attach to the wow.exe or anything because that would cause potential problems.
No. Those kinds of people getting banned are using automation or streamlining. Even using the built in Windows hover over to send inputs into a game window is classified as streamlining and is bannable. If you multibox, you have to click into each individual and press your inputs, then click into another window and press your inputs. You cannot use any form of broadcasting that will repeat the input to all the clients.
No, but depending on what kind of activity you’re doing with the VPN, it might flag the system to watch you more carefully. Lots of RMTers and botters use them.
Yes, you can be actioned for this. It’s strictly forbidden outside of whatever ways Blizzard says is acceptable. This is another method RMTers and botters use to do their things.
Yes. If a character is paying for a service like a boost, your best bet is that it has to be that character that pays you. Don’t ever allow them to “hop on my level 1 bank alt” to pay you.
You can’t ever know with 100% certainty, but your best bet is to do what I just said.
If you sell any kind of boosting service, yes you are putting yourself at risk.
If someone pays you with illegitimate gold it’s likely you’ll get a 2 week suspension, or even sometimes a 6 month suspension or even a permaban on that WoW license.
So you have to weigh the pros of an easy source of gold income vs the cons and make your own decision there.
Is it fair? Well, no, but it’s also necessary since there’s fundamentally no difference between you buying gold yourself or obtaining it from “selling a boost”. You still obtained RMT money through an unsupported transaction.
You can minimize your risk by only trading with the actual character who will be doing the run. Do not trade with level 1’s or any character not personally going on the run.
But it’s still a risk.
The opposite is also true by the way. If you’re buying a run and give gold to an account involved with RMT you put yourself at risk too.
Using the AH is safe as long as you’re actually doing it at fair market value. No sticking a bear heart up for 1,000 gold for example. Crafting and portal tips are probably safe too, the people who investigate these things aren’t stupid and they can tell the difference between someone getting a 1 gold tip for opening a portal vs someone getting a 1,000 gold “tip” for crafting a level 30 item worth 5 gold.
I don’t know how classic in particular handles advertising, which this would likely fall under, but the limitation with multiple accounts (same bnet or otherwise) is that you can’t use software to automate or duplicate keystores.
If I press 1 to lightning bolt my target it can’t also press 1 on my other 3 accounts to lightning bolt my main characters target for instance.
VPNs alone are fine.
Not nesscearily problematic but I hope you aren’t allowing another user onto your account.
Illegal gold is subject to removal and sometimes action, yer. In general I’ve found that people just selling carries innocently get by just fine, but you do always run the theoretical risk of a buyer collaterally taking you out.
Assuming it’s small amounts in general you’ll usually be fine. If it’s large amounts I do recommend screening buyers as to where they got the gold, or at least that’s what I’ve tried to do.
