WoW Forever Will RMT Crackdown: Gold Buying Bans? | Trading Restrictions & What Players Need to Know

Recently, to prevent players from engaging in WoW Forever gold trading and real-money trading (RMT), the official team has introduced a new system. This system completely restricts the use of trading, auction houses, guild banks, and mail by both buyers and sellers, temporarily freezing trading permissions to investigate whether players are engaging in illegal transactions.

This black market has brought a lot of negative feedback to the game. Many players with limited resources or new players, without accumulated gold, find it difficult to acquire equipment through guilds, social interactions, and normal gameplay, feeling unable to participate in the game's content, thus being forced to engage in gold trading.

Implementation Status of New System

The official team has made ample preparations for this policy, stating that they are now adept at distinguishing between legitimate in-game transactions and RMT. Currently, over 2100 accounts have been banned for buying WoW Forever gold, and nearly 1600 accounts selling gold or using bot programs have also been punished, demonstrating the significant scale of this crackdown.

However, this harsh approach has also had some negative impacts. Some players were mistakenly banned for engaging in summoning trades outside of Shadowfang Keep, and many others are very worried about being banned for selling portals.

In response, Chinese server's policy is to completely ban summoning trades. Even running multiple game clients simultaneously will result in account bans, and playing with higher-level players for extended periods may be considered account boosting.

Please note that because many players confuse GDKP with RMT, and given the prevalence of GDKP in many regions, the official policy has permanently banned GDKP and is also intended to prevent it from replacing traditional guild structures in the game.

Changes to Player Gold Acquisition Methods

While the official policy is reluctant to adopt a similar approach to that of Chinese server, in order to eliminate the black market for WoW Forever gold, the official policy has changed the way players level 60 and above acquire gold. The plan is to make it easier for players to obtain gold through participation in regular game activities. Weekly gold rewards will be provided to ensure players have enough or near-enough gold to participate in activities they deem require consumables.

Furthermore, in future updates, the official team has decided to add a small window during each transaction, asking, "Are you sure you want to trade with this person?", along with the message:

"Please be sure to understand the source of your gold," to remind players.

For players who dislike completing weekly or daily activity goals, the official team's adjustments will likely involve rewarding players for participating in existing in-game systems or events in some form. Even if these measures allow players to acquire a large amount of gold in the game, many players still believe that this does not solve the problem of bots or real-money trading in the game.

Therefore, the official team added Tarnished Undermine Royale system as a permanent feature, allowing players to directly obtain resources, thus combating bots and simultaneously solving the gold acquisition problem. Its gameplay is similar to Badge of Justice; after defeating bosses in endgame dungeons, players will find chests containing materials needed to craft raid equipment and consumables.

Shortcomings of New System

The dueling tournament between two well-known WoW Forever streamers on October 17th has sparked heated discussion. The official response is that they will closely monitor all participants to prevent any irregular gold trading and will take strong measures against cheating, with zero tolerance.

During WoW Forever beta, the official stance was demonstrated through actions such as permanently banning the top-ranked streamer, as well as streamers who received gold trading emails and players who admitted to buying gold.

However, there have been inconsistencies in the official policies. For example, on October 12th, a Spanish YouTuber was banned for suspected real-money trading (RMT), but was unbanned after only four hours. Ordinary players and smaller streamers who were mistakenly banned after receiving gold trading emails faced lengthy customer service support issues.

Therefore, many players are hesitant to buy WoW Classic+ gold, and the upcoming Tarnished Undermine Royale system aims to address potential gold shortages for players.

Here are some suggestions to avoid account bans or wrongful bans:

1. Given the current climate, we advise against RMT (Real Money Trading) and using bots. Also, temporarily refrain from using GDKP (Gold, Gold, and Knives), as this system has been completely banned.

2. Do not run multiple clients simultaneously to avoid being flagged as a power leveler or other illegal activity.

3. Be cautious with incoming gold coin emails and trading partners to avoid wrongful bans due to unknown email sources or risky trading partners.

4. Do not sell or share your account for the time being to avoid becoming a risky account.

The official team is using these methods to deter those engaging in violations, and they have been effective in creating a better gaming environment for players. Please strictly adhere to the game rules and avoid actions that could lead to wrongful bans. We sincerely hope that the official team will address the issues of wrongful bans and customer service problems in the future.