Blizzard said it has banned Diablo 4 players who used a character realm transfer exploit that went viral late July.
The bug let players transfer their Eternal Realm characters into the Seasonal Realm. To exploit the glitch, players needed to be in a group with a friend in the Seasonal Realm, briefly disconnect from the internet, then log back into the Seasonal Realm with their Eternal character.
Eternal characters who exploited this glitch potentially benefitted from the Seasonal Blessing experience boost, which might have let them level up faster than they would normally be able to. Eternal Realm characters were also able to carry over their gear and inventory items, which created obvious issues for the balance of the Seasonal Realm Blizzard has created.
When the exploit hit the internet, Diablo 4 players predicted Blizzard would respond by wielding the banhammer, and so it has proven. In a post on the Diablo forum, community chief Adam Fletcher said Blizzard had patched out the exploit in a recent hotfix, and banned “select accounts” who used it.
“I just wanted to let everyone know that this was addressed a few days ago in our last hotfix and hasn’t been present in the game since,” Fletcher said. “We have also actioned on select accounts related to this incident. We appreciate everyone for bringing this to our attention.”
Some Diablo 4 players took to Reddit to complain about being banned, or how their “friends” had been banned. Most seem to agree those who made use of the exploit had it coming.
Meanwhile, Blizzard boss Mike Ybarra said a fix for a bug that prevents some Diablo 4 players from progressing and collecting rewards is in the works.
It's being fixed in a few days, I think the goal is 8/15.
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) August 5, 2023
Despite these missteps, Diablo 4 fans have reacted positively to the recent 1.1.1 patch, which included crucial fixes to gameplay in response to the backlash to the previous patch.
Diablo 4 Season 1, which launched last month, is expected to continue into late October 2023. Blizzard has already released a lengthy roadmap and promised to continue addressing community feedback through Season 3 and beyond.
In the meantime, Diablo 4 continues to do very well. It was the best-selling game in June, and has maintained momentum despite its various controversies. For more info, check out our in-depth Diablo 4 Season 1 guide as well as our interactive map.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
