Last Epoch accounts that have engaged in gold duplication and exploits connected to real-money trading have been permanently banned, as developer Eleventh Hour cracks down on bad actors misusing the in-game economy. A new rival to the likes of Diablo 4 and Path of Exile, Last Epoch has enjoyed a huge amount of success since launching into 1.0 in February. Some players, however, have been able to duplicate in-game gold for the purposes of trading it for real money, a behavior which Eleventh Hour says will result in a permanent account ban, as it outlines new measures to combat exploits tied to the virtual economy.
Last Epoch is one of the biggest RPG game sleeper hits of 2024, building on the genre foundations laid by Diablo and PoE to offer a huge variety of classes, builds, and dungeons. However, the game’s landmark 1.0 launch also introduced methods of duplicating in-game gold, which Eleventh Hour says is causing undue inflation within the online economy, while also allowing players to exploit their ill-gotten gains for real-money payouts. In a new statement, the developer says any accounts found engaging in this behavior will be permanently banned, and that many players have been permanently barred from the game already.
“We take exploits within Last Epoch very seriously and ensure that any time an exploit comes up, we give it our full and immediate attention,” Eleventh Hour says. “We strictly enforce our terms of use when it comes to exploits and real-money trading [RMT], and as such, one can expect that abusing such exploits or engaging in RMT, both buying and selling, will result in a permanent account ban.
“Since 1.0 has launched, we have been aware of two exploits. The first allowed duplication of items through the bazaar. We were made aware of this exploit three days after its first discovery, and deployed a fix for it the same day. The second exploit we became aware of was the recent gold exploit, which we created and deployed a fix for in less than 24 hours of being made aware of the exploit.
“In response to the gold exploit, we have reviewed gold activity on an account level, identifying, and banning those accounts which have been participating in illegitimate gold generation. We don’t want to speak too much to how this was tracked, as it could only really serve to provide bad actors information to try to avoid detection. With this, we are aware of the concerns of legitimate accounts being falsely flagged.”
Eleventh Hour says it is confident that no player accounts were erroneously banned, and that only those players who were engaging in the exploit have been sanctioned. The developer also outlines new measures for identifying items that have been duplicated using legitimate, in-game means, versus those that have been duplicated illicitly.
“Lightless Arbor and Runes of Creation generating legitimate duplicate items has also been contributing to the perception of item dupes,” Eleventh Hour says. “Some of this comes from awareness regarding that these legitimate duplicates are possible, as well as to what extent.
“It may be surprising to know that Lightless Arbor’s Vaults of Uncertain Fates can actually produce up to 12 duplicates of the exact same item. As our first action to help address this, we will be introducing mirrored item card graphics to help visually represent when an item is a legitimate duplicate (on duplicated items, the 2D art for the item will be mirrored / flipped).”
Eleventh Hour is also aiming to address inflation in the Last Epoch gold market, which the developer says has increased owing to the recent gold duplication exploit. While banning players who are exploiting duplication will potentially reduce inflation, Eleventh Hour is also considering a tax on gold transactions that, if finalized, would be introduced in the coming Last Epoch 1.1 update.
“We don’t think it’s a very controversial statement to say that abusing an exploit, ruining the game for all players is not acceptable, and that doing so should result in a ban,” Eleventh Hour concludes. “We also acknowledge this isn’t just on bad actors, but it’s also our responsibility to do everything we can to prevent these exploits from being possible in the first place.”
Check the latest Last Epoch tier list to ensure you get the best class and gear for your next run, or maybe the newest rundown of Last Epoch builds, so you can create the perfect character for your personal adventure.
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