Hey adventurers,
A few days after launch we noticed that some Arena rewards were being earned far faster than the Arena was ever meant to hand them out. We looked into it properly, and since you should hear it from us rather than through rumours, here is what happened and what we did.
What we found
A small group of accounts found a way to collect Rookie Badges at a pace nobody playing the Arena normally could match, and used them to buy gear from the Badge Exchange. Along the way we also found and fixed a few genuine bugs in how some Arena matches ended and paid out. That is on us, and it is fixed.
What we did
- Fixed the Arena. Every mode now ends cleanly and pays out what it is meant to pay out.
- Added new safeguards so the rewards cannot be farmed that way again.
- Removed what was gained from the exploit, including the gear bought with it.
- Kept everything earned fairly. If something legitimate was caught up in it, like a card you had picked up yourself, or zeny from your own sales, we did not delete it: it was sent back to you by RODEX mail.
- Corrected a reward that paid too much. One event item paid far more before it was fixed than it does now, and the accounts involved in this were brought back in line with the fixed rate.
- Told everyone affected. Each account involved received a mail explaining exactly what was changed.
What does not change
If you play the Arena the normal way, nothing is touched. Your badges, your gear and your progress are yours. We looked at the numbers before removing a single item, and we only acted where the evidence was clear.
Why we are telling you
XileRO is built by fans for fans, and an Arena where the rewards mean something is worth protecting. We would rather be open about it than quietly patch it. If you ever spot something that does not look right, tell us in the bug report forum on Discord. Sharp-eyed players are a big part of how this was caught.
See you in the Arena, The XileRO Team