Lost Ark’s Explanation of Recent Ban Waves Raises Player Concerns

Cheating or spending money to advance your MMO character is clearly a bad idea. These are fundamental rules for most players. However, Lost Ark has been dealing with botters, cheaters, and RMT (Real Money Trading) activities for some time, prompting Amazon Games to issue bans to accounts and explain their reasoning.

At its core, the MMO’s code of conduct emphasizes fair play, which is the primary reason for taking action against accounts involved in RMT or using automation tools for daily tasks. Amazon Games also reminds players to avoid cheating, botting, or engaging in RMT.

Amazon Games also addressed concerns about automated responses and what it called “false narratives being publicly shared.” The studio clarified that while reply templates exist, all appeals are manually reviewed. Additionally, RMT investigations are thoroughly vetted and manually examined, with the studio noting that those caught often lie about their experiences. For first-time offenders using third-party automation tools, permanent bans have been adjusted to 30-day suspensions.

This decision has sparked controversy within the community. Many players argue that there should be zero tolerance for cheaters, claiming that Amazon Games’ approach harms legitimate players and encourages cheating until the first offense. This sentiment is echoed in discussions on platforms like Reddit, where players criticize the decision and add it to a growing list of perceived mismanagement issues in handling unruly players and bot accounts.