BlueTracker

Update (12/11):
Patch 2.6.7b is now live, which addresses the abusive use of game mechanics. Since this is a super small patch, patch notes are available in the usual Patch Note module in the launcher, on the website, and here on the forums.

Thanks for your patience while we worked as quickly as possible to deploy this fix!

Original Text:

It’s recently come to light that there is a method in which players can unfairly leverage the Seasonal buff, Pandemonium, in an unintended and unfair way to progress as a solo player. We wanted to let you know exactly what our stance is and what steps we’ll be taking to correct this.

First, utilizing a group buff to progress in solo Greater Rifts is not intended and will be considered cheating. Players found using this mechanic may have their accounts suspended or closed, based on severity of abuse as well as previous account history. These account actions are between Blizzard and the offending players, so please note we will not be commenting on the status of accounts on a public basis, as has always been our standard practice.

Second, we will be deleting any and all clears from the Leaderboards where we have been able to confirm this exploit was utilized.

Third, we will be fixing this exploit. We ask that you do not make use of this exploit in the meantime while we are working to deploy a patch. Our team is already at work on a solution and, as soon as it’s ready for deployment, we’ll update this thread accordingly. We won’t detail this exploit here, but it takes some planning, know-how, and research to make use of this; this is not the type of exploit you can perform by accident.

Lastly, this is a good time to remind the community of a few things:

• Third party addons of any kind are strictly prohibited. While any kind of botting software falls clearly under violation of our Terms of Service, for Diablo III, this also includes any kind of overlay software, map hacks, or any other addons or alterations to the client. Addons are not supported for Diablo III and use of them may result in account warnings or permanent account closure.
• We are committed to continuing to support Diablo III, including taking action against botting and cheating. Please keep in mind that we do routine actions to keep Sanctuary fair for everyone, and we will not regularly provide public notice of mass account actions.

We’re working on resolving this issue as quickly as possible and thank the community for bringing it to our attention, expressing your concerns thoughtfully, and having patience while we remain committed to our Blizzard principles of Play Nice, Play Fair and Commit to Quality.

Thank you.

You are correct. As you imagine, I was doing this as fast as possible. <3

It’s not really necessary. It’s a clearly unintended use of game mechanics to have others “doing the work for you,” so to speak. Again, we won’t be detailing the steps to perform this exploit because we want less people doing this, not more, and people tend to do things “just to see if it works.” (Don’t do this. Seriously. You can, and will, be putting your account at risk.)

General rule of thumb for exploits: If something feels so wrong you have to ask, it’s always going to be safer to just not do it.

Added a little clarity to that statement.

There seems to be a lot of digging into nuance to try to justify some behavior over others, so I’m going to share what the fix is going to be as I think it’s the easiest way to clarify this without giving a how-to guide on performing the exploit. Again, going to warn everyone here: do not post the steps to the exploit on the forums; it is not permitted, and you will lose your posting privileges.

• In order to maintain the Pandemonium buff, both the player and the monster being killed must be in the same “world.” Rifts (of either kind) are their own “world,” as are different zones of the world map.

I’ve also seen call-outs to other personal player buffs using the same technique. Throughout the years, we have systematically “whack-a-mole” fixed cases where buffs are being generated outside a Rift and carried into it, on a case-by-case basis depending on the severity of the impact. If the behavior feels necessary, even mandatory, to basic gameplay, then it may be worth revisiting the design entirely to fix that.

I’m taking that feedback to the team to discuss further. In the meantime, I hope this provides the clarity you’re looking for.

Players are always going to find things our design and QA teams miss; there’s simply more of you than there are us! When those efforts create degenerative gameplay that begins to feel necessary, that’s a problem. Now that we’ve identified it, we’re asking you do not abuse this problem while we work to address it—for the greater health of the game.

Patch 2.6.7b is now live, which addresses the abusive use of game mechanics. Since this is a super small patch, patch notes are available in the usual Patch Note module in the launcher, on the website, and here on the forums.

Thanks for your patience while we worked as quickly as possible to deploy this fix!

The Masters Tour World Championship is this weekend, live on Twitch!

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