Hackers Causing Big Problems For ArcheAge [Developer Responds]

The first month of release continues to prove difficult for Trion Worlds’ ArcheAge following a series of DDoS attacks, frustratingly long server queues and now severe problems surrounding the games housing system as a result of users exploiting third-party programs. The problem first appeared on Reddit after a number of users reported suspicious activity relating to the games housing system.

For the unfamiliar – ArcheAge features plots of land that players can claim as their own before using it as a base for constructing homes and other buildings. Tax must be paid on a regular basis, failing to do so will see the plot of land become free once again. As there are far more players than there are available plots of land, the opportunity to claim your own space in the world of ArcheAge is one of the biggest premiums in the game.

It appears that some unscrupulous players are using third-party software to track which plots of land are nearing expiration, giving them the opportunity to claim new plots before anyone else and in some cases, even when they’re not actually logged into the game.

Trion Worlds have done a great job of keeping the ArcheAge community informed up to now and that trend continues as CEO Scott Hartsman took to Reddit to explain the situation and what’s being done to remedy the problem.

“I do appreciate that people are pointing this out.
Seriously. The amount of effort going into finding a way to deduce
when/if/what outside of the game is being used is rather extreme. What’s
legit vs what isn’t is frequently extremely challenging to tell, even
when you have total control of the code.

Unlike in the case where its our own game, where we can (and do) add new instrumentation/logging/detection
daily until problems get stomped with prejudice, we’re limited here in
only being able to act on what the game throws off as outputs to us. We
can’t add new ones.
That said, this one is the next biggest priority. New theory
being worked on right now, will holler if it pans out and we can act on
it with confidence.”

“Yes, there is a team of people researching and tracking, then prioritizing detection and action.
You usually don’t have to do a lot of hardcore reverse
engineering – Most of what these things do is fairly obvious from either
casual observation or at most a little packet sniffing. What people
call “hacks” these days are very seldom complex. In the majority case,
they usually just find a weakness and poke at it in a very obvious way.
The challenge tends to be in detecting that behavior on the server side
and blocking/acting on that, without acting on legitimate people.”

We’ll keep you apprised of any new developments as the story unfolds.

Source: Reddit

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