World of Warcraft players worryingly reminded that third-party software is strictly prohibited as new ban wave starts

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Blizzard is currently making huge changes to World of Warcraft. As the studio overhauls its in-game banking system and works to make worse versions of fan-made addons, something is certainly changing behind the scenes.

Amidst all these changes, Blizzard has worryingly reminded players that third-party software is strictly prohibited with the MMORPG, leaving some to wonder whether the studio is planning to take additional action against popular mods.

World of Warcraft players reminded to not use third-party tools

As spotted by WoWHead, a recent blue post on the official World of Warcraft forums reminds players not to use any third-party tools while playing the popular MMO.

“We continue to work to put a stop to the impact that accounts utilizing third-party software can have on World of Warcraft,” community manager Kaivax told players. “We regularly implement new and better cheat detection aimed at identifying those who reverse-engineer and bypass our security protocols to modify the game client and/or control the game in ways that are prohibited.”

The surprise announcement from Blizzard has many players wondering exactly what tools are bannable and what tools are not. Following the recent crackdown against FancyZones, a tool which allows for better window management with World of Warcraft, players are simply confused about what tools count as a bannable offense and what tools do not.

“Could we get some official clarification if this means auction house addons such as Auctionator and TSM are not permitted?” one player asked.

It does seem that any World of Warcraft mod that makes use of the game’s API is safe, but it’s not entirely clear. What is clear is that the popular MMO is currently experiencing a ban wave with many players claiming they’ve been “wrongfully banned”.

However, following recent tools being deemed bannable offenses, players are simply worried that popular mods – such as options that enhance graphical effects of spells to use higher-quality NPC ones instead of the still not-updated player versions – will end up leading to an account ban.

About the Author

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with a decade of experience writing news, reviews, features and investigative pieces about game development with a focus on Halo and Xbox.