Guild Wars 2

This was related to the bug that was disabling progression on our arenas. Now that it is fixed, people should be directed to our custom arenas.

This was my fault, I made a typo on one of the map identifiers in our configuration files and the server didn’t recognize it as a standard configuration.

It should be working now.

Sciva.4865:

Thanks, but you’ve also broken somthing I think. Pressing play dumps me into custom servers instead of an Anet server (which are mostly empty or have 2-8 players). I’m also getting lots of network error messages when server hopping.

We haven’t changed that functionality. It will still put you in any custom arena with progression enabled and has room.

This change was just for people that desired more arenas with the standard configuration.

We did a quick maintenance update so it should be sorted.

This should be working now. Sorry guys. :\

I am sorry he’s having this difficulty!

We had a brief outage with registrations, but I believe it is resolved. Could you please ask your friend to try again? If he still has issues, we’d like to ask him to submit a ticket to Support by clicking Support at the top of the page and then “Submit a request.”

Update: 24 April 2014

538699 Resolved.
544144 Resolved.
545851 Resolved.
545986 Resolved.
546055 Resolved.
546055 Resolved.
546253 Resolved.
546320 Resolved.
546737 Resolved.
549085 Resolved.
557413 Resolved.
542151  Resolved.
543736  Resolved.
546294  Resolved.
547006  Resolved.
557221  Resolved.
560358  Resolved. (Thanks for telling your friend to not submit duplicate tickets. )
546893 Answered today.
549148  Answered today.
546256 Answered yesterday.
552786 Four tickets. Please do not submit multiple tickets. In the queue for account restoration.
537581  Have you friend contact Support with a new ticket from a completely different e-mail account. This was resolved on April 15th, but it appears he’s not getting our communications.
568653 If you do not have any characters, you can transfer about the 7-day cool-down period passes. BTW, this ticket is from today; it is not 3 days or older.
549567 In the queue for account restoration.
550421 In the queue for account restoration.
552598 In the queue for account restoration.
555946 In the queue for account restoration.
556774 In the queue for account restoration.
557095 In the queue for account restoration.
558257 In the queue for account restoration.
559640 In the queue for account restoration.
560308 In the queue for account restoration.
560828 In the queue for account restoration.
555884  In the queue for account restoration.
557040  In the queue for account restoration.
558940  In the queue for account restoration.
551155 Under review.
553384 Under review.
558665 Under review.
560681 Under review.
566252 Under review.
558049  Under review.
554090  Under review.
561063 Under review. Thank you for updating with new information.
549670 Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
550128 Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
556236 Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
549714  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
550150  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
550688  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
553680  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
554090  We’re looking into this.

• Some tickets will require extra time because they are very complicated. This applies especially to compromised accounts and certain access issues that may related to disputed ownership of the account. Please continue to discuss these matters with the Support Team to reach the best resolution.

• Please also note that people involved in botting, cheating, exploiting, and gold sales (RMT workers) file appeals and post in forums. We will not reinstate accounts found to be involved in these offenses. Responses flagged as “Final Response” will not be reviewed again.

If your ticket is at least three days (72 hours) old, and if you still need assistance, please post in the Tickets for Review – 3 Days and Older – Part 2 [merged] thread, which is here at the top of this forum.

Please do not submit duplicate tickets for the same situation. Please update your ticket by simply responding to the most recent e-mail with the ticket number in the subject line.

Update: 24 April 2014

538699 Resolved.
544144 Resolved.
545851 Resolved.
545986 Resolved.
546055 Resolved.
546055 Resolved.
546253 Resolved.
546320 Resolved.
546737 Resolved.
549085 Resolved.
557413 Resolved.
542151  Resolved.
543736  Resolved.
546294  Resolved.
547006  Resolved.
557221  Resolved.
560358  Resolved. (Thanks for telling your friend to not submit duplicate tickets. )
546893 Answered today.
549148  Answered today.
546256 Answered yesterday.
552786 Four tickets. Please do not submit multiple tickets. In the queue for account restoration.
537581  Have you friend contact Support with a new ticket from a completely different e-mail account. This was resolved on April 15th, but it appears he’s not getting our communications.
568653 If you do not have any characters, you can transfer about the 7-day cool-down period passes. BTW, this ticket is from today; it is not 3 days or older.
549567 In the queue for account restoration.
550421 In the queue for account restoration.
552598 In the queue for account restoration.
555946 In the queue for account restoration.
556774 In the queue for account restoration.
557095 In the queue for account restoration.
558257 In the queue for account restoration.
559640 In the queue for account restoration.
560308 In the queue for account restoration.
560828 In the queue for account restoration.
555884  In the queue for account restoration.
557040  In the queue for account restoration.
558940  In the queue for account restoration.
551155 Under review.
553384 Under review.
558665 Under review.
560681 Under review.
566252 Under review.
558049  Under review.
554090  Under review.
561063 Under review. Thank you for updating with new information.
549670 Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
550128 Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
556236 Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
549714  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
550150  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
550688  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.
553680  Under review. There are many requests; we ask for your continued patience.

Which story and which trait? The ones I’ve looked at unlocked for the entire party, regardless of who started the story step.

If your dailies are not completing, it sounds like you joined a custom arena with progression disabled. This happens when the settings stray too far from the standard. You can tell a server is no-progression from the unique symbols in the browser. Using the play-now button should always put you into a progression-enabled server.

Dead Smexy.1456:

Yup, it did take me over a week. I submitted on patch day, so you should be close! To Gaile, I think the auto-update system is a great idea. You should keep it in effect permanently. It’s always reassuring, even if only an automated message, to know that you haven’t been forgotten about.

I like it too, even though I know some people are irritated by the “auto-send” nature of the response. But with delays, I personally like to know things are moving along, that the company still knows I’m waiting, and so forth.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

And yes, things are moving along, albeit not as swiftly as either our players or we would like! :-/

nuggant.8239:

I have done this and confirmed that my email account has not been compromised as I mentioned abobce care to expain how they got the info

I have no idea how your account was hacked. But it’s safe to say they did not get the information from us. How can I say that with such confidence? There are more than 3 million GW2 accounts. If there was a security breach, we’d see tens of thousands of tickets. There has not been an increase in hacked account tickets whatsoever; I verified that today. There has been an increase in the time that our agents require to answer tickets about the matter, so some people are concluding (falsely) that there’s some sort of issue, where in the past, compromised players were helped within hours and the matter never made it to the forums.

Some point to the forums to prove there’s a security issue. But if you see a “flood” of posts, you’re seeing a dozen. If there was a security issue, you’d see thousands.

I’m sorry you were hacked. But it’s not fair to conclude that “it’s on ArenaNet” when clearly, it is not. I strongly encourage you to read the Security Thread in its entirety to learn about this subject.

Before you’re able to delete a character you’re presented with a warning and you’re required to confirm the deletion by typing the name.

I ask that you not submit a request for this, as it is not something we’d be able to grant.

I am not sure that Customer Support should handle “do overs” like this. Wouldn’t that be like buying a car and then asking the dealership to repaint it because you decided you liked another color better?

I don’t intend to be mean or flippant, and I do understand you worked hard for the item. However, a change of mind isn’t truly a support issue and with the current high ticket volume I think the team should focus on actual issues instead of requests of this nature.

Seera.5916:

What you could do is make Twilight and then sell it. Use the gold to buy Incinerator.

That’s an excellent suggestion!

Lord Kuru.3685:

Most large email providers (definitely Google and Yahoo) allow you to see unalterable access logs. A quick google search will tell you how to find these. These logs are for account security and can’t be modified by a hacker.

• If you see a suspicious IP address in these logs, then your email likely has been compromised.
• If you don’t see a suspicious IP address and your email provider is someone as big as Google or Yahoo… make your own conclusion.

That is very helpful information. Thank you for posting that.

Dieallknow.1387:

ok my account was hacked! lost everything blah blah blah! I got a open ticket to get my account back but do i need to open another to roll it back? and how do i go about changing the email because i think yahoo is exposed or somthing! ty

Once you regain access, and after you have secured your computer and your e-mail account, please simply update your existing ticket and an agent will assist you.

Thank you for providing that quote, Ic. That answer is correct, so I’d ask that you not submit a ticket, for the team cannot assist with deleted skins. Thanks.

We really need to ask that you contact Customer Support about this. It’s not possible to answer such a question in the forums, but we can give you individual and personal attention via a support ticket.

Erik McKenzie.4682:

Logging in from Singapore but the authentication email shows that I am logging in from Hong Kong. My ISP has confirmed that my IP address is correct. Is this something I should be worried about?

With confirmation form your ISP — which you were very wise to obtain! — you should be just fine. You can force re-authentication authorization if you desire, but this is not uncommon. I sometimes show as “logging in” from a location 100 miles away. And one player in England, through his ISP’s use of various IP addresses, showed he was “logging in from England, Scotland, and Wales.”

Although this post may duplicate some information shared above, I want to post it here because it contains vital information related to account compromise incidents and e-mail accounts:

Account and E-mail Compromise Incidents

We are finding that nearly every time a game account is compromised, the e-mail account is also compromised. Many times, hackers are clever enough to mask their access to the e-mail account, rendering that illicit access invisible to the user. That is, the legitimate e-mail account holder is not even aware that the e-mail account is being accessed by a hacker.

But although we often are told “My e-mail is secure” we also frequently note that the account hacker has deleted authentication authorization requests related to the hacking location, or has deleted e-mailed receipts. The hacker hides his access by removing auth e-mails and steals the serial code and/or order number and deletes it so the legitimate owner no longer can find that vital info.

You can see this yourself when you read forum threads and the player says, “I cannot locate my receipt e-mail” or “I must have deleted my receipt.” Actually, in most cases that statement points to the e-mail account having been hacked, with the various “proofs of ownership” now being solely in the hands of the hacker (after being deleted so the owner can’t get to them). And, sadly, you see this when someone states “The only authentication e-mails are my own access points” but one or more additional authorization requests were sent but were deleted by the hacker.

Basically, even if someone believes his/her e-mail is secure, a hacker very often is in the account and is intercepting mails or authorizing access to the stolen account.

Specific questions to ask if your GW2 account has been compromised:

1. Do you have e-mail or mobile authentication? Great!
2. Are you using or have you every used your GW2 password anywhere else? That’s a recipe for disaster.
3. Are you using a unique e-mail account for GW2 only? That’s a very good idea.
4. Have you reset your e-mail password recently?
5. Do you have authentication on your e-mail account, where it verifies access to your e-mail account through a mobile device or an alternate e-mail account?

We will help you with your compromised account but if you were hacked after installing e-mail authentication, the consensus is that someone has access to your GW2 account credentials and your e-mail account.

Meep.1724:

Brother Grimm.5176:

nuggant.8239:

Ive been waiting over 24 hours and have yet to get a response from anet this is just awful support

Support sends out an automated reply soon after you submit a request. If you did not get it, there is possibly some communication issue with your email and support (check your junk mail). Also, if you are unsure HOW you were hacked, it is possible that your EMAIL was hacked and allowed the hacker to change your password and unless you secured your email account, they STILL have access to it and could delete any support emails quickly so you don’t see them.

Just stating a possibility as I have always gotten relatively speedy responses from support (but I would not consider a 24 hour wait “awful support”, either).

Email hack is probably what caught me too… Had some support mails in my inbox (that I did manage to reply to) and after refreshing they were gone.
So that’s why I’m using my other mail to resolve this, and changed the pass on my gw2 mail. :I

Meep — you’re doing exactly the right thing. Stay clear of an e-mail account that have been or even may have been compromised!

More info here: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/Hacked-account-48/first#post3952558

We are finding that nearly every time a game account is compromised, the e-mail account also is compromised. Many times, hackers are clever enough to mask their access to the e-mail account, rendering that illicit access invisible to the user. That is, the legitimate e-mail account holder is not even aware that the e-mail account is being accessed by a hacker.

But although we often are told “My e-mail is secure” we also frequently note that the account hacker has deleted authentication authorization requests related to the hacking location, or has deleted e-mailed receipts. The hacker hides his access by removing auth e-mails and steals the serial code and/or order number and deletes it so the legitimate owner no longer can find that vital info.

You can see this yourself when you read forum threads and the player says, “I cannot locate my receipt e-mail” or “I must have deleted my receipt.” Actually, in most cases that statement points to the e-mail account having been hacked, with the various “proofs of ownership” now being solely in the hands of the hacker (after being deleted so the owner can’t get to them). And, sadly, you see this when someone states “The only authentication e-mails are my own access points” but one or more additional authorization requests were sent but were deleted by the hacker.

Basically, even if someone believes his/her e-mail is secure, a hacker very often is in the account and is intercepting mails or authorizing access to the stolen account.

Specific questions to ask if your GW2 account has been compromised:

1. Do you have e-mail or mobile authentication? Great!
2. Are you using or have you every used your GW2 password anywhere else? That’s a recipe for disaster.
3. Are you using a unique e-mail account for GW2 only? That’s a very good idea.
4. Have you reset your e-mail password recently?
5. Do you have authentication on your e-mail account, where it verifies your access through a mobile device?

We will help you with your compromised account but I’ve been discussing these incidents for the last several hours, and if you were hacked after installing e-mail authentication, the consensus is that someone has access to your GW2 account credentials and your e-mail account.

nuggant.8239:

Ive been waiting over 24 hours and have yet to get a response from anet this is just awful support

We do apologize for any delay that our players are experiencing in dealing with support issues. With a large influx of tickets related to the good-will refunds offered for duplicate items, things are very busy in SupportLand.

We believe that hacked accounts are a top priority and we are making them an even greater priority. If this means that someone’s refund is delayed a bit more, we are very sorry. However, we believe that players as a rule will be sympathetic to other players who have experienced an account compromise and that those waiting for less-critical issues will fully understand why we want to give those hacking victims our closest attention.

When I write “Thank you for understanding” I sincerely mean it. We do appreciate your patience and understanding, just as we do intend to focus on account access issues, including compromise incidents and account restorations. Please keep in mind that account restorations will add a few days to the entire process, but at the end, I believe you’ll be very happy with what CS is able to do for you!

We’ve added 50 more standard custom arenas. I’ve also randomized the map order.

Popping in to say we’re still looking into summon damage.

Some of the sigils (like condition duration) work differently now, which is causing the combat reset that happens when you enter spectator mode or when the game prepares to clear internal sigil buffs. Swapping weapons should fix this. We are currently working on a fix for this issue.

Thanks Sulecen! Workshops like this is where a lot of top players got their start.

Meep.1724:

AidanTaylor.3872:

Meep.1724:

So far still no response from the recovery department, or whatever it’s called.
Guess it takes a while then.. .bleh ><

anyway, something I was wondering:

if my account is reset to a day before one of my characters’ birthday, will I get the gift back too?

As I fear I won’t get it back, expecting the gift giving stuff to be separate from an account, and on the real calendar, it’s birthday has already passed…

Hi Meep, sorry to hear about your predicament. Please feel free to add you ticket number to the following thread https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/Tickets-for-Review-3-days-older-Part-2-merged and someone will take a further look.

Be warned that restorations take longer than most other support issues as our GM’s need to thoroughly investigate where everything has gone etc, just an FYI (as I see your worried about the Gift) we restore items rather than rollback your account, so your characters birthday dates will not change.

I hope this is of some comfort to you

Just to be sure, does that mean that any progress I make now on my characters won’t be reset? (such as money made, levels gained, achievements, pvp ranks etc.)

As I read before that the whole account goes back to an older snapshot… and now I understand that you just get your stuff back… I’m a little confused…

I did however post my ticket number in the thread you linked to. I’ll wait again, patiently.

Sorry reading back my post I can see why I managed to confuse you, the character is restored rather than the account being rolled back. Your character birth date doesn’t change and neither does that of the database server.

All in game reports are read and acted upon, we have GM’s that literally just sit there and watch “velocity reports” (named as such due to the speed of the reports being made). As you might guess there are generally a significant amount of these reports happening at any given moment and due to this we cannot respond to them.

Obviously we need to investigate all claims that come in and then action them if we have proof (chat logs etc.), there is a strict disciplinary structure that is followed and players that are found to be breaking this code of conduct are dealt with accordingly.

I hope this answers your question

Erik McKenzie.4682:

Logging in from Singapore but the authentication email shows that I am logging in from Hong Kong. My ISP has confirmed that my IP address is correct. Is this something I should be worried about?

It really depends on where your ISP’s latest IP relay is, it is possible that it is in Hong Kong.

Obviously I only say it is possible due to your geolocation, you can always click the “remove” button next to the authenticated location on this page https://account.guildwars2.com/account/security and then log in again.

Hope this helps.

Meep.1724:

So far still no response from the recovery department, or whatever it’s called.
Guess it takes a while then.. .bleh ><

anyway, something I was wondering:

if my account is reset to a day before one of my characters’ birthday, will I get the gift back too?

As I fear I won’t get it back, expecting the gift giving stuff to be separate from an account, and on the real calendar, it’s birthday has already passed…

Hi Meep, sorry to hear about your predicament. Please feel free to add you ticket number to the following thread https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/Tickets-for-Review-3-days-older-Part-2-merged and someone will take a further look.

Be warned that restorations take longer than most other support issues as our GM’s need to thoroughly investigate where everything has gone etc, just an FYI (as I see your worried about the Gift) we restore items rather than rollback your account, so your characters birthday dates will not change.

I hope this is of some comfort to you

nuggant.8239:

My account has been hacked and I have just recently changed passwords, I have no emails for password changes other than ones I have started

Initially I would check that you computer hasn’t been compromised, you can do this by running a deep anti-virus check and possibly using something like Malware Bytes as well ( https://www.malwarebytes.org/ ) to check if you have a keylogger or other malicious software.

Once you have secured your PC you need to resecure your email account that you have connected to you GW2 account, it is important that you either check for a keylogger first or use a different computer to sort out your email account. Most hackings happen at the email level, once the hacker has control of that email they can pretend to be you.

After that you should create a support ticket as has been mentioned above (@ https://help.guildwars2.com/home – top right corner / submit request). Our customer support GM’s will go though the process of resecuring your account with you, they will in turn restore your account (should it be needed).

Please take a look at the following thread, it has lots of useful tips in regard to keeping your account secure: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/Account-Security-What-you-need-to-know/

wulfheart.8206:

I got an automated response and was given advice to change my password. I did that, but I replied again asking if it’s possible to have my items restored. I lost more than a year’s worth of items, mats and currencies and I don’t have the pleasure of being able to play 24/7. I love the game and would be playing it for years to come, but it’s a real bummer to lose everything because other people like to just take advantage of what others earn through hard work.

Account restorations do take extra time, and the team is extremely busy. I am sorry for the time it’s taking, but I do believe you will be well satisfied with the outcome. Thank you for your patience — I know that waiting is not an easy thing, especially in such a stressful situation as an account compromise!

I’ll say this once again. Perhaps this time forum members who are posting randomly and speculatively will take this opportunity to learn about the subject from a factual standpoint:

We are closing the accounts of RMTers, cheaters, and exploiters in record numbers. On some days, 1,000 accounts are closed. That action prompts the unscrupulous people who sell gold, cheat, exploit, and bot to extend their reach to try to steal accounts. This means they are plumbing “known password” lists, sending more phishing e-mails, logging into accounts to which they had access months ago (due to poor security measures on the part of the user), and generally doing what they can to steal accounts.

This does not point to a vulnerability in the game or the servers, but the exploitation of individual levels of vulnerability being capitalized upon to steal individual accounts.

Add to that the fact that recent in-game events and the new feature build brought back players in high numbers, players who may have stepped away from the game and return to find they were hacked months ago (again, not through vulnerability on our side but through the usual game-thief processes).

From all I’ve been told — confirmed minutes ago — the alleged “big hole” in security to which you refer does not exist. We continue to be ever-diligent on matters of security, and I’ll never say “never” in reference to security. But once again, nothing points to this alleged “hole” except anecdotal evidence that can be explained by the information I provided above.

Desperate times lead to desperate measures, and cheaters, exploiters, botters, and RMTers are indeed desperate.

Stickied.

@ToL teams – make sure all of your teammates read this!

Terrorsquad.2349:

This is happening to me for few times by now.
Happened to me pre-patch aswel so it’s not the patch.
Getting randomly kicked from the game. After restarting either client or pc, it still doesn’t work since I can’t even log in anymore. Everything else with internet still works, so it’s not my modem, nor connection..
The length I can’t log in is very random: sometimes it’s 5min, other times it’s 30mins.

Either way, seeing from a Group on Facebook, it’s not just me having this problem..

Just here to clear this up

Cheers

I suggest that you post this in the Technical Support forums. Please include whatever messaging you get, including any error code that you see. Thanks!

You purchased and used a server transfer a month ago. I really do not feel that asking for a refund would be appropriate at this point.

It’s human nature to be angry when someone is unable to do what you want them to do. But sometimes, we can’t help, we cannot do what a customer requests, and we can’t for solid reasons.

For instance, we get requests every day to ban another player upon request. Maybe the person making the demand feels that another player was harassing them. Maybe they don’t like the fact they were bumped out of a party. But closing an account for a chat violation or a party drop is pretty darn excessive! I do not mean to say that repeated chat violations or unsportsmanlike conduct will be tolerated, not at all. But some individuals ask for immediate and excessively harsh reactions, or they get into an argument and report a player thinking we won’t see their side of the commentary, and they’re sort of bitten by the old “mutual antagonism” bug-a-boo.

Customer Support exists to support our customers whenever possible. Our agents make their best effort to do that for everyone, every time. But realistically, there are times when we cannot help, due to policy (set with care, maintained with respect), technical limitations, unreasonable expectations, even a misunderstanding about how the game functions.

I’m glad when people say they’re happy with CS, and I’m sad if someone says they are not happy. But in all the cases I investigate — and I investigate a lot! — the number of times I see an error or a faulty decision is very small. So if your requests are declined, there is probably a good reason for it. If you don’t understand, ask in your ticket. If you truly believe an error has been made, post in the Tickets for Review Thread. But keep in mind that truly, your disagreeing with a decision does not necessarily mean that the decision was unfair or inaccurate. I feel it’s rare that Support is truly “unsatisfactory.” You may feel dissatisfied even while the decision was 100% correct in the overall scope of things. And it’s our responsibility to keep in view both the big picture and the small.

You asked: Hacked Account, Heartbleed Incident related??

The answer: No. Heartbleed is not a factor, as we do not use the systems that the Heartbleed bug requires to function.

Bloodstealer.5978:

Dave.7085:

Just read this as well

“Mail authentication is made useless by the mobile authenticator : if a hacker gets one person’s account name and password and then logs into the guild wars 2 website, he can enable Mobile Authentication which will bypass the mail authentication.”

You know their going to close this thread as well.. damage limitation at its finest, while players accounts are left in the lap of the gods along with who knows what other info.

Yes, we will close this thread, not for “damage limitation” purposes, but because it contains a whole lot of false speculation about stolen accounts. These are accounts that are stolen individually, through an issue with the account itself. Perhaps the player used the same password for his game account that he used on a site that was subsequently hacked. Perhaps the player experienced a compromise of her e-mail account. There are a dozen ways that an account can be stolen, but the speculation that this is related to game servers, the mega-servers, or the phases of the moon is not just irresponsible, it sets a tone in the community that leads from speculation to “fact.”

I asked about this very situation, and our security lead told me this (paraphrased): ArenaNet is nailing botters and cheaters in record numbers. Because we’re closing those accounts, the RMT companies and the would-be hackers are casting a wider net to acquire other accounts to use to cheat, or to use to advertise gold sales.

We’re very sorry when someone gets hacked, and as those of you familiar with the systems know, we do our utmost to help lock down the account and, when the account is eligible, to restore the account to its pre-compromise condition. Please do not engage in wild “It must be…” speculation about such a delicate issue — it’s unfair to the compromise victims and it’s unfair to us!

And to ensure you know I’m not closing the door on this with a simple lock of the thread, I have routed an e-mail to various team members to ensure we’re viewing this broadly and to confirm that all I have said remains as true as it was when I was first told it.

Don’t do this. If you have questions about moderation, email forums@arena.net. Don’t create nonsensical threads in some attempt to “fool the system”.

Please do not post (and certainly do not post repeatedly) about this incident. Please discuss with CS through the ticket system. The team will do the best they can to help you, but they cannot do that through a forum post.

I’m going to close this thread, I’ll say that straight up. When I see “If they cared, they’d do XYZ” my danger rises, because I know we do care, and I see that every day, from every agent.

There are solid, reasonable, and necessary limitations on our ability to grant restorations. We must verify remote access, it’s that simple. Otherwise, what’s to prevent the unscrupulous individual from offloading or selling his items and then claiming a “hack” in order to get a second set?

We trust our players, and the vast majority are legitimate, fair, wonderful people. But those legitimate, fair, and wonderful people are negatively impacted by our helping “dupe” items through unmerited restorations. CS is an interesting study in human behavior. Heck, I could write a book. Again, most players legitimately need our help, but every day someone will try to claim an account that he does not own, try to reclaim an account he resold to someone else, try to get items she never bought or even possessed, and any number of other shady things.

I am not at all pointing at the OP to say s/he is doing such things. But I have to say I am not at all sure that it would be possible to access the account remotely and not leave a single detectable trace of that remote access, to essentially and 100% make it appear precisely like access from his/her home. I promise that I will speak with our security team about this and make no judgment about the possibilities.

I agree with our policy about this, because the policy is made and upheld for the good of the game as a whole, to prevent widespread (and potentially growing) fraudulent restoration requests that damage the game economy and therefore negatively impact every player. (And again, I am not citing the OP as someone make a fraudulent request.)

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Gaile Gray.6029:

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Note: Yes. I have read the security post so please don’t refer me to it.

So I have a question that’s bothering me. I have as much security on my account as I can, because I spend a lot on the game and would be devastated to lose it all. Lately I’ve been seeing more and more hacks into unsuspecting folks’ accounts, and many are automatically setting their own mobile authenticator (I’m guessing) so they can keep the account longer. I have one of those on my account. If, Dwayna forbid, a hacker got ahold of my account, would they be able to create a mobile authenticator on my account, a second one? Would they first have to get rid of mine, and then do it?

I realize it sounds obsessive, but I’m feeling like I need to change my email and password for the game at least once a week to be safe from hackers. I’m sorry, I know I’m crazy, but this is my only hobby at the moment haha.

Nerve wracking.

Lilith, are you saying you have mobile authentication set on your account, but you’re concerned that someone might somehow add a second, overriding mobile auth system to steal your account? If that’s your question, I believe it’s safe to respond that if you have mobile auth on your account, you’re safe. Naturally, if your credentials were known and someone acquired your smart phone, there would be an area for worry. But with mobile auth, a unique password, and discretion on your part (such as not leaving your account online when you’re AFK, to prevent the “Evil Little Brother™” type hack) you should be just fine.

Thank you much, Gaile.. I was just concerned that hackers might be able to unlink my authenticator if they try hard enough, which would be devastating to me, considering how much RL money I spend monthly, and how much time and thought I put into both of my accounts. I’m glad to have that cleared up.

You’re very welcome. I truly understand the nervousness related to the possibility of a compromise. Having one’s account hacked can be devastating! However, I’m delighted that we nearly always are able to offer account restoration services, and with that, the account can be restored to a point near the compromise incident.

I hope it gives you some peace of mind to know that, even if the worse happens, we’ll do our darnedest to get you back on your feet with as many of your treasured items in place as possible!

ArtAxident.4809:

A few months ago my account was hacked. I have it back now, changed password etc. My character and all my stuff is fine, but my home world has been changed. Everything else is how it should be, but I am in the wrong world. How do I get back into my original home world without paying? I was originally in Tarnished Coast.

Please update your support ticket and explain this situation to the team so that an agent can assist you. We should be able to resolve this for you.

I’m so glad we got that sorted out. Yes, you can bin (destroy) items, even if the character has been deleted. And thank goodness, it could be rather cluttered if you couldn’t!

courin.2314:

Shout out of thanks to the ANet Support team and GM Fluffy.

Long story short, I had an issue, and created a ticket. Despite it being the long weekend (Friday when ticket created) within 2 days I got an answer, and the problem was resolved.

I see way too any times when people are unhappy with support, and I’m sure they can’t fix every problem that’s out there, but I had to say how much I appreciated the great service and quick resolution of my issue.

It’s so nice of you to post, and we really appreciate the kind words! I’m glad we could help and it’s nice that you took the time to write a note. <3

Lilith Ajit.6173:

Note: Yes. I have read the security post so please don’t refer me to it.

So I have a question that’s bothering me. I have as much security on my account as I can, because I spend a lot on the game and would be devastated to lose it all. Lately I’ve been seeing more and more hacks into unsuspecting folks’ accounts, and many are automatically setting their own mobile authenticator (I’m guessing) so they can keep the account longer. I have one of those on my account. If, Dwayna forbid, a hacker got ahold of my account, would they be able to create a mobile authenticator on my account, a second one? Would they first have to get rid of mine, and then do it?

I realize it sounds obsessive, but I’m feeling like I need to change my email and password for the game at least once a week to be safe from hackers. I’m sorry, I know I’m crazy, but this is my only hobby at the moment haha.

Nerve wracking.

Lilith, are you saying you have mobile authentication set on your account, but you’re concerned that someone might somehow add a second, overriding mobile auth system to steal your account? If that’s your question, I believe it’s safe to respond that if you have mobile auth on your account, you’re safe. Naturally, if your credentials were known and someone acquired your smart phone, there would be an area for worry. But with mobile auth, a unique password, and discretion on your part (such as not leaving your account online when you’re AFK, to prevent the “Evil Little Brother™” type hack) you should be just fine.

Oh, and thank you for reading the post about security. There’s a lot to consume there, but we appreciate that folks read and heed it!

Bloodstealer.5978:

Well mine has been hacked today, I am seriously kittened.. GW2 is obviously nor secure anymore.. their is soo many hack reports alone today its seriously worrying… now someone has set up their own authenticator and continually authorising access

Quite directly, this has nothing to do with Guild Wars 2 security. Each account compromise is that: an account compromise. I suggest that you read the security post in the sticky post section of this sub-forum to learn more and then take the steps outlined in that post to secure your account.

Incidents of account hacks increase as RMT companies find themselves with fewer opportunities to bot. We have been removing more bots in the game. However, the increase is not due to a lack of security on our servers or related to the game, but to an increased effort to hack individual accounts through phishing and through use of the millions of “known credentials” that are available to criminals and other shady individuals.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue that prevented some players from accepting their personal story rewards.
• Fixed a crash when using diving goggles while wearing an outfit.

iraj.4381:

i have them now

Glad that sorted out. And thank you very much for posting an update, so that we knew you were ok.