Blizzard has issued a notice, warning players that Diablo IV modders will be banned. “We are committed to keeping the world of Sanctuary a safe and fair place,” the company writes.
If you’re a PC user thinking of applying a mod to Diablo IV, Blizzard has a warning for you: stop it. In what we can only describe as a stern public notice, community chief Adam Fletcher writes that “The Blizzard EULA explicitly prohibits cheating, bots, hacks, and other unauthorized software which automates, modifies, or otherwise interferes with the game.”
Fletcher then goes on to cite a specific example of a mod that players definitely shouldn’t use – TurboHUD4, which adds a custom overlay to the game. “we want to make it clear that TurboHUD4, like any game-modifying software, is prohibited for use with Diablo IV,” Fletcher continues. “Players who install this kind of software will put their accounts at risk for disciplinary action, which can include permanent suspension.”
Elsewhere, Fletcher warns that Blizzard’s security forces “constantly monitors for cheats and unauthorized modifications.”
It’s worth pointing out that Blizzard has been making some dodgy additions of its own to Diablo IV of late. The game’s 1.1.0 patch, which launched on 20 July, caused such a furore among players – with posts on Reddit complaining that its debuffing of player characters turned the game into “a proper slog” – that Blizzard was forced to make a hasty apology.
In fact, it was Adam Fletcher – who’s had a busy few days – who took to a live stream, along with a sheepish-looking director and associate game director, to apologise for the update. “We don’t plan on doing a patch like this ever again,” said Fletcher. “We most definitely heard the feedback from players on that front.”
Another live stream – or ‘Campfire Chat’ as Blizzard calls them – is scheduled for today, 28 July, at 11am PDT (7pm BST here in the UK). This time, it’ll discuss the imminent patch 1.1.1, which aims to address some of the complaints players have levelled at the game, including the glaringly underpowered Sorcerer and Barbarian classes.
