WoW Ban Wave for Boosting on May 16, 2023

WoW ban waves have been quite scarce lately. However, that changed today, on May 16th, when Blizzard issued quite a significant one, due to allegations of boosting.

Boosting bans in WoW are some of the most common types of penalties, ranking alongside third-party usage and real-money transactions (as in, gold selling or buying).

This comes as a surprise to many players, as it seems to have been issued mere hours after the Aberrus Race to World First came to an end, with Liquid claiming their victory against Scalecommander Sarkareth Mythic.

In the meantime, however, Blizzard has also issued a WoW ban wave for rotation bots, on August 23, 2023.

What is Boosting in WoW?

Boosting in WoW is a form of account sharing, where a player allows someone else to log into their account and play on their characters.

This is usually designed to help said player achieve:

• various PvP / PvE ranks, titles, gear, achievements, mounts;
• level up a new character or professions, complete certain quests or criteria;
• attend limited-time in-game events (such as invasions before an expansion release) or farm rare materials or gold.

That said, the most common reason for boosting bans in WoW is related to PvP (Gladiator mount and rating) and PvE (Mythic+ dungeons and Mythic raids).

There are two different forms of boosting in WoW:

• account sharing – where the player shares their account with someone else;
• piloted boosting (carries) – where the player is invited into a group to play alongside the boosters.

Nevertheless, boosting is only bannable when:

• the player allows someone else to log into their account;
• any type of real-world currency is involved (RMT).

Therefore, in-game carries, are only against WoW’s EULA if real money is involved. If a player gets carried and pays for it with in-game gold, that’s not against the rules.

What Penalties Were Issued in this WoW Ban Wave?

While the current May 16 WoW ban wave is quite fresh, here’s what we know so far:

• the ban reason is “Violation: Unauthorized Account Access”;
• the primary cause was related to allegations of purchasing Gladiator boosts;
• the majority of accounts affected have been suspended for 30 days;
• any rewards earned as a result of partaking in this allegation will be removed (including titles, mounts and rating).

It’s worth noting that quite a few players are stating that they’ve been suspended merely for using a VPN while legitimately playing the game, to help with their internet connection.

Using a VPN can indeed trigger an account sharing ban, especially if you happen to be on a winning streak, and the IP you’ve currently been assigned is not an IP you regularly play WoW on.

What Can You Do About It?

As with any type of account action, you must submit a ban appeal in order to unban your WoW account.

That being said, since the suspension only last for 30 days, you also have the choice to wait it out (unlike permanent bans).

But, if you are innocent and if you have been affected by this current WoW ban wave, you will also lose all the rewards that came as a result of legitimately obtaining the Gladiator rank. That is, unless you appeal the action and have it overturned.

And, of course, if you have been suspended for using a VPN, it’s important to provide supporting evidence.

That’s it! Hopefully, your account has not been impacted by this WoW ban wave and remains in great standing. However, if you have been affected, especially if unfairly, we want you to know that we’re here for you!