10 Times Players Broke MMORPGs
5. Server Hack - Shadowbane
Unfortunately, server hacks do happen in MMORPGs. Typically, they only affect a small number of players. Namely, those responsible usually get inside the game to buff up their characters with free EXP, items or skills.
On a random day in 2003, some unfortunate players of the free-to-play MMO Shadowbane were dismayed to find that when they logged into their accounts that their weapons and money had gone missing. They lodged complaints with developers Wolfpack Studios but the team behind the game were about to have their hands full.
Being a small and inexperienced team, and Shadowbane itself only being in its first year, its defences weren’t quite as good as some of its competitors. The hackers didn’t just find a way to alter their characters, they essentially discovered Godhood.
Suddenly, in hours hostile guards were being teleported into safe havens. Previously unseen special event monsters were spawning in major areas. An entire city was picked up and dropped into the ocean and every resident drowned. Basically, hackers caused the game’s apocalypse.
It was a one night only affair however, as moderators identified the hackers and took action. The game’s code was rolled back to a previous version, undoing all of the damage. But for those players who were there that night, the memories of being chased down city streets by swarms of Ogres remain.