Boosting is when an account is deliberately handed over to another player to raise its arena rating. It is a serious problem for fair matchmaking. Getting top arena gear this way breaks the balance and devalues the rewards.
We have introduced an in-house ML system for behavioral analysis to detect violators. At set intervals the algorithm collects and analyzes logs, detecting anomalies with high accuracy. To rule out false positives entirely, the final decision on a ban is always made by a GM after a manual review. This has cut the routine work of such checks by 98% — violators will now be caught much more often.
The first check identified 49 offending characters — both customers (the boosted) and performers (the boosters). The standard punishment for this under our rules is the removal of all arena gear; however, since this is the first large-scale ban of its kind, we have softened the punishment. Violators have had all A4 items replaced with A3, received a ban of 1 day for the boosted and 3 days for boosters, had their AP reset and their arena team deleted.
From now on, violators will be punished with the full severity of the rules, and for everyone sanctioned today any repeat violation will mean a permanent ban. If you have also used boosting services, we recommend reporting it on the forum right now to receive a reduced punishment — if the algorithms detect the violation after the next check, you will be banned with full severity. You can also report players who obtained arena gear unfairly in the complaints section of the forum — we will check them separately.
We stand for fair arena on the server!