World of Warcraft PvPers, rejoice: Honorbuddy bot program is dead

Widespread botting program Honorbuddy bit the dust today after Blizzard Entertainment banned more than 100,000 World of Warcraft accounts this week for using bots.

Users widely reported Honorbuddy as being one of the mods that triggered Blizzard’s bans of their accounts in the massively multiplayer role-playing game. Its website claims to have 200,000 paying users.

[aditude-amp id="flyingcarpet" targeting='{"env":"staging","page_type":"article","post_id":1731461,"post_type":"story","post_chan":"none","tags":null,"ai":false,"category":"none","all_categories":"games,","session":"B"}']

Bots in Warcraft are defined (at least by Blizzard) as any mod that takes action with players’ characters without direct keyboard or mouse control.

Today, as reported earlier by Eurogamer, Honorbuddy threw in the towel.

“It seems like Honorbuddy was detected,” Bossland wrote on the Buddy Forums. “We are not sure, but looking at the BAN THREADS, we think that it’s the most likely option [at the moment]. … You ask yourself what happens next? For now we closed our Honorbuddy Authentication, when we know any more details we will inform you.”

Botting in the MMO’s player-vs.-player battlegrounds has risen to ridiculous proportions at times since the launch of the Warlords of Draenor expansion last fall. A terrific video by Warcraft streamer ZybakTV captured the action in one in January. Teams of “individuals” moved in precise unison across the terrain, never attacking anyone else, each character individually under a bot’s control.

Reactions to the bans by players who weren’t a part of them have been largely positive on social media groups and the forums.

“I’m glad that these accounts were banned, regardless of how long they have been players,” wrote player Jeanette Whipkey on a representative post on one World of Warcraft Facebook forum. “They shouldn’t be breaking rules, and should learn to play themselves. It’s sad, really. Hopefully there’s light at the end of this. Maybe battlegrounds will be better.”