Curse

Gaile Gray · Mar 12, 2005, 09:59 PM // 21:59

With the Beta Weekend Event coming, I wanted to talk about keys for the final two events. I will restate part of a letter that I sent to all our fansites, and add a bit of additional info:

We want you to know that the only access to the upcoming BWE's will come through legitimate, official, single-person distributions of access keys. Legitimate keys come with the Guild Wars Preorder Package, or have come in the past on an individual basis directly from our online, print or retail partners. Those who obtained a single key in such a manner will be able to access the upcoming event if the key was intended for use in any single event.

It has been reported that an individual obtained a large number of keys from one of our partners through fraudulent means and has been distributing them via fansites. We want everyone to know that we have deactivated these keys. This is because they were expressly intended for use in a specific month and were to be distributed to individual gamers only by our approved partner -- the gaming site in question. If someone attempts to use one of these keys, the player will receive a message that explains that the key was issued for a previous event and is no longer functional. We regret having to deactivate keys, but due to an unfortunate abuse, it is in everyone's best interest to do so.

A few facts:

Please don't worry about game or access key security! These keys were not hacked or cheated; they were taken in large quantities from a legitimate source.
The site from which the keys were taken regrets the situation very much; they completely support the key deactivation.
Our Support Team has a list of the deactivated keys; they will be unable to replace a key or provide any support for those attempting to use one.
Attempted use of such a key will not impact an account; the key simply will not grant access.
Friend's Keys and keys that you or someone else obtained on an individual basis directly from one of our partners will not be affected.
The keys in question were offered on numerous fan forums, via PM's and via emails. They were not instances of individual player-to-player sharing, which is fully approved. These keys were part of a larger unauthorized distribution.
Deactivation was not our first choice, but we were forced to take such action when our request to stop the unauthorized key distribution was ignored. We deactivated the keys because the distribution is in direct conflict with our event objectives.

I'm sure everyone agrees that it's good that we set the standards for event access. After all, Guild Wars is our game! We will do what is right for our game and our events. Thanks for your understanding of this situation, and for your continued support of Guild Wars.

StandardAI · Mar 12, 2005, 10:22 PM // 22:22

Hmmmm, Interesting read.

Loviatar · Mar 12, 2005, 10:24 PM // 22:24

i am just glad my friends key from the preorder will not be affected