#0 - May 13, 2008, 2:25 a.m.
Blizzard Post
In our continued efforts to support fair gameplay in World of Warcraft and to provide a positive experience for players, we have taken steps to ensure fair and enjoyable competition in the Arena by actioning players who have exploited the Arena system to gain artificial victories to purchase Arena gear. Our support team identified several hundred of the most abusive win traders, and action was taken against those accounts in the form of a 72-hour suspension, as well as removal of all Arena gear purchased in the current season.

We want to emphasize that this action was not taken lightly, and was only done to address the severity of the problem. Win trading goes against the spirit of World of Warcraft and hurts enjoyment of the game for all players who earn their victories by competing in a fair environment.

Blizzard Entertainment has always taken a very firm stance against win trading, and additional in-game updates have been made in today’s patch to limit this abuse. Additionally, we will continue to closely monitor the Arena system for any signs of win trading or other abuse, both through the remainder of the current season and also in future seasons.

If you were among the players actioned for win trading, but feel it was done in error, please contact our account administration team at WoWAccountAdmin@blizzard.com.

Thank you for your support, and best of luck to you in all of your games in the Arena.