Nothing is done about PVP Hacks/Bots?

If you witness any form of exploitation, then the best thing to do is to report the matter. This can be done by either:

Using the in-game reporting system (this is the most effective way as the automated reports include any relevant context)

OR

Sending the relevant details to our Hacks team at hacks@blizzard.com (Note: VODs, video footage etc can help greatly here).

You won't receive a response in either case, but this does not mean the reports are ignored. All reports are collated and looked into thoroughly. Any evidence found in the course of the investigation may also be used to formulate methods to detect and remove other players who are also using the same exploitation methods, the outcome is in the form of ban waves such as the one performed earlier this year.

Where possible, we will try to communicate these ban waves with the community but there may be some smaller ban waves that do not receive a public announcement. We don’t always want to share details about our detection methods, as it could help bot developers to refine their scripts to avoid detection.

Please also keep in mind that you might not see immediate action being taken once you have sent a report. When it comes to potentially issuing any other form of punishment for PvP exploitation, we want to make sure we have as much evidence as possible before bringing down the hammer.

I've also taken onboard the constructive suggestions for how the reporting functionality could be improved in-game. Thanks for the feedback!

04/11/2015 22:42Posted by Abacabb

I had vast evidence of cheating and greifing once, and got in trouble for it because I was apparently "Naming and Shaming".

Yea they were all Russian, I couldn't understand a single name! I wasn't trying to name and shame, I was showing the end scores and all the stats in comparison to ours. It was dismissed completely.

04/11/2015 17:22Posted by Trekus

Except that Blizzard does not accept pictures or videos as proof. If you do bring such proof to the forums, you get a forum ban.

When it comes to the forums any screenshots, videos or even text that shows the names of other players and accuses them of anything is considered to be "Naming and Shaming" as outlined under Harassment in the Forum Code of Conduct. Potentially innocent players can become victims of abusive campaigns as a result of being wrongfully named and shamed.

Of course, this isn't to say all such reports are invalid, they just need to be made through the appropriate channels so that they reach the right people. The forums are not the correct place for such reports and while I will certainly forward any reports from the forums onto the relevant people, you're ultimately cutting out the person in the middle by using the correct channels.

03/11/2015 17:21Posted by Ishayu

However, there are a great deal of users who simply need the manual banhammer because their presence is so damaging to the game that they need to be removed ASAP.

Yep I get where you're coming from here. Honestly, this is where individual reports made in-game using the in-game reporting system really shine through in these cases. These reports are investigated by our Customer Support team. Again this process is not instantaneous and is determined by a lot of factors. If someone is punished, we want sufficient evidence on file so that if that person contests the decision, the Game Master they speak to has everything required to review the matter thoroughly.

03/11/2015 17:21Posted by Ishayu

The point I'm trying to make is this: The sheer scale of the cheating often becomes so enormous that even a casual glance at the PvP scene would reveal tens of thousands of cheaters. Because of how easy it is to spot, people become upset that they even have to report it at all; it's so obvious.

We certainly do understand that players want such unsporting behavior to be handled rapidly and we are continually refining and evolving our methods of detecting and combating such behavior with this goal in mind.