HAO discusses the team’s approach to cheating and illegal teaming, server performance, class balance, Brandrgarde solo mode, and trading
Mistfall Hunter Game Director HAO recently responded to some of the biggest topics players have been discussing, from cheating and teaming to server performance, class balance, Brandrgarde solo mode and trading.
Cheating and Illegal Teaming
On cheating, HAO said the team’s position is clear: behavior that hurts the fairness of the game needs to be dealt with continuously and firmly.
At the same time, bans aren’t based on a single factor. The team looks at client-side detection, server data, behavior patterns and player reports before taking action. The goal is to catch real violations without creating false bans, and confirmed cases will be penalized.
Malicious teaming is a little more complicated. A short gameplay clip doesn’t always make it easy to tell the difference between normal team play, temporary cooperation and intentional multi-team collusion. The team looks at things like repeated matchmaking patterns, unusual cooperation, damage and elimination data, item transfers and movement routes before making a decision.
The team also plans to keep improving its reporting tools and report categories, with updates on ban lists and detection rules shared through official channels.
Server Lag and Optimization
HAO apologized to players who have been affected by lag or performance issues and said the team is actively working on the problem.
The technical team is looking at server logs during peak hours, match data, matchmaking-node information and player feedback to understand whether certain conditions are causing spikes or instability.
For now, the priority is fixing issues that directly affect match stability. Longer term, the team will continue working on client performance, resource loading and network synchronization.
More details on individual fixes and timing will be shared through official updates.
Class Balance
HAO also talked about the ongoing discussion around Blackarrow and Withered Knight.
The team doesn’t decide whether a class is too strong based on win rate or raw numbers alone. It also looks at different gear stages, team compositions, specific match situations and, importantly, whether other classes and builds still have meaningful ways to counter it.
HAO said being strong doesn’t automatically make a class a problem. The team considers adjustments when something becomes so strong that it feels unreasonable — particularly when other players can no longer understand it, play around it or find a counter
Blackarrow and Withered Knight have already received adjustments in previous maintenance updates. The team will continue watching the data and community feedback following those changes.
Brandrgarde Solo Mode
The team also shared more about the previously announced solo mode for Brandrgarde, which is planned for the middle of Season One for both Normal and Cataclysm difficulties.
HAO said the team has received a lot of feedback asking for solo mode since launch. Not everyone has a regular trio to play with, and some players don’t want to deal with the communication involved in random matchmaking. Others simply want to test their own routes, builds and decision-making.
But adding solo mode isn’t as simple as removing teammates. The team needs to look at combat density, resource distribution, extraction pressure and map objectives to make sure the experience works for solo players.
That means solo mode needs broader tuning rather than just a new entry option. Exact timing and rules will be shared in future official updates.
Trading System
On trading, HAO said the team is being careful about making promises right now. The rules need to be considered alongside the overall game economy, strategies for dealing with farming operations and platform requirements.
For now, the team is working around three basic principles. First, trading should be useful for normal players, helping them deal with unused items, understand item values and reduce information costs.
Second, it shouldn’t make farming operations or abnormal transactions worse. HAO noted that this could ultimately hurt regular players through unstable prices and reduced rewards.
Third, the team needs to consider the game’s long-term economic cycle rather than designing the system only around short-term convenience.
The team is looking at areas including how clear the trading process is, search and filtering, price information, identifying abnormal transactions and dispute feedback.
Specific rules, restrictions and timing will be shared once the team has completed its internal review.
Recent Official Updates
For additional context, recent official Mistfall Hunter updates and announcements include:
- Latest Fair Play Enforcement Actions
Fair Play Penalty Announcement - Latest Gameplay and Issue Fixes
August 12 Live Update - Intermittent Server Lag, Chat Channel Violations, Cheating and Illegal Teaming
August 7 Server Online Update Notice - Brandrgarde Solo Mode — Normal and Cataclysm Difficulties
Official Brandrgarde Solo Mode Update - Class Balance and Bug Fixes
Official Class Balance and Bug Fix Update - Cheating and Illegal Teaming
Fair Play Penalty Announcement - Class Ability and Console-Related Issues
Known Issues Announcement
Class Adjustments and Various Bug Fixes
Includes updates addressing tutorial prompt localization, Sorcerer skill visual-effect and damage-range inconsistencies, item-splitting issues, console/controller issues, level-related problems, crashes, incorrect text descriptions, and animation and audio issues.
Launch Rewards & July 30 Update
