Destiny Dev Outlines Ban Policy

In July, Bungie brought the banhammer down on "hundreds" of Destiny cheaters who manipulated network traffic to their benefit. Now, in response to some questions about this action, Bungie has outlined its policy as it relates to two enforcement types: Restrictions and Bans.

"A Restriction temporarily prevents someone from playing one or more parts of the game, whereas a Ban permanently prevents a player from playing the entire game," Bungie wrote on its website.

"Disruptive" players are given restrictions, and the duration varies depending on the severity of the infraction. But typically, first-time offenders are given restrictions of a week or two. Repeat offenders, however, can face restrictions that last months.

Bans, on the other hand, "are only issued to the players we never want to see in the world of Destiny again," Bungie said.

The developer also warned Destiny players that, even if you're not cheating yourself, having an offending player in your Fireteam "may well get caught up in the dragnet we have weaved to ensnare them."

"Be suspicious if someone guarantees you a flawless run in Trials of Osiris. No matter how skilled the player, victory in the Crucible can't be guaranteed," Bungie said. "Be extra careful of people advertising their services, especially for a fee."

Bungie also said that it implements temporary Crucible restrictions for people whose Internet connections are consistently unstable. These types of restrictions are extremely rare, however, "so don't be concerned about the periodic Internet lag that is common to everyone," the developer said.

Overall, Bungie said the mission of its Security Response Team is to maintain the integrity of Destiny for all players. This is done by way of mass collection of player data, corroborated by player reports.

"Our servers track statistics about every player, every second," it said. "We analyze the player statistics and corroborate the results with player reports to take action with statistical certainty. We manually verify the results before we issue Restrictions or Bans."

In other Destiny news, Xur is now selling the Gjallarhorn, the game's most coveted weapon.