Although it’s not quite as severe as the wave of bots currently plaguing Trion Worlds’ ArcheAge, Blizzard still consider the botting problem surrounding Hearthstone to be worthy of attention as they announce a wave of bans for thousands of accounts. The team posted a short update on the official website that states thousands of accounts have been banned for using third-party software, commonly referred to bots, to gain unfair advantages on the field of battle.
[quote cite=”Zeriyah, Community Manager”]We’re committed to creating a fun and rewarding environment for our players, and we will continue to closely monitor activities within Hearthstone and take appropriate action against cheating in any form, as outlined in our Terms of Use. From this point on, accounts found to be cheating will be permanently closed without warning.[/quote]
Despite the positive actions from the development team, many players are outraged at the rather lackadaisical approach to punishment. This wave of bans will only see the accounts banned until 2015, at which point players can return an expect a full inventory of the cards, achievements and stats earned through botting.
This will however change in the future as Community Manager Zeriyah confirmed any future bans as a result of botting will be permanent.
Source: Official Website