The number of server crashes and failed to join errors have been on the rise. These crashes are not accidental. Malicious users are intentionally crashing the servers for profit. If the incentive to crash the server is removed, the frequency of server crashes will certainly decrease.

So, how are these malicious users profiting? Two words: Diablo Clone.

When a server crashes, all players on that particular server rollback to their most recent save. The servers SOJ counter, however, does not rollback. This means players are able to sell their SOJs, increase the counter used to spawn Diablo Clone, crash the server and get their SOJs back. Instead of selling 100 SOJs, these malicious users only have to risk 10 or so for that final spawning push.

The solution is simple. When a server crashes, reset its SOJ count. The game should also be saved when Diablo Clone spawns. The save is necessary because malicious users will sell SOJs in one game on the server while their friends quickly kill Diablo Clone and save in a separate game. Once the Annihilus charms have been harvested, the users crash the server and get their SOJs back. A save will prevent this. With no incentive to crash the servers to spawn Diablo Clone, the rate of crashes will drop.

Will this stop all server crashes? No, but it is a strong step in the right direction and it will certainly reduce the frequency of server crashes.

Thanks.

Better solution:

JUST REMOVE SOJ AS SPAWN MECHANISM

Make DClone spontaneously spawn on random servers no more than a few times a week. This will prevent people from abusing the system via duping, and will also prevent this annoying rollback.

The fact that this has not been fixed is RIDICULOUS and Blizz has no excuse... there were multiple threads in the test forum.

In b4 fanboys defend Blizz.

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Q u o t e:


This.

The server crash is related to too much stress on one server in the cluster from mass joining games in attempt to get games on that specific server. Games are saved frequently and it's not a viable dupe method by any means. The soj sales to spawn the clone was originally to get rid of massive stockpiles of duped rings on NL. This is no-longer the case and is now six season later fuel for causing the problem. It does need to be changed in a way players are unable to game that doesn't result in server crashes.

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Actually Bob, if you read OP's post, what he was describing had nothing to do with duping, it was about saving SoJs.

The problem is that the patched dupe method was VERY large; a lot of the decent sized dclone hunters (that ran 200-300 bots, or worse) could very easily find someone to dupe them massive SoJs, then they could sell as many as they had to to spawn him, with no difficulty. What's an extra 50 SoJs when you have infinite, and are about to get 300 legit annis?

There are even better solutions to this problem.

1) Fix the other dupe methods. This will decrease the SoJ supply even more, and eventually, all of the dclone hunters will die. Spending $10 on 100 SoJ is okay, but when SoJs go up to $100 for 100, it becomes a LOT more difficult to profit off of.

The problem becomes that Blizzard has no idea how the dupe method works. In fact, there's a very good chance they didn't even know about the dupe patched in 1.13 until they found it by accident. I'm fairly sure most of us hackers have a MUCH bigger hand on this game then they do, yet they never bother asking for help ;(

2) Fix a VERY common exploit which I won't describe here, yet every single dclone hunter uses. This would actually screw over several hundred people, and effectively severely nerf, quite literally, hundreds of thousands of bots.

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Q u o t e:
1) Fix the other dupe methods. This will decrease the SoJ supply even more, and eventually, all of the dclone hunters will die. Spending $10 on 100 SoJ is okay, but when SoJs go up to $100 for 100, it becomes a LOT more difficult to profit off of.

The problem becomes that Blizzard has no idea how the dupe method works. In fact, there's a very good chance they didn't even know about the dupe patched in 1.13 until they found it by accident. I'm fairly sure most of us hackers have a MUCH bigger hand on this game then they do, yet they never bother asking for help ;(

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So? There were some who did ask for help, mostly other players. I was one, on the PTR. I implored anyone with inside information to come forward, or even contact them through back channels.

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Q u o t e:
2) Fix a VERY common exploit which I won't describe here, yet every single dclone hunter uses. This would actually screw over several hundred people, and effectively severely nerf, quite literally, hundreds of thousands of bots.

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And you won't describe it here because...? Because you know all about these problems, but because Blizz doesn't come to your door with hat in hand so you can feel important, you're going to remain aloof? That's some fence-sitting trick.

It's not dclone hunters alone who cause these problems. Games and servers also crash - or are crashed - and force a rollback without any sign of dclone hunt.

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Q u o t e:

2) Fix a VERY common exploit which I won't describe here, yet every single dclone hunter uses.

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This reads like you know how that exploit works and would be able to describe it. Not describing it leads to the conclusion that you don't care about getting problems fixed. So just out of curiosity: why do you post here if you don't care?

Actually; Blizzard is well aware of the exploit I talk about in #2. They've even banned for it before. The sad thing is, the new legacy guys just don't bother with it (it could be done in 1 line of code).

There are actually 4 major exploits revolving around that single line of code... but they don't patch it. They know how, but why bother fixing it when it isn't being massively abused by 99% of bnet?

And no, I'm not going to step forward and post what the exploit is here, because it isn't something any of you could use, and because I myself am profiting off of it.

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Q u o t e:


Just...wow. For the same reason you wouldn't link to a site that hosted 3rd party programs, it is against the forum rules and can earn you a permanent forum ban.



http://forums.battle.net/forum-coc.html#_Toc127268902

If he cared about it he would e-mail the method to hacks@blizzard.com (people already have). Why post it here instead of e-mailing Blizzard about it, so the number of people that know how to do the exploit increase? That would not be productive.

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As I have already stated, Blizzard knows about it. The only way to get it patched would be to release it publicly, and make an easy to use hack which exploits it.

In fact, it was done before, and was updated to 1.13; thankfully the person who updated it did not release it because I asked him not to (<3 you, you know who you are!)

Sorry, at work and barely paying attention ^_^.