1. Justice is served
Am I dreaming, or did it finally happen?
After years of RHAELH (current name "xXRhaelXx" ingame) treating Age of Wushu like his own personal testing ground for hacks, the banhammer has finally come down for him. Not a permanent ban (sadly), but a cozy little 30-day vacation from the game. At least it's better than nothing. Courtesy of SnailGames USA for issuing the ban. Courtesy of Hitsu for sending a report.
If the name RHAELH sounds familiar, it should. This is the very same player whose... unusual behavior was lovingly documented in my Identifying Combat Hacks guide. That guide, which reads more like a case file than a tutorial at this point, featured RHAELH as one of the two main characters. It is also the same player who assisted Shinigami with doxing.
RHAELH gave us all a front-row seat to what happens when fair play is thrown into the Eastern Seas. It was blatant. It was constant. And it was honestly kind of impressive how long it took to get addressed. But here we are. The 30-day ban has been issued. A formal acknowledgment that yes, everything we were seeing wasn’t "lag" or "skill issues". It was exactly what it looked like: hacks.
2. A new era?
If RHAELH returns after his 30-day vacation and decides to pick up where he left off, the next ban will be permanent.
This is the first time a known hacker has actually been banned for 30 days in recent Age of Wushu history. Maybe Snail is finally waking up. This should discourage all players, regardless of allegiance, from using combat hacks, as a harsh punishment is a very real possibility now.
I haven't heard of any other 30-day bans besides this one, implying that the bans aren't being applied retroactively.
To the community: Ty for the videos. Thanks for keeping an eye on him, recording him and sharing the videos with each other and raising awareness. And to RHAELH: Knowing you, you'll spend the next thirty days doxing people again. Just go outside and touch grass for once.