Ubisoft bans user-created XP-farming quests in Assassin's Creed Odyssey

[Cal Jeffrey]

A hot potato: Ubisoft says it will start cracking down on players who make XP farming quests using Assassin's Creed: Odyssey's Story Creator Mode. It says it's to help other players who have creative stories get noticed, but Ubisoft has skin in the game in the form of an XP booster players can buy.

Back in June, YouTuber Dark Strider showed viewers a way to get an infinite amount of XP and Drachmae in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. It involves finding a particular player-created quest that instantly kills a bunch of off-screen enemies when you start it. The exploit was made with the game’s Story Creator Mode.

On Wednesday, Ubisoft got wind that multiple users were creating XP farming quests like this and vowed to put a stop to it. While it is not technically considered cheating (it will be going forward) since players are simply using tools given to them by Ubisoft, the publisher certainly frowns on it because it renders its $10 lifetime XP boosters worthless.

However, the publisher's official stance is that the “exploits risk jeopardizing the overall quality, integrity, and purpose of Story Creator Mode.” They also make the creative efforts of those who have made fun quests less visible.

To combat these farming quests, Ubisoft will be changing its terms of use agreement banning these types of exploits by labeling it “misuse of the tool.” It is also implementing several other “fixes” to combat the problem.

It will begin by removing farming XP quests from its automatic recommendation system. From now on, stories that get reported for “exploitation or cheating” will get hidden. It will begin sanctioning players who continue to make such cheats as well. Developers are also working on fixes that can be implemented at the software level to prevent players from making these types of quests in the first place.

Ubisoft should have seen this situation coming. You cannot just hand level creation tools to players and not expect them to find ways to exploit them. Personally, I say kudos to those who figured this out because microtransactional XP boosters are rubbish. On the contrary, exploits as powerful as the one Dark Strider demonstrated are borderline game breaking, but hey, it's a single-player game, so who is being harmed?

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https://www.techspot.com/news/80932-ubisoft-bans-user-created-xp-farming-quests-assassin.html

 

[Adi6293]

Ahh why didn't I think of this, I could be level 70 in no time.........

 

[Panda218]

Man F@#$ Ubisoft. They just want you buying your way to the top cause they know no one wants to grind that **** out.

 

[yRaz]

Man F@#$ Ubisoft. They just want you buying your way to the top cause they know no one wants to grind that **** out.

I'm really getting tired if this trend in gaming where they make the game harder(ie worse) so spending money on it isn't optional. You pay $60 for a game and still have to spend money on it. It'd be okay if the game was free and they used a different way to capitalize on it, but that isn't what happens.

 

[retsxel]

Bad form UbiSoft, bad form. Cheating online is one thing and should actively be stopped. But single player mods/cheats? That's is not for you to decide and you are way out of line for this. I'm already boycotting your games over your crap DRM, and this move now insures that I will continue to boycott and strongly recommend that people avoid your games.

 

[Colby D]

Uplay launcher cancer.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

Say it with me guys: "This is why DRM and online connectivity for single player games always was and will continue to be an atrocious idea!"

If you havent boycotted Ubisoft yet, do so now. Its not like you're missing much, they have been making the 'ubisoft sandbox' game with different titles for over a decade now, just pop in far cry 3 if you want to play the newest Ubisoft game.

 

[BSim500]

Say it with me guys: "This is why DRM and online connectivity for single player games always was and will continue to be an atrocious idea!"

If you havent boycotted Ubisoft yet, do so now. Its not like you're missing much, they have been making the 'ubisoft sandbox' game with different titles for over a decade now, just pop in far cry 3 if you want to play the newest Ubisoft game.

+1 (and already have). In fact I think FC3 was the last Ubisoft game I played. Honestly I despair with the discernment skills of "modern gamers". Every time there's a hint of this cr*p happening (eg, even introducing trashy pay2win mechanics in AAA games let alone killing off modding to 'protect' it), there's a bunch of doe-eyed morons who sit there saying "I'm *sure* this stuff will only ever be about cosmetics. They wouldn't dare go further than it. Must... keep... pre-ordering..." If there's one lesson learned it's that AAA game publishers are like advertising agencies - they just don't know when to stop and half the senior management don't even use the products they're selling.

If you'd have asked me 20 years ago what the best thing for the PC gaming industry would be in 20 years time, I'd have been pumped for real-life textures, super AI, bigger & better games like a 10x larger Deus Ex, etc. 20 years on, if you ask me what the best thing for the PC gaming industry has been over the last decade, I'd say without hesitation it's the GOG / CDPR group. "Polished turd sellers" like EA & Ubisoft don't even show up on my radar anymore.

 

[Jyrkz]

Ubisoft needs fire the morons who think this singleplayer mods should be banned.
They are just loosing users.

 

[Nobina]

Ubisoft needs fire the morons who think this singleplayer mods should be banned.
They are just loosing users.

If you fire all the morons from Ubisoft then there's no one left.

 

[retsxel]

If you fire all the morons from Ubisoft then there's no one left.

You say that like it's a bad thing..

 

[Dosahka]

Man F@#$ Ubisoft. They just want you buying your way to the top cause they know no one wants to grind that **** out.

You pay $60 for a game and still have to spend money on it. It'd be okay if the game was free and they used a different way to capitalize on it, but that isn't what happens.

Welcome to the DLC for free world, they will be always crooks, no matter what they say, unless they start thinking about entertainment rather than just money

 

[kira setsu]

No big whoop, I'll just wait til the game hits a sale on pc and then trainer it like I do most games, ubisoft has a long way to go before they can stop my digital powertrips.

 

[ShagnWagn]

I really just can't understand why they expect people to pay for cheat codes. And now they encourage people to pay for cheat codes in multiplayer games. This never used to be the case. I feel sorry for these newer generations who don't know. The love of money is getting stronger.