Recently many players were banned from Ultima Online for having Duped items in their possession . Now for those of you who do not know Duped is a shortening of the word duplicated. So duped items are exact copies of in game items that have been produced through illegal ways. In recent history the game has been flooded with Duped items, from gold and checks to runic tools, artifacts and rare event items. Because these items are mass produced they are being sold to players at a lower cost than you would normally see most of the time (Though some do sell them for normal prices to avoid being caught by EA/Mythic). A large part of these items are getting spread to the general public through in game vendors and some of the online sites who sell them for real cash. EA/Mythic frowns on the production of such items and will take action against anyone found producing or having them in their possession.
Duping is a form of cheating and ruins the game in many ways and will not be tolerated. The players that were recently caught with duped items had their accounts banned and their houses removed from the game. Is duping and duped items worth risking your account on?
Here is what Jeremy Dalberg (UO Community Coordinator) had to say about the recent bannings:
04 Aug 2008 13:25:35
Over the weekend, a number of accounts associated with creating and trading duped items have been banned. We take all forms of cheating extremely seriously, especially cheats that affect the in game economy and devalue the hard work of honest players. We will never stop investigating and solving these issues, and appreciate very much those of you who contribute to the fight against cheating.
There is no reason to panic and fear for your account if you have recently purchased items from a vendor in game. Most of the people banned had a multitude of duped items in their possession, and as Jeremy has stated in an Stratics post most casual players will never have that many duped items on their accounts. So if you may of purchased one or two duped items by accident chances are no major action will be taken against your account, besides the items in question being deleted from your account if you are found with them. Although it is just smarter to avoid purchasing these items all together if you can. Here is some helpful tips to help avoid these items:
1. If a vendor has large amounts of a item that you know to be rare in game. Best bet is to be cautious of it.
2. If a price on a item is too good to be true. It may be a duped item.
3. Try to purchase items from people you know and trust if you can.
4. Be wary of online sites that offer almost every item in game on every shard. (Yes most of these are honest sellers but some are not. Also remember that gold and checks can be duped!)
5. If a in game seller always has a highly sought after item on his vendor (He may be only putting a single duped copy of a item out at a time. So soon as he sells one he may replace it right away with a new duped one.)
6. If an player is selling items in person at a bank. No matter what his story for selling it is, always ask yourself if it could be duped.
7. If you are selling a item yourself always remember that gold and checks can be duped too! So the guy who purchased your item may be passing duped items to you that way. Being caught with these can get you banned too.
8. Never hold items in your house, boat or bank box for anyone you do not know very well.
9. If you do IDoC (in Danger of Collapse)houses always remember if you find a chest or bag full of a multitude of the same rare item, it may have been Duped, and you can be banned for having it in your possession.
10. If you run a vendor house and rent out vendor spots to others. be aware of what they are selling. Having a vendor who is selling dupes at your house can get your account banned too.
Thank you for your time and I hope this answered many questions that you may have.
Duping is a form of cheating and ruins the game in many ways and will not be tolerated. The players that were recently caught with duped items had their accounts banned and their houses removed from the game. Is duping and duped items worth risking your account on?
Here is what Jeremy Dalberg (UO Community Coordinator) had to say about the recent bannings:
04 Aug 2008 13:25:35
Over the weekend, a number of accounts associated with creating and trading duped items have been banned. We take all forms of cheating extremely seriously, especially cheats that affect the in game economy and devalue the hard work of honest players. We will never stop investigating and solving these issues, and appreciate very much those of you who contribute to the fight against cheating.
There is no reason to panic and fear for your account if you have recently purchased items from a vendor in game. Most of the people banned had a multitude of duped items in their possession, and as Jeremy has stated in an Stratics post most casual players will never have that many duped items on their accounts. So if you may of purchased one or two duped items by accident chances are no major action will be taken against your account, besides the items in question being deleted from your account if you are found with them. Although it is just smarter to avoid purchasing these items all together if you can. Here is some helpful tips to help avoid these items:
1. If a vendor has large amounts of a item that you know to be rare in game. Best bet is to be cautious of it.
2. If a price on a item is too good to be true. It may be a duped item.
3. Try to purchase items from people you know and trust if you can.
4. Be wary of online sites that offer almost every item in game on every shard. (Yes most of these are honest sellers but some are not. Also remember that gold and checks can be duped!)
5. If a in game seller always has a highly sought after item on his vendor (He may be only putting a single duped copy of a item out at a time. So soon as he sells one he may replace it right away with a new duped one.)
6. If an player is selling items in person at a bank. No matter what his story for selling it is, always ask yourself if it could be duped.
7. If you are selling a item yourself always remember that gold and checks can be duped too! So the guy who purchased your item may be passing duped items to you that way. Being caught with these can get you banned too.
8. Never hold items in your house, boat or bank box for anyone you do not know very well.
9. If you do IDoC (in Danger of Collapse)houses always remember if you find a chest or bag full of a multitude of the same rare item, it may have been Duped, and you can be banned for having it in your possession.
10. If you run a vendor house and rent out vendor spots to others. be aware of what they are selling. Having a vendor who is selling dupes at your house can get your account banned too.
Thank you for your time and I hope this answered many questions that you may have.
