3,000 players have been perma-banned in Guild Wars 2, after they were found by ArenaNet to have exploited mispriced weapons to make a killing selling them on and by using them to get high level gear much more easily than was originally intended.
The whole thing was outlined by lead producer at Arenanet, Chris Whiteside in a reddit post: "Today we banned a number of players for exploiting Guild Wars 2. We take our community and the integrity of the game very seriously, and want to be clear that intentionally exploiting the game is unacceptable. The players we banned were certainly intentionally and repeatedly exploiting a bug in the game. We intended to send a very clear message that exploiting the game in this way will not be tolerated, and we believe this message now has been well understood."
However, Mr Whiteside explained that ArenaNet understands that since this is the first exploit that's appeared in the game, people could be forgiven for thinking they'd just found a little loophole, instead of a bug. A way of advancing quickly, without breaking the game. Evidently that's not the case, but to show that it's at least a little understanding of these excuses, ArenaNet is offering a way out. "Thus, just this once, we will offer to convert permanent bans to 72-hour suspensions. Should those involved want to accept this offer of reinstatement, contact us on our support website--support.guildwars2.com—and submit a ticket through the "Ask a Question" tab," explained Whiteside.
Once the 72 hour suspension is up, ArenaNet will be monitoring players to make sure they give up their ill gotten gains. If they don't, the permanent ban will be reintroduced.
Whiteside closed the post by saying that, "This is a first and final warning. Moving forward, please make sure you that when you see an exploitable part of the game, you report it and do not attempt to benefit from it."