Player Rules & Policies

1. General Conduct

Players must treat other players and staff with reasonable respect.

The following are prohibited:

• targeted harassment
• threats
• repeated personal attacks
• discriminatory or hateful behavior
• sexual harassment
• intentionally disruptive behavior
• impersonating another player for malicious purposes
• impersonating a GM, administrator, or official GudzRO representative
• deliberately spreading false information while presenting it as an official GudzRO announcement
• phishing or credential theft
• malicious links intended to steal credentials, distribute malware, or harm players

Normal disagreement, competition, guild rivalry, PvP rivalry, and reasonable competitive trash talk are not automatically treated as misconduct. Competitive behavior becomes a rules issue when it crosses into harassment, abuse, threats, cheating, or deliberate disruption.

2. Chat and Language

GudzRO welcomes an international community. Players may communicate in any language unless a specific channel is designated otherwise.

The following are not permitted in public or player-facing communication:

• spam or repeated message flooding
• harassment
• hate speech
• credible threats
• sexually explicit or grossly inappropriate content
• malicious impersonation
• deliberate scam advertising
• phishing or credential-theft solicitations
• links intended to steal credentials, distribute malware, or harm players

Staff may ask players to stop behavior that is materially disrupting public chat even if that exact behavior is not individually listed above.

3. Character, Guild, and Party Names

Names must not:

• impersonate GudzRO staff
• intentionally mislead players into believing the character or guild represents GudzRO administration
• contain severe hate speech
• contain clearly abusive or sexually explicit material
• be designed primarily to harass another player

Harmless creative names are not restricted by this policy. GudzRO may require a name change or rename/remove a character or guild where necessary.

5. Donations

GudzRO is privately funded by its owner. Donations are voluntary contributions that help support server hosting, infrastructure, development, maintenance, and community operations.

A donation is not a purchase of ownership, guaranteed service availability, permanent account access, permanent virtual property, or guaranteed preservation of game data.

Donation benefits remain subject to GudzRO's documented game-design and donation philosophy and must not provide prohibited pay-to-win advantages.

Refunds

Donations are generally non-refundable once successfully processed or once associated benefits have been delivered, except where a refund is required by applicable law or applicable payment-provider rules. GudzRO does not promise refunds, permanent service, or permanent data preservation. Players should confirm the amount and intended account before donating.

Chargebacks

Fraudulent or abusive chargebacks may be investigated. Related donation benefits may be removed, and accounts may be temporarily restricted or suspended where fraud is confirmed. GudzRO will not treat a legitimate exercise of legal or payment-provider dispute rights as automatically punishable.

6. No Guarantee of Data Preservation

Data may be lost, corrected, rolled back, reset, migrated, or wiped due to legitimate operational circumstances such as:

• testing
• planned wipes
• bugs
• database corruption
• maintenance
• security incidents
• balancing or technical corrections
• migrations
• major releases
• server closure
• circumstances outside the operator's reasonable control

This section is a service and data-availability disclaimer — not permission for arbitrary player-data manipulation. GudzRO will make reasonable operational efforts to protect production data but does not promise that game data is permanent or recoverable. Any planned wipe or major reset should be announced when reasonably possible.

7. Bug Exploitation and Cheating

Players must not knowingly exploit bugs, unintended mechanics, configuration mistakes, or technical vulnerabilities for unfair advantage. Accidentally discovering a bug is not the same as knowingly and repeatedly exploiting it.

If you discover an exploitable bug:

1. Stop exploiting it.
2. Report it privately through an official GudzRO reporting channel.
3. Do not teach other players how to exploit it.
4. Do not distribute tools or instructions that enable exploitation.

Examples include intentionally exploiting bugs to: duplicate items, generate Zeny, obtain unintended rewards, bypass restrictions, manipulate NPCs, bypass map limitations, gain unintended combat advantages, or interfere with other players or server systems.

Staff should consider intent, repetition, benefit obtained, disclosure behavior, and severity when determining enforcement.

8. Bots and Automation

Allowed

Official GudzRO functionality — including the server feature @autogrind (Auto Grind) — is a sanctioned GudzRO system. Using @autogrind according to its documented limitations is not prohibited botting. Other officially provided GudzRO automation or QoL systems are likewise permitted according to their documented restrictions.

Prohibited

Unauthorized external automation intended to perform gameplay actions or circumvent GudzRO restrictions is prohibited. Players may not use third-party software, scripts, bots, macros, packet tools, or automation that performs gameplay actions without normal player interaction unless GudzRO explicitly documents that specific tool or behavior as permitted.

Examples of prohibited automation include:

• external farming bots
• automated combat programs
• automated skill loops
• packet-based bots
• unattended third-party gameplay automation
• software designed to bypass Auto Grind quotas or restrictions
• automation intended to circumvent time, map, or account limitations

The existence of GudzRO's official Auto Grind feature does not authorize unrelated third-party botting software.

9. Third-Party Tools and Client Modification

Players must not use third-party tools or modified clients to gain an unfair advantage or interfere with GudzRO. Prohibited uses include:

• packet manipulation
• speed hacking
• automated targeting
• unauthorized botting
• bypassing client/server restrictions
• exploiting hidden information unavailable to normal players
• modifying gameplay behavior in ways that provide an unfair advantage
• tools intended to attack, disrupt, inspect, or manipulate the server

Purely cosmetic or accessibility-related client modifications should not automatically be assumed permitted. If GudzRO has not explicitly approved a modification and it changes client behavior, players should ask staff before using it. Official GudzRO client files and patches remain the recommended configuration.

10. Multi-Clienting

Multi-clienting is generally permitted unless a specific feature, event, map, or system explicitly restricts it. Players may operate multiple legitimate game clients on the same device or network.

However, multiple clients must not be used to:

• bypass event participation limits
• bypass reward limits
• exploit quest or currency systems
• manipulate rankings
• evade punishment
• bypass account-specific restrictions
• abuse systems intended to have a specific participation limit
• create unfair participation in systems explicitly designed for one player, account, or client

Where a feature has its own documented multi-client restriction, that feature-specific rule takes precedence. Using multiple clients does not permit prohibited bots or unauthorized automation.

11. Account Responsibility

Players are responsible for activity performed through their accounts. Players should:

• use unique passwords
• protect their login credentials
• avoid sharing credentials
• avoid untrusted third-party software
• verify official GudzRO links before entering credentials

Account sharing is at the player's own risk unless later prohibited by a specific documented policy. GudzRO does not guarantee restoration of losses caused by voluntary account sharing, credential disclosure, or compromised third-party devices. Staff may investigate account ownership disputes but cannot guarantee recovery.

12. Scamming and Fraud

Deliberate scams and fraud are prohibited. Examples include:

• knowingly misrepresenting a trade
• intentionally deceptive in-game trades designed to steal items or currency
• impersonating staff
• fake donation or payment claims
• phishing
• credential theft
• malicious deception
• fraudulent or abusive chargebacks
• falsified evidence submitted in reports or appeals

Normal unfavorable trades between consenting players are not automatically scams. Players are responsible for reviewing normal trade windows before confirming transactions.

13. Guild Conduct

Guilds are responsible for following the same rules as individual players. Guild leadership does not provide immunity from enforcement. Guild-organized cheating, botting, exploitation, systematic harassment, or fraud may be treated more seriously where coordination is demonstrated.

Guilds must not organize or facilitate:

• cheating
• botting
• exploitation
• systematic harassment
• fraudulent activity
• coordinated abuse of server systems

Normal guild rivalry, competition, PvP, and WoE conflict are permitted. Sanctions should normally target responsible players rather than an entire guild unless the violation is demonstrably guild-organized or systemic.

14. PvP and WoE Conduct

PvP and War of Emperium are competitive environments. Players should expect fighting, rivalry, strategic targeting, alliances, betrayals where allowed by game mechanics, and competitive trash talk within reasonable community standards. Competition itself is not harassment.

However, normal competition does not excuse cheating, exploitation, threats, hate speech, prohibited automation, or deliberate server disruption. Stock gameplay mechanics are not considered rule violations simply because they are frustrating or strategically aggressive. These rules do not create unnecessary sportsmanship requirements that interfere with legitimate Ragnarok gameplay.

15. Reporting Players

Players should report serious violations privately through an official private GudzRO reporting or support channel. A useful report should include where possible:

• character name
• approximate date and time
• map or location where relevant
• description of what occurred
• screenshots or video
• chat evidence
• other relevant evidence

Do not conduct public witch hunts. Public accusations are not substitutes for evidence. Submitting deliberately falsified evidence or maliciously filing false reports may itself result in enforcement.

Player misconduct reports are distinct from bug reports. Bug reports should use the designated bug-reporting process rather than the player misconduct process.

16. Enforcement

GudzRO staff should apply enforcement proportionately based on severity, intent, repetition, player history, damage caused, unfair advantage obtained, attempts to conceal the behavior, and cooperation during investigation.

Possible actions include:

1. Informal reminder
2. Formal warning
3. Chat restriction or mute
4. Removal or correction of illegitimate gains
5. Temporary suspension
6. Longer suspension
7. Permanent account ban

This is not a mandatory sequence. Serious violations may skip lower stages — for example, deliberate server attacks, serious cheating, major exploit abuse, credential theft, significant fraud, or repeated ban evasion.

GudzRO may remove illegitimately obtained items, currency, progression, or other benefits independently of account punishment.

17. Ban Evasion

Creating or using another account to intentionally evade a suspension or ban is prohibited. Where ban evasion is confirmed, enforcement may extend to related accounts. Shared household or network access alone should not automatically be treated as proof of ban evasion.

18. Appeals

Players may privately appeal a significant enforcement action through the designated private support channel. An appeal should include:

• account or character name
• action being appealed
• approximate date
• explanation
• supporting evidence

Appeals should focus on factual errors, missing context, new evidence, or disproportionate enforcement. An appeal does not guarantee reversal. Where practical, a staff member other than the original decision-maker should review serious appeals. Repeated abusive appeals may be closed without further response.

19. Staff Discretion and Consistency

These rules cannot describe every possible abuse. Staff may act against behavior that clearly undermines server security, fair play, community safety, or game integrity, even where the exact exploit or misconduct is not specifically named.

This discretion should not be used arbitrarily. Enforcement should remain reasonably consistent with documented GudzRO principles and prior comparable cases.

20. Rule Updates

This Rules document is the authoritative source for player-facing rules. Every material update should include a version number, effective date, and summary of material changes. Material rule changes should be announced through an official GudzRO communication channel before or when they take effect where practical. Emergency security or exploit rules may take effect immediately.

21. Terms, Privacy, and Legal Documents

This Rules page is not a substitute for separate legal documents. GudzRO intends to eventually publish a separate Terms of Service and Privacy Policy — not yet available. A standalone EULA will only be created if there is a genuine need for client-specific licensing terms.

22. Acceptance

By continuing to use GudzRO services, players are expected to comply with the current published Player Rules & Policies. The purpose of these rules is not to punish normal gameplay — it's to protect fair play, community, server integrity, and player trust. GudzRO is a community-driven private server, and maintaining that environment is a shared responsibility.