HoYoverse announced via social media that a malicious hack in Genshin Impact has been patched. The hack allowed users to join other players in co-op mode and permanently delete any interactable entity in their world.
“The relevant issues have been fixed on August 25,” reads HoYoverse’s statement. “By August 26, our developers had fixed the accounts of the Travelers who encountered this error and contacted Customer Service for assistance. We have also notified Travelers regarding the status of the fix through Customer Service.”
Additionally, HoYoverse says it’s still monitoring reports from impacted users. The Genshin Impact publisher noted some accounts may not have all items restored yet, and asked anyone experiencing issues to contact customer service. Otherwise, it seems things are back to normal, and co-op mode is safe once again.
Resolution Regarding the Recent Plug-In Usage in #GenshinImpact
Dear Travelers,
It has come to our attention that some Travelers have been using plug-ins to tamper with game data and intentionally disrupt the gaming experience of other Travelers: In Co-Op Mode, they were found… pic.twitter.com/aPMaUDehNu— Genshin Impact (@GenshinImpact) August 28, 2023
According to HoYoverse, third-party plugins facilitated targeting these exploits. Kaveh’s world-destroying power wasn’t something unsuspecting players triggered accidentally. The tool allowed bad actors to join worlds via the co-op function and delete crucial parts of Genshin Impact’s world, like chests, teleporters, domain trees, or Katheryne. On Twitter, @_mika69_ chronicled player reports of the hack, with some users noting the item removal seemed permanent. Troubleshooting tactics, like reverifying files or swapping devices, did not restore missing items.
Over the weekend, moderators in the official Genshin Impact Discord pinned a warning message in the general channel. Mods urged other players not to participate in co-op momentarily. After HoYoverse resolved the Genshin Impact exploit, the company followed up with today’s lengthier statement.
World Impact
To explain, the best examples and breakdowns of the hack come from Reddit. One lengthy thread shared videos uploaded to Bilibili showing set pieces within the world, like Domains and the Shrine of Depths, permanently removed. Additional clips included Kaveh one-shotting the RPG’s most difficult bosses.
“This hack can delete most intractable [sic] objects,” wrote pzlamma333. “Including Katheryne, statue of seven, door of spiral abyss, waypoint, tree of domains, or even the domain doors themselves.”
The explanation notes the hack relies on an exploit found that changes every object’s ID to a Dendro Core ID, and then uses Kaveh to destroy those items. For those unfamiliar, Kaveh’s abilities allow him to explode nearby Dendro Cores. So, by changing other item IDs to match Dendro Cores, players with third-party tools could delete Genshin’s most important set pieces.
In addition to deleting items, HoYoverse also claimed some bad actors jumped in to either create memes or spread further panic while also using those hacks. For a while, it was rumored that Nahida could be used to delete things too, but this turned out to be false.
HoYoverse appears to be taking a firm stance against using third-party programs to disrupt others’ experiences. While bans are a common punishment for online games, the publisher sounds willing to take things a step further. Today’s statement also promises legal action – something the company has pursued in the past.
Ultimately, it seems safe for players to return to business as usual, and those affected will see their accounts restored.
