Ongoing Exploit of the Revenge System

[FairPlayAdvocate]

Hello,

I’d like to raise a long-standing issue with the *Revenge System* in DomiNations that is still actively exploited, despite community awareness and reports dating back more than a year.

---

** The Bug (Still Active):**
Some players are able to perform **multiple revenge attacks** against the same opponent, even though the game is clearly designed to allow only one.

After testing, I confirmed the following:

• The **Revenge button remains visible even after a successful revenge attack**.
• If the player refreshes the battle log (Defence → Attack → Defence), the button disappears as expected.
• This means players can **intentionally or unintentionally abuse this UI desync to attack multiple times**, gaining extra loot unfairly.

---

** My Experience with Support:**
Over the **past few months**, I submitted several detailed support tickets regarding this issue.
Support acknowledged the bug and repeatedly responded with:

• “We are investigating the issue.”
• “Development is working on a fix.”
• “This behavior is not currently considered a Terms of Service violation.”

However, similar reports have existed for **over a year**, and yet:

• **The bug remains unfixed.**
• **Players exploiting the bug are not penalized.**
• **Support has not explained why this behavior does not constitute a ToS violation**, despite repeated requests for clarification.

---

** Official Policies Say Otherwise:**

According to the Forum Rules:

> *“Cheating of any kind in DomiNations is prohibited. Do not exploit game bugs or glitches – report them to our Support Team.”*

And according to the official Terms of Service:

> *“Creating, utilizing, or transacting in any in-game item created or copied by exploiting a design flaw, undocumented problem, or program bug.”*

Based on these policies, **knowingly exploiting this revenge glitch fits the definition of a rule violation**.

---

** Why It Matters:**
This issue is not cosmetic. It has led to situations where:

• **Fair players are repeatedly attacked with no way to respond**.
• **Exploiters gain more loot and tactical advantage than intended**.
• And worst of all, **no enforcement or communication has followed** despite long-standing awareness.

**And perhaps most concerning of all**:
It feels like the developers may be hesitant to take disciplinary action simply because **too many players are now exploiting this bug**.
If banning or penalizing exploiters risks reducing the active player base, then the game is already compromised.
Protecting active users by tolerating unfair behavior sends the wrong message to the honest majority who follow the rules.

---

** What I'm Asking For:**

1. **Public acknowledgment** that this bug is being treated seriously.
2. **Clarification** from the developers: Why is this not treated as a ToS violation?
3. **Clear action plan**: Is a fix coming? Will prior exploiters be addressed?
4. Better **transparency** when major bugs remain active for extended periods.

---

I hope this message is received not as a complaint, but as a serious concern from a long-time player who wants to see DomiNations remain fair, strategic, and respectful to its community.

**If other players have experienced the same issue or have thoughts on this, please feel free to share them here. Your voice matters.**

 

[King Crimson]

Unfortunately comments like "We are investigating the issue" and "Development is working on a fix" are like asking "how long's a piece of string", There's no real impetus on their part and manages to sound like they're still working on the problem ...
Kinda like the heli range that they've been "aware of" and have "forwarded to the design team" ...

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

Unfortunately comments like "We are investigating the issue" and "Development is working on a fix" are like asking "how long's a piece of string", There's no real impetus on their part and manages to sound like they're still working on the problem ...
Kinda like the heli range that they've been "aware of" and have "forwarded to the design team" ...

Thank you for your comment — I completely agree.

"Investigating" and "forwarded to the design team" have unfortunately become placeholder phrases at this point.
Like you said, they often feel like they're meant to quiet us down, rather than move anything forward.

If the community never hears about progress or timelines, then "we're working on it" ends up sounding like a polite way to say "we're not going to fix it anytime soon."

Transparency and follow-up are key, especially when it impacts gameplay and fairness so directly.

 

[Harlems369th]

Thank you for your comment — I completely agree.

"Investigating" and "forwarded to the design team" have unfortunately become placeholder phrases at this point.
Like you said, they often feel like they're meant to quiet us down, rather than move anything forward.

If the community never hears about progress or timelines, then "we're working on it" ends up sounding like a polite way to say "we're not going to fix it anytime soon."

Transparency and follow-up are key, especially when it impacts gameplay and fairness so directly.

I understand the frustration, but as I've said on the forums before, we are a relatively small team, and what seems like a 'simple fix' can often take quite a bit of time. This issue is certainly on our radar, but I do not have a timeline on when it will be fixed/corrected.

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

I understand the frustration, but as I've said on the forums before, we are a relatively small team, and what seems like a 'simple fix' can often take quite a bit of time. This issue is certainly on our radar, but I do not have a timeline on when it will be fixed/corrected.

Thanks for your response — and I understand the challenges that come with being a small team.

However, I believe the frustration comes less from the time it takes to fix things, and more from the lack of transparency and enforcement in the meantime.

While a fix may be complicated, the fact remains that this bug creates an **unfair advantage** that some players are knowingly exploiting.
And yet, **no interim solution, communication, or disciplinary action has been taken**.

As I wrote in the thread, abusing bugs is prohibited.
I want a convincing explanation as to why it is not recognized as a violation.

At the very least, some form of communication that discourages continued abuse — or a temporary safeguard — would go a long way toward restoring player trust.

 

[LuSt]

That’s crazy. I didn’t even know about this bug. As you get higher in ages you really don’t worry about resources like gold, food, and oil. Although I can see from a newer players perspective it can be frustrating

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

That’s crazy. I didn’t even know about this bug. As you get higher in ages you really don’t worry about resources like gold, food, and oil. Although I can see from a newer players perspective it can be frustrating

Thank you for your comment — it's not just about resources. In some cases, the attacker may be trying to earn stars, not just loot.

For example, if the defender is using a Trap Blessing, attackers can use the revenge bug to repeatedly hit the same base and **disarm traps over multiple attacks**.
This makes it much easier to destroy key structures in follow-up attacks.

In addition, some attackers deliberately avoid earning stars — instead, they aim to deal just over 10% damage in order to **remove defensive blessings** without triggering a full battle.

Since many base buffs (like the Tower Blessing) are removed once 10% destruction is reached,
players can abuse the revenge bug to **strip away these defensive bonuses across multiple attacks**, and then launch a final, clean attack once defenses are weakened.

This kind of behavior is a highly intentional, strategic abuse of the system — and it completely undermines fair play.

In other words, **defenses that were meant to work once per battle cycle can be bypassed**, simply by exploiting the revenge bug.
This not only undermines base design and defensive strategy, but also creates situations where **attacks that should have failed actually succeed** — which is incredibly frustrating for the defender.

 

[King Crimson]

"on our radar" - I forgot about that one.
Small team has nothing to do with it, we all know why new features are worked on but old bugs aren't.

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

"on our radar" - I forgot about that one.
Small team has nothing to do with it, we all know why new features are worked on but old bugs aren't.

We meet again — and exactly. It's funny how there's never a shortage of resources when it comes to pushing out new monetization features.

It's just frustrating when long-standing issues that affect fairness keep getting pushed aside.
This may sound like an extreme measure, but something like temporarily disabling the revenge feature until the bug is fixed could go a long way.

 

[JuggernautJ]

I can verify this is happening... since FPA made his post I've been watching...
Last night I did an hour worth of attacking.
Between when I logged off and now I was attacked twice by the same person (6 minutes apart).
I don't know if he was one of the folks I attacked previously but it does seem likely (or how else did he target me, specifically, within that time frame).

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

I can verify this is happening... since FPA made his post I've been watching...
Last night I did an hour worth of attacking.
Between when I logged off and now I was attacked twice by the same person (6 minutes apart).
I don't know if he was one of the folks I attacked previously but it does seem likely (or how else did he target me, specifically, within that time frame).

Thank you for sharing your experience — the problem is that developers are aware of the bugs but haven't provided a temporary fix, notified players, or taken disciplinary action against cheaters.

Acknowledging the existence of a problem but only saying "we're investigating" or "we're fixing it" and not taking any action sends the wrong message to players.

It gives the impression that unfair behavior is tolerated, or even worse, ignored.

At the very least, clear communication and visible action go a long way in maintaining player trust.

 

[nobodyknowsthetrouble]

この投稿は取り下げられました

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

So my experience from multiplayer is that you regularly get the same opponents suggested. Even then you can deactivate the traps in the first attack and give up, quickly retrain and search for a new opponent. Press "next" once or twice and you'll find the same town again. Easier to crack this time. No need for a Revenge button.

I haven't used Revenge for years. The probability that the opponent is protected (online or in a peace treaty) is far too high.

A simple temporary fix would be to deactivate the Revenge.

Thanks for sharing your perspective — that's absolutely true — in regular matchmaking, it's not uncommon to run into the same opponent again.

And you're right — doing a quick attack to disarm traps and then coming back with a second attack is a valid strategy, even without using the revenge button.
(I personally avoid that because I don’t want to lose troops.)

However, in this case, the defender will see a revenge button, allowing them to take revenge on the attacker.

The problem I want to highlight is that some players are able to use the **revenge button** multiple times — which shouldn't be possible.

Despite being intended for one-time use, the button remains visible regardless of whether or not the revenge is successful.
Because of that, some players are abusing it to attack the same base over and over.

This isn’t the same as finding someone again through matchmaking,
especially since **you can't revenge a revenge** — the defender has no way to fight back.

So yeah, temporarily disabling the revenge feature until the bug is fixed would go a long way in preventing this kind of abuse.

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

Dear Community, Am I wrong in what I've been saying?

• Some players are actively abusing this bug, yet no action is being taken against them.
  Even though the rules clearly state that **exploiting bugs is prohibited**, there has been no explanation as to why this isn’t considered a violation.
• No **temporary measures** have been implemented.
  The unfair situation is simply being tolerated — while those affected are told to just endure it until a fix eventually comes.
• There has also been no **official announcement** or **public acknowledgment** from the developers addressing this issue.
• Bugs that directly affect **fairness** are ignored for years, while minor visual glitches or monetization updates are fixed or added immediately.

Even now, as I write this, I’m still being affected by this bug.

Am I the only one who thinks this current situation is strange?

Also, lately there have been other hot topics where many players feel their feedback is being ignored.
It’s beginning to feel like player concerns are no longer being taken seriously by management.

And we all know what happens to a game when the developers stop listening to their community.

I don’t believe this is a healthy situation for the game.

 

[nobodyknowsthetrouble]

この投稿は取り下げられました

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

Especially with young accounts, you can't be sure that they even know that it's a bug. First of all, there would have to be an in-game indication that the game is behaving differently than the developers intended. Only then could measures be taken against further abuse.
In the absence of a clear statement, no ban should be issued.

I also don't have the time or inclination to see who is attacking me and how often. Even if there are 20 defenses in one day, I don't check whether it was the same person several times. I don't see either resources or medals as valuable, so I don't really care. Others may feel differently.

Of course bugs are annoying and should be fixed; but I see many bugs that have a higher priority for me. e.g. Perk 22 = fluctuating size of city center defenders in war, speedup-autofill, retrain (sometimes produces 220/170 troops or the retrain of generals fails because the mercenary camp is being improved) ... just to name something other than the most frequently mentioned replays and heli-range

Thank you for your opinion — I really appreciate hearing your fair and balanced perspective.

I understand the point that newer players might not be aware of the bug.
However, I’m playing in the Automation Age, and it’s hard to believe that opponents in the Drone or Automation Ages are unintentionally taking advantage of this issue.

Also, it appears that the developers are aware of the problem.

Some players clearly understand what they’re doing.
If you spot a player who is exploiting this bug and attack them, they will launch revenge attacks multiple times.
Sometimes, they even change their attack behavior based on trap positions or active blessings.

That level of strategic use suggests this is not accidental.

I’m not saying that everyone should be punished — but when the behavior is clearly intentional, it can’t be considered innocent.

I understand that resources and medals lose value over time.
There may also be players who simply aren’t interested in defense.

However, from a fairness standpoint, it's frustrating to be attacked repeatedly without any way to strike back.

I understand there are other high-priority bugs, especially those related to World War, and I’m not claiming this is the most urgent issue.

Still, I believe that bugs affecting fairness or enabling abuse deserve at least some **temporary safeguards** or **official communication**, even if the final fix takes time.

At the end of the day, I just want the game to be fair.
Even if the bug can’t be fixed right away, a simple warning or acknowledgment would go a long way.

 

[Harlems369th]

Thank you for your opinion — I really appreciate hearing your fair and balanced perspective.

I understand the point that newer players might not be aware of the bug.
However, I’m playing in the Automation Age, and it’s hard to believe that opponents in the Drone or Automation Ages are unintentionally taking advantage of this issue.

Also, it appears that the developers are aware of the problem.

Some players clearly understand what they’re doing.
If you spot a player who is exploiting this bug and attack them, they will launch revenge attacks multiple times.
Sometimes, they even change their attack behavior based on trap positions or active blessings.

That level of strategic use suggests this is not accidental.

I’m not saying that everyone should be punished — but when the behavior is clearly intentional, it can’t be considered innocent.

I understand that resources and medals lose value over time.
There may also be players who simply aren’t interested in defense.

However, from a fairness standpoint, it's frustrating to be attacked repeatedly without any way to strike back.

I understand there are other high-priority bugs, especially those related to World War, and I’m not claiming this is the most urgent issue.

Still, I believe that bugs affecting fairness or enabling abuse deserve at least some **temporary safeguards** or **official communication**, even if the final fix takes time.

At the end of the day, I just want the game to be fair.
Even if the bug can’t be fixed right away, a simple warning or acknowledgment would go a long way.

I hear ya, while we wish everything were on a switch that we can just turn 'on/off' that's something that has to be implemented very early in the development process, so sometimes our older systems just don't have that function. We have been trying to bump this up on our to-do list, especially because of how egregious this is. Hoping to get this sorted out sooner rather than later, but it may not happen until a future update release.

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

I hear ya, while we wish everything were on a switch that we can just turn 'on/off' that's something that has to be implemented very early in the development process, so sometimes our older systems just don't have that function. We have been trying to bump this up on our to-do list, especially because of how egregious this is. Hoping to get this sorted out sooner rather than later, but it may not happen until a future update release.

Thanks for the update — I genuinely appreciate that you're working to raise the priority of this issue.
I understand that not all systems have a simple on/off switch, especially when they were built long ago.
Technical limitations are understandable.

That said, this is exactly why some kind of official warning or public notice would be so important.
Even if a technical fix takes time, clear communication can help reduce abuse and reassure affected players.

Just letting the community know that this behavior is not intended and will eventually be addressed — even without a specific timeline — would go a long way toward maintaining fairness and trust.
Could you please consider this as well?

Again, thank you for acknowledging the issue and trying to push it forward. I really hope to see a resolution in a future update.

 

[FairPlayAdvocate]

Dear Support Team,

Additional Updates

• Removed an exploit that allowed Players to make infinite revenge attacks.

Thank you for fixing the infinite revenge attack exploit in the latest update.

However, we are deeply concerned that players who intentionally abused this exploit remain active and have not received any punishment.

As the patch notes officially describe it as an "exploit", shouldn't intentional use be treated as a violation of the Terms of Service?

Fixing the system is important, but it is equally important to hold players accountable for knowingly exploiting it.
If nothing is done, those who abused the bug will keep their unfair advantage and the integrity of the game will continue to suffer.

We hope that those who deliberately took advantage of this issue will not be allowed to continue playing as if nothing happened.
Otherwise, it sends the wrong message to the community—that exploiting bugs carries no consequences.

Are there any plans to take action against players who knowingly used this exploit despite knowing it was prohibited?

Thank you for your attention and continued efforts to improve the game’s fairness.