Promising a fresh start for the community, the Ragnarök Online LATAM server quickly faced a serious credibility crisis. Players' expectations of a balanced environment free from the harmful old practices that have long affected the Brazilian server (bRO) were quickly dashed. Serious problems surfaced in the very first days, replacing the excitement of the launch with a wave of dissatisfaction and criticism.
The situation has been widely publicized by players and content creators. One of the most serious aspects is confirmation of the existence of duping — item duplication — and the massive presence of bots. These critical flaws, already recorded on other Ragnarök servers, reappeared on RO LATAM and were identified and exploited by malicious users in the first days after launch.
New Servers, Old Problems
Duping is an old problem that has affected bRO for a long time, and many players feared that the LATAM server would end up going down the same path — which, unfortunately, proved to be the case. By all indications, the flaw remains active on both servers despite the numerous reports made months ago. Videos and communities even emerged on platforms such as Discord and Facebook teaching people how to exploit the bug, further aggravating the situation.
At the same time, as the community had already widely reported and documented, the bot invasion was immediate. Automated characters took over the main hunting maps, continuously gathering resources and crowding out real players. The speed with which the bots spread made it clear that the protections implemented by Gravity were ineffective from the start.
In addition to these structural problems, the launch itself was a technical disaster. The server experienced constant outages and suffered DDoS attacks, making the game inaccessible at various times. Curiously (and frustratingly), many players reported that even during these failures, bots remained active — and Gravity still took no steps to ban them.
Operational Failures and Impact on the Player Base
The server displayed errors such as "Token Agency," which prevented access for many players who had paid in advance, while failures in the JCoin purchasing system increased dissatisfaction even further. Gravity and Warpportal's pages on Reclame Aqui are filled with negative reviews, to the point of being completely abandoned by some players.
Against this backdrop, discussions began to emerge on forums and social networks. YouTube, Reddit, Discord, and other social networks started functioning as active reporting hubs. Videos showing the use of dupes and the presence of bots circulate easily, serving as concrete evidence of the problem's severity and contrasting with Gravity's official communication, which the community considers slow and evasive.
After just over a month of operation, the Ragnarök Online LATAM server exchanged the promise of a fresh start for the same flaws that marked earlier versions. The community's trust has been profoundly shaken, and what should have been a new chapter for the MMORPG in Latin America is now proceeding amid uncertainty and frustration.
Recent Updates Attempt to Mitigate the Problems
With growing pressure from the community, Gravity began implementing a series of updates specifically aimed at curbing the presence of bots on the servers. These measures seek to restore the game's balance and ensure a fairer experience for players who play legitimately.
The main change announced was the mandatory use of the OTP (One Time Password) system. This feature adds an extra layer of login verification, requiring the player to enter a temporary code generated by an app with each new attempt to access the account. This makes it more difficult for automated programs — the infamous bots — to break into or mass-create fake accounts, hampering their use by malicious users.
In addition to OTP, another important update was the implementation of internal measures for automatically detecting and blocking bots on maps. Although the publisher has not revealed the technical details, players reported on social networks and forums a significant decline in the presence of automated characters in popular leveling and farming areas. This reduction was noticed especially in places where bots tended to gather to farm zeny and loot without interruption, directly affecting the game's economy.
In an interview with IGN Brasil, Gravity officially responded that it is "fully committed to continually strengthening our security infrastructure, ensuring that our legitimate users are protected and that their experience is not interrupted."
