Bungie explains its banning philosophy for Destiny

If you've been the recipient of a temporary or even permanent ban from Destiny, you've probably experienced some level of frustration and confusion about why that happened. Destiny developer Bungie laid out its banning philosophy in yesterday's weekly update, explaining that even if you're just playing with a cheater, you're at risk.

Destiny's Security Response Team at Bungie, which works to "protect the landscape of the game from people who ruin the game experience for other players," hands out two different types of timeouts: restrictions and bans. The former are temporary and can apply to one or more parts of Destiny, while the latter are permanent and apply to the entire game.

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Restrictions are meant to teach players a lesson and let them think about what they've done so they can reform their behavior. The first one might last for a week or two, but repeat offenders could be restricted from playing Destiny for multiple months. Bungie will only hand out bans to "players we never want to see in the world of Destiny again," the studio said. And the company won't issue restrictions or bans before taking steps to "manually verify" statistics and reports suggesting action is necessary.

Bungie also advised players against playing alongside cheaters, saying, "If a cheater is a member of your Fireteam, you may well get caught up in the dragnet we have weaved to ensnare them." The studio suggests staying far, far away from players who advertise a flawless Trials of Osiris run or other too-good-to-be-true feats, especially if they're asking for money.

Players with an unstable internet connection may also receive restrictions, but Bungie said that will happen only "in the most extreme cases," and only until their connection improves. Run-of-the-mill lag won't result in restrictions, according to the company.

For more on Destiny, check out last week's news from Gamescom about The Taken King, the game's upcoming third expansion. The Taken King will be available Sept. 15; you can watch its prologue below.