Guild Wars 2 mandatory password alter starting February seven

For those players who set their password previous to the introduction of password blacklist checking on September 12, 2012.

As part of ArenaNet's ongoing battle against Guild Wars two account hacking, all players who developed a password preceding to the introduction of password blacklist checking on September 12, 2012, will be needed to enter a new password.

"Account security is a very essential topic for us" wrote Guild Wars 2 gold head of community Martin Kerstein.

"1 of the ways we shield your account is by generating a blacklist of passwords that have been used in the past by hackers to scan for accounts. As this blacklist has been exceptionally effective for protecting newly developed accounts, we have asked all our existing consumers to change their passwords.

"In fact, for those consumers with passwords selected before the introduction of blacklisting, we have displayed a red banner in the launcher for the past 3 months, encouraging (yet not requiring) a password adjust. Beginning on February seven, 2013, we will change it to a requirement.

"So, in case you are still utilizing a password that was chosen before the introduction of password blacklisting on September 12, 2012, you will want to opt for a new password."

There's no need to wait until February seven - should you are employing an old password then visit the account management web site to alter it today.