As a player I haven’t seen anything dirty or vulgar but I’m also a mother of a 16 and 13 year old who play. I’ve seen ads for guilds that state 18+ and a lot of links to discord, which I do not allow my kids to use. According to steam and google your game is age appropriate, ages 13 and up.
After hearing my 13 yr old son talking to his friends about joining an adult guild to check it out I became concerned. Your game may not contain adult content but it shouldn’t allow easy access to adult content either.
If a guild advertises itself as a 18+ guild, it doesn’t mean that members share adult content. More often than not it only means that adults want to stay in adult company so that they don’t have to filter their language or topics when in the company of other guild members.
EDIT: most 18+ guilds that I know about are invite-only (and often use discord as a way of communication, because it allows private conversations), as recruiters would want to talk to prospective members and make sure that they are most likely really 18+, not teenagers posing as such.
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I decided to go on chat and do my due diligence as a mother. My 13 yr old is no longer allowed to play gems of war. I saw players discussing alcohol, drugs, and extra marital sex. I choose to keep my son from viewing that content. I submitted reports.
Invite or not, 18+ should not be in a game that is for 13 and up, nor should requiring the use of discord be allowed unless players are told, up front, that certain game features, such as joining some guilds, will require the use of discord and may be limited to 18 and older.
Discord has been featured on many exposes about drugs, pedophilia, and human trafficking. Discord as an option, ok. I’ve seen it required which is not ok.
I also observed veteran players completely ignoring newer players, including myself, and saying derogatory things about low leveled players and this forum. For them to collectively call anyone with a different opinion whiners and cryers is not only rude and uncalled for, it is a type of bullying that kids should not have to contend with. I hope that someone views my reports and addresses my concerns.
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Funny thing is that there are a number of veterans that feel gems of war is recently too heavily moderated, and yes of course they are the problem causers but can’t see that themselves.
In game chat has always been a cess pool and will always be in any online game.
Most games are ok because they implement moderators.
Gems of War has no budget or inclination for live moderation, best you can do is report and that will get looked at when somebody has a chance.
A lot of them are not actioned at all.
Sometimes I report something and a week later I got a ‘thank you for your report, we have taken action’ mail.
By that point the perpetrator has had a week to run wild. And then they’ve forgotten what they said and think they get banned for something innocuous they said the day they got banned so they never learn from it. And accuse the moderators of being heavy handed.
Blocking players is your only tool but it’s hard to know who to block before they out themselves of course.
And yes new players are treated poorly in the chat, veterans are mostly unwilling to help unless you join their guilds and expect you to know all the games jargon automatically. Also they accuse every single player <100 that they are somebody’s alt account or a troll. With zero evidence or even motive.
Sorry to hear about your poor experience.
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I thought that screenshots would be helpful.
It’s important to distinguish two things here. The game doesn’t require use of Discord, nor to be 18+ to join a guild. However, players in general tend to form communities, looking for other similarly minded players to play together with. What you are seeing is some adult players agreeing on a specific way to communicate with each other, on an external platform, while playing Gems of War. They are very upfront about it, they explicitly say that they meet up somewhere private on a regular base, and that they don’t want any teenagers to show up there. The guild membership restriction is just a voluntary extra safeguard on their side, because they will be communicating their next meeting place in guild chat, and they don’t want to risk uninvited guests.
It is up to each guild leader to decide who may join or not. Some may do this in a more responsible way than others.
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I feel that the game has some responsibility in what it allows. Discord is unacceptable for my kids. I monitor their internet usage and block their access to discord. In game links allow a workaround unless I’m willing and able to spend 24/7 online and block every discord address showed. Also, maybe in game chat would function properly, ie discussing the game instead of getting drunk, using drugs, and bashing players if the ones who want discord leave chat and use discord. As to guilds that want 18 + they should find a game that is adult only. There are many available.
Are you religious to.
Mary was 15 when she gave birth, reading the bible is like reading an adult magazine.
Just saying.
I’m aware that things probably will not change and that’s why I’m disallowing my 13 year old to play. This post is meant to bring attention to something that I felt should be discussed, Nothing more.
The game doesn’t have any Discord integration. Players might as well share phone numbers or email addresses with each other, which the game also couldn’t prevent.
Why should they? I also wouldn’t give up playing chess with other people in my age group just because chess doesn’t have an 18+ age restriction.
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I commend you for being a good parent tbh
Not many watch there kids online properly.
But also, we can’t silence adults, incase children turn up.
Even the Simpsons has adult content like innuendo in it.
Your fighting a battle that can’t be won on the internet.
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I believe there are better solutions. Contact support, ask them to entirely disable chat for your account. Your 13 year old should still be able to play, without coming into contact with things you consider inappropriate.
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Ya I was gonna say you can disconnect from global chat on your kids account and tell them not to reconnect. If they even care or know how too.
I do not disagree with you fourdottwoone. I’m only saying that some people may choose not to accept the status quo. I find it somewhat confusing because I’ve often watched chat and have seen members of the 18 + guilds and have never seen them say anything offensive. If they do, in private, I admire that and thank them for acting appropriatly in a game that kids play. Some players that I observed this morning should use discord or some other private venue because alcohol, drugs, and sex are not acceptable topics on any forum viewed by kids.
Religion isn’t something that I discuss. If you read Jeto’s post at the top of this forum it’s actually prohibited.
Can we also be very truthful though, her oldest is 16, we all know what we was doing since 12,13.
Newspapers page 3, adult mags, catalogues, and this was over 20 years ago.
Now it’s internet,YouTube,tiktok,Instagram.
If you think your 16 yo. Doesn’t know more than you did at 16. Maybe it’s time to wake up a little.
It’s just the world we live in now, if you want him adult influence free, then you’d have to block all internet and TV.
I’d buy them a console , pre internet.
Megadrive
Genesis
GameCube
N64.
And keep them safe, only way it works.
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Fourdottwoone, my son is actually chat banned because someone accused him of being an alt so he doesn’t see posts but his friends do. Maybe that’s why he’s so intrigued. He doesn’t see the posts but hears about 18 + discord. He’s a 13 yr old boy. I’m not dumb. My 16 yr old is very knowledgeable, I’m sure, maybe even my 13 yr old as well. That doesn’t mean that I throw in the towel and stop being a parent.
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Gandolfstormbringer, my father gave my daughter a truck because a) it has no back seat, b) the box is only 5.5 ft long, and c) it’s a stick so she can’t text. I’m super liberal compared to him. 
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My daughter is 5’ 11" btw.
I love that, it’s so cool.
Nothing wrong with you or your father is trying to do.
The world would be a better place, if there was more people who watched there kids properly.
Aslong as we don’t use religion as the reason.
I highly doubt that’s the whole story. You don’t get banned from chat for running a second account, you get banned for behaving inappropriately. To give you a rough impression, none of the screenshots you posted above will even get close to a chat ban.
Of course he is. It’s an off-limit area, that alone makes it interesting. He might actually be disappointed when eventually finding out that 18+ chat can involve such boring topics as lengthy discussions about politics. 
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