So, I wanted to clear up some myths about friend bans now that they've started handing these out like candy. It appears that there are different degrees of friend ban they hand out based on individual offenses.

My experience with them is as follows, to clear up some confusion as to what they do:

• You can't add friends

Obvious since its in the name but yes, that's true.

• You can't play Arena

False, you can still play Arena

• You can't get defensive victories in Arena, as other players can't see your team

False, you can still score defensive wins in Arena.

• You cannot climb the ladder in the Arena

True, you are listed as "unranked" in your tier.

• You won't receive any Arena rewards

Can't tell for sure yet, but seems to be false. You will not receive Tier awards since you are unraked, but the "offense' and "defense" score rewards are still highlighted as to what you will receive when the season ends.

• You cannot participate in the voting gauntlet

False, you can still enter the voting gauntlet. Even if you have 0 friends the game auto-fills friends for you. You do however contribute fewer points since points are based on your friends list making it harder to rank high.

• You will not receive Voting Gauntlet rewards

False, you still receive rewards based on your performance in the voting gauntlet.

• You will not get log in rewards, or rewards sent to accounts for special events

False, you receive both normal log in rewards and special log-in gifts from community events

So honestly.. I had a discussion here with some people as to if these bans are worth anything. Many people expressed the viewpoint that these bans are sufficient because of some reasons listed above and after testing them, they seem to pretty much not do anything other than cost you a couple orbs per week.

Thoughts?