Official Bot Behavior and Detection Thread

[Mistryl]

****The NEW bot thread can be found here.*****
***** *****

The use of third-party software to automate gameplay (including chat and private store) is a bannable offense. Additionally, the purchase or sale of in-game assets for real world currency is a violation of the User Agreement and a punishable offense.

This thread is the official place to discuss bot behavior and detection methods. The purpose of this thread is to better disseminate information about illegal third-party programs to help players in finding, killing, and/or avoiding them, and to alert NCsoft as necessary to new behavior.

Please see the other Official Bot Behavior and Detection Method Thread for reference.

Please see this thread for a summary of posts by NCsoft staff regarding our stance on User Agreement violations.

Remember to send any specific reports of suspected wrongdoing to the GM team through the "Ask a Question" link in the Support Center rather than posting them in this thread.

Please see the points below for more details on this topic.

User Agreement Violations: Frequently Asked Questions

How do I report a player I suspect of botting?

If you are in game, simply type:

/gm <player name> appears to be a bot.

Be sure to spell the player's name exactly so the team can take a look. If you are reporting many players, please list all of the names in your petition. If you think your report may be too detailed for a petition, please use the"Ask a Question" link in the Support Center to send in a report.


Do you only investigate bots based on reports sent in from players?

No. Every report that players can send us is invaluable, but the GM team also uses their own detection methods to find and investigate users who are possibly violating the User Agreement.


I reported a bot [time frame] ago, and they are still playing. Why did you ignore my report?

Every bot report results in an investigation and these reports are never ignored. An investigation of a player who may be using a bot program does take some time.


I received an auto-response to my email/petition and it was closed. Was my report even considered?

Again, every report is read and results in an investigation. An auto-response does not mean that the report is not important or was dismissed without following up on the reported player, but instead indicates that no further information is needed. We appreciate every report that you send to us!


Why are there no GMs online when I use /gmlist? Does that mean you’re not investigating any bots or petitions?

The GM team does not always make themselves visible. Even if there are no names in the /gmlist, there are still members of the team providing service and investigating reports of suspected violations.


Does NCsoft have a deal with the adena sellers/bots/farmers?

No. Any accusation that NCsoft supports or endorses violations of the User Agreement is false and inappropriate for the official message board.


Can you provide “proof” that you are taking action against accounts, such as names or numbers of banned accounts?

Very rarely will NCsoft provide numbers of banned accounts. The last number shared with the players was over 100,000 accounts in the last year. We will never publish the names of banned accounts or characters due to privacy concerns.


Why can’t I talk about botting/selling adena on the official message board? Are you trying to censor me?

The forum policy asking players not to discuss these violations on the message board is not intended as a form of censorship. These discussions tend to be circular and more often than not result in accusations and arguments, so the policy was put in place to prevent that from happening.

We do understand about the desire to share concerns and information about this issue, so we ask that this thread be used for that purpose.


Do you know about the bots in the starting villages?

Yes, the GM team regularly checks the starting villages and investigates players reported in those areas.


Do you know about the ____ program?

Please remember to send any reports about specific programs through the "Ask a Question" link in the Support Center – do not post the names of these programs. We are aware of most programs in use, but please send us any additional information you feel might be helpful.


Do you know about raid boss farmers?

Any and all reports of players using third-party software for whatever purpose is investigated. In regards to players hunting raid boss monsters, all players are welcome to fight them on a first-come first-serve basis. Simply being first to kill the boss mobs once they spawn or repeatedly killing them is not a violation. However, using bot programs to fight the monster(s) or selling the dropped items for real-life currency are violations, and we do take strict disciplinary action against that type of behavior.


How often do you ban/what methods do you use for detection/what is your procedure for taking action against an account?

We cannot share details of the methods the GM team uses when investigating an account. We don’t want to jeopardize our efforts to remove these bad users from our service by making them aware of our processes.

-------------------------------------------------

Please continue to use this thread to alert NCsoft of any information you feel will help in our research and investigations.

In particular, we welcome reports of specific locations where these violations might be interfering with your gameplay. If you are reporting an area in game that seems to be especially problematic, please give us as many details as possible, including the server you are playing on. (No names of characters, please!)

Thank you for your time and concern; we appreciate all of your reports and feedback!

[Durgoth]

Well, I'll start with some locations on Gustin that still havnt been taken care off.

1. West of the Blazing Swamp port spot, in the trench's. Theres a new both crew in there every other week.

2. Monastary of Silence has a farmer crew working in it about 3 room's deep, has been there for some time now.

3. Dark Omens is completely full of farmers, atleast 3 party's in the mid range large rooms.

4. Wall of Argo's has always had farmer trains running in the middle section next to the large monument where 3 path's converge, directly underneath the ramp you use to reach the NPC for a number of quest's.

[Serenity]

Lionna is over run too. Matter of fact i reported these 2 bots when my main was lvl 40 ( about a year ago give or take). I am 7x now and if i take my alts to the Pit of IT those same 2 bots are still going strong in the same spot killing the same mobs 24/7. I reported them again on all my alts and they are still there. Oh well... what else can you do... Useless to pk them just waste of a PK and clearly my reporting them is doing no good.

[IronMan_4u]

Some bot groups have what we call in Monopoly, Get outa Jail free card. The Lead bot is a real person while the 2-5 behind him is not a real person. I have goten the first bot to say hello or hi, yes it coulda been part of his program. Yet i cant get the party behind him to say anything.


I had these level 50+ bots kill me in the cats. all i did was run by them to find a room. Thats a sad day lol, when names like " DFGHTR2li " take you out. Of course it was a 7 to 1 fight. Yet reporting them did not good, this took place weeks ago and there still there. Like i said they need to look at them as soon as they are reported not months later, and make a jail.

[_Akjosch_]

[ QUOTE ]
How do I report a player I suspect of botting?

If you are in game, simply type:

/gm <player name> appears to be a bot.


[/ QUOTE ]

That's a joke, right?

[Zzznow21]

<3 Mistryl

[NightLeaf]

Ok, 90+ pages of Bot Detection rapped up on a folder and up the shelf (or down the drain) with every other report made already...

I trully lost hope...

[Zzznow21]

see the bright side. they probably make bot hunting more intense.

[RealDiem]

[ QUOTE ]
Some bot groups have what we call in Monopoly, Get outa Jail free card. The Lead bot is a real person while the 2-5 behind him is not a real person. I have goten the first bot to say hello or hi, yes it coulda been part of his program. Yet i cant get the party behind him to say anything.

[/ QUOTE ]

I remember once in AL, someone ran to our group with 8 ppl on autofollow and he said "my room".


[ QUOTE ]
I had these level 50+ bots kill me in the cats. all i did was run by them to find a room. Thats a sad day lol, when names like " DFGHTR2li " take you out. Of course it was a 7 to 1 fight. Yet reporting them did not good, this took place weeks ago and there still there. Like i said they need to look at them as soon as they are reported not months later, and make a jail.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isnt maybe much helping you, nor is it good in some kind of way, but if they are real farmers, they are nice ppl in common. They dont want to be PKed/PvPed, they dont want to be trained and they dont want to be reported, all they want is farm money. I myself noticed, that if ya ask kindly, it helps more then hit the [censored] out of em.

Look who leads the party and PM him. If he doesnt respond, hit him 2 or 3 times (doesnt matter if with ss, without or with fists, I usually take fists just to show im not a bad guy), that will alert him and (again, just real farmers) then ask if ya can have the spot for some time (Hi, could ya leave plz? We want exp for 2 hours. I PM ya when we are finish). Most times they simply leave then and log in others farmers somewhere in aden, since its less stressless and they can continue farming (sometimes all log out, sometimes the leaders stays at a safe spot).



I know this isnt doin good against them, but that way you can play at last. The "my room" farmer was really friendly in the end, even leaving the room without we had to ask after the 3rd day we were there and once we got wiped and droped a BW breastplate he picked and even returned to us.

[_Akjosch_]

[ QUOTE ]
Look who leads the party and PM him. If he doesnt respond, hit him 2 or 3 times (doesnt matter if with ss, without or with fists, I usually take fists just to show im not a bad guy), that will alert him (...)

[/ QUOTE ]

I vastly prefer hitting them with a 40+ mob train while a friend finishes off his healers.

That tends to alert them quite well, too.

[Nublet]

always when i try to petition now in "interlude", i get a number + location in white chat, when pressing "report illegal program use".

i bring all my bot hate to ur forum,dear mistryl, when i cant petition anymore

i making alot academy toons for a friend atm so i come arround, every single starter town + cata is packed with automated friends again... (lol, like always on Franz)

i vote for server wipe, even if i lose all my legit stuff, cuz i know how to make it

[Mistryl]

I'm not aware of any issues with the petition window that would prevent reporting a player, but please let the GM team if it's interfering with your reports! You can also send in reports of possible bot users with the "Ask a Question" link in the Support Center. Thank you!

[Nublet]

works now... last night not

but friend got same thing before, press the "illegal blabla use..."
and "811,gludio town area" appears in white chat


http://www.imagedump.com/index.cgi?p...&tp=497089

guess the GM's had a feeling that a long long petition is coming

[Gecklar]

Wow, that picture is crazy...We also have had someone say "my room, you leave". They quickly realized that while they cant kill 40 mobs at time, my frenzied destroyer can. And then when their big bad TH enforcer rolled up, he realized that Frenzied Destroyers hit really hard, especially with full buffs and dances...

[Fierybint]

Images like that really annoy me.
Why not have guards log who attacks them then after 2 or 3 in quick succession, teleport the bot to some unknown place with no way out. On logging off, the bot is deleted from the server.

[NightLeaf]

At my Return Skill Description, it says: "Cannot be used in a specially designated place as the GM Consultation Service"

Now, where exactly IS that place and why don't bots get TPed there (even using the above method)???

[Venaja]

There seems to be a problem again with submitting violation reports

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/9...ot00044vw9.jpg
That happens when i try to specify "report of illegal program use".

[IronMan_4u]

Im having the same issue, and reporting bots wont do any good.

[AKup]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Look who leads the party and PM him. If he doesnt respond, hit him 2 or 3 times (doesnt matter if with ss, without or with fists, I usually take fists just to show im not a bad guy), that will alert him (...)

[/ QUOTE ]

I vastly prefer hitting them with a 40+ mob train while a friend finishes off his healers.

That tends to alert them quite well, too.

[/ QUOTE ]

/word

[Nanashi_Naomhan]

[ QUOTE ]

There seems to be a problem again with submitting violation reports

http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/9...ot00044vw9.jpg
That happens when i try to specify "report of illegal program use".


[/ QUOTE ]
same thing happened to me but i got "811:monastary of silence" i was near argos at the time