Is special task force exists?

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

I think it's been determined at this point that the STF are relying on tools that can only detect abnormalities that are recognizable at a server-side level, such as the teleport hacks used by the gil farming bots. Things like the sniffer app and "normal" bots are not going to show on their radar, which is why they seriously need to get a team that actually polices suspected cheaters in person.



Not necessarily.

There are also people on my server who repeatedly will just linger in zone if they see that me or others are trying to spawn something and they'll immediately call the S rank the instant it spawns even if they're nowhere near it (Which usually results in tons of people missing it if they aren't already in zone when it happens).

They could determine they're doing something unusual if they were to simply observe them for a short time prior to hunts with a predictable spawn time like, say, Laideronette. Though I doubt they'd actually want to put in that level of effort (Despite it being standardfare in other MMOs).

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Most other MMOs don't have 60+ servers each with thousands of people though, it's a bit unreasonable to expect them to focus on one or two specific players when this isn't exactly a game breaking issue to begin with.

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Originally Posted by alimdia

Most other MMOs don't have 60+ servers each with thousands of people though, it's a bit unreasonable to expect them to focus on one or two specific players when this isn't exactly a game breaking issue to begin with.

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If a comparably large game like WoW can keep their botting/cheating issues under control for the most part, I fail to see why XIV can't.

Also, the sniffer app leaks information on more then just S rank locations and is used more extensively then you might think.

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Originally Posted by Vnolan

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Last I had heard, the really popular hunt tracker (required you to be within a certain distance of an A rank before telling you where it was - anyone also using the client would also receive this information; S ranks were echoed as soon as they spawned if you were on the map) simply doesn't work anymore. It's been years since it was last updated - the person who worked on it now works for Discord and can't update both. The other tracker (far less popular) allowed you to see barely ahead of where you could see in game. It also couldn't tell the difference between a chocobo named after a hunt and the actual hunt.

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Originally Posted by RareItems

I heard on this coming patch of Eureka Pyros, they're going to start letting you purchase Armor/Accessory upgrade mats using Centurio Hunt marks.

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If you mean for this new raid tier, it's entirely too soon for this.

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Originally Posted by JunseiKei

Last I had heard, the really popular hunt tracker (required you to be within a certain distance of an A rank before telling you where it was - anyone also using the client would also receive this information; S ranks were echoed as soon as they spawned if you were on the map) simply doesn't work anymore. It's been years since it was last updated - the person who worked on it now works for Discord and can't update both. The other tracker (far less popular) allowed you to see barely ahead of where you could see in game. It also couldn't tell the difference between a chocobo named after a hunt and the actual hunt.

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The former tracker seems to have been revived by someone because certain individuals on Cactaur regularly call the locations of S ranks the instant they spawn even if they're nowhere near the thing and I'm only the one present at the hunt (Which rules out the possibility of it being relayed to them from someone else).

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't accomplish anything other then allowing unscrupulous hunters quicker access to the locations of hunts. We try to round up people who are actively involved in spawning hunts prior to opening the floodgates and letting everyone else know about them because it seems only fair, but this is throwing a wrench in that idea.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

The former tracker seems to have been revived by someone because certain individuals on Cactaur regularly call the locations of S ranks the instant they spawn even if they're nowhere near the thing and I'm only the one present at the hunt (Which rules out the possibility of it being relayed to them from someone else).

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't accomplish anything other then allowing unscrupulous hunters quicker access to the locations of hunts. We try to round up people who are actively involved in spawning hunts prior to opening the floodgates and letting everyone else know about them because it seems only fair, but this is throwing a wrench in that idea.

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It wasn't resurrected, but I found there is another one that functions similarly to it. However, people posted that it brings up a virus prompt, so I assumed it was just a front to just get players' information. Apparently, it does work. Reading about on it, it still functions exactly like the other - needs to be within a certain distance of the A rank and within the same map as the S rank (you can spot a lot of the S ranks from quite a huge distance away) and anyone with the client also gets these notifications. So, that stinks.

Unless they state, or otherwise hint, they are using a third party application within the game, there's no way to report players and have disciplinary action taken against them.

I feel like the fact that they're seemingly psychic and consistently know where the S ranks are immediately could be considered a "hint", personally, probably moreso then anything they actually say in chat short of openly admitting using some kind of program.

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Originally Posted by JunseiKei

It wasn't resurrected, but I found there is another one that functions similarly to it. However, people posted that it brings up a virus prompt, so I assumed it was just a front to just get players' information. Apparently, it does work. Reading about on it, it still functions exactly like the other - needs to be within a certain distance of the A rank and within the same map as the S rank (you can spot a lot of the S ranks from quite a huge distance away) and anyone with the client also gets these notifications. So, that stinks.

Unless they state, or otherwise hint, they are using a third party application within the game, there's no way to report players and have disciplinary action taken against them.

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The program you're all talking about basically works like a Hunt LS:

When one person with it gets in range of a Hunt, it sends a message to everyone saying what and where. The only difference I've seen is that the detection range is bigger than render distance, which is ultimately not that big of a deal.

A Hunt tracker program isn't the problem. The problem is jerk players. Just like parsers and everything else.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

If a comparably large game like WoW can keep their botting/cheating issues under control for the most part, I fail to see why XIV can't.

Also, the sniffer app leaks information on more then just S rank locations and is used more extensively then you might think.

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That's a completely different scenario. Bots aren't much of an issue (not non-existent, mind you) because the WoW token exists, whether people want to hear it or not the token takes away customers from chinese gold sellers since people would rather do it through a sanctioned and safe system. Something like these hunt programs in WoW would likely be considered an addon, so it would fall out of the scope of cheating. A lot of the addons in WoW would be considered unfair advantage here if done through a third party app.

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Originally Posted by KageTokage

The former tracker seems to have been revived by someone because certain individuals on Cactaur regularly call the locations of S ranks the instant they spawn even if they're nowhere near the thing and I'm only the one present at the hunt (Which rules out the possibility of it being relayed to them from someone else).

In the grand scheme of things, it doesn't accomplish anything other then allowing unscrupulous hunters quicker access to the locations of hunts. We try to round up people who are actively involved in spawning hunts prior to opening the floodgates and letting everyone else know about them because it seems only fair, but this is throwing a wrench in that idea.

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Note that even the parser people here use has a plugin for hunting, as well as voiced hunt callouts.

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Originally Posted by JunseiKei

It wasn't resurrected, but I found there is another one that functions similarly to it. However, people posted that it brings up a virus prompt, so I assumed it was just a front to just get players' information. Apparently, it does work. Reading about on it, it still functions exactly like the other - needs to be within a certain distance of the A rank and within the same map as the S rank (you can spot a lot of the S ranks from quite a huge distance away) and anyone with the client also gets these notifications. So, that stinks.

Unless they state, or otherwise hint, they are using a third party application within the game, there's no way to report players and have disciplinary action taken against them.

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I was reading a bit about the new one and it seems like the project is open source. Whether people verified it to make sure it's not stealing data is another thing.

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Originally Posted by dragonseth07

The program you're all talking about basically works like a Hunt LS:

When one person with it gets in range of a Hunt, it sends a message to everyone saying what and where. The only difference I've seen is that the detection range is bigger than render distance, which is ultimately not that big of a deal.

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I'm aware.

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Originally Posted by dragonseth07

A Hunt tracker program isn't the problem. The problem is jerk players. Just like parsers and everything else.

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Well, that's starting to become an opinion on the use of third party programs and the willful cherry-picking of rules to be followed and rules to be ignored. We all know third party programs are against the ToS, so by default, as well as parsers, they are against the rules. That's a whole other discussion on its own. Vicariously, there's nothing against the rules about people coming over and pulling an open world monster as soon as they see it, but people want to continue to report it like it is an infraction of the ToS. That's not even getting into perspectives of "do I value another person's time over my own" and other nit-picking opinions that conflict with social unwritten rules.

My main beef with the sniffer apps is that they're really crossing into the "blatant cheating" territory by giving their users information they were never meant to know that also gives them a huge advantage over other players in a free-for-all environment where people aren't wanting to share hunts.

It's not too bad in small maps like Upper La Noscea that can be covered quickly or wide open ones where you can easily spot the S ranks from afar like Western La Noscea, but for huge zones like East Shroud and Coerthas Central Highlands that are big and filled with clutter that makes the S ranks difficult to spot, it can be hellish.