Is afking in chocobo races a bannable offense?

I can be a snarky too.

Reading comprehension, it helps.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MageBlack

There are many more ways that that 30sec at the end of the match might be compensated or even longer depending on how long it takes the first place guy to cross right? This also is assuming that all racers cross at the same time as the first place dude and the whole 30sec is waiting on the last person.

As I said in my post you quoted from, I do see both sides. I disagree with afk racing, not because it "wastes my time" (Cause it doesnt) but because i see it as a form of cheating/botting/exploiting. I think if someone gets the DNF status, they should receive no reward. cause anyone who tries, will finish.

PS: stamina depletes as you go, regardless of pushing your choco or not.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MageBlack

On the flip side, If you cant be bothered to actually race, why are you doing it? You really do ruin the experience for others. If you are burnt out like the OP suggests, take a break, do other content, go watch a movie, do something else. I'm sure there are people who legitimately want to race that may not be able to get in due to over crowding of that area. While its not something i consider morally reprehensible I would say it would be the courteous thing to do. Personally I despise people who drift through content then brag up their rewards. Earn that shit bro, like the rest of us do.

---

People will get wound up over anything it seems

I haven't even touched the accelerator button in a single race yet.
I pay to subscribe just like everyone else, so I can play however I want.
I wish people would stop pushing their game play principles on everyone else as being correct.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MageBlack

I can be a snarky too.

Reading comprehension, it helps.

---

I'm not arguing any of those points, in fact I agree DNF should either result in lockout or no rewards. I was simply correcting you're misunderstanding of my point. I don't care about the individual wasted time per race, I care about the cumulative amount of time wasted when people go "It's OK if I AFK" and start extending more and more races just because they're lazy. The more people do it, the more of an impact it has.

I came to the forums today looking for threads whining about people buying TT Tournament wins, but this thread has even more win :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

I'm not arguing any of those points, in fact I agree DNF should either result in lockout or no rewards. I was simply correcting you're misunderstanding of my point. I don't care about the individual wasted time per race, I care about the cumulative amount of time wasted when people go "It's OK if I AFK" and start extending more and more races just because they're lazy. The more people do it, the more of an impact it has.

---

I do understand your reasoning about the "time wasted", I just don't quite agree with it. If the time you would miss out on is that important to you, then please, do the math, crunch some numbers and get an ACCURATE account for how much time is wasted and WHY it was wasted and at what point you would consider it a waste. I will embolden it for you cause you seem to miss this.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MageBlack

There are many more ways that that 30sec at the end of the match might be compensated or even longer depending on how long it takes the first place guy to cross right? This also is assuming that all racers cross at the same time as the first place dude and the whole 30sec is waiting on the last person.

---

I think the problem is I understand your concern more than you do. There are better, more tangible arguments against AFK racing. I think the "time wasted" is subjective and hard to accurately define if you take in account all the other factors. Besides, the races happen at set intervals so that extra time you sat waiting might just put you in the next race quicker. What I am worried about is a growing trend of this afk mentality, if that happens, there will be measures put in place that will adversely affect the legit players who just have bad luck. Like another poster mentioned, Get Briared three times and then silenced... you are going to come in last...

Sorry if I came off as combative or rude. It was not my intent.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

I'm not arguing any of those points, in fact I agree DNF should either result in lockout or no rewards. I was simply correcting you're misunderstanding of my point. I don't care about the individual wasted time per race, I care about the cumulative amount of time wasted when people go "It's OK if I AFK" and start extending more and more races just because they're lazy. The more people do it, the more of an impact it has.

---

The fact you think there should be a penalty means you've logged no time in the race scene yet. If you get double briar'rd and 1st place has decent stats; you will get a DNF no matter how hard you try. So you're getting penalized because you got RNG'd from npcs/players who boxxed you with briars? Yea -- okay.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by HaelseMikiro

I came to the forums today looking for threads whining about people buying TT Tournament wins, but this thread has even more win :)

---

People will never be happy, even if they get free wins!
though the TT exploit does suck, wanna do legit duels with me later?

Who cares if somebody wants to walk through the race anyways? Maybe they play for FUN! Not everyone wants to RUSH through each race from start to finish! They pay to play and should be able to complete content at the pace they're comfortable with! Stop trying to push your elitist speedrun mentality on to others! It's only 30 seconds max, slow down and enjoy the game!

Sound familiar?

I had one afking when I was racing, every race, had to wait 30 seconds+ after I had finished for him to get close to finish line but end up with a DNF.
If it isn't against the rules I hope they change it cause that is so mean to others who plays the races cause they ENJOY it.
If you afk through it then maybe you should stop doing it until you find it fun again.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Starrywisdom

The fact you think there should be a penalty means you've logged no time in the race scene yet. If you get double briar'rd and 1st place has decent stats; you will get a DNF no matter how hard you try. So you're getting penalized because you got RNG'd from npcs/players who boxxed you with briars? Yea -- okay.

---

Yeah I'm sorry but if I got a penalty for getting a DNF because I got briar'd 2-3 times in a race with shitty items or missed a box against chocobo's with better stats than mine, I will be pissed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by SekhmetM

How does he even know you're AFK?

If being last (due to "AFK") is a reportable offense, then that isn't fair to players who are just bad at the races and are last.

---

You can see the stamina of other players so odds are that's how they would know a person is afk if for the whole race their stamina remained at 100 and didn't' even go to near depletion.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Airget

You can see the stamina of other players so odds are that's how they would know a person is afk if for the whole race their stamina remained at 100 and didn't' even go to near depletion.

---

Stamina depletes automatically once you leave the gate. I have also seen people who dont use the boost or Myself, I make sure I dont go to the lathered state and in some races had 50% or more left at the end because of stamina tablets or chocobo potions. So the stamina left at the end can be an indicator, but it might be inaccurate.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MageBlack

What I am worried about is a growing trend of this afk mentality, if that happens, there will be measures put in place that will adversely affect the legit players who just have bad luck. Like another poster mentioned, Get Briared three times and then silenced... you are going to come in last...

---

Simple enough solution to that; Apply whatever penalty only if the player has a certain threshold of stamina.

If you come in last because you got Briar'd constantly, you'll have no stamina. While stamina depletes over time regardless, someone walking the entire distance of the course is going to have plenty of stamina left over by the time they DNF.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by MageBlack

Stamina depletes automatically once you leave the gate. I have also seen people who dont use the boost or Myself, I make sure I dont go to the lathered state and in some races had 50% or more left at the end because of stamina tablets or chocobo potions. So the stamina left at the end can be an indicator, but it might be inaccurate.

---

Would someone who is actively avoiding lathered (that's what you're meant to do before the final stretch, no?) and/or using tablets/potions even be getting close DNF though?

Should I get mad at those with slow internet connection or slow pc/ps3 during the initial start? They took away my precious 15 seconds as well!

Answer: Nope, I don't care about how long they gonna load. 15-20 seconds a run is nothing. Sure you can argue it added up, but in mmorpg, what doesn't add up? Everything in mmorpg is designed to eat up your time either by a little, or by a lot anyway.

Just grab a book to read or alternate to windows to do something else after you finished your race. It's not a big deal.

Or just make it so that if you dont move/ do any actions for 1 minute you'll get an afk kick warning (like PvP) if 30seconds passed and still no movement then you get auto kicked. simple.

Of course, its not gonna be perfect because someboday can just hold the accelerate button and lose their stamina fairly quickly and you still have to wait for them to get near the finish line

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Starrywisdom

The fact you think there should be a penalty means you've logged no time in the race scene yet. If you get double briar'rd and 1st place has decent stats; you will get a DNF no matter how hard you try. So you're getting penalized because you got RNG'd from npcs/players who boxxed you with briars? Yea -- okay.

---

You get DNF if you don't try at all. Even with bad luck, the worst you would get without being AFK would be last place.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Felis

You get DNF if you don't try at all. Even with bad luck, the worst you would get without being AFk would be 7th place.

---

You mean 8th. I have come in at 8th place loooong after everyone else already finished because I got briar'd at each box.

Frankly I think it's sad people get rewarded for coming 8th in the first place. 1st-4th should get decent rewards like 120, 100, 95, 50MGP and a good amount of experience points. People 5th-8th should get a little exp and maybe 5MGP back (half their entry fee). And if you don't finish you should get nothing...

On topic, no I don't think its reportable, or that anything would come of making a report, but as others have said you're knowingly wasting other people's time and it doesn't matter if that's 15 seconds or 2hours it's still a dick thing to do, if you think about it the people you make wait are essentially paying money so you can be lazy grinding exp would you be ok with that if it was reversed?

It's certainly a douche move, and it goes against the spirit of participating in the chocobo races. Honestly, I don't think I would notice if someone was afking in a race or was just really or had really bad RNG during the race. And until official word comes in that afking during a race is a bannable offense, I'll just assume the person is just bad or unlucky.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

Would someone who is actively avoiding lathered (that's what you're meant to do before the final stretch, no?) and/or using tablets/potions even be getting close DNF though?

---

Actually, even if you don't accelerate throughout the entire race, you'll still lose a significant amount of stamina overall. It's auto-depletes and doesn't regen unless you use a potion. Using stamina as a means to tell if someone is afk is just foolish, since it could be a player who is actively finding and using potions but had a bad run of luck against briars.

So... exactly why are people complaining that they have one less opponent to compete against now?

They should fix it so people who choose to afk and do nothing receive no rewards. To get a reward someone should be required to actively play in the game to do so. It's not rocket science. Those who choose to subvert the system are basically cheating in my view but it's SE's fault to have provided them the opportunity to do so.

Is it against the rules? No. Should it be fixed? I would say yes it should.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nalien

Would someone who is actively avoiding lathered (that's what you're meant to do before the final stretch, no?) and/or using tablets/potions even be getting close DNF though?

---

Yes, I have come in last even doing this. Since I have played quite a few races, i have tried many different strategies to see what gives me the optimal racing speeds. To date, i have not yet tried doing nothing at all to see where I land (the thought honestly hasn't even crossed my mind). But I do know situations I have come very close even after trying my hardest. Other choco racers within my rating level have had faster top speeds (increased by food) or a sprint item they use right out the gate or other items that get used right off the hop and really can screw with your whole race.

Again, my only real beef with what you were saying is that "wasted time" is a bad argument to make for why something should be done about AFK'ers. There are so many variables that can come into account for why someone may not have used stamina or whatever. At best, deny rewards to any players who do not press any buttons during the entire match, but even then people will come up with ways to get around it (tape down the analog stick/a button, Input programs, etc) if you are THAT bothered by a possible 5-30 second "waste of your time" even over a prolonged period of time, then why is this particular waste of time a bother to you? There are so many other ways time can be "wasted" in this game. You would have to be running into the same AFK'er many many times for this to add up. Hopefully you can identify the ones doing it and once you have had them in several consecutive matches, take a 5 min break to offset your queue times and hopefully you wont run into them again.

PS: My technique of reducing the amount of time lathered during the match really does help. While lathered you lose Stamina faster so even just holding off my dash for a few seconds for it to go away gives me more of a boost left at the end for the last lathered push. That was something i did for a few matches and have since moved on to a hybrid of using lathered and trying to strategically use/get items. It all adds up.

Breaking news - You play a game to AFK

Why is this even a thread.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Chihaya

Breaking news - You play a game to AFK

Why is this even a thread.

---

You post in the forums to ask questions or state opinions/ share info.
Why did u even post this? Simple,
Cuz u can and no one is going to stop u ( except for forum mods ) lol.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Fated

The game allows you to do it, the end. All SE has to do if they want to prevent this is to not give out rewards if you don't finish the race.

---

Logically, every single exploit ever encountered in any game ever would fall under this rationale. And obviously, many of them are/were bannable offenses.

I was wondering how afk choco racing would go on patch release as i was like if u could do it in pvp WD/FL then it should work in here too lol. But i actually wanted to try and race despite my lag so i never ended up trying the afk method. Good to see it being brought up for discussion Xp

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Yumi_umi

You post in the forums to ask questions or state opinions/ share info.
Why did u even post this? Simple,
Cuz u can and no one is going to stop u ( except for forum mods ) lol.

---

Because

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gallus

I understand the whole thing perhaps not being entirely morally correct

---

and along with rest of the posts is nothing more than saying "I know I'm probably doing something wrong, but give me your sympathies and help me justify my actions."

Why are we encouraging people to do this BS.

I gotta agree here, we should just ban all people that afk the whole race but we can't stop there. SE should ban all the people that do not skip the 16 second opening cutscene as well, along with anyone that gets DNF.
All this wasted time adds up to an average of 25 seconds per race (I've tested) and this is unacceptable.

Wait, you're saying it's morally wrong? Whose morals? Your morals? Not my morals.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gallus

So I had this guy threatening to report me because I afked in a few chocobo races.

I have over 1300 matches and 500 1st places but the grind is getting strong, and my current P6 chocobo has a very poor skill setup, so at this point I just wanted to do it the lazy way until I get to P9 and start working on my ultimate chocobo.

But then this guy came and threatened to report me. I understand the whole thing perhaps not being entirely morally correct, but like 90% of the times I do this against 7 NPCs...

What I don't understand is this causing someone to get pissed to the point he threatens to report you...isn't this a bit over the top.

---

Bottom line, this is a exploit of the system which is against ToS. Use at your own risk.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dyvid

Bottom line, this is a exploit of the system which is against ToS. Use at your own risk.

---

How is it an exploit?

I don't think it's bannable, you shouldn't be doing it though.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FyrmurlFloerasksyn

I don't think it's bannable, you shouldn't be doing it though.

---

I keep doing it, except I do it in Tranquil Paths in high ratings where there's no one ever, just 7 NPCs, definitely not gonna do it again if there's another real player in the race, unlike others, I do not enjoy blackmail and report threats.

Honestly, You can AFK in a dungeon or anything but that does not make it right. Same counts for chocobo races. You can do it, but it does not make it nice. Should it be bannable? Nah, its dickish but not really something one should be banned for. Just make it so that people that get DNF, get no rewards.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Gallus

How is it an exploit?

---

Did the devs make the content to specifically use AFK as a way earn xp and MGP? Does it say anyway that you should be AFK during a race? No? Then you are exploiting the system against it's intended use.

I'm on ragnarok too and doing this : loosing races while i'm watching movies.
(my chocobo is only the 2 second generation so it's easy MGP but very very very slow)
One guy (the same ???) started to send me tell in game, then he started today to trade me 2/3 times per second to prevent me racing i suppose.
I can't believe this guy doesn't understand i'm an easy opponent because npc are not
I Had to put busy status and report him.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Syrellaris

Honestly, You can AFK in a dungeon or anything but that does not make it right. Same counts for chocobo races.

---

Seriously stop making this ridiculous comparison, afking in a dungeon can literally prevent your teammates from clearing it, and by repeatedly doing so you are hampering anyone who is matched with you terribly. Going afk in a chocobo race is completely harmless for the other 7 players, and at worst, all you can say in your defense is that it ruins "the spirit of the competition" but that falls into a far more subjective category than for instance not having a healer in a dungeon because they are afk. I'd appreciate if you stopped comparing both things, I've never afked in an instance and when I encounter someone afking in CT or any dungeon I find it terrible and disgusting, but still, it's still not reason enough to threaten that person via tell saying I'm going to report them.

I never said that you did AFK in a dungeon, but it falls in the same spirit so the comparison fits, specially so when other players are involved(i dont care about npc's). I also said that I don't find it a bannable offense, dickish but not bannable.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dyvid

Did the devs make the content to specifically use AFK as a way earn xp and MGP? Does it say anyway that you should be AFK during a race? No? Then you are exploiting the system against it's intended use.

---

Nowhere does it say that you NEED to be present during the race, either. If me going afk is an exploit, then you pressing W to go faster than me is a cheat.