Attention devs: Game Surveillance Unit re: open world Bots.

[zer0patches]

What's actually sad is people like you. ...

Take a deep breath. Count to 5. It's a game.

I don't see the parallel. The goods aren't being stolen, they are being farmed the way the game was intended. There is an actual person running the automation software. They aren't hacking the servers and creating wealth out of thin air,their operating within the confines of the game and using software to expedite the process by using multiple accounts or a continual basis when some of us must sleep or work real jobs.

Is it fair? No,but life isn't fair.Just because it is against the rules doesn't mean it's illegal or that you should get your head chopped off for picking your neighbors flowers.

I disagree that botting damages the economy.What hurts the economy is people buying gold and paying crazy prices for stuff.You convince people to stop buying gold and the prices will plummet,until the gold farmers move on to profitable servers.

[Applesnap]

I disagree that botting damages the economy.What hurts the economy is people buying gold and paying crazy prices for stuff.

What you don't seem to realise is that they are directly damaging the economy. If they have such a large supply of materia (and they do, even by your own admission) they can control the price of it. More often than not, when RMT control the price on something, they gradually increase it to unsustainable amounts. Which forces lazy / stupid people buy gil to afford it. Making sense now?

Using third party tools to spiritbind afk is not "within the confines of the game". It's an exploit, it's cheating and it should be an instantly bannable offence. Full stop.

[zer0patches]

What you don't seem to realise ...

Supply does not drive demand. Just because Seller Y has a supply does not mean they can force you to spend X on it, you can always farm the item yourself. Buyers drive the market, not sellers. By your statement the problem is the "lazy / stupid people" which makes up a far greater percentage of your comrades than you would realize or else there would not be a market for it.

Being a programmer and server admin my definition of an exploit definitely does not match yours. Automating 'tasks' may be cheating but the punishment should fit the crime. You wouldn't sentence someone to death for for a misdemeanor in real life?

I would not consider it an exploit unless someone was intentionally glitching the game, modifying packets etc. which should be a bannable offense and easily detectable