I give up, the bots win AKA: My flight is scheduled for departure

[KageTokage]

I'm more inclined to chalk it up to genuine incompetence when some major exploits like the Ungarmax glitch went untouched for upwards of a month strictly due to miscommunication between the English and JP teams.

The fact that there is no English branch of the STF means that all and any reports made against cheaters in general are having to be translated then relayed to their horribly understaffed JP team which honestly makes me question how many of the reports are even reaching them in the first place.

[Mirhd]

Got my sister to play FFXIV again after she tried it briefly a few years ago. Guess what we just saw at the very same NPC you talk to as part of the ARR MSQ? Multiple bot parties of BM lalafels. Guess they got tired of the traditional derplander.

[ItMe]

the Ungarmax glitch went untouched for upwards of a month

The... what now?

[Mirhd]

The... what now?

The Limit Break your grand company trainees use when you're in a dungeon with them. There was an exploit that allowed you to use it in REGULAR dungeons... People were using it to cheese trials and such.

[ItMe]

The Limit Break your grand company trainees use when you're in a dungeon with them. There was an exploit that allowed you to use it in REGULAR dungeons... People were using it to cheese trials and such.

Ooooh, I heard about this.
Thanks for the reply.
Why is it called the ungarmax glitch?

[Mirhd]

Ooooh, I heard about this.
Thanks for the reply.
Why is it called the ungarmax glitch?

Ah, it's just the name of the LB.

[ItMe]

Ah, it's just the name of the LB.

Hahahahaha well that explains that~
Thanks.

[Axxion]

Hahahahaha well that explains that~
Thanks.

time stamped it for you

https://youtu.be/OkiVOdj5H08?t=2604

[Jijifli]

The Limit Break your grand company trainees use when you're in a dungeon with them. There was an exploit that allowed you to use it in REGULAR dungeons... People were using it to cheese trials and such.

More specifically, it was more commonly seen being used in O6S, where you could unequip your gear until right when the fight starts, full heal because the boss takes 10 seconds, eat the room wide, heal again, and you'd have LB1 due to LB bonus on critical healing, lined up perfectly to go with openers.

[Melichoir]

I'm more inclined to chalk it up to genuine incompetence when some major exploits like the Ungarmax glitch went untouched for upwards of a month strictly due to miscommunication between the English and JP teams.

The fact that there is no English branch of the STF means that all and any reports made against cheaters in general are having to be translated then relayed to their horribly understaffed JP team which honestly makes me question how many of the reports are even reaching them in the first place.

I would go with incompetence if it remained local. But since were looking at a global market, and the fact that global servers in the US and EU have more players and likely generating more profit, ignoring an issue that we believe is heavily detrimental to their bottom line just because theyre in another country doesnt line up with business basics 101. This isnt a matter of localization either where they have to tip toe around laws. In the US, for example, the ToS provided allows SE to do virtually anything it wants. We dont 'own' the game, we lease it. So if they want to ban people cause wtf-ever, they can, and theres little you can do about it. Not saying itd be smart, but its an obvious option they have. I also have to ask if there are no bots and RMT sellers on JP servers, because if there are, then you can pretty much rule out translation/communication issues.

Then, you have to think about this in terms of the MMO market broadly. SE isnt some outlier. Botting and what not is prevalent in every single MMO. So for US based companies where you dont have translation issues, why do they still have bot issues? This is why I dont buy into the 'incompetence/lazy' issue. Nothing seems to lend itself to that other then our dissatisfaction with how fast/well botting is being handled.

Speaking of Ungarmax, simply chalking it up to "Oh just a communication error and pure incompetence" isnt accurate.

-Ungarmax is implemented in internal build along with command missions for 4.1.
-Due to action implementation oversight, bug allowing usage of Ungarmax outside of command missions is introduced. This is an oversight on their end. This happens a lot more than people think. Sometimes bugs get through.
-Bug remains undiscovered by development and operations teams, and is ultimately pushed live.
-Bug is discovered by players and is intentionally exploited to execute Ungarmax outside of command missions.
-Player executing Ungarmax outside of command missions is observed by another player, who reports it three times as cheating.
-Reports of cheating are received by the Special Task Force, which begins to monitor the reported player.
-The STF is unable to confirm the usage of third-party tools to facilitate cheating and ceases monitoring the reported player. As explained by YoshiP, the STF team didnt consider the possibility of an ingame bug, but third party manipulation. When tehy couldnt find it, (and since the reports came from one player repeatedly) they dismissed the issue.
-At a later date, the reported player is confirmed to have used a third-party tool to cheat and is permanently banned. Is this related to Ungarmax specifically or a different case by happenstance? This isnt clear. Either way, they may have considered the issue resolved because the player was banned.
-The Ungarmax bug remains unknown to the development, operations, and QA teams for an extended period of time.
-On the afternoon of 2/27 JST, information regarding the Ungarmax bug is spread by several players aware of it.
-On the evening of 2/27 JST, the development, operations, and QA teams commence an investigation and discussion as to how to proceed.
-At 2/28 4 PM JST, the servers are taken down for emergency maintenance.
-Two hours later, at 6 PM JST, the servers are brought online and the Ungarmax bug has been addressed.
-The work flow for the development teams is revised in an effort to eliminate similar bugs in the future.
-The work flow for the STF and operations teams is revised in an effort to ensure that similar reports are fully investigated.
-Disciplinary actions are planned for players who intentionally and/or repeatedly exploited this bug in order to clear content.

** Note: Italicized text is my thoughts
Source

For an 'incompetent' company, once the QA team becomes aware of the issue, they attack it pretty quickly, fix it, and implement changes from top to bottom to mitigate against future occurrences. When reading the detailed response given, they explain that some oversight had occured. To assume that SE as an entire company is incompetent because of an a single instance of an oversight is no better than saying "They lazy and stupid". Even using Ungarmax as a sign of their incompetence argument isnt fully accurate. It was not as widespread in use as people suggest, and it was eventually fully understood by online resources first discussing the issue, not in game reporting, which points to a SOP issue in regards to the STF and GMs in the game, something they actually addressed. So again, everything actually considered, the actions taken by SE does not strike me as a lazy company who doesnt care. If anything, this response is exactly the response you all want in regards to botting. Once understood, measures are taken to deal with the issue and resolve it.

So we are still stuck with the Primary Question: "Why does SE, whether intentional or not, allow botting to some extent in their game?" Even if you want to lay some blame on STF, it is very clear that SE isnt lazy at HQ, and no one here is seriously going to humor the idea that SE isnt aware of botting in its game.