Botting his way to mining

[TheRac25]

Do you know how I know someone is human?

When Y_t = Y_{t-1} + e

Do you know how I know someone is a bot?

When Y_t = Y_{t-1}

Do you know what that e is? "Errors".

i suppose your perception of someones path has no errors in it huh? oh wait

[StarMarmot]

You follow always the same path even if there are no nodes on the way and there is one right behind you? Yes, you are a botter… or really dumb.

It's not actual proof. But I would bet my left nut it's a botter when you see this for hours on end, combined with a route that's on perfect rails as in he'll run straight through you and your 5 buddies you placed on it EVERY time for the duration, without fault or without stopping once.

[Grey_Cain]

This player was mining with the Miner's L55 main and off hand equipment and the rest was just in bikini. I sent him a tell in the morning but he didn't reply. Sent him another telling him I would report him if he did not reply. Not surprised that he didn't.

But, really, how does one expect not to be noticed with a bikini and a botting 24/7?

What's wrong with gathering in a bikini? I have a Sexy Miner gear set that I equip whenever I go crystal farming. It's not like there's a reason to wear your good gear to a crystal hunt. Bikinis are not a sign of botting.

You follow always the same path even if there are no nodes on the way and there is one right behind you? Yes, you are a botter… or really dumb.

Yeah, no. The most efficient method for gathering is to focus on the three nodes that are easiest to get to or have the bonuses you want and completely ignore the fourth. Right up to level 50 there is never a time when all four nodes are equally valuable to just getting the bonuses you want more often. And the nodes don't have much variance. There aren't a whole lot of times when you need to go out of your way for more than one of the nodes, which makes it really easy to take the same path many times.

In the group of 8 clones that I reported on Ultros (and were subsequently removed a week later along with a teleport-hack bot), after one particular node they would occasionally run toward the next node, then directly away from the node, and then head directly back to the node. I'd hazard a guess that it's because they couldn't target the node on the other side of a big rock and had to angle themselves until it caught on. And while this is a sign of botting, even players can do something similar once in a while as they think they see a node on the minimap in one place but it ends up being a bit off because it's really hard to see yellow icons on the yellow minimap.

When you report someone for botting, actually watch them for a while first to make sure that they're always doing the same things over and over again. Just five minutes and you should be able to give a detailed report on all of their pathing patterns and odd behaviors. Or just report everyone you see gathering everywhere. Because that'll get SE moving. Yeah, just like in that story about a wolf. Or was it about the crying boy?

[StarMarmot]

Yeah, no. The most efficient method for gathering is to focus on the three nodes that are easiest to get to or have the bonuses you want and completely ignore the fourth. Right up to level 50 there is never a time when all four nodes are equally valuable to just getting the bonuses you want more often. And the nodes don't have much variance. There aren't a whole lot of times when you need to go out of your way for more than one of the nodes, which makes it really easy to take the same path many times.

Would assume what he means are the ones that run past ALL the locations for that +1 gathering attempts node every lap, instead of going straight for where it actually is, as a normal player would. It's not about ignoring a certain node, that's fine. It's about being on a perfect rail path that covers ALL the spawn locations for every node because the bots doesn't seem to be able to discern where they are.

Also with the same path, I wouldn't mean the same path as a normal player picks one between nodes. I would mean the same path as in actually covering the same exact inches of ground every lap, which no real player can realistically do unless they want to make an effort to look like a bot.

But we're on the same page. Gotta make sure watching what they do. Doesn't take long using your mouse pointer like you said to see where they path, and it's very quick to spot someone that runs with no deviations. Some of them have laps set up to alternately switch between two or more paths, but they always return through the same points regularly.

[Machazareel]

I ignore almost everyone when mining, but not so much with intent. Mining is incredibly boring, and I only have a single monitor display setup. So when I go mining or fishing, I pop in my 360 controller, set the option in the game to allow input in background, and bring up netflix, only having enough of the screen visible that I can see where my next node is.

I won't pay attention to chat, I'll mindlessly run from node to node, while most of my attention is on whatever series I'm currently watching.

[RoosterAgathos]

From: The People Against the Wussification of Eorzea

"I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!" - A. Miller

Stop it now.

[SevenFold]

I have reported RMT ads, teleporting, and mob farming bots since early access. To be honest I'm done policing this game, I just blacklist and move on.

[Toranja]

Allow me to clarify by repeating myself:

I followed him around and I noticed he was always making the same set of actions and path.

The word is not "similar" or "approximate". It is "same" - exact.

And by actions, did not mean just the mining actions - the jumps and sprints were always the same. Also, he never once used Lay of the Land and knew exactly where the node was.

He was using 3rd party software for sure.

[Slaxx]

What I see on my screen and what you see on your screen are not always the same thing. The errors I may make might not appear to you for a dozen different reasons.

Fun Fact: If you spent less time obsessively stalking these suspected bots in game and then taking your witch hunt to the forums you would accomplish your own goals much more quickly. Unless of course your goal is to obsessively stalk "botters" and then take your witch hunt to the forums, which would make you pathetic.

Edit: Was part of your argument really not using Lay of the Land? The ability that helps you find the nearest node? The nodes you can often see all 4 of at once on your mini-map? If not using Lay of the Land is part of your argument you are starting to look like someone who is terrible at gathering and is just jealous of people who know what they're doing.

[Kaedan94]

I followed him around and I noticed he was always making the same set of actions and path.

You do realize that that is the very definition of gathering for an experienced player, right? You learn the most efficient "path" and then repeat the same actions over and over. The only way to tell if someone is botting is if they're using teleports. And not responding to you doesn't mean they're botting either.

If you suspect someone (even if your conclusion is faulty), you can report them. SE can then investigate to see if said person was using a 3rd party program. But you clearly need to be more careful in your assessments, as your evidence does not support your conclusion.