Is special task force exists?

[Ashpd]

Hello Eorzeans.
It's been almost 9-10 months since we were fighting against radar users and still fighting with them with my friends.

First of all, I want to start about the situation in general: we're a small group of hunters. We're hunting S ranks; we spawn them literally 24/7. We were sharing S hunts with the server untill the moment, when people became aggressive towards us. another small group of "hunters" have started to follow us with radars(they never tried to spawn something, only tracking and following or afk in the area, calling us "slaves"), to have an anfair advantage and pull S hunts instantly, make a part of our group miss S hunts and cause people' anger against hunters(us). we were persecuted, insulted and humiliated after every S hunt by "hunters" during 7 months. After tons of our reports to GMs( about all humiliations with proves and timings), to STF(about using the-third party program), we've not received any changes.

The problem "was solved" when they posted a video with OBVIOUS humiliations of our group on YouTube. BUT only one guy get 9 days ban for posting this video. 1 more player didn't get any thing, transferred on another server and renamed his character(THIS player was using radar, chasing us, tracking us, humiliated us everyday, insulted my friends in shout chat and tried to cause public hatred MOST OF TIME, more, than player, who posted the video). Next, after 9 days, they all transferred on another server and changed their nicknames. After that, my friend sent a huge report with all proves and timings again, for those who tried to escape punishment by transfer. It didn't work of course. So now they're "happily building their new life on another server, like nothing happened". Our group was in shock, depressed for a while, after everything, what happened.

We felt a little relief, but not for a long.
It keeps happening for 2 months, but now by another players with radars. Those ones don't insult us, but following and tracking us everywhere again with their radars, doing nothing to try to spawn, but "sitting on our necks", stand AFK on the areas, waiting us to spawn for them. (we checked one "radar user's" behaviour on Bonnacon node. we stayed there, on node, ready to gather, but we didn't gather even after the end of time for node, this player was still in front of us, waiting us to gather, jumping around and watching(he didn't try to gather). I tried to report this, + how he instantly followed me on another location...it didn't work too. Next similar reports don't work too). If we're together with my hunter-friends - they instantly follow us in the same area with their radars turned on, to detect hunt fast and make a hit for achievement. Even happened another thing - when we gather to do some map, we teleported to area. And you know what? "Chaser with radar" has come instant to us and then teleported away instantly. Of course we're keep reporting them for using the-third party program, endless chasing. Again with proves and timings and again nothing works. Like STF/GMs don't exist.

How many proves we need to gather to make STF notice this big problem like "radar using to get an anfair advantage"?

[Valkyrie_Lenneth]

You have to PROVE they are using it. And the only way for that to happen is if they say something in game. Sorry.

[Ashpd]

You have to PROVE they are using it. And the only way for that to happen is if they say something in game. Sorry.

What interesting - one of them say that. Like "It's easier turn it on and follow you 24/7"
But literally strange - how to prove chasing throw chat log, if full silence.

[Dirt-Muppet]

What is radar -- some 3rd party app?

[Kuroka]

some software that reads the client info, telling you where hunts are, or other things...

[alimdia]

What interesting - one of them say that. Like "It's easier turn it on and follow you 24/7"
But literally strange - how to prove chasing throw chat log, if full silence.

If they are silent you can't prove it, so there's nothing you can do, and nothing the GMs can do. Teleporting to the same map as you is not a crime and neither is standing in front of a node.

Realistically the only thing you can do is ask (nicely) if they can wait for more people to come before pulling and do not taunt them even if they say no. The only thing that makes a hunt trolling problem worse is frustrated people tauning the troll, that just encourages that behavior, they will keep doing it just to get a reaction from you.

[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.

You have to PROVE they are using it. And the only way for that to happen is if they say something in game. Sorry.

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).

[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.

[KageTokage]

They historically haven't offered that option until the next major patch after a raid releases.

I'm also not sure what it has to do with people using third party apps to be a nuisance, though hunting in general tends to become a lot less civil once Centurio Seals become needed for something other then materia.

[Vnolan]

The problem "was solved" when they posted a video with OBVIOUS humiliations of our group on YouTube. BUT only one guy get 9 days ban for posting this video.

How do you know for sure that's what happened? That would go against "SE doesn't accept outside sources".

How many proves we need to gather to make STF notice this big problem like "radar using to get an anfair advantage"?

Don't bother with the STF. About the only thing they do is deal with those RMT bots with gibberish names. They can't detect hunt radar (or anything else really) so you'd have to submit proof to the GMs. Contact a GM in game and ask what proof you would need or explain the situation and ask what you can do. If they redirect you to file reports to the STF, ignore that, since as you've seen, it's a waste of time.

What is radar -- some 3rd party app?

You know how monsters only load in as you get close to them? S ranks don't require you to be near and will load in once they spawn and are visible from anywhere in the map. The third-party apps are able to detect the S rank being loaded and provide a signal to the user. A prank that used to be done was to rename your chocobo to that of a hunt, summon it and watch as the radar users would rush to your location.

One of the first searches of hunt radar gives you another forum thread:
Radar for hunts, is this fair? Take a look.

That's over four years old. It was closed within 12 hours of being opened with the generic "report to the STF for further investigation" comment. Since then, has SE done anything to prevent the use of radar or change hunts so they can't make use of them? No. Hence, the Devs don't care.