Bot Account invasion

[Nyvara]

I saw an air runner with a scrabble bag name( thanks Blast) for the first time the other day. By the time I got the report ticket open they were long gone and no way could I remember the name.

Give us a better way to report bots! Even if nothing is getting done at least we won't feel frustrated by the crap reporting feature.

[grey70005]

I do believe the botting and cheating issues have reached a tipping point as of late and SE should really act. It is a perfect storm here:

• Absolute root cause: No client-side cheat detection. I know no detection software is perfect, but come on. At least make it harder.
  
• The player base. People are buying gil, clears, resources they know full well are obtained via gathering bots.
  
• An overly restrictive ToS that is unenforced. Nothing is allowed, but SE doesn't care. Third party programs that read system memory for DPS results so people get kicked for not showing on a third party site recording it? Check. Same program also does callouts during boss fights and has triggers to find hunting targets without having to actually look. Check. People use gathering bots, PvP bots, screen-scraped "APIs" for data-mining, all neatly bundled into Discord. It is really sad. No enforcement means this is now considered normal. I sometimes feel that SE's attempt to reduce harrasment by not offending people have given them the green light to offend each other and made things worse. Enforce the ToS, or change it to fall inline with MMORPG standards.
  
• Money. All I can think of is there must be some financial advantage to allowing the bots to exist. Client side detection or not, they could be circumvented. I've been coding for 20 years, it can be done... there is always a way.
  
• Resignation that this is just a part of MMORPGs. Yes, it is... bots will always exist, the battle never ends. But we're not even fighting here. At least reduce their count. It can be done.

We're at a point now where you have to log out and come back later when bots are doing MSQ and job quests. Want to queue for Amdapor Keep??? Have fun with that one. You can't, because it is quite literally infested with bots. Enjoying doing a single player queue and stuck at #1? Need to wait for those bots to finish.

And perhaps the saddest thing of all is not the gibberish named bots, but real players with crowns and all actively using gathering bots because "it is boring so I should be allowed" and then trashing the marketplace for those of us that actually want to play the game legit.

Yes, SE needs to take action. No, what they're doing now is not good enough. Some ideas:

• Become the Gil sellers. Seriously, sell it on the MogStation. Pay to win? Who cares, you can already buy pre-leveled boosts. Make it legit. There's obviously a market for it.
• Actually use client-side detection software. This blows my mind completely. Can't afford the development? Sell Gil!
• Revise the ToS and stop incriminating your player base. Things like DPS meters are standard MMORPG faire. Having an API is almost a prerequisite. Either develop UI tools to supplant these, or perhaps have a third party add-on approval process.
• Actually follow up on player reports for "real player" botting. If you attempt to report a botter, 99% of the time nothing happens. Can't afford the staffing? Sell Gil!
• Fight! You'll never get rid of bots... but at this point, it is literally making important portions of the game unplayable. Just fight!

Okay, I'm off the soap box. Everyone can flame me now.