Require a verification code within X mins after purchasing a property

[caspergrey]

More than half the house that I've seen get sold in the last week have gone to winners that are AFK.

Please add a capcha feature that requires someone not be afk to verify a purchase by typing in a code shown on the screen within X mins of winning.

EDIT: There's probably not much you can do about people using auto clickers to purchase homes. I feel that's a byproduct of a broken system, but at least make people be present when they win a house. There's something that makes it extra demoralizing when you see a house sell and you realize that half the people there aren't even present.

That or completely change the system to something that doesn't require people to be there for hours at a plot.

Main reason I bring up adding some sort of captcha is because it's something that you could add that requires modifying the existing process the least.

[Kenky]

That..

That actually sounds like a genuine change. It'd significantly halt the bots farming the plots and give players a much better Average chance.. Even with Autoclickers being used, they would need to be THERE to finalize, meaning it would also (theoretically) see less and less use.

Personally, can't see a Downside outside of maybe the Capcha maybe breaking in some respect? Like you see it say one word and you type it in, but the program says "nah, it actually says this!". Maybe a 3-attempt before a timeout? (Alongside x mins timer)

TL;DR: Pretty good suggestion. Benefits far outweigh the (potential) downsides.

[Jojoya]

It might stop the players using the simple scripts for placard spam but some bots can solve some captchas. Still it would be a step toward reducing the problem.

Would the purchase timer be reset after a failed captcha? That could potentially upset players even more if the failed captchas mean they're kept stuck waiting that much longer for the plot.

[Penthea]

Would the purchase timer be reset after a failed captcha? That could potentially upset players even more if the failed captchas mean they're kept stuck waiting that much longer for the plot.

I suppose what they can do is give players multiple attempts, lets say three, to enter the code and the code would change each time so that a bot would have a harder time trying to figure out what it is.

As an additional way to prevent bots buying SE could also add the one-time password (the authentication code you use to log in) as a final step. It would be very difficult to get a bot to be able to access the one time password because it's on hardware that is separate to the pc (mobile phone or small keychain device). I'm sure there is a way to get a bot to access it through connecting the phone to the pc but I imagine that would be a complicated process that could only be achieved by a person with very specialised knowledge.

Having said that someone would eventually create software so that a person who is a novice in that field can do it, but considering phones are not completely standardised with what OS they use and even what version it would still be troublesome to many people to get it to work.

[Doozer]

As an additional way to prevent bots buying SE could also add the one-time password (the authentication code you use to log in) as a final step.

I definitely support having to enter a code to prevent bots from buying property, though not everyone uses one-time passwords, and for whatever reason may not have access to it.

I'm not sure how advanced bots are with stuff like that, but maybe something like a skill question related to the game, like "what's the name of the NPC standing at x11, y17 in Lower La Noscea" (example, of course, since I doubt there's anyone right there ) and you have 5 minutes to go there, check, then come back and enter it in the text box at the placard. And of course it would be different for each purchase and could be any NPC in ARR (since having expansion NPCs would make it inaccessible to people who don't own it).

I'm not sure if bots can parse that, and it doesn't have to be exactly that type of question, but something that requires going and looking at something in the game in order to confirm the purchase would be good I think.

[Penthea]

I definitely support having to enter a code to prevent bots from buying property, though not everyone uses one-time passwords, and for whatever reason may not have access to it.

Very few players who have access to a game like FFXIV wouldn't have a smart phone. It's not a chunky piece of software so even an old phone can use it fine. Certainly worked fine for me when I was using a smart phone whose model and OS was several years out of date.

Also everyone should use the one-time password because it truly does keep your account more safe. Certainly if it became part of the purchasing process for a house it would give players an incentive to get it. I remember when WoW offered a minion in exchange for having a one-time password authenticator attached to their account the amount of players who used it rose quite dramatically. Some people don't bother with it thinking they don't need it, not classing it as worthwhile because it doesn't offer an in-game advantage or they're just too lazy to set it up. Blizzard realised this so they gave a reward for using it. More players using the one-time password actually does reduce the workload GMs have to deal with.

I admit I'm not exactly fond of the idea to have it or captchas in order to purchase something but it's clear SE have no intention of changing the housing system enough so that things like demolition and the placard timer would no longer be needed. So with this in mind players think about ways to make it more difficult for bots to game the system, and the one-time password and/or captchas are things that could very greatly inhibit them.

I'm not sure how advanced bots are with stuff like that, but maybe something like a skill question related to the game, like "what's the name of the NPC standing at x11, y17 in Lower La Noscea" (example, of course, since I doubt there's anyone right there )

Someone could create a system that checks for npc locations based on coordinates. If people can create something as advanced as parsers they can definitely create something that merely searches for npcs at a very specific set of coordinates. Bots can complete quests on their own, so searching for something based on coordinates wouldn't be difficult to code.

Also having such a system would make players have to leave the housing area and travel around the game to search for something...it would be potentially adding a lengthy process on top of the already lengthy process that is spamming the placard timer. It would be better to create a system that doesn't require players to leave the plot for what is essentially a quest in order to finish purchasing it.

[Doozer]

Also having such a system would make players have to leave the housing area and travel around the game to search for something...it would be potentially adding a lengthy process on top of the already lengthy process that is spamming the placard timer. It would be better to create a system that doesn't require players to leave the plot for what is essentially a quest in order to finish purchasing it.

The simpler it is, the easier it is to bypass. My example was merely that, an example, and if someone can stand there for 16 hours waiting for a plot, they can take an extra 2 minutes to go to a different zone, look at something, then come back. I wouldn't really call that 'lengthy'.

[Yshtola]

What a great solution this is. What a great PR move this would be. Lmfao, you guys need to reflect on the absurdity of the suggestion.

[Doozer]

What a great solution this is. What a great PR move this would be. Lmfao, you guys need to reflect on the absurdity of the suggestion.

You could just say "I don't think this is a good idea".

Can you elaborate on why you don't want something added to prevent people from using bots to buy property?

[Dust_monster]

This is a good idea.
A simple in-game verification would be enough. No need for OTP's or additional running around.

At the very least, the simple bots will get taken out of the picture.

I can already imagine the type of players who would be opposed to this. Bot-users.