Guild Wars 2

The title says it all.

I played a ranger for most of GW1. I tried several classes during the beta, and although a lot of them were attractive I went with the ranger for headstart and played my ranger to level 80, map 100% etc. etc.

These days, I just cant bring myself to play a ranger. I’m not bored with the class, neither am I consumed with a desire to run alts. I like the way that the class plays, I wish that there were more viable weapons than the shortbow but I can live with. But every time I run across a bot train of rangers in Orr, or whatever other zone, I just feel shame.

I don’t want to be associated with the soulless army that is continuously and relentlessly reducing the quality of everyone’s gameplay experience. When I see those bots I feel shame for my chosen profession.

This has had a pretty significant effect on my gameplay. For instance, I don’t help downed rangers anymore unless we’re in a dungeon and I know that there is someone there running the character. Where before I was happy to run across people and would gladly help, now I eye everyone running around with the speed and drive of a bot with deep suspicion…. “Is this a bot? Should I report this one?” GW2 was built with a lot of thought and care to ensure that players would be happy to see and help other players. Bots are continuously eating away these foundations that hold the community together.

I know this thread will probably be locked in short order and we’ll be told that the best thing we can do is report bots. Honestly, reporting bots is work, and it’s not my job. When I play GW2 I want to escape that kind of tedium and ANet should be cautious about putting that kind of responsibility on the player base, especially when there is essentially no noticeable effect on the bot population. When you put the responsibility on the player to report a bot you are essentially telling them that you know that bots are an issue and asking the player to stop enjoying the game to take a few moments to do your job for you (it’s never just one bot, it’s 5 or 10 and to report them you have to chase them around and it sucks).

BTW. would it be so hard to send feedback to the players who reported a bot when that bot got banned?

tldr: Bots make me feel ashamed to play a Ranger; Bots are bad; It’s not the player base’s job to deal with the bot problem.

I no longer am reporting bots.Not my job and just not interested if there are no live in game GMs to caretake this behaviour.

Too little too late.

My best advice to youis,get your moneys worth out of the game and then move on to greener pastures.

They have said many times that they are working on it. They have banned bots. And I expect they get thousands of reports each day, I really don’t think they should respond individually to bot reports.

Any programming they do to restrict bots will have unforeseen effects on real players. If they try and handle bots one by one by one they will never get anything else done. That means they have to be careful about how they handle botting as far as programming goes.

You don’t have to report them, it is just helpful if you do. Me, I just play the game and ignore them.

Katz.5143:

And I expect they get thousands of reports each day, I really don’t think they should respond individually to bot reports.

It wouldnt need to be more than an automated response when an account gets banned for boting.

All they need are GMs to fly through zones. These things are obvious.

^ Seems like a no brainer, no clue why they don’t do this. Put a small suspension on the players these GMs hit, email notify in case it’s a hacked account, allowing the player to get control of it again.

I see bots of every class, so I don’t know why this is directed solely to rangers…

OP, I understand your frustration – but don’t feel like bots dimish your gameplay. Bots in general are the issue, not specific professions of bots.

I revived a Norn Warrior who was just underwater enough that I couldn’t see all his armor was broken — > My respect for him instantly shattered.

I, too, have stopped playing my secondary Ranger alt because the botting just made me feel “dirty”… = (

I’m playing an Engineer as second, now, just because they only Bot solo in stationary areas (so I don’t see them as much…) or my Necromancer..

Tyops.5894:

The title says it all.

I played a ranger for most of GW1. I tried several classes during the beta, and although a lot of them were attractive I went with the ranger for headstart and played my ranger to level 80, map 100% etc. etc.

These days, I just cant bring myself to play a ranger. I’m not bored with the class, neither am I consumed with a desire to run alts. I like the way that the class plays, I wish that there were more viable weapons than the shortbow but I can live with. But every time I run across a bot train of rangers in Orr, or whatever other zone, I just feel shame.

I don’t want to be associated with the soulless army that is continuously and relentlessly reducing the quality of everyone’s gameplay experience. When I see those bots I feel shame for my chosen profession.

This has had a pretty significant effect on my gameplay. For instance, I don’t help downed rangers anymore unless we’re in a dungeon and I know that there is someone there running the character. Where before I was happy to run across people and would gladly help, now I eye everyone running around with the speed and drive of a bot with deep suspicion…. “Is this a bot? Should I report this one?” GW2 was built with a lot of thought and care to ensure that players would be happy to see and help other players. Bots are continuously eating away these foundations that hold the community together.

I know this thread will probably be locked in short order and we’ll be told that the best thing we can do is report bots. Honestly, reporting bots is work, and it’s not my job. When I play GW2 I want to escape that kind of tedium and ANet should be cautious about putting that kind of responsibility on the player base, especially when there is essentially no noticeable effect on the bot population. When you put the responsibility on the player to report a bot you are essentially telling them that you know that bots are an issue and asking the player to stop enjoying the game to take a few moments to do your job for you (it’s never just one bot, it’s 5 or 10 and to report them you have to chase them around and it sucks).

BTW. would it be so hard to send feedback to the players who reported a bot when that bot got banned?

tldr: Bots make me feel ashamed to play a Ranger; Bots are bad; It’s not the player base’s job to deal with the bot problem.

I think this is where we take a step back, go outside for some fresh air, meet up with friends in real life and then come back freshly aware that this is just a GAME. If you’re really this paranoid and hurt about bots sharing a virtual profession with you, then I think you need a break from GW.

In the last patch ArenaNet nerfed Rangers. In the patch notes it said “Crossfire: Increased casting time by 40 milliseconds. This was done to fix some glitches in the animation that caused problems with this skill.”

And this so called “Animation Glitch” (that no player seems to have had troubles with) was a 7% DPS decrease with the shortbow.

So was this nerf to help hinder all the Ranger Bots out there? And in the long run it’s actually hurting the Ranger profession and again we normal players are suffering for it because ArenaNet can’t deal with all the bots?

I agree with you OP. I haven’t played my Ranger in nearly two weeks mostly because of the bots. And I also second guess any decision I make in game when rangers are around. Is this a player? Or is this a bot?

I really feel bad for the legitimate ranger players out there.

I wont even attempt to play my Ranger till they fix this…just because I’m afraid I’ll be reported…which is kinda ridiculous. We just ran across 2 packs of 5 bots in an hour of play time.

Sheesh people… really? You guys are taking this WAY too seriously.

Report them and move on. Or just ignore them and play your game.

Get over it.

We seriously need in-game GMs. It’s absolutely ridiculous that we can’t get hold of any sort of CS reps.

To be honest, I see A LOOOOT of ranger bots if anything. I mean it’s so many of them I assume every ranger is a bot, not saying I don’t see other bots with different classes but it’s more pronounced in Rangers but we do most def need In-game GM’s.
I’m too scared to report Rangers because I may report an innocent player lol.

I don’t get the point. I think we are all against bots, but why would that effect your desire to play Rangers? Also, just as a note, Short Bow isn’t our only good weapon. I’ve been running a S/WH A/D melee build for about 25 levels now (Ranger just hit level 61) and I love it.

It’s the abundance of ranger bots that’s swaying my decision not to make one. (sadly, cause i enjoy the concept. still dithering about what class my next char should be.)

regarding the botting, i’d gladly go around actively reporting and bot-hunting if I knew that such actions would have viable results, but right now i’m not so sure that anything actually comes of it.

at least when i reported bots in GW, i got responses from GMs such as “hi, we have banned 4 out of the 6 bots you reported” or something to that effect. Now I don’t even get that.

Why in the world would you not want to play a Ranger simply because it’s a favored class for botting? o.O I don’t see how that should effect your decision at all…

There’s nothing to feel dirty about. It’s very easy to tell who is a bot and who isn’t, so it’s not like you’ll generally be mistaken for one… This is one of those odd “sensitivity” issues that I just can’t fathom.

The title is misleading. It should read perception of the Ranger class not the class itself as it got tainted. A fair share of bots I have reported were Guardians.

MrLee.6892:

In the last patch ArenaNet nerfed Rangers. In the patch notes it said “Crossfire: Increased casting time by 40 milliseconds. This was done to fix some glitches in the animation that caused problems with this skill.”

And this so called “Animation Glitch” (that no player seems to have had troubles with) was a 7% DPS decrease with the shortbow.

So was this nerf to help hinder all the Ranger Bots out there? And in the long run it’s actually hurting the Ranger profession and again we normal players are suffering for it because ArenaNet can’t deal with all the bots?

Why are you asking this question? It would be pretty absurd and illogical if they did especially since they actually are dealing with the bots.

Well I agree with the OP. When I encounter a ranger I automatically asume that it is a bot. Sometimes I check the acount name trough the bot report system to see if its a normal name. A clear giveaway btw is also a named pet. Bots dont use named pets most of the time. If the teleporting or random shooting in the air isnt making it easy, the of name of the account and lack of pet name does the trick as well.

Temper.7265:

I no longer am reporting bots.Not my job and just not interested if there are no live in game GMs to caretake this behaviour.

Too little too late.

My best advice to youis,get your moneys worth out of the game and then move on to greener pastures.

+1000

they just don’t care. MMO in 21 century, AAA type of mmo without GMs at all. This is just stupid.
And all we get from forum response is this generic answer “report bots we really like it”

Scorpio.3821:

I see bots of every class, so I don’t know why this is directed solely to rangers…

There’s way more ranger bots than others. I’ve gotten to the point where I assume everyone’s a bot until they do something unbotlike, if that makes any sense. And being in a guild doesn’t help, there are not bot guilds too!

I just love how some players say they assume every single ranger is a bot. It feels nice to be appreciated <_<.

Botting is an every lasting problem. No game will solve it, just enjoy your play and ignore. I am guessing they take rangers because their long range doesn’t need them to move much. Proper movement is probably still difficult.

The only thing GMs could do is, like real police, be visibly patrolling the area once in a while. This will give people a better feeling.

Ravenblade.7685:

The title is misleading. It should read perception of the Ranger class not the class itself as it got tainted. A fair share of bots I have reported were Guardians.

MrLee.6892:

In the last patch ArenaNet nerfed Rangers. In the patch notes it said “Crossfire: Increased casting time by 40 milliseconds. This was done to fix some glitches in the animation that caused problems with this skill.”

And this so called “Animation Glitch” (that no player seems to have had troubles with) was a 7% DPS decrease with the shortbow.

So was this nerf to help hinder all the Ranger Bots out there? And in the long run it’s actually hurting the Ranger profession and again we normal players are suffering for it because ArenaNet can’t deal with all the bots?

Why are you asking this question? It would be pretty absurd and illogical if they did especially since they actually are dealing with the bots.

Sorry but 3,000 bots is barley a start.

Not having GM’s in game is hurting.

I would laugh if someone thought my ranger was a bot. I gave up naming my pet cause it always seems to lose it. Feeling dirty? Well I guess some of my pets do kick up a lot of dirt in a fight. I love mine. Shes not uber and yeah they nerfed SB. But I like the concept and I cant find another class I like as much. And I will revive anyone I see…and not just assume ppl are bots. I rather rez a bot by mistake them leave real ppl down on the ground.

Honestly seems like some real paranoia out there. Just relax and have fun. Geesh!

i think there might be a lot of ranger bots because if they die so many times that their armor is useless they still have a tuff pet. and weapons as far as i know are not damaged by dying. so even if you set a bot going and it dies 100 times before you come back, with a ranger it still had the same strong pet all the time.

but on top of the ranger/bot problem i am starting to see multi-boxing, which really ticks me off. i guess at least in pve it will not affect my game, but in pvp i am sure it will. the bots right now are ticking me off because they affect all kinds of events and generally speaking because of their numbers and how events scale it will ruin the event.

MrLee.6892:

Sorry but 3,000 bots is barley a start.

Not having GM’s in game is hurting.

So we agree they haven’t nerfed the class because of it being partially favoured for botting and they are actually doing something about them. Good. As for the usual argumentative transition from “doing nothing” to “barely a start”, it’s not they have actually stated otherwise but you have to begin somewhere. But hey, we knew how this goes already, right? “They are not doing anything” is usually followed up by “They are not doing enough” and finally and perpetually concluded with “Their success rate is not 100%”.

Heh… yeah, I can very much relate to these feelings with my Ranger.

I stopped played my Ranger. When I used to romp around with my Ranger, I made sure to not use the default bear so—gods forbid—I wouldn’t look like all the Ranger bots running around.

Ranger bots are a pariah, for sure—and unfortunately they have negatively impacted some players’ perceptions and reactions towards the Ranger class. :-(

A few days ago i ran through 5 maps of random level ranges and the grand total of botters i counted were a staggering 183. And i probably missed a ton because i wasn’t looking all that hard.

I have no problem reporting the odd bot here and there but 183+ is making it a job, and i don’t work without getting paid just so a company can save money.

A-net needs to stop relying on us to be their “spy network” and hire people that do nothing but run around maps looking for botters, instantly and permanently banning them as they go.

They are not hard to spot, i can tell if someone is botting just by looking at them for a few seconds.

arcaneclarity.5283:

All they need are GMs to fly through zones. These things are obvious.

Except it is virtually impossible to discern a silent, farming player from a bot except by watching very, very closely to keyboard input or software, both of which you can’t but the GMs have to do in order to make an honest ban. In this world, people are still innocent until proven guilty, and that goes for bots too. Your hunch is not enough to ban someone, neither is a GMs hunch enough to call someone bot.

Every Ranger I now come across gets a double glance o.-

On Tarnished Coast I think with my Ranger, Domaris I’ve earned a rep for running/farming events and helping other players with my Healing Spring and stopping to res downed players and tanking the Champion/Veteran mobs with my bear.

If you main a Ranger people will take notice and want to group or run with you for the events.

Bejeebus H chrissy,

Do a quick youtube search with GW2 bot,sort by date marnick and reap some educational material.

A GM is a rep of the company that owns/runs the game and as such is usually given full power to ban at their own discretion,whether they are paid or volenteer.banned players can appeal to support just like anyone else.

For those who have never DM/GM ed in a game…It aint rocket science,there are many tools at your disposal,and getting around a virtual world to do your tasks takes a minimal amount of time and effort.

Being proven guilty is a simple matter of observation in the current case of GW2.It’s open and obvious and in the players face,disrupting every part of the games play/mechanics.

It’s usually pretty easy to discern the ranger bots (I agree there are a lot), because they only seem to use two abilities.

I’m not sure what ability it is, but the character says, “May Lissa Confound You!” or something…then they just spam the 1 key on their bow. They do that over and over… and almost all of them have bear pets.

So, with the ranger I just started playing, I figure if I use a wider variety of weapons and skills, and have something other than a bear pet, it will be pretty easy to tell I’m not a bot. Also, people can just send me a /whisper if they are wondering.

I do agree that the botting problem is having an effect on the in-game community. I very often end up in staring contests with other players after an event, where both of us are clearly wondering… is he a bot? Is she a bot? It’s pretty bad when the player base can’t even trust each other or feel comfortable playing together.

I know they are working on it…but I know they are working on literally dozens of other things at the same time. This is without a doubt the number one issue with the game, and I honestly don’t know why they don’t do an “all hands on deck” approach and knock the problem down to manageable levels which could be better controlled by a small group of employees. Put everyone at ArenaNet in game for a few days, and give them a ban stick.

I went sPvp to avoid the bots. Got hit by the loading screen hammer, Though at least that seems to be solved by now …. hopefully!

Yeah it’s becoming an job for a lot of people not only that you got folk switching classes because bots somehow prefer Rangers. It’s not fair to them and it’s not fair to the rest of us. No one here really wants to play “The Spy” here lol.

@Mubazriun: I don’t know what going outside has to do with a guy concern about the Ranger bots everywhere, if anything he may be at risk of false reporting or something or another. Yeah it’s a game, but let’s not forget we paid 60 bucks for it and didn’t except a plethora cheaters to come ruin it.

This post is to funny. I see bots of every profession. What you going to do stop playing them as well. Report them and move on.

I lost a tear reading this..:(

I am on sorrows furnace and have reported the same 12 bots for the last 2 weeks.

I have now given up doing that as clearly they are either unwilling to do anything about it or unable.

the bots are placed where the money is so we are talking about fast tun around missions and it is there they congregate.

Having someone pop in at these places would be fine

However, catching them in the start up areas would be better as that would stop them even reaching the higher level areas.

but I fear, that this will not happen as this is still a source of income for them.

previous posters on this subject are now just ignoring them which is what i intend to do.

With regards to coughing up $60 for an expansion that at the moment will not happen for me unless they offer something other than new class and a new area because the new expansion will just be a rinse and repeat which would bore me.

Did i get my $60 worth for this game ….answer yes But not worth coughing up for an expansion i feel

I always wonder, if it’s not possible to make same automatic anty-bot program? It would scan players activity and if sb would do the same thing repeatly or other bot behaviour, It would for example freeze players until they say on chat same massage sent to do them.

Entity.3408:

Every Ranger I now come across gets a double glance o.-

Replace “ranger” in that sentence with any racial slur and you’ve made a very questionable statement.

marnick.4305:

Entity.3408:

Every Ranger I now come across gets a double glance o.-

Replace “ranger” in that sentence with any racial slur and you’ve made a very questionable statement.

LOL

Replace any word in any sentence with a racial slur and you’ll have a very questionable statement. That’s why what people say matters, not what you think they might have said if they had actually said something different from what they said.

It’s a profession in a video game. Let’s not cloud the very real issue of bots with out-of-context statements.

Hi,
As already explained by Mike, we are very commited to fighting botters. However, we are not going keep you updated about this situation every hour, or answer personally to each questions you are asking.

As soon as we will have more information to provide, we will keep you updated here.
Thank you for your understanding & cooperation.