Guild Wars 2

It seems like there’s been a huge uptick in bots, although perhaps I hadn’t noticed, since I rarely go out into these zones.

I sat on one node for about 30 minutes, and have reported over 20 accounts. All have around 150 APs

Could all be the same person with some elaborate set-up though.

It’s really terrible too, it warps on top of the node and then has a seizure on top while gathering.

friggarn.2906:

It seems like there’s been a huge uptick in bots, although perhaps I hadn’t noticed, since I rarely go out into these zones.

I sat on one node for about 30 minutes, and have reported over 20 accounts. All have around 150 APs

Could all be the same person with some elaborate set-up though.

It’s really terrible too, it warps on top of the node and then has a seizure on top while gathering.

It’s definitely different accounts? If so, then it seems you’re able to right-click and report these bots, which is a good thing as usually gathering bots are hidden under terrain and you tend to have to submit a ticket instead, noting the /ip of the map you were in, the time you saw the bots, and the approximate location of the nodes so the GMs can do a trace.

penelopehannibal.8947:

friggarn.2906:

It seems like there’s been a huge uptick in bots, although perhaps I hadn’t noticed, since I rarely go out into these zones.

I sat on one node for about 30 minutes, and have reported over 20 accounts. All have around 150 APs

Could all be the same person with some elaborate set-up though.

It’s really terrible too, it warps on top of the node and then has a seizure on top while gathering.

It’s definitely different accounts? If so, then it seems you’re able to right-click and report these bots, which is a good thing as usually gathering bots are hidden under terrain and you tend to have to submit a ticket instead, noting the /ip of the map you were in, the time you saw the bots, and the approximate location of the nodes so the GMs can do a trace.

Yes, they’re all different, and yes I noted that it was a terrible bot because it’s not warping under the node. The accounts are probably stolen credit cards, hopefully catching these early enough can help.

I did see two ranger short bow bots in Orr today. They followed each other completely the same way and attacked all the same mobs just auto attacking. I haven’t seen bots like that since a few months after launch.

friggarn.2906:

It seems like there’s been a huge uptick in bots, although perhaps I hadn’t noticed, since I rarely go out into these zones.

There are always bots. It hardly matters whether there’s an uptick or not — usually, that’s a matter of perception. Bots change their patterns for a variety of reasons, due to market changes or getting reported too often in one location (or not getting reported in another).

If you suspect a bot, make a report. If you can, use the in-game /report tool. If not, create a ticket mentioning the time/place/IP address, a description of the behavior, and any screenshots you can manage to take.

ANet pays people to investigate these things, allowing us to focus on playing the game instead.

I was running around the map today and noticed a bunch of different botters running teleport hacks to move around to gathering nodes. Tried to report them as fast as I could, but wasn’t always possible because they moved to quickly and could be across the map instantly. Please look into this. I also called out in map chat for others to report them as well if seen.

I reported a couple yesterday that I found in Brisbane Wildlands. Tagged them as friends and watched them rapidly pop from there to Caledon Forest, then Queensdale, etc. It’s been a while since I’ve noticed this brand of vermin. Hope it doesn’t become a common occurrence again like it was before.

I noted this yesterday, Gathering bots on the rise again?

I have reported near 30 of them, which seems ridiculous.

I’ve been seeing this on the rise in the last couple weeks.

A toon will pop in, gather a node, and vanish. They’re hard to report because you have to click on them and rt-click before they vanish.

4:00 AM Snowden Drifts 29 Oct 2016, while doing map completion for my new Tempest, found tons of lowbies popping out of mining/logging nodes and disappearing. A few of them using the crappy bot (they are shaking like crazy while they mine/log). Entire map chat was about ppl reporting bots.

I had never noticed them before, but I have this past week. I didn’t know what I was looking at, at first. The first one I saw, I got a good look at their name and wish I could remember it exactly. Haven’t seen names on the others, they come and go so fast.

i noticed a lot of them yesterday in the char home lands of Diessa Plateau a lot yesterday

they was flashing like a xmas tree fully lited up could spot them very easy and so i got

the fun of reporting them for such giving the same names and everything like they

was following me or something as i was doing my daily,s stuff

Well, gladly to see — every single one of those that I reported look to be getting banned, they aren’t logging in anymore.

friggarn.2906:

Well, gladly to see — every single one of those that I reported look to be getting banned, they aren’t logging in anymore.

That’s kind of encouraging, even though there seem to be an inexhaustible amount of them.

Yesterday I saw too many of them on my low-level toon, so I decided to sit at their apparently common path and report as many as I could after tagging them as friends. Saw maybe 8 or 9 in 15 minutes, only caught 3. Screenshotting can be hard if your PC/connection is crap like mine, as they may disappear before your game lags right as you press that Prt Sc key.

Soggy Biscuit.9372:

friggarn.2906:

Well, gladly to see — every single one of those that I reported look to be getting banned, they aren’t logging in anymore.

That’s kind of encouraging, even though there seem to be an inexhaustible amount of them.

Yesterday I saw too many of them on my low-level toon, so I decided to sit at their apparently common path and report as many as I could after tagging them as friends. Saw maybe 8 or 9 in 15 minutes, only caught 3. Screenshotting can be hard if your PC/connection is crap like mine, as they may disappear before your game lags right as you press that Prt Sc key.

As long as you can get one in your screenshot, when you submit a support ticket about it (or email ANet), include the following:

• The approximate timing
• The map you were in and the nearest ‘landmark’ (something identifiable by a Tier 1 support person who doesn’t play much, if at all)
• The /ip address of the instance
• Your best estimate of how many bots to look for, e.g. something like “my screen shot shows one of the suspected bots — there were at least 3 more that were moving too fast for me to catch”

ANet has logs to track suspected bot behavior. You just need to give them enough of a headstart to make things easy on them; you don’t have to do the surveillance or provide ‘proof’.

Illconceived,

Thanks. Actually, I made sure to include all of that info, but after a few days, I still see one of the 3 that I reported actively teleporting around low-level maps every time I log in. Very frustrating.

Soggy Biscuit.9372:

Illconceived,

Thanks. Actually, I made sure to include all of that info, but after a few days, I still see one of the 3 that I reported actively teleporting around low-level maps every time I log in. Very frustrating.

They’ve said a few years back that don’t they ban immediately but in waves. They said they prefer to do that because it makes it harder for the bot designer to figure out what caused the ban and that makes it harder for them to figure out ways to get around detection. So don’t expect immediate responses to your reports of botting.

Edit: I don’t have the quote where they said they ban bots in waves but here’s a recent article discussing wave-banning in gw2

Hi Flesh Wound and all who kindly responded to me,

Many thanks for your messages. Actually, I got to log on a few hours after my last post to find out the last player I mentioned either logged out or got booted out (it was during US peak hours) never to be seen back up since. I appreciate Anet’s prompt handling of the issue, especially considering the amount of reports they must be getting each day.

Thanks for taking the time to /report and to keep us updated on the status.

Yesterday I’ve also seen quite a lot in Diessa plateau. It was like 6 bots, all with the same name and I to VI at the end. Some of them mindlessly running into walls and none of them reacting to a pm. (since having multiple accounts isn’t illegal I thought I might at least ask)

This amount of player-work involved, Anet should put up a few achivements related to bot/hacker reporting. And give ascended armor box if you ever succeed to report the underground bot and the teleport bot with their unusable report system.

I’m doing map completion, and right now, if you stand at a node in any of the starter areas and the 15-25 areas like Snowden Drifts, Kessex Hills etc., you’re almost guaranteed to see at least one bot in 5 minutes. I’ve been screenshotting them and noting down IPs and I have reported a few, but seriously, if I reported every single one I wouldn’t have time to play the game.

Are there any restrictions on the FTP accounts to curb free botting?

Simple ones are limited TP access (buy not sell) and no ability to mail attachments.

I’ve seen what looks to me like regular, high level characters doing this, so it’s not just f2p or low levels. Can’t Anet find a way to foil bot programs? I am seeing more and more of this, and it’s starting to get under my skin.

This is in many ways turning into this https://youtu.be/kvNSZ1majvg?t=309

For those who don’t know Lineage 2 is a title from the company that owns ArenaNet, NCSoft. Their strategies and the way they employ the F2P model have caused this.

Very disappointed to see this happening in GW2, but frankly, expected.

I was even willing to throw a few more bucks at the game but when I see this happening here…. I doubt it. Not gonna invest into a bot infested game.

They really need to revisit & harden their security more often.

Inoki.6048:

This is in many ways turning into this https://youtu.be/kvNSZ1majvg?t=309

For those who don’t know Lineage 2 is a title from the company that owns ArenaNet, NCSoft. Their strategies and the way they employ the F2P model have caused this.

Very disappointed to see this happening in GW2, but frankly, expected.

I was even willing to throw a few more bucks at the game but when I see this happening here…. I doubt it. Not gonna invest into a bot infested game.

They really need to revisit & harden their security more often.

The gud ol l2 my first MMO i stopped back in 2012 not because it went F2P or the “Goddess of Destruction” arrival but hey… who can seriously play and get fun with a horde of bots everywhere, its so sad what happened with L2 even some “olympiad” champions are bots lol and what did NCwest about it? absolutely nothing, they have some weird policy and you cant post videos or screenshots as proof in the official forums coz “they dont allow any kind of possible false accusation over players made by other players, its not your job, you could possibly be damaging the reputation and game experience of legit players by doing these vigilante stuff” everything must be done through “tickets” aka fill a report form and submit it, then wait a response like “oh hai we are checking your issue and working to solve it thx for your concerns keep playing kk” a premade response (like if some bot was replying) and yep, thats it.

When something like that happens here welp say goodbye to GW2 (sorry for my english im spanish).

locoporesa.2864:

When something like that happens here welp say goodbye to GW2.

That’s a very sad “sky is falling” perspective.

GW2 employs people to actively curtail bots and gold sellers. Solutions might not be quick, but that doesn’t mean no one’s doing anything. Bots, gold sellers, and their ilk have always existed in MMOs… the companies do the best they can to fight ‘em, and the perpetrators do the best they can to circumvent the preventative systems. It’s unfortunately a cyclical relationship, but it by no means predicts a game’s death.

~EW

Its sad no doubt but the lineage experience shows that once you let the RMT and bots abuse everything gonna fall piece by piece.

Watch the video, skip to min 12 and think how nice would be having Kessex, Malchors leap or mad king labyrinth like that. Not saying that GW2 is nearly close to such disaster, just telling ya how things can go wrong very quickly by not taking actions, Fortunately the F2P model here is better. the community cares and Anet does the same so im not worried bout GW2 future with some bots around i just remembered the l2 disaster watching teh video and telling Inoki my experience there.

locoporesa.2864:

Its sad no doubt but the lineage experience shows that once you let the RMT and bots abuse everything gonna fall piece by piece.

Watch the video, skip to min 12 and think how nice would be having Kessex, Malchors leap or mad king labyrinth like that. Not saying that GW2 is nearly close to such disaster, just telling ya how things can go wrong very quickly by not taking actions, Fortunately the F2P model here is better. the community cares and Anet does the same so im not worried bout GW2 future with some bots around i just remembered the l2 disaster watching teh video and telling Inoki my experience there.

But, that’s just it: they’re not going to ignore it. They’re not going to just let it happen. They’ve been proactive agains such exploitation for the entire existence of the game, and there’s nothing to indicate that anything has changed.

There is no flipping a switch to stop the botters… it’s a problem that requires research and problem solving… it’s a problem that requires patience on the part of the players to see a solution.

Have some confidence that the company wants to fight for its game’s survival. Don’t assume that the company is taking no action, just because you’re not seeing immediate results…

~EW