Multiboxing
Depends on exactly what you mean.
If someone has 2 computers and runs GW2 on each, plays a bit on computer A then a bit on B or they have two instances of GW2 running and alt+tab between them then it is completely fine.
If on the other hand they have something setup so that if they did something on A it causes the exact same action to be mirrored on B then it would be against the rules.
I think multiboxing is fine as long as each game instance is controlled separately.
The automated “slave” multiboxing where several slave-toons are controlled by the input of 1 master is not!
Spotted two level 80 players last night, each controlling 3-4 stipped (nude) level 10-14 avatars, using them to farm a narrow area in Frostgorge Sound. (Nude lvl. 14 rangers in a 75-80 zones…)
Looked like they were constantly teleporting the lowlevel ranger avatars to set locations and rezzing as needed. (Controlled toons “sync-teleported”)
Reported 7-8 of the accounts including the 2 real players… No action taken on Anet part – Both are still active.
I am absolutely ok with that – Better than bans based on a single report.
It DOES bother me when I see bots that people laugh and chat about for days in global and you can still study their activities 2 weeks later.
If people bought several copies of GW2, then it’s really not your problem to be concerned with.
edit:
And of course i mean if ‘people’ are playing.
“True multiboxing” is fine. They play/manually operate the accounts the paid for. (All 10-20 of them.)
One major problem with “multiboxing” is, that it is mostly used in a setting where illegit “multiboxers” are working with hacked/stolen/abandoned accounts, using tools (bots) to automate the slaveboxes.
We should all be a little concerned (Anet should be somewhat more concerned) when you can buy a multibox-bot including 3 accounts at about the same price as a single legitimate copy of GW2.
It DOES bother me when I see bots that people laugh and chat about for days in global and you can still study their activities 2 weeks later.
On the one hand that looks bad, on the other hand it might be worth leaving them like that to monitor their behavior patterns so you can improve your bot detection tools.
On the one hand that looks bad, on the other hand it might be worth leaving them like that to monitor their behavior patterns so you can improve your bot detection tools.
To an extent I agree… It worked quite well for Valve (catching more fish with one net) but at the same time I am a bit disappointed because a lot of “botting” (incl. the gathering bots) should be caught by serverside “sanity-checks”.
(You don’t do sanitychecks for every client action but periodical checks should be: Ok, client #12332 moved from point A to point B with a velocity of 1402 m/sec… is that sane?"
Sanity checks would kill most of the GW2 bots/multihacks instantly but I have NO knowledge of how hard it would be to implement at this time – I can only wonder why it wasn’t at design time.
And sure: They should NOT start adding (extra?) sanitychecks while they struggle with culling bugs… Better fix culling issues!
On the one hand that looks bad, on the other hand it might be worth leaving them like that to monitor their behavior patterns so you can improve your bot detection tools.
To an extent I agree… It worked quite well for Valve (catching more fish with one net) but at the same time I am a bit disappointed because a lot of “botting” (incl. the gathering bots) should be caught by serverside “sanity-checks”.
(You don’t do sanitychecks for every client action but periodical checks should be: Ok, client #12332 moved from point A to point B with a velocity of 1402 m/sec… is that sane?"Sanity checks would kill most of the GW2 bots/multihacks instantly but I have NO knowledge of how hard it would be to implement at this time – I can only wonder why it wasn’t at design time.
And sure: They should NOT start adding (extra?) sanitychecks while they struggle with culling bugs… Better fix culling issues!
There is a middle ground for this.
If you know a bot is a bot and under observation, you could “flag” its account in a way in which its economic impact is segregated.
E.G. — it posts things to the trading post, but the materials don’t actually go there, instead they’re pitched down a black hole and never exposed to players. Heck, you could even have rng-based “bots” on the fake TP environment buying the goods with flagged gold, then follow that gold through the entire network like a RICO investigation.
I just want to know if its illegal or not since i’m reporting it atm. Would be nice if Anet would let us know since i don’t want to report stuff that they allow.
Do a search on multi-boxing, and you will find the following from Anet.
ArenaNet does not prohibit Multi- or Dual-Boxing as along as the player is active on each account and is not botting or using other third-party programs to “play” the account.
Response Via Email (Landry) 02/06/2013 06:35 PM
Hello, and thank you for your patience.After further review, we have decided to unblock all of the accounts in question. You are correct that multiboxing is not a violation of our current policy. Automation software that allows for unattended game play is a violation. Your observed behavior in the game may have been confused for the latter.
It’s always possible that our stance on multiboxing by routing commands to multiple instances of the client could change, so I’d keep your eyes on our forums just in case. Also, keep in mind that what you do is rather striking and alarming to most players (and even most GMs) when they see it. It might be in your best interest to tone it down a bit, but that’s not an order. That’s just a practical suggestion to avoid future reports and investigations.
Thank you again for your understanding. The accounts will be reinstated momentarily.
Landry
Guild Wars Support Team
http://support.guildwars2.com/
Third party programs that automate gameplay aren’t allowed.
Third party programs that route commands to multiple clients but still require a person’s input aren’t currently against the rules.
Hi everyone,
This issue has been discussed before. As stated here https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Q-Is-multi-boxing-allowed/first#post245276, Multiboxing is not forbidden as long as the player is actively controlling each and every account.
Thanks for your understanding.