Guild Wars 2

I’m interested in what the programmers do to analyze macros. For instance, if an elementalist is using a macro to stack 25 stacks of might, is there a program that does something like look for repeated time intervals between actions to determine macro use? I’m not sure how the game can otherwise detect a programmed macro keyboard if the time interval between commands is random.
I’m just interested in code and the question crossed my mind, I’m not trying to exploit macro use!

Since it’s pretty much impossible to tell whether a command was issued by a hardware keyboard or an emulated one (and even if it’s an emulated one it could be a 1:1 correlation to a hardware input device, which would be ok), the only option is to test for recurring behaviour. If you’re always pressing the same buttons in the same order, harvest the same nodes, do the exact same thing over and over, then it’s likely that you’re a bot. Timings play a big part in this, too.

If you’re always clicking the exact same pixel in order to activate an item, then you’re likely a bot.
If you’re clicking every pixel of an icon with the same probability, then you’re likely a slightly better written bot.
If your clicks cumulate at a specific area of an icon, then you’re likely human. Or a kitten well written bot.

If you’re using the same abilities with the same timing, then you’re likely a bot.
If you’re using the same abilities with a slightly varying timing, then you’re likely a speedrunner. Or a better written bot. No difference here. ;D
If you’re using varying abilities and sometimes mess up, then you’re likely human.

If you’re active 24/7 then you’re either a bot or sharing an account. Both are in violation of the ToS.

Now I wonder whether ANet records our behaviour in order to find bots or just messages people who get reported to see if they react.

I don’t think they will tell you as bot/macro detection partially relies on the bot writers not having the details needed to set up avoidance measures.

Theres no way of detecting a Macroed keyboard provided thats its one of the smarter keyboards that requires no 3rd party sw to be running on the computer.
Bot detection programs have no ability to detect hardware external to the computer.

Donari.5237:

I don’t think they will tell you as bot/macro detection partially relies on the bot writers not having the details needed to set up avoidance measures.

I think the same thing, I just thought I’d give it a go since it was on my mind!

They won’t say, for very obvious reasons. If that information ended up in the hands of botters/macro users, it would be easier for them to avoid detection.

Ellieanna.5027:

They won’t say, for very obvious reasons. If that information ended up in the hands of botters/macro users, it would be easier for them to avoid detection.

Agreed.

I bet the same people who write bot macros also write bot macro detection software. It’d make sense, financially.

Don’t use macros. Music ones are ok though.