Guild Wars 2

There have been quite a few people who’s accounts have been wrongfully blocked/suspended/terminated recently.

Why? I do not have the answer to that, as I’m just a mere mortal in this huge community of awesomeness and hopefully it will stop soon.

What I can tell you is, all you have to do is submit a support ticket letting them know that your account has been wrongfully terminated. My account was terminated permanently for the act or assistance of selling in game stuff for real money, which was false. My account was back up and running within 12 hours.

Let me note, I never received an e-mail back from support. So you might just have to keep randomly trying to log in to see if you’re account is back up and running.

To the mods: Sorry if this type of post shouldn’t go here, but I thought maybe some of the people that might want to rant after submitting a support ticket could read this first before filling up the forums. Just trying to keep you guys busy on other stuff and not locking all these incoming topics. <3

KEEP TRYING TO LOG IN. DON’T WAIT FOR AN ANSWER FROM SUPPORT.

I’ve been in touch with a lot of people in the past few days that have been waiting on a response from support when there account was already back up and running. If you were wrongfully banned, yes submit a ticket, but then keep trying to log in every 3-4 hours, because they most likely will fix it before they even see your support ticket.

I do not know if this will help but I figure it cannot hurt. My ticket number is 120911-007975 and I was banned for “third party addons or botting” while running a macro. I was in a dynamic event when I was sent a message by some1 I guess testing to see if I was botting. By the time I went to reply to them I was banned. The message read “hi hi” and it was by some one with 2 names I believe they both started with A. If you check this was the second time I participated in this event and between both times I was running collecting nodes and viewpoints and visiting the merchant. I was obviously not botting if I was I would have been standing perfectly for a long stretch of time ignoring the world around me when I was not in fact I switched my weapons several times and changed which direction I was firing in. This information combined with the fact that I know I was sent a message and what it said should be enough to vindicate me. If macros are this big of a problem then I will just stop using them. I have been a loyal customer and played guild wars 1 for many years with no indicents before changing to guild wars 2. Please help me!

Macor’ing does not give me an advantage, it just stops me from getting carpal tunnel mashing the same key(s) over and over to acquire new targets and attack. Macros only result in an advantage when the person leaves their keyboard and uses this to level while AFK. This was not the case for me I was at my keyboard playing the game. I have over 200 hours in this game and I use a macro during a dynamic event once bc my fingers were killing me and I get perma banned this makes no sense. It is clear that I was playing the game normally outside of using a macro to stop my constant button mashing.

I used to think that people were just whining about Anets policies, but now after having experienced their justice system myself I understand them. I was given 1 minute to respond to 1 whisper from a total stranger before I was banned. I wonder how many other people have been banned becasue they do not return whispers from total strangers. Had I known that I had 1 minute to respond or be banned I may have been faster on the keyboard but instead all I recieved is “hi hi” and was banned. Gaile could you please please please just talk to me about this? I have followed you since GW1 when you used to talk to us at the fountain at Lions Arch and I was there at your in game party when you stepped down as the community figure head for GW1. I respect you and I would really appreciate just some reply or something to this please.

4 hours with no response could I get something please?

read the rest of the forums, your not going to get a response that quick

Not really Ive seen posts get ignored for days and others get answered in an hour or less.

Still waiting on a reply. Between GW1 with my HoM and GW2 I have almost $500 and several thousand hours invested, I would really appreciate some kind of reply.

I surely hope you are wrong and Anet is not banning people when they dont respond to a PM.
That would be the most stupid thing in MMO History.

When i’m questing / farming i’m on ventrilo with friends and communicate that way.
I totally ignore pm’s from people i dont know.

Im not wrong apparently that is their method for checking if people are botting. I feel the same way I have entire chat channels where I don’t have whispers up becuase of gold salesman and people spamming me to join our guild. I was lucky enough to be in a chat channel to get whispers in this case or else I wouldnt be able to defend myself. I ignore most of my whispers and 90% of chat in general because I am on TS with my guild.

Also who in their right mind would stop in the middle of a dyanmic event and answer a whisper. If you really thought I was botting why not wait until the dyanmic event was over and see if I responded then? Or moved or did anything to make you no suspicisous. To me it looks like they are looking for reasons to ban people, all these problems with the game and they apparently have time to troll people to see if they are botting. If they really have to message you to check then they should do it over a channel that is not disablable and they should say something other then “hi hi.” But yea reply to all your whispers because apparently if you don’t you are a bot and banned.

The fact that you were macroing was enough to get you banned, as you were using 3rd party programs. The whisper that “both names started with A” most likely has absolutely nothing to do with this ban, unless the account was a official gm account.

Snido and CS from Arenanet, I have the same ban (bot or 2rd party program running suspected) from Arenanet too, and I was right in front of computer playing gw2, the situation like I did stand at a spot waiting for an event re-spawned and idle, then got banned. My ticket number is 120911-007852, and also waiting for Arenanet CS resolve this problem, thanks for your help.

in stead of in game “whispers”, can they just mail them? I did not even see any whispers when there are many people chatting in the chat window. and scroll very fast.

Cyron.1483:

The fact that you were macroing was enough to get you banned, as you were using 3rd party programs. The whisper that “both names started with A” most likely has absolutely nothing to do with this ban, unless the account was a official gm account.

My keyboard is not a third party program…Lots of keyboards have macros installed on them to make the button pushing less tiresome.

Also I know that this is the way they check for bots; it’s what they told us to do if we wanted to report a bot. We are to whisper them wait and take a screenshot of their no reply and then report the bot.

We were also told that macroing was allowed as long as we were not afk. Macroing does not give anyone an advantage it just makes pushing the buttons less tiresome. And if they are gonna ban all macroing people they may as well just ban half the population of the game.

Vinicated! My account has been restored.

Snido.4827:

Cyron.1483:

The fact that you were macroing was enough to get you banned, as you were using 3rd party programs. The whisper that “both names started with A” most likely has absolutely nothing to do with this ban, unless the account was a official gm account.

My keyboard is not a third party program…Lots of keyboards have macros installed on them to make the button pushing less tiresome.

Also I know that this is the way they check for bots; it’s what they told us to do if we wanted to report a bot. We are to whisper them wait and take a screenshot of their no reply and then report the bot.

We were also told that macroing was allowed as long as we were not afk. Macroing does not give anyone an advantage it just makes pushing the buttons less tiresome. And if they are gonna ban all macroing people they may as well just ban half the population of the game.

make sure to whisper them calling them very offensive names like we all receive, and curse words added is a must to be normal, and if they block you… its because they werent there, so report twice as much. also do like everyone else, and spend a few hours/days stalking them announcing in public how bad they are constantly rather than play yourself. People not giving you individual attention: bot, not grouping: bot, doing what you think/know firsthand a bot does: bot…. hell, if theyre in your zone just call em a bot the moment they dont talk to you.

At least that’s how everyone else “plays” gw2.

Snido.4827:

….. I was obviously not botting if I was I would have been standing perfectly for a long stretch of time ignoring the world around me when I was not in fact I switched my weapons several times and changed which direction I was firing in. This information combined with the fact that I know I was sent a message and what it said should be enough to vindicate me….

First off, I’ll state I am not botting in this game, but playing it legitimately, but as someone who has a lot of experience with bots in other mmo’s, I can say that it would be trivial to program a bot to switch weapons and change directions while firing, so I can’t see that alone being a defense. A bots limitations vary, but usually are only restricted by the design and skill of the programmer.

Sending whispers to a player and waiting for a reply, has been done many times in the past(everquest for instance) to check for botters. I’m not agreeing with the method, or saying that is what method is being used, I’m just pointing out its been done before.

Most gaming keyboards have programmable macro keys(my mouse even has them), so I hope they don’t get ban happy about those. I’ve purposely avoided using mine in this game. Those same programmable macro’s can also be set to loop, which is what I suspect is getting a lot of players banned(afk or not, the macro is at that point playing the game for them). I hope we get more insight on what they allow/disallow.

No one should be allowed to Macro. Now by letting him off you will have a kittenon of people botting and playing the “No! I was at my computer the whole time” card.

There are way way too many botters in this game, shouldn’t be so lenient.

Macroing is cheating/botting, as the person isn’t doing it themselves. Come on Anet, be more strict.

I did read your posts, but also read the account restored by the OP way before you posted about it. Chances are he doesn’t realize hes not allowed to use macros and will return to using them, believing he was vindicated because it was okay. After someone’s account is restored not likely he returned to this post to read what you’ve written. Just a thought.

Is it considered ok to make a gaming mouse macro that casts 2-3 skills?
I.E. when I click mouse button 12 it uses Signet of Rage and For Great Justice.

I’m a bit afraid to use my gaming mouse’s features, I feel you might consider it botting so I prefer to ask here and wait for answers to avoid getting surprises.

Gaile is it illegal to remote into my home computer from work and play gw2?

I am quite sure that the original person was not suspended purely because he had a macro on his keyboard to swap weapons – mind you, the ~ key does this for you, but he wanted to do something else. I am also quite sure that he/she was not suspended within 1 minute of not answering someone’s whisper. I believe that time-frame was a coinsidence.

I suspect that what happened in reality was that he was either reported for botting by someone else previously, or the game diagnostics detected something running in the background on his/her computer, and that this was the reason for the suspension. It just so happened to occur aproximately 1 minute after receiving a whisper from someone.

Gaile’s response also did not give the ok for people to go writing complex macros to handle functions. It is perfectly ok to use keyboard or mouse features to cast a skill by pressing a certain key on the keyboard or a certain button on your mouse. Personally, I have my heal skill bound secondarily to my middle mouse button (press the wheel and it casts the skill). It is also primarily bound to the #6 key on my keyboard. Doing this kind of thing is ok.

What they are saying is NOT ok is to program complex macros that will target an enemy and run through your abilities so that you can then place your character in one spot and have it just do the work while you duck off for dinner, for work, to sleep, whatever.

I have a macro. When I press a single button it types: ‘/s thanks’ then presses enter. I use it to quickly say thank you to anyone who revives my character (because I want to thank them but I am also too lazy to type it, especially mid-event).

I assume this type of macro is ok lol.

Bluestone.7106:

I have a macro. When I press a single button it types: ‘/s thanks’ then presses enter. I use it to quickly say thank you to anyone who revives my character (because I want to thank them but I am also too lazy to type it, especially mid-event).

I assume this type of macro is ok lol.

I don’t think they would purposely try to ban people for using macro’s like yours, but the bigger issue may be that you run the risk of getting hit by a false positive (like the OP did it would appear) and it may then be harder to get unbanned because you were in fact using a macro (even if it wasn’t a macro to fully automate play).

In your shoes I would probably err on the side of caution and disable any macro’s until we get a breakdown of what is and isn’t allowed in regard to macro’s.

I will run with my current setup. I could disable the keyboard software that allows the creation of macros but then I would have to put my push-to-talk key back on left-ctrl (as the same program let’s me use my keyboards extra buttons for that) and that ctrl button just gets annoying when it keeps linking skills lol.

GaileGray.9587:

[…]
Here’s the problem with macros: Set up something to make your personal screen clearer, to enhance the visuals, or to prevent Carpel Tunnel Syndrome with single-key to single-command programming — and ensure that the program does not give the user an advantage — and there’s no problem with that use.

Hello Gaile,

I come here to ask a question directly related to what you’ve written above. I asked it in a support ticket and in another post already, but didn’t get a definitive answer so far.

I have a macro running on my razer naga that spams “f” every fraction of a second while I hold that button down. I use it for mass-looting and (I admit) for gathering in such a way, that I hold that button down for the last few meters while running towards the node / tree / herb so I start gathering as soon as I’m in range.

The macro replaces me repeatedly and furiously mashing “f”, nothing more. It reduces wear on whatever button or key I assign to “f” and on my hands and fingers. It stops firing “f” as soon as I release the button.

Is such a macro allowed? What you’ve written above seems to cover that macro very well, “single-key to single-command programming”. However, it adds “repetition of command while key is held down”.

GaileGray.9587:

But does that macro allow you to set up a half-dozen commands on a single keystroke or hotkey? Does it allow you to step away from the computer to heat up a pizza, talk on the phone, or sleep, while still gaining benefits? How is that fair, when someone else not using the macro is doing those commands individually or is actively playing the game?

Well, the macro sends a half-dozen commands on a single keystroke if that keystroke lasts for 1.2 seconds, since it fires “f” every 0.2 seconds while the key is held down. It does nothing of the rest, though. As I said, it stops the moment I release the key, it does not fire a sequence of different commands, just the functionally over-loaded “f” over and over.

GaileGray.9587:

Think about it: Does using the macro make playing more pleasant or does it make it intrinsically easier?

A lot more pleasant.

GaileGray.9587:

Does using XX Macro make it possible for you to win over someone of equal skill who does not use it? It is at that point that the macro, the program, the utility, the whatever is not allowed.

No.

So, is my “loot everything NOW” – macro allowed?

Thanks for your time and (hopefully) clarification.

PS: Maybe you should have a sticky-thread where people describe what their macro does and the employee who had the last coffee and failed to make new one answers them, giving their OK or not.

“Does it allow you to step away from the computer to heat up a pizza, talk on the phone, or sleep, while still gaining benefits?”
Engineer turrets
Ranger Guard
Pretty sure I can drop my turrets go make a coffee eat a pizza and do whatever. Why isn’t this exploiting? You gave these classes the ability to do it without macro’s.
Maybe you should be doing something about them. Its exploiting the same way you just allow it.

Existing game mechanics can be exploited for prolonged player absence, but that is still exploiting and is bannable.

I have not setup any macros on my keyboard yet, but I paid $80 a piece for both my Razer keyboard and mouse, surely, as long as I am physically at my computer, you aren’t going to tell me I can’t use the extra macro buttons. The only thing I can think of doing is firing a utility soon after a weapon skill or something, the game is designed in a way that I don’t REALLY need them. But if i want to use them for 2 or even 3 commands, you wouldn’t ban me for that would you?

Test them if you are game…

Golden rule of using keyboard macros in AAA mmo’s

1 button press = 1 ingame action.

If that button press does more than 1 action then it is not allowed.

So dropping engineer turrets at penitent, shelters gate and jofast’s manually and then going afk isnt exploiting? Its not a macro, its using the turrets as they are intended but should it be considered an exploit and how is it different to botting. Would like an official response to this. Anet you guys need to give a more definitive answer.

Botting involves a third-party program of sorts to perform a series of actions without interaction from the user, thus allowing the user to go afk or just watch. Usually these programs are set to loop a series of logical actions. They can range from a very trivial AI to very specific/dynamic ones.

Afk turret/pet exp’ing, while not using an outside third-party program, is exploiting the design mechanics of the game. In this particular exploit scenario, the player is taking advantage of the turrets and pets in such a way they weren’t meant to be used, ultimately giving them an unfair advantage over other players who aren’t afk exp’ing.

Generally speaking, people have enough conscience to know when they are or aren’t doing this. The first few people banned for afk exploiting, may could plead ignorance, but when people continue to do it after others have been punished, they don’t have much of an excuse to fall back on.

Sorry turrets are working as intended or Anet would have gave them a despawn timer or distance from player. Unless there is an official response I will take it as being perfectly fine to use Anet supplied bots.

Yeah, I was just wrongfully terminated for helping gold selling. I submitted a support ticket…hopefully they realize the error.

This is really frustrating and disappointing given whenever I get a gold seller email I IMMEDIATELY report it for gold selling. Whenever I see someone in chat doing it, I IMMEDIATELY report them. Same for botting. I planned to play GW2 for the long term…I’ve even bought gems from the store (added two character slots).

I think you guys need to find a better way of detecting/managing gold selling. This makes me extremely leery of spending another dime in the gemstore given you are banning for doing nothing wrong.

Hope it gets resolved soon. Will post back to the thread if it does so others know.

Thanks for your attention Gaile – I suspect it’s not related. I was logged in earlier this morning after “dinner” (night shift fun…) for about 30m. I got auto logged off (distracted by a phone call) and encountered the disheartening login message when I tried to get back in.

Nightwatch, I was actually terminated yesterday (the 17th) at around 7:00pm EST. So…I’m not sure if me and you are in the same boat or not. It’s really odd, but just keep trying to log in every now and then and hope it fixes itself.

Thanks Tigerbite. Fingers crossed. I’ve been playing MMOs since Asheron’s Call and never even gotten a temp ban, so I’m kind of stunned!

Haha yeah. I was playing just chatting it up with my friends, trying to recruit some new faces. Minimized my game and watched a tv show, came back to a black screen and was like huh…closed and reopened and BAM You’ve been terminated! I was like O_O I’m sorry for watching lifetime!!! Let me playyyyy. I’m sorryyyy. Blame the girl!

My wife might actually be in the same situation with Nightwatch. She got an authorization e-mail tuesday morning, somebody from China had tried to get into her account. She changed her password immediately and we played for a few hours during the day.

Later during the evening we decided to level her character some more but couldn’t since her account was suspended. No explanations, no warnings, nothing. So far her support request has been forwarded twice, first to senior support person and then straight onwards to… payment if I remember correctly.

I just wish somebody would be kind enough to tell us what the heck happened.

I was perma banned yesterday (17th October) without warning.
I didn’t get an email or anything about this, is that normal?

I opened a support ticket yesterday, but haven’t gotten a response yet, is there anything more I can do?

Mobius, have you tried logging in today? Some people that have been wrongfully terminated have been able to get back in (without notice). Not sure if it was from a bug or mistake or what not.

Other than that, there is nothing more you can do. Support usually responds to tickets within 72 hours, if it takes longer than that, there is a pinned topic on this board that will further instruct you what to do. Here’s the link: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/Tickets-for-Review-3-days-and-older-merged/page/35#post466883

I have tried logging in today, but I get the same message.

Guess I’ll have to wait another 24 hours then follow the link.

Thanks for the response.

I was banned this morning also. For buying or selling gold in game. I noticed i had an email saying someone tried to log into my account very early this morning. And my password was changed… I reset all of my passwords and sent in a ticket. I really hope i can get everything worked out because I’m loving this game, and only been playing a week : (

But i will check my email and try logging in every few hours. Thank you guys for giving me some light at the end of the tunnel : )

This post found it’s way onto the second page and the next thing you know, you got about 10 more threads complaining about it. >_<

@Ghostmirror: You can check out this link about your second sentence: https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/support/account/oh-god/first#post467809

However, if someone was able to get into your account, it might actually take up to 72 hours for everything to be settled. But hopefully they didn’t and your account will be back up and running soon! Good luck! :}