Taking Action Against Cheaters in ESO

ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Today, we made our first major strike against those who choose to cheat in ESO, permanently banning thousands. This is only the beginning of our ongoing efforts to keep the game free from botters, speed hackers, and gold spammers. We want to thank everyone who has sent in-game reports about these individuals in ESO—your reports helped us identify many of the accounts we banned today. Please continue to report any botters, gold spammers, and speed hackers you see in-game, and we’ll continue our efforts to keep them out of Tamriel.

RunAway

First.

Edit - This is good news.

Willow

Woot! Thank you for the info and keep it up!

jamesharv2005ub17_ESO

Awesome.

SuperScrubby

I'm hoping this is good news since I haven't logged in today. I hope nobody reported me for boss farming since people have been overzealous lately....

Mempomaniac

SuperScrubby wrote: »

I'm hoping this is good news since I haven't logged in today. I hope nobody reported me for boss farming since people have been overzealous lately....

I wouldn't fret too much over it. Generally*, getting a complaint is the beginning of an investigative process, not the end of it. Reps will also look at the metrics of your account and compare the data to the norm; if they don't find some sort of wierd spike indicating illegal activity (mined lots of nodes in just a few minutes, ludicrous amounts of mail or chat spam, evidence of teleport or speed hacks, etc.), they'll probably just flag it as a false positive and go on.

Mind you, you don't HAVE to be a hacker or a botter to get banned; run-of-the-mill jerks will get the hammer, too. It just takes longer.

*Obv this is based on my experiences in other games, but it's a good bet ESO will work this way too.

IronMaiden_burnout

Great to see that you are all looking into this. Today I was very sad to see so many just trying to ruin the game with these hacks. I reported 3 and took a video of one in action.

Attorneyatlawl

Hoping this means a liiiiiitle less gold spam and other plagues .

Eris

I just don't see the point of spending $15/mo to run a script.

Jenasy

awesome

SuperJChat

Awesome @ZOS_JessicaFolsom‌! I definitely sent in a report or two myself ;P
I'm glad to see there are steps being taken to assure the experience is fair and fun for all players and that you guys are keeping cheaters away

jdkorreckpreub18_ESO

Eris wrote: »

I just don't see the point of spending $15/mo to run a script.

It's rmt that usually do it, not usually common users.

Turelus

Good to hear, I hope the team is making progress in fixes to stop the issues as well as just moving forward with bans.

rirri

I am happy to see that action is being taken.

However, my husband's account was erroneously banned for gold spamming. He frequently reported gold spammers - perhaps there is a misunderstanding there. After the 'review' they informed him his ban is permanent.

In the push to address in-game problems, there will be mistakes. I'm sure everyone is extraordinarily busy - launch is such a difficult time.

But to have the review turn out to be inadequate? What is the point of the review if it isn't done properly (as must have been the case). Maybe the people with this job simply aren't given enough time to do it right in these current conditions.

It's sad. He really enjoyed this game. He even took some days off of work to play (including the day he tried logging in only to discover his account was frozen).

TwistedRiddlesb14_ESO

rirri wrote: »

I am happy to see that action is being taken.

However, my husband's account was erroneously banned for gold spamming. He frequently reported gold spammers - perhaps there is a misunderstanding there. After the 'review' they informed him his ban is permanent.

In the push to address in-game problems, there will be mistakes. I'm sure everyone is extraordinarily busy - launch is such a difficult time.

But to have the review turn out to be inadequate? What is the point of the review if it isn't done properly (as must have been the case). Maybe the people with this job simply aren't given enough time to do it right in these current conditions.

It's sad. He really enjoyed this game. He even took some days off of work to play (including the day he tried logging in only to discover his account was frozen).

That is extremely unfortunate and disheartening and scary. What if it hadn't been now? What if it had been 6 months from now or 2 years from now? or 5 years from now when they did that? They need to get their act together if they are erroneously banning legitimate accounts permanently. This makes me very nervous about continuing to play and also makes me want to NOT report gold farmers, in case I somehow get filtered into the wrong pile.

Twicebit

Thank you.

TwistedRiddlesb14_ESO

By the way, rirri, has your husband tried to appeal the ban? There is a process for an appeal. I don't know what it takes to appeal it, but it seems like if he is diligent enough he must be able to get them to unban him. Please let us know how this turns out as this is a major customer support concern. If someone innocent can get banned from the game permanently, I, for one, am not sure I want to continue to dedicate time and money to this game.

brandonedward

Mempomaniac wrote: »

I wouldn't fret too much over it. Generally*, getting a complaint is the beginning of an investigative process, not the end of it.

Say that to a bunch of people who were banned "permanently" simply by just trading gold to their friends, guildies, and even people on the same IP address (20k-40k+), along with some that just put gold into their shared bank, then took it out with an alt, only to be banned.

I'm afraid to even trade now, or even put gold into my bank... or to have it on me... or to even play!

TwistedRiddlesb14_ESO

brandonedward wrote: »

Mempomaniac wrote: »

I wouldn't fret too much over it. Generally*, getting a complaint is the beginning of an investigative process, not the end of it.

Say that to a bunch of people who were banned "permanently" simply by just trading gold to their friends, guildies, and even people on the same IP address (20k-40k+), along with some that just put gold into their shared bank, then took it out with an alt, only to be banned.

I'm afraid to even trade now, or even put gold into my bank... or to have it on me... or to even play!

I really hope this gets resolved. This is like the biggest customer service mistake I have ever seen in an MMO.

Anex

This is overall good news and a step in the right direction. However, I am very concerned and feel very much for those who were erroneously banned. I hope that gets resolved ASAP!

Duccea

TwistedRiddlesb14_ESO wrote: »

brandonedward wrote: »

Mempomaniac wrote: »

I wouldn't fret too much over it. Generally*, getting a complaint is the beginning of an investigative process, not the end of it.

Say that to a bunch of people who were banned "permanently" simply by just trading gold to their friends, guildies, and even people on the same IP address (20k-40k+), along with some that just put gold into their shared bank, then took it out with an alt, only to be banned.

I'm afraid to even trade now, or even put gold into my bank... or to have it on me... or to even play!

I really hope this gets resolved. This is like the biggest customer service mistake I have ever seen in an MMO.

I agree. From what I can tell from talking to friends and guildmates, there is a lot of insecurity right now. Whether those people reporting to be innocently banned are telling the truth or not, it has lead to people not being sure about what is allowed and what not. As in: Can we give money we earned while adventuring to guildmates and friends in need without having to fear to get flagged as a gold seller?
Some kind of official statement to reassure people would be in order.

On a more positve note, I congratulate ZOS for taking quick and harsh action against those who actually do deserve to get banned for cheating. It is good to hear that action is being taken against gold sellers and botters. Keep it up!

jdkorreckpreub18_ESO

Duccea wrote: »

TwistedRiddlesb14_ESO wrote: »

brandonedward wrote: »

Mempomaniac wrote: »

I wouldn't fret too much over it. Generally*, getting a complaint is the beginning of an investigative process, not the end of it.

Say that to a bunch of people who were banned "permanently" simply by just trading gold to their friends, guildies, and even people on the same IP address (20k-40k+), along with some that just put gold into their shared bank, then took it out with an alt, only to be banned.

I'm afraid to even trade now, or even put gold into my bank... or to have it on me... or to even play!

I really hope this gets resolved. This is like the biggest customer service mistake I have ever seen in an MMO.

I agree. From what I can tell from talking to friends and guildmates, there is a lot of insecurity right now. Whether those people reporting to be innocently banned are telling the truth or not, it has lead to people not being sure about what is allowed and what not. As in: Can we give money we earned while adventuring to guildmates and friends in need without having to fear to get flagged as a gold seller?
Some kind of official statement to reassure people would be in order.

On a more positve note, I congratulate ZOS for taking quick and harsh action against those who actually do deserve to get banned for cheating. It is good to hear that action is being taken against gold sellers and botters. Keep it up!

Yup, I'm cynical enough to believe that ZOS is screwing up with them, and untrusting enough to believe that everyone claiming to be innocent is lying. Leaves me feeling rather confused about what is actually acceptable to them. Note if some things are unacceptable that some claim to have been banned for, it will make me question whether to continue subbing.

Rage_Frost

Great News!

And anyone trading 40k+ in gold should have there Account looked at this point in the game. Heck I been buying bank upgrades and Inv Upgrades and with Repair Bills just out right silly in this game I'm lucky to make anything lol...

Hope they banned all the Invisible Node Jumping d bags also. I had this happen to me so many times it just silly. And the funny thing is they have that monkey out which you can see... but you never see them. And no its not lag.

Also A note on cheaters they will always and I mean always deny it go to the forums and make some sad post about It to stir the pot.. To make weak people think Oh no if I trade gold I get banned...If I send mail I will get banned...

Come on Folks do not fall for this Troll Trap.
Wish these Dev's would respond to some of these folks with oh yeah you were banned and I know deep down they want to so bad. But they cant

(On a side not with the guild AH set up where does all that gold go to for sales it not going into a Guild Bank that's for sure... I should know I run a Guild with about 400 people in it and I don't see nothing going into the guild coffers) now that to me is a gold sink and a pricy one at that.

ragamerb16_ESO

I never bar human error but... After seeing and actively reporting lots of bots on different MMOs, how bold they have become on ESO (After just a couple of days of discreet operation... You could see them happily "working" in plain sight on highly populated areas), I rarely believe "emotional" stories about how someone got his/her account banned.

The only doubt that I could apply to ESO ATM is related to the bank bug, that somehow seems to allow some player info to be messed up with others... If this is also affecting logging (Something extremely unlikely as all ppl I have met 1st hand affected by this bug have recovered their items in some form or another... There are reports on forums still... But such a frustating problem can trigger some initial reactions that are rarely later edited after CS fixes the problem) and your info is messed up with someone that's involved into cheating... Then you may become a collateral victim. If this is the case, I hope that by manually asking for an appeal AFTER the bank bug is fixed will help ppl unjustly banned...

...But when I see posts starting by "thousands of ppl unjustly banned"... When the Devs themselves are meassuring the "ban operation" in the same order of magnitude... Yeah... Suuuuuuure... You were "unfairly" banned.

Keep up the good work... But I hope they are also working hard on ironing their Serverside code flaws that allow Bots to behave in this ways... Because some of the "powers" I have seen in use have an, lets just say, appeal when applied to other aspects of gameplay that aren't linked with Economy.

SypherDiass

I WILL BELIEVE YOU HAVE BANNED THOUSANDS WHEN GUILD MATES NO LONGER COMPLAIN ABOUT GOLD SELLERS I DONT SEE COS I HAVE ALRDY IGNORED THEM ....

IS IT OK THAT THEY ARE NOW HARRASSING US BY MAIL WITH THE GOLD SELLING ? I DONT CARE IF YOU BAN ME , THE GAME IS RAPIDLY LOSING ITS APPEAL TO ME WITH ALL THE TIME I HAVE TO SPEND REPORTING AND IGNORING AND NOT SEEING ANY SIGN OF THE 'THOUSANDS' YOU SAY YOU HAVE BANNED , OR IF YOU HAVE BANNED THOUSANDS , TRY MOVING OFF THE US SERVER AND START BANNING SOME OF THE EU SERVER ....

HERE ARE TWO IMAGES THAT I LOADED IN TO THIS MORNING WHEN I MADE A NEW CHARACTER ....


WHERE IS MY IMAGE UPLOADING OPTION GONE ?

I LOADED AN IMAGE INTO MY LAST POST THAT YOU DELETED ? BEFORE YOU REDIRECTED ME HERE ? WTF IS GOING ON ?

DO YOU EVEN WANT OUR HELP OR WHAT ?

SypherDiass

SEEING AS I CANT SHOW YOU WHAT THE SENT ME I WILL GIVE THEIR NAMES , AS I SAID , I DONT CARE IF YOU BAN ME , I AM NOT ENJOYING THIS ANYWAY. WHAT SORT OF GAME IS IT WHERE YOU SPEND MORE TIME TRYING TO SORT PROBLEMS OUT THAN ACTUALLY PLAYING.......

Pixie123

Duccea wrote: »

TwistedRiddlesb14_ESO wrote: »

brandonedward wrote: »

Mempomaniac wrote: »

I wouldn't fret too much over it. Generally*, getting a complaint is the beginning of an investigative process, not the end of it.

Say that to a bunch of people who were banned "permanently" simply by just trading gold to their friends, guildies, and even people on the same IP address (20k-40k+), along with some that just put gold into their shared bank, then took it out with an alt, only to be banned.

I'm afraid to even trade now, or even put gold into my bank... or to have it on me... or to even play!

I really hope this gets resolved. This is like the biggest customer service mistake I have ever seen in an MMO.

I agree. From what I can tell from talking to friends and guildmates, there is a lot of insecurity right now. Whether those people reporting to be innocently banned are telling the truth or not, it has lead to people not being sure about what is allowed and what not. As in: Can we give money we earned while adventuring to guildmates and friends in need without having to fear to get flagged as a gold seller?
Some kind of official statement to reassure people would be in order.

On a more positve note, I congratulate ZOS for taking quick and harsh action against those who actually do deserve to get banned for cheating. It is good to hear that action is being taken against gold sellers and botters. Keep it up!

So much this i agree its great to hear they are cracking down but in with the crowd feeling uneasy and scared to hear so many seemingly innocent people have been banned. I know not every one of the ppl raging will be entireley innocent but a few people from what ive read have had their ban overturned so at least a few people have been caught up in a mix up. An official statement to what we can do and cant do would be nice im scared to withdraw stuff from my own bank and send stuff i dont need to my friend atm lol ill admit im more paranoid than most tho lol

Taffette

Great news Being one who assiduously reports these nuisances I'm glad to see them go. (although having read some of the posts above, I'm now hoping I won't be banned in error too )

KerinKor

This news would be better if it weren't for the several blatant 'false positives' that have happened, one mentioned in this thread, another concerning a boy-friend giving his girl-friend some gold to buy a horse several days ago, where the perma-ban has NOT been reversed.

So, these figures of thousands of accounts clearly include collateral damage Zeniman don't seem interested in fixing

Corithna

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom,

Tnx for all the hard work. There has definitely been a noticeable drop in activity. I was discussing this with family members earlier long prior to seeing this post.

For those worried about transferring cash to your alts via your in game bank there is no need to worry about this as it is not a viable means of sending gold to another player. Only your account has access to your shared bank gold. Guild banks have only the ability to allow the transfer of items, not gold.

Also of note here is that what some have reported in this thread as supposed powers that allow players to hide are in fact simply coincidental game errors most usually due to the local machine lagging behind the workload being pumped out by the game engine. And while it's fine to set your video settings as high as your frame rates will allow, it's also good to realize that fps is not the only measure of performance and that very odd behavior can occur when you push your machine too far. How do I know this? I'm also one of those people who like to push the game to look as beautiful as it can. But I also have to recognize that by doing so it can take my system a long time to get around to rendering everything, and everyone around me.

savinel

Good job, Zenimax. Keep up the good work!