Bots - am I the only one who does not feel affected?

Emmeraldasb14_ESO

OK.... I am currently in Windhelm. I have just stood in front of the wayshrine and watched a constant steam of level 2 bots run out for almost 10 minutes. Yes, trying to play around a large number..... in excess of 20,maybe even 50, or more at a time does degrade the quality of my play time. I could not complete my quest line because they were mobbing the quest item spots.
I have run into the crafting node army, that triggers endless and constant node gathering for them but I can't get anywhere close to one in an entire area. I am a crafter so that impacts me from gathering materials for my level.
Knowing that I will never get any boss loot and have to fight to even complete a solo dungeon is disheartening as I play a game to enjoy it and to have a fair share at obtaining a special item. Having a cluster of bots with timers that kill the boss before I can even get a hit on it ruins the game a bit for me.
I do not appreciate reading about the condescending attitude of those of you who are "above" being bothered by bots. Bots are a problem to the game as a whole. They discourage real players. This is a risk for the company as if the non-bots tire of the competition and leave for greener pastures.Then nothing will be left but bots. Gaming is a volatile business, new ones come out all the time. It is a lot easier to have a great start up than to have a long run. I hope the bot situation gets fixed before it sours the game.

Chirru

Elirienne wrote: »

So since it looks like the majority of players are actually not that impacted by bots, why is the forum full of crying topics? My understanding from responses is it's mainly for low lvl craftmaterials - but not everyone crafts - and for some low level dungeon bosses. To me this still doesn't sound like the end of the world..

once again, i am not advocating botting, quite the contrary. Just still not getting what this insane overreaction is all about.

The following is my opinion. Yes, I have to state this clearly for else I will get flamed for eternity.

No, this is not an insane overreaction to an imaginary problem. It is quite real.

Since the game runs several instances it is quite possible to end up in an instance that is relative free of Bots, or, as it happened several times to me, ending up in an instance that was overrun by bots to such a decree that it effected my personal enjoyment in playing the game. Yes, this is very subjective.

However, what is not subjective are the many recorded videos clearly showing the problem. What also is not subjective is the effect that Bot-ting and gold selling has on the perception people hold about the Game. If this game gets negative reviews because of the Bot-problem then this is a real effect and not an imaginary one, insane overreact or not, it does not matter any longer in such a case.

Another problem not subjective is the Cheaters buying gold from outside the game economy with real currency. This effects PvP greatly. All this might not effect you personally, so you think, however, please accept the fact that other people hold a different opinion on this subject.

Also be aware that it effects you on levels you do not directly discern. One example would be the subtle changes to the looting system being made by the game developers so as to protect real life commercial consideration. ZOE really does not like it if people who have not contributed to the game's creation benefit financially from the game trough exploiting weaknesses.

As for people who absolutely deny there is a problem... well, my opinion is that these people actively benefit from buying gold with real currency. If this source is cut off they indeed will suffer loss of their in-game superiority.

Again, there is a fair chance that people writing in this forum that there is not a Bot and gold-seller problem in fact are the very same people who benefit from the bot-runners and gold sellers. Such people plain and simply Cheat, not that they would care because it is in their very nature to exploit where they can get away without a paying penalty.

However, be aware that if being caught the penalty is suspension of the Game account.

Have a nice day...ah, before I forget...if the bots bother you...log out and log in until you end up in an instance where there are few of these bothersome things.

katfiveknivesub17_ESO

Elirienne wrote: »

So since it looks like the majority of players are actually not that impacted by bots, why is the forum full of crying topics?

How do you figure this? From this one thread? You need numbers to make a claim like this. I'm not sure it's even possible to determine how many are bothered and how many are not without an actual in-game poll of players, and that won't happen.

Forum data does not equal valid statistical data since the information obtained here is presented voluntarily and not a random poll of all players.

Reenlister

Elirienne wrote: »

@TetsuMaru, lol. Wonder when this will stop/normalise. Getting a bit bored with the "bot" crying. Actually, getting a bit bored with the "content too hard, content too easy, there are bots everywhere", "not enough bag space", "nerf vampires" "nerf everything" "why cant i do solo quests in a group" "why isn't there a nameplate" crying, too

I just wanted to repeat that....

Elirienne

@katfiveknivesub17_ESO err, yes, I opened this thread to see people's opinions as I was genuinely wondering. And I saw the opinion of those who wanted to share. Neither do I want, nor am I able to do a larger scale, more representative research. I am building on what I see here. You're probably right that this is not necessarily representative, but on what is, you are guessing, just like I do. I am working with what I have here....

@Chirru - it's incredible how some people (in this instance, you) see even the most innocent question as a challenge or a threat. I said many times that I was genuinely wondering how (if) it was impacting other players for real, and in what way, because I felt it wasn't impacting me. Some people responded (you included) and demonstrated how. I am still unaffected, I am still against cheating, but a bit wiser. Yet, a lot of people also actually agree with me and say it's not affecting them. Which was really the point of the discussion - not to attak thoswho fight against bots, but just to gather views. Lower your weapons - they're not needed here. Keep them for the daedra.

dennissomb16_ESO

The bots/hackers are a serious problem, but are most visible to new players and Alts as they have not arrived in the same huge numbers in veteran areas yet (but with the lack of action against them they will be there). They do absolutely effect players

hacker bots that are teleporting underground making resource gathering a hassle for new players, making crafting a hassle. Dominating dungeons which hurt xp, gathering, and gold for newer players.

Volume of bots effecting actual questing has become an issue. I switched off to an alt for a break in stormhaven about a week ago and could not do 2 quests because there was a stream of about 30 bots teleporting to every spawn in the area.

On top of that is the pure annoyance factor, from non stop gold spamming in zones (having to turn off zone chat kills any sense of community for new players), opening my mail to see that 4 out of 5 mails are from gold spammers, and it goes on

And for the people who have their heads in the sand about bots because "they have not been effected", if it effects the population of the game, then it effects the ability for ESO to make more money, which effects everyone,

Knottypine

Elirienne wrote: »

once again, i am not advocating botting, quite the contrary. Just still not getting what this insane overreaction is all about.

I wouldn't call it overreacting, it's a real problem that is diminishing many players experiences. Maybe not yours, however many are being affected by it. Also updates to the game have altered the mechanics further diminishing the player experience.

Nox_Aeterna

Im a vet7 mate , bots are also not a problem to me.

But i understand that they apparently are farming in Coldharbour already , which means they are a problem to all the players from 1 to 50.

So while they dont get in my way at all , i understand why so many are frustrated about it.

Worstluck

My alt is almost finished with Coldharbour and I cannot wait. Go to that zone, around 9-10PM PST, you will see nothing but bots, in the solo dungeons, killing quest mobs in the open world, spammers, you name it. This all goes away once you get to veteran areas, because they haven't figured out how to exploit the final quests. Tons of VR1 bots in Coldharbour. Easy to spot because they all have names like 'makebag', 'cooldude' or 'phao xin', don't own mounts, never sheathe their weapon, make insane 180 degree turns, have no pvp rank or title, etc. There was one dungeon, Grotto of Depravity I think in Coldharbour, that was infested with them. I couldn't finish the dungeon, just got my skyshard and ran out of there in disgust.

When I leveled my first character, I didn't see any bots either. I was out of the 1-50 zones pretty fast and like I said, there are none in the vr zones. Try making an alt and you will see them...

PVT_Parts

It's the VR lvl you have. We have outleveled the bots and thus don't see them around. I just went back to shadowfen to do some missing quests and saw my first bot train, CHOO CHOO, in person. They didn't stop me from questing or anything.

Apophiss

katfiveknivesub17_ESO wrote: »

What I would like to see right away is an easy way to report them. For example, right click on their toon, report.

THIS:
http://www.esoui.com/downloads/info181-FastReport.html

I bound it to my F2, this is an awesome Addon.

Laughter Song

The Bots are absolutely out of CONTROL!

Why does Zenimax sanction this?

I have witnessed in all three factions 30 to 40 bots at one time in either a small area saturated with gathering nodes or entering and leaving Way-Shrines.

Once in Bethnikh there were up to 60 or so bots- 4 wide, 5 deep slamming into each other, getting caught on rocks, bridges... you name it.

I could not find one single node of jute! How is a player who enjoys crafting suppose to gather materials?

And this is not even the public dungeons that can have up to 5 or so bots repeatedly farming bosses/mini bosses finishing your dungeon quests for you.

What is truly sad is that recently the botters have begun to Speed & Fly hack as well as farm between the game's graphic layers - underground. Stand outside of Eagle's Brook Wayshrine in Glenumbra, wait a minute or so and a player can view as many as 30 flying bots zooming by so fast it is an eerie mind blowing site!

*I am in the process of creating a nice video of how bad the flying - speed hacking bots have gotten and will upload it when completed.*


They fly above the air then hover over a node, sink down below the landscape and snatch up the node right in front of you.

Sadder still is the exact same bots are out there destroying game immersion and the ability to farm materials - Every Single Day - almost every hour of the day!

I have reported via ticket numerous times and directly to GM Keening (when he is online) the names of these particular Bots: Oopta, Pone, Youscalli, joeyujnb, agghff and a few others, yet here they are again day after day.

I have continued to report bots daily. I am up to ticket 237! I have phoned Zenimax 4 times now about this issue.

This is Not my job. I want to stop but I get soooo frustrated & angry when some speed hacking bott from H E Double Hockey Stix repeatedly ninja's a node from right in front of m that at the very least submitting a report is some way to vent my frustration - now if Zenimax would only listen and begin to IP ban these bots!

Where the heck are the GMs? Why do they only log on once a week to do a courtesy bot hunt?

I can understand that ESO was launched many months too soon, that it is still in it's Vanilla phase - learning curve but in my opinion there is no excuse for this.

I can handle the first year bugs; I can handle DCing every 30 minutes; what I won't tolerate is the lack of respect directed towards players that Zenimax is displaying because they refuse to aggressively attack this situation by posting GMs in every heavily farmed area.

Until IP protocols can be worked through, until detection software can be created and implemented to prevent LUA code Hackers from Speed/Fly hacking & Underground hacking through Launch, and/or until Zenimax can effectively take legal action as Blizzard has/does, then Zenimax needs to hire enough GMs to cover the areas worst hit 24/7.

Zenimax is a multi-billion dollar company - it's not like they can't afford to hire enough GMs!

Honestly it is beginning to appear that not only does Zenimax sanction botting but might be behind it as a way to generate revenue.

I ... We paid far too much for this game to be treated with such disrespect.

If this bot situation is not in control within approximately a months time, I may be done with this game.

*one more thought* try mentioning the severity of the bot situation in Zone chat or reply to an all ready existing conversation and you are almost always be verbally accosted by a bunch of ignorant ESFanboys with little to know MMO experience who either have no clue but play the expert anyway or find comfort in attacking the one bringing up the subject but maintain a blind eye to the situation.

Eso is like Jesus; it is Perfect.
___________________________________________________________________________

(Edited for type Os- I am not perfect.)

Lilth

I haven't been affected by the bot situation once I hit level 30ish. In the Vet zones I haven't seen any. It could be a lot worse in the early levels now and I leveled out of those zones before it got as bad as it is.

The in game mail spam I get doesn't really bother me I just hit the delete button.
I ignore the spam in chat for the most part and if I feel like it I report the spammer.

Something needs to get done to drastically limit the bots and I hope Zenimax can get a grip on it soon.

WhimsyDragon

I've only encountered them in Tamriel maybe 3x through V1 and they honestly had no apparent impact on my gameplay. So I agree that this may be blown out of proportion a bit. That said, I still don't want them around of course, possibly throwing off the economy and whatnot.

Same goes for spammer emails. I see one, mild annoyance, delete, don't think about it. Certainly not ruining my game. Spammers in chat, however, are much more annoying, but I've been seeing far less. I do have a couple spam-blocking add ons, but even so, I'm seeing less than a couple weeks back.

Nox_Aeterna

Hum , i think i will visit low lvl areas to check this out.

I wonder if they will get the bots to vet 10 before zen stops them , that would actually amaze more than get me pissed.

SaibotLiu

The reason why people are upset about it? Its human nature. Take the great home run race of 1998. Everyone knew McGwire and Sosa were juicing, but we were all too amazed at what was being accomplished to bring it up. Now had they put a commercial on TV of them injecting themselves with anabolic steroids before a lifting session, people would've suddenly labeled their heroes cowards and frauds on the spot.

The bots rub it in peoples face the way they're so outlandishly running around in massive groups. Its a constant reminder that people are tarnishing a "pure" game, a competitive game. You really dont get it, or just being deliberately obtuse?

AngryWolf

For the most part, it doesn't affect me. The spam emails and zone posts get to me more. I report them and hope they are doing something about it. The one time it does get annoying is when you enter a dungeon and a string of 4 or 5 of them are just doing laps, killing and looting everything. While I get that this can't be 100% curtailed, it is way more than norm which makes me wonder why the game is that easy to exploit. It would be nice if we heard something from time to time from Bethesda/Zenimax on the subject. I assume they are actively looking at it, but maybe not. It sort of ties in with their plan of not having a world bank/economy leaving people to pay through the nose for things. So maybe it's not a big issue with them.

Mefit

I am a crafter and PvEer ......................yes they effect my game .
I PvP they are not there , ooh wouldn't that be a blast ?

So without saying anything that will get me a ban , I will just say just because you do not care , or choose not to care , does not mean we all live by your standards.

I have a Vet main and now working on a Alt , if it was not for my main being able to go through areas race with this bots that speed through the ground eating up all the Gatherables , I honestly think it would take a bit to get the amount of mats I need to constantly keep my Alt up to date like I want him .

I do not mind racing with "Players" its a game after all , its suppose to be work and competition , but Goldsellers suddenly make it Pay 2 Win .

Now its not that bad , who knows how bad it will get . It is getting worse no doubt.

Vanathi

Gold sellers are advertising selling vet mats in chat in Glenumbra NA server. So, yes, there are now vet bots

Synfaer

Bots have irritated me a few times, saved my butt a couple of times and made me laugh on the odd occasion. In fact i would say that 99.8% of my ESO experience has been a bot free experience, but I am sad to say I also posted a thread when I was irritated about the lack of available resources in a particular area.
I think I have been more annoyed over the behavior of other 'real' people in the game rather than the bots. I wouldn't mind if some of those people were replaced by bots or just euthanized to reduce the suffering of others.

Wolfborn

Elirienne wrote: »

Let me start by saying - botting is idiotic and must be stopped. I am also strongly against any kind of cheating and gold selling.

But reading the forums, every other topic seems to be about bots and how they make your life hell. I am currently v5 and had my fair share of playing, but they never caused me any problems. I am not even sure that I recognise them as such. Either they are farming when I am offline, or farming WHERE I am not, but I do not feel affected at all.

They are not stopping me from doing quests. I have never once had to wait for dungeon bosses (well bear in mind that sub 30 I was so overwhelmed by the game that missed most public/solo dungeons...). They really are not impacting me.

Which makes me genuinely wonder, why are they such a big headache for other players.

ps - I do not pvp, maybe that's it..?

My main is V4. Being I did head start i was fortunate to level up and really be in front of the bot curve so my gaming was completley uneffected by them. I rolled a alt last night ( DC side).

You are missing the big picture though. When i rolled my alt and started on the noobie island, i saw bots flying, I saw bots teleporting to nodes, I saw bots under ground and harvesting nodes from beneath them. If I was a new player witnessing this I would not resub. I would demand my money back and leave as why would i invest my entertainment time on a game so obviously broken. Thats the damage the bots do, its not the gold, its not the resources, its the message they say by being so prevalent. They tell a new player that Zenimax has no control of there own game and its a game easily to be exploited.

Its a shame, as thats not a true message. I have subed for 6 months because the game is fantastic with so much potential, particularly when you do veteran content- dungeons etc. But I can see new players, which are the life blood not getting a chance to experience the true game because of the bots.

Arsenic_Touch

You may not feel affected but you are through nerfs and gameplay changes that are meant to combat the bots but ultimately end up only hurting the players (motif/recipe nerf, boss loot nerf, et cetera) and it will affect you when the market is flooded with items because even though there's no central AH there is a clear market on what is an acceptable price for items. So it's extremely short sighted to say they don't affect you.

There's also the treasure chests and plant/ore nodes that vanish before your eyes, there's the waiting on long respawns for bosses and having mobs spawn on top of your head, empty dungeons and bot trains ruining quests when you have to kill certain mobs.

Vendersleigh

You are apparently not the only one but though it may not be a problem at Vet levels, it is very much a problem at low levels.

I very much like this game and have been praising it a lot but these past 3 days have been hellish in Glenumbra. For example, I cannot progress in Enchanting because almost every Aspect Rune is hoovered up before I get there. I see them and many other resources disappear before my eyes, often with a hint of a name for a second too short to click on or a swoop in from the air or below.
Then there are the endless trains of people being autolevelled, for example on the zombies round Lion Guard Wayshrine, some with "real" names so some people are definitely employing these services. In addition, after a break when there were few in dungeons, they have returned there also.

I have paid for six months because at the start I was enjoying myself so much but now I can foresee not renewing if this bot problem is not brought under control.

Please do not take the following as a personal attack on you unless the cap fits:
Just because someone does not see a problem in their vicinity, does not mean it does not exist. And I have to add that suspicion lingers on those at high levels early with a lot of money, so perhaps it is in the interest of some of them to claim there is no problem.

frwinters_ESO

Elirienne wrote: »

Let me start by saying - botting is idiotic and must be stopped. I am also strongly against any kind of cheating and gold selling.

But reading the forums, every other topic seems to be about bots and how they make your life hell. I am currently v5 and had my fair share of playing, but they never caused me any problems. I am not even sure that I recognise them as such. Either they are farming when I am offline, or farming WHERE I am not, but I do not feel affected at all.

They are not stopping me from doing quests. I have never once had to wait for dungeon bosses (well bear in mind that sub 30 I was so overwhelmed by the game that missed most public/solo dungeons...). They really are not impacting me.

Which makes me genuinely wonder, why are they such a big headache for other players.

ps - I do not pvp, maybe that's it..?

I think its more for people who craft. They are stealing all the nodes faster then they respawn. I do not craft so the bots usually don't bother me none. Since there is no global auction house there isnt to much exploiting of goods out there, just them selling junk for straight gold.

Elirienne

@Vendersleigh, I don't think anyone here is saying that there is no problem. What I am definitely saying though is that for me, it isn't nearly as big a problem as you'd think from the forum and that there are much, MUCH bigger issues, as I am yet to come across a single bot in game (or I may have seen them just not recognise them). What prompted me to ask the question is that every other thread was about bots. And actually if you read through the thread, the distribution of people who say they are or they are not affected is about half an half. Once again (it does seem that I have to repeat myself many times for one point to get across, so here goes) - of course botting should not be allowed and should be combated. The gold seller emails do annoy me, I must admit. But look at the reaction above "Bots are OUT OF CONTROL", big capitals, upset player.... that in my book, even after reading everyone's opinions, is still a major overreaction.

Then again, it might just because of my v level, as some said above.

@Mefit, I disagree that gold sellers make this game pay to win. One thing I love about this game is that you cannot make it pay to win! Lots of gold won't yield you anything - nice gear drops on its own, not needed to spend stupid amount of gold. There are no huge upgrades that cost hundreds of thousands of gold, as far as I know - one thing I appreciate is that gold is easy to come by just by questing and selling drops, and not that easy to spend, as everything you reasonably need, does really drop. I love this. But makes me wonder who actually buys their gold and why... the gold one needs for progression is certainly available to everyone just by playing.

Elirienne

frwinters_ESO wrote: »

I think its more for people who craft. They are stealing all the nodes faster then they respawn. I do not craft so the bots usually don't bother me none. Since there is no global auction house there isnt to much exploiting of goods out there, just them selling junk for straight gold.

I craft, but get my mats only through decon. Too lazy to collect ore.
Excellent point about the AH, another reason why I think there should not be one.

Ulalume

Elirienne wrote: »

I am not even sure that I recognise them as such. Either they are farming when I am offline, or farming WHERE I am not, but I do not feel affected at all.

Good for you. Once you enter a dungeon where an army of xklaralrkla templars kills every single mob, you may feel differently. Or when the harvesting bot teleports to the node you were about to gather and then teleports to the next one, always faster than you'll ever be.

I spend more time reporting bots every day than it takes to manage my inventory.

Daethz

I don't feel effected, there's legions of bots in every mmo, expecting differently is insanity.

Ohioastro

The dungeons *do not* have bots in them any more with the timer changes. Are the people claiming evidence to the contrary talking about current experience, or are they simply projecting things at any point in the past onto the present?

If they prevent any low level crafter from doing anything, why have I been able to always get crafting supplies for all of my characters as I've leveled them up? All three alliances, all starter zones, etc.?

There is a huge amount of exaggeration going on here. I simply don't buy it, and I'm wondering what the motivation is for it.

Knovah

It is more prevalent in the lower levels simply because there is a lot more people between the lvl 1- 50 to see them and chances to run into them are larger. ( does not mean everyone will have issue with this)
-
Not to mention bots in most other games are spread out over servers here being a mega server the bots are a bit more in your face and noticeable to some lower level players. The newbie areas and low lvls are crawling with them. Most you cannot see till they pop up from under the ground or swoop down out of the sky.

Some people can deal with it others dislike it and it is game breaking for them. Just because it is not a problem for some does not dismiss the problem for others. Up to the individual player to choose to deal or not.