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

Mablung · May 2014

Ur-Quan wrote: »

Mablung wrote: »

Ur-Quan wrote: »

Mablung wrote: »

If you are not 'affected' by bots then goody gum drops for you. Coming here and complaining about the 'complainers' makes you an idiot.

The OP wasn't complaining about anything - he was asking a question.

Read the thread. I obviously was not directing my comments at the OP.

If you're directing comments at someone other than the OP then you should quote them or refer to them directly. Otherwise everyone's going to assume that your comments are directed at the OP. That's how forums work.

Actually when directing comments at the OP, people generally reference the individual by name or, OP. My comment was for the general reading public and those who were complaining about people venting about the bot issue. Reading comprehension is not your strong point, so instead of critiquing what I have said you should stay on topic and stop trying to create drama where there is none.

Jarrax68 · May 2014

Havent read anything but the OPs post, might I suggest he rolls an alt, and go through the first couple of zones and most importantly, pretend you don't have any resources stored in your bank, all you can use to outfit yourself if gathered and/or drops...

UrQuan · May 2014

Mablung wrote: »

Ur-Quan wrote: »

Mablung wrote: »

Ur-Quan wrote: »

Mablung wrote: »

If you are not 'affected' by bots then goody gum drops for you. Coming here and complaining about the 'complainers' makes you an idiot.

The OP wasn't complaining about anything - he was asking a question.

Read the thread. I obviously was not directing my comments at the OP.

If you're directing comments at someone other than the OP then you should quote them or refer to them directly. Otherwise everyone's going to assume that your comments are directed at the OP. That's how forums work.

Actually when directing comments at the OP, people generally reference the individual by name or, OP. My comment was for the general reading public and those who were complaining about people venting about the bot issue. Reading comprehension is not your strong point, so instead of critiquing what I have said you should stay on topic and stop trying to create drama where there is none.

Um, no. This isn't a reading comprehension issue - this is you writing poorly. If you meant to address specific people in the thread then you should have done so with quotes or names. If you meant to address a category of people in the thread, then you should have done so by saying something like "for the people saying X". When you don't, unless your post is unrelated to the original post, the assumption is that you're replying to that post. That's forum 101. Otherwise you're just expecting everyone to read your mind instead of your words.

Elirienne · May 2014

epoling wrote: »

I agree with the OP. I have just not had my game play affected by the bots. However, you have to be careful saying that or the folks who are upset by them will go ballistic. I have been called stupid, blind, a liar and a botter because I have said that I have not felt negative effects from the cheaters. .

Yeah, I see that now...

Laughter Song · May 2014

kwgyqyvdtifi out for an afternoon cyber jog with friends

Originally I was going to start a thread about how bad these Flying, Speed - Hacking, Invis. Node stealing, Mario Bros looking, Ninja puds from H E Double Hockey sticks, however this thread already existed so I took advantage of it and vented.

I was hoping to test the waters to see how others might feel; what their impressions might be about the saturation of bots in most lower level areas & dungeons and I was also hoping that Bethesda devs and/or Zenimax (share holders) would see this thread & begin to take this issue a lot more seriously.

It was also my hope that those who understood the lack of integrity that bots bring to an MMORPG would take a stand against them.

Botting in this game is a HUGE problem. Like many have mentioned it effects everyone, whether you detect them or not; whether they directly effect you or not.

In all the MMOs I have played ESO has a much greater saturation of bots per area X many areas AND a much higher incident of program Hacking; flying, sprinting, invisibility are not general macros.

Ever go a Round of 1V1 PvP with a Speed-Skill Hacker? It is not an enjoyable experience. How about an entire group? It appears that hacking on this level is fairly easy to accomplish within ESO.

Is the intensity of Botting/Gold farming a reflection on ESO or a reflection on the the evolution of both Online Games/MMORPGs and/or the Gold Selling industry? I honestly do not know but I do know that most bots in games are almost always from just one or two Gold Selling operations. Not to mention the players who purchase bot programs. For example:

Moderator edit: removed malicious links.

A video of a player Boasting about his/her bot program
including directions on where to obtain the bot program

Moderator edit: removed malicious links. Thanks for reporting them, @Laughter Song. We've escalated the removed content to the appropriate department

An IGN aritcle about how serious the bots are in game
"Elder Scrolls Online's Escalating Struggle Against Bots"

http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/04/30/elder-scrolls-onlines-escalating-struggle-against-bots

I absolutely love to craft, thus I spend a lot of time gathering mats. Though I purchased the game prior to launch, I began the game approximately 3 weeks ago. I am a very busy individual so consequently I am leveling slowly and I am leveling 3 characters almost simultaneously. Currently all three of my characters are just a tad under level 20 so of course I am still in the "beginner areas".

There have been brief moments when I have actually had the opportunity to gather mats with little to no bots; it is mind blowing how many harvest nodes actually do exist in a specific areas. It's like Christmas morning!

It is unbelievably frustrating to enter an area that without bots would be filled with material nodes for crafting and then to Not see one node available to harvest. It is unbelievably frustrating to watch floating, speed hacking, invisible, underground hacking bots steal the node right under or over me repeatedly especially when I race to grab it first.

It has become impractical for me to gather most times I log into ESO to play due to the severity of the bot problem. This is truly sad. What is sadder still is that it appears so far to me that Zenimax is not taking this issue seriously enough.

So I hear and have been told that I need to just level; that I won't be effected by bots as much in the Higher Level areas...pfffft - sorry that is not good enough. We as subscription players are all still effected no matter what level you are currently playing, each an every one of us - the effect trickles... well in this case "up". Perhaps... just maybe you might not be effected IF the bots stay in lower areas zones BUT they will not stay in these lower zones IF the GMs do not aggressively stop them before they level up and enter the higher zones.

I Have witnessed bots farming as high as level 27 in Glenumbra; it won't be long before V1-V10 areas are filled with bots.

I am not exactly an aficionado when it comes to botting, the programs or macros facilitated nor do I have a complete understanding of the gold farming industry - I however was in the MMORPG game industry for some time, have a basic understanding of some programming code used in the game development & had the privilege to GM for a very nice MMO a few years back.

Once we week various dept. Heads & Team Leads met with the GM team(s) for 30 to 60 minute updates/meetings; botting/gold selling/buying was usually a part of the discussion within those meetings. Though I was not a part of the team that specifically dealt with botters directly I did learn a few things during my time as a GM.

Like I wrote in a previous post to this thread - until Zenimax can develop software detection systems for LUA or other program languages that are being facilitated for hacking (Flying, Invisibility, Speed etc.), tighten IP protocols, take into account phasing, make corporate decisions about the use of Macros or LUA type software being used & how exactly legally their organization will proceed with Gold Sellers-Botters, it is Zenimax's responsibility to their subscription player-base to Aggressively attack this botting problem manually.

Zenimax needs to hire and/or assign GMs or other employees to the most farmed areas 24/7 until a majority of the bots are eliminated. Of course new ones will always pop up and it will always be a battle but this is standard for an MMORPG game - Gold Selling is a fairly large industry.

The continuous stream of bots gets very old very fast. I paid for this game; I paid a LOT for this game.

They owe this to us....to me.

Thank you Wolfborn, Mablung & dennissomb for your awesome comments! =D

Peace all
________________________________

Wolfborn wrote: »

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.

Mablung wrote: »

If you are not 'affected' by bots then goody gum drops for you. Coming here and complaining about the 'complainers' makes you an idiot.

With that said, yes, bots are actually affecting everyone. Immersion has very little to do with it. While those in the vet zones have yet to see bots, any new player or someone who is leveling an alt is greatly affected by them.

Mats in zones where leveling from 1 to 50 is done are absolutely next to impossible to obtain by gathering yourself. This would greatly impede progress by new players who are trying to become crafters of any kind. Also affects people playing alts who enjoy crafting their own gear. By monopolizing the mat market at these levels, the gold sellers farm players for their gold to sell on RMT sites. It is a vicious cycle which almost forces some players to go to these sites and purchase their gold so that they can turn around, give it back to the RMT seller for items they need to play the game.

....

Wake up. They do affect you whether you realize it or not. Stop complaining about those venting.

dennissomb16_ESO wrote: »

I'll give an example of how wrong you are. 2 days ago (May18) I logged on my little Sorc alt for a break. level 18 in Stormhaven. in the course of playing for 1 hour I went into 3 different public dungeons. Every dungeon was empty of mobs and if you stood in a spot for a couple of minutes you would see the train of xxdgffg bots teleporting to every spawn. Even worse was watching them kill the boss and Teleport through the walls to the entrance to keep on clearing the dungeon. The people in VR lands who have not had the massive issue do not realize the impact on new players

Orlacc · May 2014

Forums are mostly full of crying topics as many folks live their whole lives whining.

Carnage2K4 · May 2014

Elirienne wrote: »

Yeah, I see that now...

At what time and time zone do you play?

indigoblades · May 2014

me personally all the bugs bother me more than the bots and gold spammers. i am crafting ench, clothing, armor and wood work and the only resource i have problem finding are aspect and potency runes. i do report the bots but it way down the list on what irritates me about me about ESO. Just me tho, we all have our pet peaves.

Sabbatus · May 2014

I haven't been impacted by any bots yet, and I've one toon at VR4 and another at 18. The only hacker I've seen is one guy in Bal Foyen going through the air at a high rate of speed. I don't get what all the hoopla is about.

I will think most "bot" complaints are just very diligent crafters farming materials. I've been accused of botting simply because I didn't stop my ore loop until I had six stacks.

phairdon · May 2014

They are/were a problem when it comes to resources/dungeon bosses or when they are group killing essential quest npc.
Hate to say this though; found them helpful in Rivenspire yesterday as they were killing trash mobs in quest locations which made quest progression a lot easier.

Elirienne · May 2014

Carnage2K4 wrote: »

Elirienne wrote: »

Yeah, I see that now...

At what time and time zone do you play?

Normally in the mornings in EU time, and sometimes evenings. Evenings are pek, mornings less so.

mitumatu · May 2014

I found pleasure in pulling mobs towards bots in solo dungians getting them killed when 1/2 bot strays to attack. Sad but had to let off steam some how

not seen as many if any in solo dungians lately.

Carnage2K4 · May 2014

Elirienne wrote: »

Carnage2K4 wrote: »

Elirienne wrote: »

Yeah, I see that now...

At what time and time zone do you play?

Normally in the mornings in EU time, and sometimes evenings. Evenings are pek, mornings less so.

Try the US servers at about 3AM (the 'prime time' for me in Australia).
It's just stupid, Winterhelm has a continuous train of flying bots, the lower level areas have warping bots that take about 50% of the Mats before you can get to them. They tip off enemy NPC's, that then react to your presence... it really sucks balls.

I bought this game to play it, not have it ruined by countless bots.

Elirienne · May 2014

Carnage2K4 wrote: »

Elirienne wrote: »

Carnage2K4 wrote: »

Elirienne wrote: »

Yeah, I see that now...

At what time and time zone do you play?

Normally in the mornings in EU time, and sometimes evenings. Evenings are pek, mornings less so.

Try the US servers at about 3AM (the 'prime time' for me in Australia).
It's just stupid, Winterhelm has a continuous train of flying bots, the lower level areas have warping bots that take about 50% of the Mats before you can get to them. They tip off enemy NPC's, that then react to your presence... it really sucks balls.

I bought this game to play it, not have it ruined by countless bots.

Hey, I didn't say I *wanted* to become affected!!

Deepfry · May 2014

TetsuMaru wrote: »

They arent.

What do you base your comment on?

Maybe bots aren't a problem for you. Lucky you, I'm very happy for you.

But they definitely go a long way to ruining my gameplay experience. They are certainly in the top 3 of things I'd like the devs to concentrate on ... and I'm very happy to see they have been and are continuing to do something about it.

Poeskas · May 2014

you're probably in the minority. i think most people agree that bots suck and detract from the experience of the game

Laughter Song · May 2014

Before I post again, know please that I really enjoy ESO. I post my threads only to educate players who refuse to see the issue & also in the hopes that ESO Developers along with Zenimax or ZOS will clearly see the destruction that bots are having on this game.

I also want to apologize to Elirienne. I did not intend to take over your thread. Honestly it did not make any sense to me to just casually and/or naively open up a chat subject, which so many players are upset about and a growing number of players are increasing in frustration.

Not an hour goes by in any zone below level 20 (at least) where the heated subject of bots and the havoc they bring comes up in Zone Chat.

Just today alone in a 30 minute time period, there were over 30 bots cycling in and out of Auridon using the Blacksmith/Tailor/Woodworking tables...zooooming around like busy lil' bees, cycling through extracting precious materials needed for crafting to resell at substantially lower prices to the player base and/or to vendor.

There are numerous Bot Thread because obviously Zenimax does not seem to care...well not that players can actually see...not that is tangible proof anyway.

The point is:

You can no longer Farm mats in most areas. Public dungeons quests are a joke. Bots kill game Immersion & they destroy the in-game economy. The bots are now in VR Zones.

Where will it end?

I paid a lot of money for this game...for what Bots? I can't even gather mats anymore to craft. It is quickly becoming beyond the time of being patient.

Bots finally made it into VR 1- 10 Content because they were not stopped in the lower areas. Guess what happens when bots are not banned? A: They grow up from baby bots into big bad boy VR bots!

And finally a GM took time off of his busy schedule to remove One little bot out of the Thousands...that is right "Thousands" that plague this game.

I reported, filmed and took screen shots of over 30 bots just in the Auridon crafting areas...flying about like they owned the place.

The bots are using the Black Smith/Tailoring/Woodworking stations. Then some "legit" head bot sells the extracted materials dirt cheap to players like you and I.

Bots were localized to lower areas now the flood V1-10 areas.

Question: Where are the GMs? Why are they not in force banning?

Why is it Zenimax does not discuss this issue with the player-base?

Why don't they give us exact details of How the plan to eliminate the bots?
What they are doing now is Nothing! ... well nothing that is tangible to the player base that is.

Good job Zenimax for hiring/positioning GMs online - in-game in major towns/cities, in heavily botted gathering areas and in public dungeons.

This game has become the laughing stock of the MMORPG world due to how easily Zenimax (the share holders?) turn a blind eye to how saturated the bots are.

Some reports mention as many as 10 bots for every player & 28% of the player base buys gold. (quoting for MMO online magazines and forum threads).

You cannot stop the Gold Buying per se, however you can attack the severe saturation of bots and the degradation of the game due to bots as well as the loss of player subscriptions by working on IP Protocols, working through legalities, creating software that detects hacking (LUA) through the launcher etc. AND - More Importantly for the Player-Base -

GMs need to be out in Force 24/7 Banning bots especially in specific low level dungeons/gathering/farming zones.

I don't know about you but I am tired of reporting bots daily that I see the very next day and then the next day once again. I have filed over 300...yup "300" - phoned Zenimax 4 times now and have written in 4 separate threads.

I Enjoy this game. I played a Lot for this game. I think we all need to hold Zenimax accountable. What exactly is Zenimax doing to combat this bot problem?

The Fanboyz will hate to read this but it is beginning to look as though Zenimax is behind the botting/gold selling.

It would not be the first time a Money Holder/Investor put collecting (dirty) revenue ahead of game development and the player-base.

Here are links of the bot programs so easily used, bragged about and purchased by players and pros alike:

***WARNING***
***Do NOT download - this software is a Sure Fire Way to have your ESO game Hacked!***

_______________________________

"Experience Flawless Automation"

"Botting The Elder Scrolls Online is now easier than ever. It grinds, it levels, it even farms loot… without you. Welcome to the number one source for ESO automation information. Want to purchase one of our recommended ESO bots? Click here to continue to our purchase page.

(These thieves are actually proud of there product! - it is an odd world we live in today...indeed)

[Moderator Note: Edited per our rules on Spamming]

Laughter Song · May 2014

Apparently my Videos with all the Flying Bots and videos of how easy it is to purchase bots programs is considered "spam". So telling the truth is now "spam".

If it is SPAM then why were my videos, links and images removed? Who's decision was this?

Zenimax - the place where dreams come true.

Lovely · May 2014

You're not getting bot e-mails? How?

Pewpie · May 2014

TetsuMaru wrote: »

Other players can do the same thing. Steel nodes etc. Move on to another. Dont alt tab and needlessly complain about it. Your post will change nothing. I used to pick up on bots in wow dungeons and raids all the time. Not once did I bother complaining to blizzard. That is an exercise in futility. Guess what they are doing something about bots. Then the jerks botting find a way around it. Its cyber warfare and will continue forever. Certainly not to end after your post....or mine for that matter.

Forever... or until you remove trading between players. Which is the solution for ESO IMO as I wrote in another thread. ESO with this single-player environment it already has does not need player-trading. If you think about it, you will see. Just because trading is a rooted thing in older *** mmos, it doesn't need to be in new.

Pewpie · May 2014

Even if you do not see the bots in front of you. They affect the game, cause latency issues and clog the server. Every bot spamming commands to the server, is taking up a spot for a player in the network.

Sallakat · May 2014

I have seen bots around, but they don't affect my enjoyment of the game. I'm easy going and ok if I see a group of nonsense named templar bots on a dungeon boss, I always just get quickly some dps in, get the achievement and go on my merry way. I don't get heartburn about crap like that. Also whenever I'm gathering mats, I have been able to do it in peace, just running around forest, enjoy the scenery and I can do that with no problem.
Ofc it's good to get rid of them but I'm not the one making posts in the forum whining about bot existence which is very well also known by zos and they are doing things about it anyways.

AreoHotah · May 2014

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 was thinking about the same thing the other day and if i would have made a thread i would have used the exact same words. im also vr5 and have yet to feel impacted by a bot.

Kayira · May 2014

I have only seen a lot of bots in coldharbour. Since I have been in the new zones I have not seen any. I get the occasional mail with spam and motifs I should buy but that is really it.
So right atm I am not affected, but maybe if I start playing an alt I might be in lower zones.

Elidas · May 2014

Maybe you do not care about bots, but I hate every time my mail get spammed with BUY GOLD BUY GOLD BUY GOLD, or the zone chat gets full of bots messages, or I get notifications of add a friend that is clearly a bot, or how they kill every monster in some zones with a bot zerg that destroy the economy. It amaze me how can they have so many accounts, are they not banned or they just get free accounts?