Reporting Bots

c363b · August 2023

Is there a Discord channel that specializes in reporting bots being used in ESO?

I have reported a bot harvesting a metal node in Hews Bane east of Thieves Den entrance, but it's still there after more than a week. Is Zos actually kicking out those cheating players?

Elsonso · August 2023

c363b wrote: »

Is there a Discord channel that specializes in reporting bots being used in ESO?

I have reported a bot harvesting a metal node in Hews Bane east of Thieves Den entrance, but it's still there after more than a week. Is Zos actually kicking out those cheating players?

Part of me wants to say "Yes, they do".... but it seems that they sort of pay attention to them in spurts. I have seen bots that can hang around for a while, and when they are banned, apparently it is relatively trivial to make new ones. This is something that I don't think ZOS is staffed to handle, and whatever technology they may have in place to combat them is insufficient.

wilykcat · August 2023

There's the official eso customer support website. Submit a player report ticket there. Screenshots will help with the report.

Cheating and botting does take time to investigate and it is difficult to determine.

I highly recommend not using discord as it is hard to keep track of every single instant text message on there. Chances are people there won't see it and even notice due the overwhelming amount of instant text messages constantly being posted. It's social media. Discord is extremely hard to moderate and it's difficult help individual players with tech issues on there. Nothing there is organized.

c363b · August 2023

I did submit a report, using the in-game Report Player function that's one of the F-key options. The report included the account name and the name of the bot character with the location. Since the bot stays in the same spot, harvesting the same node, it would not be difficult to find to confirm the account is violating the TOS. If the account is closed, that should eliminate that bot and any other bot characters the player has created. Making new bots may be trivial, but having to open a new account costs money.

Necrotech_Master · August 2023

why would there be a discord for reporting bots in eso? lol

thats what the in game reporting tool is for

whether zos decides to action upon the report, thats up to them

c363b · August 2023

The point of using Discord would be contacting other players interested in reporting the bots and shutting down the cheaters.

wilykcat · August 2023

Not everyone uses discord. You can do those same things in the game and on the forums. Even by submitting a report or a feedback ticket to customer support.

c363b · August 2023

The bot finally was gone late yesterday. I don't know whether the cheating player removed it or ZOS acted on the reports.

c363b · August 2023

My update was premature. The bot is back. I plead for anyone reading this to take the few minutes it would require to report the cheating player. Go to the Abahs Landing wayshrine in Hews Bane and from there to the outside entrance of the Thieves Den. Go east toward the waterfall and you will find the bot parked on the metal node, harvesting it as soon as it respawns. Look at the bot, note the player's name, and use the Report Player option in the F key menu. I don't know whether the bot character name is useful, but you could include that in the description.

majulook · August 2023

I have reported this same bot (same as the OP's Bot) over a week ago, its still there.
I have also reported the same gold seller 3 times in the past 2 weeks.

I always respond to the emails from ZOS as they state if they here nothing back form you in 4 days ZOS will consider the issue solved and the ticket closed.

The only thing that happens when you report a bot, or gold seller is they are added to your ignore list.

Nothing else ever happens.

majulook · August 2023

c363b wrote: »

The bot finally was gone late yesterday. I don't know whether the cheating player removed it or ZOS acted on the reports.

They Bot I reported is still there. Same Character name same @name

ZOS_Kevin · August 2023

We do active investigations when bots are reported. Sometimes these take some time to conclude investigations and action. We encourage everyone to use the in-game reporting system for this. If you would like to check on a ticket, please pass the ticket along and we can get this checked. We'll follow back up with any relevant information.

c363b · August 2023

ZOS_Kevin, please summarize what information is useful to include in the Description section when we report bots. Do you need the bot name? How do we need to specify the location?

Elsonso · August 2023

c363b wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin, please summarize what information is useful to include in the Description section when we report bots. Do you need the bot name? How do we need to specify the location?

They have said that when you report via the in-game reporting system, the location where your character is standing is included in the report.

c363b · August 2023

The same bot was gone yesterday but is back today with her scamp.

Lumenn · August 2023

I've seen them rotate. (as much as I hate bots, they have efficient Farm routes)Farm for 20 minutes, port out, 10 minutes later a new one(same gibberish names with one character different) appears and farms the same route. If there is some rotation they're using it may explain why the bots aren't being removed. I have no reason to think zos jumps online to investigate the second a report is sent, and the bot they're looking for in khenarthi's is now in glenumbra (or retired). They may even do a type of /who all in khenarthi's, not see the name, and close the ticket.

c363b · August 2023

They don't have to remove the bot. Close the account of the cheating player and all the associated bots would be eliminated. I could post the player account name, but I expect ZOS would not approve.

Elsonso · August 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

We do active investigations when bots are reported. Sometimes these take some time to conclude investigations and action. We encourage everyone to use the in-game reporting system for this. If you would like to check on a ticket, please pass the ticket along and we can get this checked. We'll follow back up with any relevant information.

This reminds me of a bot train in Shadowfen that ran for 5 months back at the end of 2017. I am sure they were running there before I noticed them, but that is how long one specific bot (character name and account) ran before they disappeared. The train was always there, running the exact same pattern, except for a few hours after patches when I figure both ESO and the botting software needed to be updated. I watched them level up, just running in a circle killing overland mobs. They were on Easy Street for months and those bots paid off handsomely, I am sure.

Bots in this game have been known to run for so long that I am able to come across them outside of their route to the place they go to deal with inventory. Once I find the wayshrine, I can stand there and watch them coming and going. I can watch them use the same NPC vendor to sell stuff, then run back to the wayshrine.

When I, as just a simple player observing the game with no logs and no insider information, have enough in-game time that I can find and track bots to that level, it seems clear that ZOS is not doing that. While I appreciate what was said above, my personal experience is that, while ZOS may deal with bots, it seems like more of a "side gig" rather than something that is taken seriously.

Rumancek · August 2023

I replied to a similar post here, but my point still stands:

There doesn’t seem to be a way to report it and with PS4/PS5, all they have to do is create a new PSN account if the first one gets banned and they’ll still have access to the game, as you can share your PSN games with other PSN accounts on your primary console.

If thereis some way to report them, I’ll happily do it,but it doesn’t seem like there’s been any sort of ban wave at all. I did notice significantly less bots in the early start zones (Khenarthi’s Roost, Stros M’Kai, Bleakrock) but it seems to have been replaced with a certain gold seller on PS4/PS4 NA that allegedly is into some other darker things than just illegal gold selling.

Rumancek · August 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

We do active investigations when bots are reported. Sometimes these take some time to conclude investigations and action. We encourage everyone to use the in-game reporting system for this. If you would like to check on a ticket, please pass the ticket along and we can get this checked. We'll follow back up with any relevant information.

Sorry to double post, 90% of the comments on this thread didn’t load before I made my own reply. Where do we post/report these people if we’re on PS4? There’s no option from the zone chat or clicking their name in zone chat. We can block them on PSN but that’s about it.

majulook · August 2023

The tickets tell you that they auto auto close in 96 hours unless you keep replying that the reason you made the report is still a issue.

I have given up on reporting both Bots and Gold sellers nothing ever happens, they never get removed.

ZOS_Kevin · August 2023

c363b wrote: »

ZOS_Kevin, please summarize what information is useful to include in the Description section when we report bots. Do you need the bot name? How do we need to specify the location?

When using the in-game reporting tool, it will give us location information for you and others in the area. Highlighting what you see the bot doing and how they are impacting gameplay around you are important. And this is a big plus if you can provide video. It's not required, but video helps to definitively show someone is botting. Specifying their name also helps.

ZOS_Kevin · August 2023

Rumancek wrote: »

Sorry to double post, 90% of the comments on this thread didn’t load before I made my own reply. Where do we post/report these people if we’re on PS4? There’s no option from the zone chat or clicking their name in zone chat. We can block them on PSN but that’s about it.

This article here should help you in getting to the reporting function on PS: https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/#en/answer/6172

c363b · August 2023

The same bot still is there. I used the in-game reporting tool to report it again a few minutes ago. I saw no way to include a video with the in-game tool. Simply watching the bot very briefly confirms it is a bot and shows the name of the cheating player who created it.

c363b · August 2023

What "definitive proof" does ZOS need to close an account that has been reported multiple times for bots?

JanTanhide · August 2023

For PC there is an Addon called Bot Scanner 2000. It still works correctly and is a breeze to use in game. I've used it to report Bot trains over the years and I also record the bots in action and link the video to my report.

IDK about others but the Bots definitely are not there long after I have reported them.

c363b · August 2023

Some other player managed to displace the bot from its original metal node to a spot next to 2 lions. The lions would kill the bot, the bot would resurrect, and the cycle would repeat. Today the cheating player, @beaij02126, has just moved the bot to another metal node right below Abah's Landing wayshrine. I reported it again.

c363b · August 2023

I haven't seen the bot I reported in Hew's Bane for a couple of days. Perhaps its creator got kicked.

Now there is a very different bot a bit farther east in Hew's Bane. It looks like a normal, fully armored, level 492 player; but it remains stationed over a metal node that it harvests as soon as it appears and opens its journal at regular intervals.

I reported it with BotScanner. Other bot hunters may want to add their reports.

Has anyone else seen similar bots? They would be hard to recognize if you passed them too quickly or didn't return to the area frequently.

Elsonso · September 2023

c363b wrote: »

Now there is a very different bot a bit farther east in Hew's Bane. It looks like a normal, fully armored, level 492 player; but it remains stationed over a metal node that it harvests as soon as it appears and opens its journal at regular intervals.

Without rendering any judgement regarding whether what they are doing is allowed, or even who they are, this sounds like a player using automation to harvest a node as soon as it appears, with a few actions in the middle to keep themselves logged in.

I would be watching this one with interest, just to see if I can determine what ZOS thinks about it.

c363b · September 2023

From another ZOS post:

You agree not to use any hardware or software or any other method of support that is not authorized by ZeniMax or that may in any way influence or advantage Your playing abilities, or influence or advantage Your use of the Services. Third party tools, the use of "bots", "speed hacks", "deep-link", "page-scrape", "robot", "spider", algorithms or other programs that copy or monitor any part of the Services (including, but not limited to, the Game(s) and/or forums), software that transmits, manipulates, or distributes (including, but are limited to, "mirroring") the data stream or any aspect of the Services to another computer, server websites or other publication or distribution media, or software that permits You to use Services without human input are examples of methods not authorized by ZeniMax.

I think that last sentence would cover this situation.