Cyrodiil, Cheating/Exploiting, & You

ZOS_JessicaFolsom

Lately, we’ve seen a lot of questions about what we consider cheating and/or exploiting in ESO. The amount of people using exploits, especially in Cyrodiil, has also been on the rise. Due to this, and our recent efforts to take a stronger stance against exploiting and cheating in ESO, this has become a hotly debated topic within our community. We’d like to help shed some light on what we consider cheating and exploiting and how you can help us curb this behavior.

We would generally frown upon (and potentially take action as a result of) using third party tools or taking an advantage of an in-game mechanic that is not currently working as designed to in any way provide an advantage to your playing abilities. In plain English: if it looks or feels like cheating, then try it out at your own risk. Or better yet, don’t try it at all.

We have a zero tolerance policy for cheating/exploiting/using unapproved third party tools (such as Cheat Engine), so you should also know that even a single instance can lead to a 72-hour suspension, or even a permanent ban, depending on the offense. And in the specific case of Cheat Engine, even the first offense will result in a permanent ban.

There are certain things we’re working on fixing on our end to make this behavior no longer possible, but that does not mean it’s okay to exploit these issues in the meantime.

To summarize, if you are using abilities such as gap closers to do things that are not within the realm of intended design and/or bypassing core game mechanics, such as entering keeps without downing doors and/or walls and getting under the environment (ground, water, etc.), you are exploiting. In short: don’t do it. If we catch you exploiting and/or cheating, even once, it is grounds for disciplinary action up to and including a permanent ban of your game account. If in doubt about whether or not certain actions or activity are considered exploiting, you are welcome to ask us here on the forums.

Thank you all for your cooperation in helping us keep ESO free of cheating and exploiting, and a fun, fair environment for all.

GreatWhite000

There are people that used cheat engine that got unbanned and are freely running around in game again. Why were they allowed back?

edited to remove name/shame

edit 2: may as well add this:

Sallington

If I accidentally misclick my gap-close button and charge onto a keep wall (it's really that easy to do), does that mean I'm at risk of being banned if someone reports me?

Should we all unslot Critical Charge until this mess is fixed?

Jaybe_Mawfaka

Sure
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/268106/incoming-supernatural-gapclosers/p1

Minalan

1. Nobody is going to stop using that until it's fixed.
2. Policing it is impossible, it's too widespread.
3. Your post is likely to stop no one, especially not the 98% of the player base that don't bother to read this thread.

Just fix the bug already. Thanks.

Benawaw89

yeah , so we cant use gap closer as it supposed to do, like on the flat ground etc.

the only way gap closer atm work is go ''upstairs''

and now u wont allow that, then why should i slot gap closer, that *** skill has no meaning, lol

fix ur game pls

bikerangelo

Oh please, you need to help us "curb this behavior." Fix the problem, end the witch hunts, implement anti-cheat software (like you should have at the game's inception), and earn our trust back.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

To summarize, if you are using abilities such as gap closers to do things that are not within the realm of intended design and/or bypassing core game mechanics, such as entering keeps without downing doors and/or walls and getting under the environment (ground, water, etc.), you are exploiting. In short: don’t do it. If we catch you exploiting and/or cheating, even once, it is grounds for disciplinary action up to and including a permanent ban of your game account.

You can't be serious with this. Going underground, gap closing into loading screens, those are all accidental occurences and are never intentional. Citing these as bannable offenses is just offensive. Your combat team made these changes and we gave them feedback on the PTS, yet it's our fault when we use basic mechanics that we can't avoid?

How much more tacky can your policies get? Admit you made a mistake, admit you didn't take our feedback seriously, then fix the problem. Geezus.

EDIT: I missed this gem for some reason.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

In plain English: if it looks or feels like cheating, then try it out at your own risk. Or better yet, don’t try it at all.

Translation: if you see someone who's doing something that remotely looks like cheating, you are at 100% liberty to report them for, potentially, a permanent ban. Have fun in pvp, you could be surrounded by hundreds of cheaters and exploiters whom we will ban at your discretion.

G. G.

Rohamad_Ali

Glad to see the rules get a stickie . I hope an ingame message goes out for those not using forums .

Father_Of_Vape

ZOS Pranks gone wrong!

Gone Bannable

Gone Flying

Gone Bannable

Gone 4000 Players from Cyrodiil

covenant_merchant

May 2k16... I'll just leave that here..

Still, you earn brownie points for finally making an official statement regarding all that cheating/exploiting mess. Even if said statement is pretty silly and hilarious when it comes to the gap closing paragraph.

Sandman929

Is Malubeth considered to be "working as intended" after the last update? I've had mine in the bank for awhile until it was officially fixed.

film

Introduce grappling hooks to get in keeps like in DFC going for shrines, make it so you can unhook them as a defense like in DFC -- it's fun when someone gap closes to get in so make something similar to keep the fun from it and cancel out the use of the exploit.


@ZOS_MattFiror use more ideas from DFC which still has the best RvR of all time. Take these exploits and make them to be embraced as I really don't think you guys will be able to make gap closers work perfectly -- maybe you will but gap closers have been bugged for so long I just don't believe it.

MoreDino

bikerangelo wrote: »

You can't be serious with this. Going underground, gap closing into loading screens, those are all accidental occurences and are never intentional. Citing these as bannable offenses is just offensive. Your combat team made these changes and we gave them feedback on the PTS, yet it's our fault when we use basic mechanics that we can't avoid?

I'm pretty sure it's a matter of intentionally using said skills to provide unintended benefits. It does suck if you try to gap close only to get a load screen or end up underground. I know, I've experienced it. Pretty simple to /stuck and move on. I've ended up stuck underneath stairs before, did that mean I was now free to use it as an exploit and and kill anyone I was still capable of damaging? No. I stopped and waited to leave combat so I could /stuck my way out. It sucks, yeah, but it's only a minor inconvenience.

Nowhere in the statement does it say that using gap closers will net you a perma ban 100% of the time. What I read is that using it improperly is doing so at your own risk. You're perfectly able to continue to use gap closers to get into keeps all you want. Other people are also capable of capturing video and sending reports of you doing so and let ZoS handle the rest. Regardless of how you or I feel about this system, it is the system.

Hempyre

I'm personally very disappointed in this company for unbanning CE users after they "pleaded" their case or whatever it is they did. I see the same names on the leader boards and a few still in Cyro.

I don't care if they only used it "to shed light on this issue" or uninstalled it "scan my system I don't have it anymore" or whatever other BS they spew. The point is they took the time to install and setup this cheat, got caught, and were allowed back in the game.

This isnt an exploit or a situation where they didn't know any better, which would have justified a short term ban. This was a premeditated action designed to deceive the player base and company alike. These actions deserved, and still do, a permanent account ban if not a user ban such as Blizzard chooses to use.

I feel as though ZOS is saying to the rest of us that have played the game in accordance with the rules and with the intent of good sportsmanship and that have spent good money, that our efforts and our playtime is not valued by this company.

I sincerely hope to see this issue rectified for the rest of us, these players do not belong in this game any longer... Period!

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom Take a stand, let the rest of this community know that we have a higher value than cheaters.

Thelon

bikerangelo

MoreDino wrote: »

bikerangelo wrote: »

You can't be serious with this. Going underground, gap closing into loading screens, those are all accidental occurences and are never intentional. Citing these as bannable offenses is just offensive. Your combat team made these changes and we gave them feedback on the PTS, yet it's our fault when we use basic mechanics that we can't avoid?

I'm pretty sure it's a matter of intentionally using said skills to provide unintended benefits. It does suck if you try to gap close only to get a load screen or end up underground. I know, I've experienced it. Pretty simple to /stuck and move on. I've ended up stuck underneath stairs before, did that mean I was now free to use it as an exploit and and kill anyone I was still capable of damaging? No. I stopped and waited to leave combat so I could /stuck my way out. It sucks, yeah, but it's only a minor inconvenience.

Nowhere in the statement does it say that using gap closers will net you a perma ban 100% of the time. What I read is that using it improperly is doing so at your own risk. You're perfectly able to continue to use gap closers to get into keeps all you want. Other people are also capable of capturing video and sending reports of you doing so and let ZoS handle the rest. Regardless of how you or I feel about this system, it is the system.

While that's your intrepretation, mine is that a buggy mechanic that many people, including myself, have campaigned for continuously to get fixed is now considered a bannable offense when used "incorrectly." Some of these occurences are unavoidable, and while they may do little harm in the spirit of competition, they still have to be lived with and are an encumbrance. Their inability to address this problem properly in the past has led them to the present, where people can now use these poorly designed mechanics to bypass parts of the game. That's why "working as intended" is a sad joke, since some of their fixes, like the changes to gap closers, result in making things worse in the long run.

NordSwordnBoard

Sallington wrote: »

If I accidentally misclick my gap-close button and charge onto a keep wall (it's really that easy to do), does that mean I'm at risk of being banned if someone reports me?

Should we all unslot Critical Charge until this mess is fixed?

"Falling" into a pool with a no swimming sign in your bathing suit will get the benefit of the doubt. Possible it was accidental? Sure...

"Falling" into a pool with a no swimming sign in your bathing suit 3 times in row, you are a troll.

ZOS just put up a sign.

If you gap close top the top by accident you can use circumstances like you mention above to explain yourself. If you do it 5 times in ten minutes without any targets in your field of vision at your height/elevation (only targets above you) then you have to explain why you are repeatedly making the same "mistake". Also, if you go up there and immediately retreat back down, it looks like a "whoops!" as opposed to getting up there and fighting & advancing.

If the "mistake" got you insta-killed, you would figure out pretty quickly how to stop causing it. They're working on the issue, NBs can't Teleport up there anymore. Consider it a work in progress.

Dexter411

I wanted to write here long and boring comment but I do not think it will change anything in what You(Zenimax) are doing.

Using cheat engine will result in permaban? You unbanned those people, 3 days does not sound like permanent.

Improvement materials exploiters also got few days off from ESO and what is the best, they COULD keep what they get by cheating. I do not even know why should I report someone I mean, what is the point, someone was selling over x800 tempering alloys in zone chat on Pc/Eu last month. Farmed in legit way, I do not think so...

After that You banned people for moving from point A to B too fast? Now You want to ban people for your damn mess that was ignored on PTS?

Then tell me exactly what I should do while I play your game. Lets say I want to create new character and get Vigor, I need to PvP but I can not PvP because I can by accident lock on guy on top of keep wall and press one button to get banned(or warning) and then what? My subscription will be gone or at least I will lose couple of days from it?

What will be next? Will you ban people for too high dps or by taking(or mitigating) too much damage and not dying(tanking)?

I am sure something like this will happen since I heard that people got banned for using their ultimates too often(emperors).

Right now I will not even open ESO with my subrsciption passing by because I do not know what I can do in a damn video game.

P.S. I do not want to "kill the messenger" here, it is Your job to communicate with us and I feel sorry for it.

ArvenAldmeri

Banning people for using YOUR BUG that we told you about before the last patch went live?! Are you ******* serious? Its NOT exploit. Its your stupid bug you pushed live while we were telling you its broken. You were ignoring that fact forever and now anyone uses that is actually using exploit and is gonna get banned? Hell no. Fix it, 95% of the players are not even reading this post. If I know well, gap closers are one of the main and important skills of many classes and many builds in pvp. And you just tell us dont use a skill that is in the game that YOU broke?! I am so done with you Zenimax.

Ps: Your customer support sucks really bad, just sayin. Take it as a feedback to improve another thing on the "1001 things to improve/fix in ESO" list.

Sandman929

NordSwordnBoard wrote: »

Sallington wrote: »

If I accidentally misclick my gap-close button and charge onto a keep wall (it's really that easy to do), does that mean I'm at risk of being banned if someone reports me?

Should we all unslot Critical Charge until this mess is fixed?

"Falling" into a pool with a no swimming sign in your bathing suit will get the benefit of the doubt. Possible it was accidental? Sure...

"Falling" into a pool with a no swimming sign in your bathing suit 3 times in row, you are a troll.

ZOS just put up a sign.

If you gap close top the top by accident you can use circumstances like you mention above to explain yourself. If you do it 5 times in ten minutes without any targets in your field of vision at your height/elevation (only targets above you) then you have to explain why you are repeatedly making the same "mistake". Also, if you go up there and immediately retreat back down, it looks like a "whoops!" as opposed to getting up there and fighting & advancing.

If the "mistake" got you insta-killed, you would figure out pretty quickly how to stop causing it. They're working on the issue, NBs can't Teleport up there anymore. Consider it a work in progress.

Every Nightblade has jumped through a door chasing someone....some Nightblades take that "mistake" and run with it killing as many as they can. That "mistake" is not a mistake, and any video capturing the incident will show that.

Sandman929

I'm loving all the "well I guess I just can't do ANYTHING NOW!" foot stomping temper tantrums though.

Sharee

Sallington wrote: »

If I accidentally misclick my gap-close button and charge onto a keep wall (it's really that easy to do), does that mean I'm at risk of being banned if someone reports me?

Should we all unslot Critical Charge until this mess is fixed?

If you accidentally charge onto a keep wall, just jump right off. You won't get banned without video evidence, and if the video shows you jumping off the wall right after you got there, it will be clear that you got there unintentionally.

Turelus

Thank you so much for this Jessica!

ManDraKE

Guys using cheat engine got unban, but guys using crit rush get perma ban? Amazing, seems like using 3th party cheats is less severe than using one bugged skill.

The gap closer bug was reported the first week of PTS, one month of PTS and two months of Live was enought time to fix it? Now people using it is getting ban? You could also had say the first day of DB on Live "anyone using gap closers bug is getting banned", no start retroactively banning people 2 months latter just because.

Also what happends with those who don't read forums? they are 1 click away of getting ban. Imagine the casual guy, learning how to PvP, with little to non experience, he see a lot of players charging inside a keep, so he go and do it withouith knowing that is an explot, he is also getting ban?
Where is the line? Crit rush into a keep is an exploit, but crit carge into a rock that would be imposible in other patch is also an exploit? Because is the exactly same bug, where is the line of what i can, and what i can't do? Tell me please, i dont want to get ban just because i clicked one of my skills.

Last thing, where can i send the reports of the people that killed me with implosion exploit? Now that we are retroactive banning people, i would love to see some guys that i don't like banned lol. If we can ban people for using an skill, for sure we can ban people for using a passive lol

AJ_1988

The Devs need a name and shame wall.

phreatophile

Sandman929 wrote: »

I'm loving all the "well I guess I just can't do ANYTHING NOW!" foot stomping temper tantrums though.

They're turning blue from holding their breath, screaming and pounding their heads on the floor. Surely somebody must be taking them seriously somewhere.

It's pretty clear what is in play here, nobody is getting banned for "accidentally" gap closing up a wall, given ZOS' record, nobody is getting banned for doing it a few dozen times. You make a complete ass of yourself day after day griefing people to the point that there is a heap of complaints and then you might get banned. Do that and come on the forum bragging about it and bathing in all the salt it gathers and you'll almost definitely get banned.

Pretending this is about accidental use is disingenuous at best. What's more likely is players getting salty about their favorite exploit being called out.

THEDKEXPERIENCE

Let them jump ... RIGHT INTO MY JESUS BEAM!

Arthg

Not that anyone cares or remembers, but regarding those issues:

I've been vocal.
I've been modded.
I've been rude and aggressive.

I hereby acknowledge you guys are changing things, you guys are doing something.
You ain't off the hook, but you get the silent nod.

DKsUnite

you were told how *** up the gap closers were in PTS but you still implemented them into the game... why dont you listen to player feedback and actually implement things that arent broken and then we wouldnt have these problems...

Jazbay_Grape

I'm not smart enough to do any of these things. Plus, I'm pretty much just an AP PEZ dispenser.

nimander99

I'm concerned about how my Sword and Shield gap closer is working and that I'm going to get flagged because it seems to be broken. My character has jumped straight up in the air 3 times in a row like Super Mario when I try to use it. He has also literally flown up in the air then shot towards an enemy on a cliff. I've reported this in sever /bug reports but it is still concerning.

Which is why I'm staying away from Cyrodiil for the time being...