Open letter to ZOS concerning bots

Ankael07

I occasionally visit Betnikh to farm materials just because the island is beautiful. Everyday and I mean every day I see at least 1-2 bots gathering nodes and its disheartening to see how little Zenimax cares.

Its not like opening a new account is free anyway. But ESO suffers bots like a f2p game

Tasear

I can understand frurstration, but game isn't being overriden by them. I haven't checked but maybe the new reporting system will help? Then again maybe a strong prescene of gamemasters would help people feel better. I mean unless we seeing exact same username in real bot trains then I feel they are being take of.

Elsonso

madchuska83 wrote: »

Bots = Accounts

Accounts = $$$

ZO$ $$$

True, but banning bots means new accounts; new accounts = $$$, and ZOS $$$ Help ZOS improve revenue, report all bots!

Armatesz

Tasear wrote: »

I can understand frurstration, but game isn't being overriden by them. I haven't checked but maybe the new reporting system will help? Then again maybe a strong prescene of gamemasters would help people feel better. I mean unless we seeing exact same username in real bot trains then I feel they are being take of.

On xbox na yes they are in various areas... if you can go into a zone ahd 90% of the players there are bots that tells you something.

Gnortranermara

edit

Kelces

lordrichter wrote: »

madchuska83 wrote: »

Bots = Accounts

Accounts = $$$

ZO$ $$$

True, but banning bots means new accounts; new accounts = $$$, and ZOS $$$ Help ZOS improve revenue, report all bots!

Indeed, it's about time that the term "ZOS -Logic" implied something nice and practical for change.

pslagalb14_ESO

For all we know it is ZOS who owns and operates these bot accounts for farming and selling gold to make more money for themselves.

Starlock

Armatesz wrote: »

Tasear wrote: »

I can understand frurstration, but game isn't being overriden by them. I haven't checked but maybe the new reporting system will help? Then again maybe a strong prescene of gamemasters would help people feel better. I mean unless we seeing exact same username in real bot trains then I feel they are being take of.

On xbox na yes they are in various areas... if you can go into a zone ahd 90% of the players there are bots that tells you something.

Case in point - Camlorn. Bots 100% ruin quest in that area. It leaves a terrible impression on new players. If I had seen such crap when I started, I absoutely would have quit the game permanently.

Shantu

I wouldn't think the usage patterns of bots in the game would be hard to analyze and identify. I remember one on a farming route I run that stood in the same spot picking the same flower for a week. Finally I reported them. Took ZOS a few days, but they eventually removed it.

Elsonso

Shantu wrote: »

I wouldn't think the usage patterns of bots in the game would be hard to analyze and identify. I remember one on a farming route I run that stood in the same spot picking the same flower for a week. Finally I reported them. Took ZOS a few days, but they eventually removed it.

They are not hard to identify. I can often identify that it is a bot within a few seconds of seeing it run past me.

pslagalb14_ESO

With the exact same 60+ bots on Xbox NA server that have gone unhindered for the past 3 weeks standing at nodes farming ore 24/7 ZOS must approve of this 100% so bot up everyone you have their approval!

Zweible

You will notice one common occurrence on all threads concerning Bots: No response from ZOS other than "Use the report tool". ZOS is not concerned at all about BOTS.

DreadKnight

Went to farm some mats last night in Stros - it's now impossible for regular players to farm nodes as there are bots on nearly every single node. I started reporting but gave up after 22 - they're everywhere.

Starlock

It always gets worse during free weekends. The company needs to step up their game and monitor this at all times, frankly, but especially during free play times. Seeing bots leaves a fantastic impression for new players. Oh wait.... no it doesn’t.

Armatesz

Starlock wrote: »

It always gets worse during free weekends. The company needs to step up their game and monitor this at all times, frankly, but especially during free play times. Seeing bots leaves a fantastic impression for new players. Oh wait.... no it doesn’t.

I've played a lot of mmos in my life, all of them have bots, but no where near as many as are in eso. I do feel zos is failing in this regard and it is a tarnish on eso's image.

Starlock

Armatesz wrote: »

Starlock wrote: »

It always gets worse during free weekends. The company needs to step up their game and monitor this at all times, frankly, but especially during free play times. Seeing bots leaves a fantastic impression for new players. Oh wait.... no it doesn’t.

I've played a lot of mmos in my life, all of them have bots, but no where near as many as are in eso. I do feel zos is failing in this regard and it is a tarnish on eso's image.

I’d be happy if they just gave trusted players the ability to fast track suspend accounts. GMs are a myth, apparently, so player-based moderation is needed.

Or, just get rid of the elements of the game that incentivize botting. Get rid of harvest nodes, get rid of mats from mobs. Find other ways to do that system that are bot-proof.

LadyNalcarya

I agree that it's an epic fail on ZOS part. It leaves a very bad impression, and even one GM could have reduced the issue drastically.
Another problem is the players who buy from goldsellers. If it wasnt very profitable, then we wouldnt see so many bots. I mean, there are legit reasons to transfer gold, such as paying for guild traders etc, but if someone gets huge amounts of gold from strangers and doesnt give anything in return, these accounts should be investigated. It's really sad, but it kinda seems that many of ESO players are VERY accepting when it comes to cheats and exploiting (maybe that's because many of us only played single-player games and in those cheating doesnt harm anyone).

As for "b-but what about mat prices???" crashing the market with botted goods never helped anyone in the long run. Picking nodes on the way and doing crafting dailies are one of the most accessible ways to earn gold for a casual player, and they cannot compete with bots. If mats worth nothing, then casual players have no means to farm decent amount of gold to buy houses, housing items, BoE gear and other stuff. Golden gear, on the other hand, will only add a few % extra dps, especially if you dont really care about minmaxing and rotations.

@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_JessicaFolsom @ZOS_RichLambert

LadyNalcarya

Walting wrote: »

Marginis wrote: »

In response to OP, I wonder what that would mean logistically, hiring individuals to patrol the game world?... I mean, I like the idea, but I'm not sure how effective it would be in the end at accomplishing its goal of stopping bots, if it would be cost-effective, and what other responsibilities they might add to the hire in addition to bot hunting. Good food for thought, in the very least, however, and there are almost definitely people who would apply for the job (sign me up ZOS~).

ZOS hired an external expert team to implement the Crown Crates - to make money in the long run.

Hiring external experts to implement algorithms to detect farming bots and ban them automatically also costs money but ZOS does not make money with it.

Instead the next senche mount is in ZOS development while the bots make good cash selling gold on gold selling websites

They legalized selling crowns, though.
Goldsellers have to interest in crowns so it's a way to trade gold between actual players, and all extra crown purchases = extra money for ZOS.
It makes me think that they are interested in monetizing it, and eliminating bots would be beneficial for it (as they earn much more gold than an average player possibly can and sell it cheaper).

Bots are not profitable for ZOS, their accounts are often stolen or bought with stolen cards and they're certainly not interested in buying crown houses or crates.

pslagalb14_ESO

Well now on Xbox in any area with a large group of bots is now lagging really bad. If they don't crackdown on bots soon I'm just going to have to play Warframe or Anthem start giving one of them my money instead.

dimensional

Still no official word from anyone actually representing the game or the company. Very disappointing, but I can't say I'm surprised.

pslagalb14_ESO

I know if they got rid of leather scrap drops and replaced them with a crafting node it would take care of most of the bots on the console servers.

Universe

Tasear wrote: »

I can understand frurstration, but game isn't being overriden by them. I haven't checked but maybe the new reporting system will help? Then again maybe a strong prescene of gamemasters would help people feel better. I mean unless we seeing exact same username in real bot trains then I feel they are being take of.

The botting issue is ancient.
I hope you can convey the frustration of the community about bots to ZOS.
Also, Please share with ZOS the following methods of stopping the bots:
1) Please implement an auto ban system of bots. This can be done by adding verifications of characters behavior etc.
2) Please hire Game Masters to patrol the servers and actively ban the roaming bots. This can be done daily for a few hours or twice a day, depending on the need.
3) Please ask the Game Masters to run searches for suspicious raw materials and disband any guilds infested with bots.
4) Add a system which will check suspicious gold transfers by mail or by guild in order to find guilds who operate bots or selling gold.
5) Optional: Add a random verify code/action when trying to loot an npc/node.

Fighting the bots should be one of your top priorities.

Starlock

It wouldn’t surprise me if

pslagalb14_ESO wrote: »

I know if they got rid of leather scrap drops and replaced them with a crafting node it would take care of most of the bots on the console servers.

If only. That would just mean more of them node camping. That is already an issue. Oh, and some of them are mobile bot farmers. With a horse. And rapids.

Salvas_Aren

It can be so easy.

A taskforce of GMs who have the ability to make a random boss monster spawn. There is not even a need for banning the bots immediately.

If there is a bunch of suspicious players, let them die by the summoned boss. If they rez, repeat. If they don't run away from you or start talking, they are bots.

SugaComa

Bots is an easy fix ... Disable remote play ...

mattaeus01b16_ESO

I fully agree with IN GAME GMs. Been saying it since launch, and still saying it. Spend one day in Bleakrock watching the 3rd level toons running around, auto farming, and tell me theres not an issue.

pslagalb14_ESO

SugaComa wrote: »

Bots is an easy fix ... Disable remote play ...

Remote play? I'm Xbox so I am unfamiliar with remote play.

pslagalb14_ESO

mattaeus01b16_ESO wrote: »

I fully agree with IN GAME GMs. Been saying it since launch, and still saying it. Spend one day in Bleakrock watching the 3rd level toons running around, auto farming, and tell me theres not an issue.

Agreed they only need one GM just for the consoles to deal with the bots. Im not sure how bad it is on PC but the same GM could deal with them as well.

Elsonso

pslagalb14_ESO wrote: »

mattaeus01b16_ESO wrote: »

I fully agree with IN GAME GMs. Been saying it since launch, and still saying it. Spend one day in Bleakrock watching the 3rd level toons running around, auto farming, and tell me theres not an issue.

Agreed they only need one GM just for the consoles to deal with the bots. Im not sure how bad it is on PC but the same GM could deal with them as well.

You are underestimating the size of the game. They would probably need three per megaserver. That's 18 of them. I'd consider that to be the minimum, right now.

Edit: oops... miscalculated. You'd need 6 employees per megaserver, but not all of them assigned to GM duties full time. After time, once an in-game GM reputation was established, you could dial that back by about half.

Violynne

dimensional wrote: »

I propose a simple solution:

Here's a better solution that's 100% free, doesn't cost anyone's time, and is just as effective: Ignore the bots.

Simple. Elegant. Effective.

I've seen bots in the game (on XBox) and as long as they don't interfere with my game, they're harmless.

I find it ironic, however, that most people who get upset are those who are trying to do what the bots are doing: farming mats.

Take Martiisen in Auridon: Every so often, I get a survey in that area, and every time I visit, there is a group of bots farming the bears and wolves. What else do I see? Other players doing the same thing!

So, who are the true bots? As far as I'm concerned, both are doing the same thing, but one of them is just a bit more efficient than the other.

Just ignore them and focus on your game. You'll enjoy it better if you do.