Bots

Lumenn

How advanced are they now? I remember when it used to be a PC problem. Then you'd see some stationary ones on xbox hanging at resource nodes and easily pulled with meat etc. Then they got routes(and some won't take bad meat for anything)

I saw a set of about 10, piled on top of each other running through rivinspire. Occasionally casting lightning storm and running through harpies, then looting. Always in sync. They ran about 8 minutes that I saw, then stopped. I saw them all(in sync) port away. About 2 minutes later another set was there, running the same path. Another time/location I've seen them mount in synced, say hi in sync.

How far have the bot programmers gotten? Will they be able to do daily writs? New life festival? What's the craziest thing you've seen?

Kisakee

In another game you could fish everywhere waters and bots where all around. You've been able to put yourself into aggressive mode but would lose reputation on killing them and they were able to stand up at the same spot without a problem. Luckily aggro worked different there and you were able to pull mobs to specific points and keep them, had a lot of fun parking them there.

Abigail

Bot routines often go subterranean; meaning we never see them or, as you suggested, they seem to disappear. Have you ever started to harvest a node only to have it vanish? Most likely, it was harvested by a bot underground. They will farm dungeons the same way, from underground where mobs/bosses cannot get to them. Nothing new about any of this.

Lumenn

Kisakee wrote: »

In another game you could fish everywhere waters and bots where all around. You've been able to put yourself into aggressive mode but would lose reputation on killing them and they were able to stand up at the same spot without a problem. Luckily aggro worked different there and you were able to pull mobs to specific points and keep them, had a lot of fun parking them there.

Oh yeah. I mained a monk in a game that you QUESTed forEVER. Bots didn't last long. Plus they had G.M.s on at all times.

Marginis

It's still a really bad problem on xbox, for what I've noticed, which is insane. You'd think on console bots would have a harder time.

I still report them when I see them and am sticking in an area for a while, and for what it's worth ZoS does seem to take action on those reports... but there are just too many. Kill one bot, fifteen more take its place.

There has to be some way they can be dealt with, with a backend change or with a gameplay change that doesn't allow the bots to make my resource farming runs worthless. Players just need to let ZoS know they think bot busting should be a higher priority.

Which, for the record, I think bot busting should be a higher ZoS priority.

Would also be nice if someone from ZoS could comment on where they're at with bots. I haven't really heard a definitive statement on bots from ZoS, myself.

Lumenn

Abigail wrote: »

Bot routines often go subterranean; meaning we never see them or, as you suggested, they seem to disappear. Have you ever started to harvest a node only to have it vanish? Most likely, it was harvested by a bot underground. They will farm dungeons the same way, from underground where mobs/bosses cannot get to them. Nothing new about any of this.

Interesting....so the ones we see are probably the amateurs? Never thought of that.

SeaGtGruff

Abigail wrote: »

Bot routines often go subterranean; meaning we never see them or, as you suggested, they seem to disappear. Have you ever started to harvest a node only to have it vanish? Most likely, it was harvested by a bot underground. They will farm dungeons the same way, from underground where mobs/bosses cannot get to them. Nothing new about any of this.

Actually, if you start to harvest a node or loot a chest but it vanishes before you can, it most likely despawned. Nodes and chests spawn, then despawn after a while if no one loots them, then spawn again a little bit later. If you park your character at a node and don't harvest it, you can watch this happen if you're patient enough.

Lumenn

Marginis wrote: »

It's still a really bad problem on xbox, for what I've noticed, which is insane. You'd think on console bots would have a harder time.

I still report them when I see them and am sticking in an area for a while, and for what it's worth ZoS does seem to take action on those reports... but there are just too many. Kill one bot, fifteen more take its place.

There has to be some way they can be dealt with, with a backend change or with a gameplay change that doesn't allow the bots to make my resource farming runs worthless. Players just need to let ZoS know they think bot busting should be a higher priority.

Which, for the record, I think bot busting should be a higher ZoS priority.

Would also be nice if someone from ZoS could comment on where they're at with bots. I haven't really heard a definitive statement on bots from ZoS, myself.

Agree 100% but at this point I don't know how they'd do it. Random spawning nodes(location, time) would make routes difficult to program, and the botters would have to have stationary again at every POSSIBLE location but killing mobs would be the same as now. Is one reason I asked about their capabilities. If basic bots can port, mount(and allegedly run underground) what can be done with someone who knows what they're doing? Daily writs?

PeacefulAnarchy

SeaGtGruff wrote: »

Abigail wrote: »

Bot routines often go subterranean; meaning we never see them or, as you suggested, they seem to disappear. Have you ever started to harvest a node only to have it vanish? Most likely, it was harvested by a bot underground. They will farm dungeons the same way, from underground where mobs/bosses cannot get to them. Nothing new about any of this.

Actually, if you start to harvest a node or loot a chest but it vanishes before you can, it most likely despawned. Nodes and chests spawn, then despawn after a while if no one loots them, then spawn again a little bit later. If you park your character at a node and don't harvest it, you can watch this happen if you're patient enough.

Also, some places are split instanced when quest progression changes the zone, like the attack on Bleakrock. If someone who has done the quest ports to someone who doesn't they'll be in the same instance, but not able to see each other within a designated area of the zone. Someone in one split can harvest away the nodes from someone in the other split.

Also, they might despawn if they were partially looted.

demonology89

2+ years on PS4 NA where bots have been rampant in starter zones. Level 3 sorcs with a familiar running amok everywhere.

They have upped their game. Before the servers came down, I was fighting for ore/jewelry nodes in Khenarthi's Roost. 2 bots were on the same circular route along the beach just south of Mistral. I followed and observed them for a bit before deciding to snatch some nodes for myself. I stuck with it and soon was consistently beating them to many of the nodes. It felt great to be farming mats! And it was funny to watch these bots behind me pause at a spawn point, wait, nothing appear, and then march along to the next spawn point to have the same thing happen.

Well, lo and behold, a 3rd bot appears. I notice it ahead of me gathering a node that has spawned. This bot though does not move in a circle like the others. So as I begin to race with this 3rd bot, the other 2 bots park themselves at spawn points instead of pausing and marching along. It was as if these bots sensed a disturbance in the force.

I don't know. This was a new and strange experience. What I do know is I despise bots and I'm tired of reporting them to possibly be banned, but then be replaced by more.

Madarc

demonology89 wrote: »

...I'm tired of reporting them ....

For this reason, it makes little sense to continue another new bot thread. Because experience shows that these always escalate quickly as well. They are often closed or deleted. So they only serve to relieve the current frustration, nothing else.
So don't give up, report ingame and hope that ZOS reacts, in my opinion the best solution.

Naftal

I still haven't seen bots on PC. People say it's a PC problem but literally the hundreds of complaints I've seen about this are from consoles.

People have also told me many times just go to region X, there's always bots there on PC. I've never seen a single bot in any of those places.

It has to do with how easy it's to make a new account on consoles.

PvP_Exploiter

#BringBackBots

Dreugh Wax from 3k to 20k

Madarc

Naftal wrote: »

I've never seen a single bot in any of those places.

Haha...visit me on PC/EU i can show you, where they breed..

But on a positive note: they have become very rare on PC lately, especially the big bot groups that usually consisted of 5-10 dubbed characters.

Lumenn

Admittedly I see a TON more on Xbox than I do on PC na(they're there, but not as heavy). The only reason a bot thread should ever get out of hand that I could POSSIBLY think of is if a botter derails and sinks the thread no? Surely we all agree cheating and hacking the systems should be frowned upon and everyone should work off of their OWN effort rather than cheat and gain unfair advantage over everyone, especially with trading.

Besides, this thread was about the craziest thing you've seen, and what they're capable of. Certainly nothing for anyone to be worried about. Right?

ZeroDPS

Abigail wrote: »

Bot routines often go subterranean; meaning we never see them or, as you suggested, they seem to disappear. Have you ever started to harvest a node only to have it vanish? Most likely, it was harvested by a bot underground. They will farm dungeons the same way, from underground where mobs/bosses cannot get to them. Nothing new about any of this.

100% true

Necrotech_Master

Naftal wrote: »

I still haven't seen bots on PC. People say it's a PC problem but literally the hundreds of complaints I've seen about this are from consoles.

People have also told me many times just go to region X, there's always bots there on PC. I've never seen a single bot in any of those places.

It has to do with how easy it's to make a new account on consoles.

ive seen them occasionally on PC, but definitely not like all over the place

and usually at most ive seen maybe 2-4 bots running together instead of like a horde of 12+ farming enemy kills

Lumenn

Necrotech_Master wrote: »

Naftal wrote: »

I still haven't seen bots on PC. People say it's a PC problem but literally the hundreds of complaints I've seen about this are from consoles.

People have also told me many times just go to region X, there's always bots there on PC. I've never seen a single bot in any of those places.

It has to do with how easy it's to make a new account on consoles.

ive seen them occasionally on PC, but definitely not like all over the place

and usually at most ive seen maybe 2-4 bots running together instead of like a horde of 12+ farming enemy kills

Yeah, I'll see a few on PC but you're right, nothing like I do on Xbox. Either something deters them or they're better at hiding. Dunno.

The_Boggart

From the drops in craglorn there must be bots just taking the nirn out of the nodes

kip_silverwolf

Yeah, sadly the bots are so bad on XBox NA that they're practically competing with other bots for the mats.
I report as many as I can but it's discouraging seeing the same bots in the same places for days or weeks on end. Those poor mudcrabs in Alik'r just don't stand a chance when there's a squish ball of sorcs on top of them.

I once had someone try to tell me botting was impossible on console. They obviously never played on XBox...

fizl101

kip_silverwolf wrote: »

Yeah, sadly the bots are so bad on XBox NA that they're practically competing with other bots for the mats.
I report as many as I can but it's discouraging seeing the same bots in the same places for days or weeks on end. Those poor mudcrabs in Alik'r just don't stand a chance when there's a squish ball of sorcs on top of them.

I once had someone try to tell me botting was impossible on console. They obviously never played on XBox...

Or a playstation....I deliberately dont kill those poor crabs, and they get ganged up on by 5 sorcs in their boy/girl band synchronised dance