Is Unattended macro farming a resource node NOT against the rules?

altemriel · November 2017

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

might be a bot, not a real player

but yes, it should be banned

Azurya · November 2017

have you ever seen a GM ingame?

me neither, so yeah, it doesn´t bother ZOS. And that is it.

I have played MMO´s where there were lots of GM, always around visiting areas and looking things up.
was a smooth one but really an exception.

Turelus · November 2017

@Mureel the only official information I know on interaction with character is the post by Jess quoted below. I am not aware of them updating this, however I could be wrong.
Her reply doesn't state you can't sit and hold a button but it's likely they're going to mistake your behaviour for automation.

ZOS_JessicaFolsom wrote: »

Hi everyone,

We know there have been a lot of questions recently about botting, automated play, what’s a Terms of Service Violation and what isn’t, and what we’re doing to combat TOS-violating behavior. We’d like to answer some of those questions and provide insight.

Per our Terms of Service, this is the definition of botting and automated play:

Utilizing automation for your character is a violation of our Terms of Service. This is defined as taking action on your character, without human input, to further advance your progress in the game. Which is considered botting.

Recently, some of you have asked if it’s okay to put tape or a rubber band on your controller. The short answer is “No.” Automating your character in any way, including placing tape or a rubber-band on a console controller, is considered a violation of our Terms of Service, and action may be taken on your account. You must be actively controlling your character.

In regards to our efforts to combat botting and automated play, we’re tackling it on two fronts: Game Development and Customer Support.

On the Game Development front, we are auditing the monsters that are most commonly targeted by those who bot and automate play to ensure the spawn timers are what they should be. As we find them, we’re fixing any monsters that are instantly re-spawning or on a spawn timer that is shorter than intended.

On the Customer Support side of things, our Terms of Service team suspends and bans accounts daily. We review all TOS reports that we receive, and prioritize the investigations of accounts that have received multiple complaints. We regularly send our Support Agents in-game to watch high-traffic areas such as Dolmens, and take action on any violators we identify. We turn over identified “black marketeers” and repeat offenders to Sony and Microsoft, which sometimes results in a ban of the individual’s PlayStation 4 or Xbox One. We also do other secret things.

So how can you help us with our efforts to get rid of those who are botting and/or automating their characters? Reporting them to us is a huge help, and we do review every ticket we receive.

Here are some steps for using the in-game reporting tools:

On PC/Mac
Radial Menu
Reporting players via the radial menu is the preferred method. Walk up to the player you wish to report and Press [F] to open the radial menu. Select “Report Player” then let go of [F] to open the Report Player window. Press [E] to report the player for botting, or [R] to open the Ticket Creation page.

Chat Window
You can also Right-click on a player character name in their chat window and choose the “Report Player” option.

Press [E] to report a player for chat spam, including spamming gold sales advertisements. This will automatically send a report and does not require you to open and fill out a ticket.

Press [R] to report another player for something unrelated to spam. Choosing this option opens the Ticket Creation page.

On PS4/Xbox One
Radial Menu
As with PC/Mac, reporting players via the radial menu is preferred. Simply walk up to the player you wish to report and press the [Menu] button on Xbox One or [Options] button on PlayStation 4 to open the radial menu. Select “Report Player” then let go of [Menu] or [Options] to open the Report Player window.

Customer Service Menu
Navigate to the Player Menu ([Menu] on Xbox One or [Options]) on PlayStation 4 and find the Help Menu.
From there, select the Customer Service Menu and proceed to fill out a ticket under the appropriate category type.

Please provide the following information when reporting another player:
The name of the player you are reported

The reason why you are reporting them (Spam, Botting, or Harassment)

The time of the incident

The megaserver that the reported player is playing on

If you wish to include visual proof of the violation, such as screenshots or video footage, simply reply to your Support Ticket to update it and add the files.

We hope this info helps – thank you for being a part of our community and continuing to report any potential TOS violations you see!

nnargun · November 2017

Turelus wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

Here is what I think. If he is using a program to watch for the spawn, a macro that presses and holds "E", or has set a rock on the "E" key to hold it down, then it is against the rules. If he is sitting there actually pressing the "E" with his own finger, then he is really not breaking any rules.

You can just have an macro sending E every 10 seconds and have auto loot on.
If node respawn time is 10 minutes he will get 240 hits during a day or around 800 cloth

That sounds horribly inefficient.

Inefficient but not ineffective. 800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

Chronicburn · November 2017

They could do something about this ... OR they can spend that time making more stuff you will spend money on so they can enrich themselves...

What do you think they will do?

coop500 · November 2017

nnargun wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

Here is what I think. If he is using a program to watch for the spawn, a macro that presses and holds "E", or has set a rock on the "E" key to hold it down, then it is against the rules. If he is sitting there actually pressing the "E" with his own finger, then he is really not breaking any rules.

You can just have an macro sending E every 10 seconds and have auto loot on.
If node respawn time is 10 minutes he will get 240 hits during a day or around 800 cloth

That sounds horribly inefficient.

Inefficient but not ineffective. 800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

This guy is basically admitting to cheating, can something be done here?

nnargun · November 2017

lol

zaria · November 2017

lordrichter wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

Here is what I think. If he is using a program to watch for the spawn, a macro that presses and holds "E", or has set a rock on the "E" key to hold it down, then it is against the rules. If he is sitting there actually pressing the "E" with his own finger, then he is really not breaking any rules.

You can just have an macro sending E every 10 seconds and have auto loot on.
If node respawn time is 10 minutes he will get 240 hits during a day or around 800 cloth

... which should result in a ban, if caught.

Obviously.
its said over an over again that AfK rubber banding is against the rules.
It also look like this only makes sense if AfK for long times. If on an weekend yes, just then taking an break no.
Data mining for characters who is online for days without breaks would make sense.

jaschacasadiob16_ESO · November 2017

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

nnargun · November 2017

What are you saying there? I suppose it's impossible to pick up 3000 raw material of any kind in 1 hour. You would have to loot a node every ~4 seconds.

Anyways, 800 raw materials are better than 0 raw materials. There is no arguing about this.

Nestor · November 2017

lagrue wrote: »

Gonna need to see the actual TOS excerpt that states this explicitly. [snip]

The TOS on bots:

"You agree not to use any hardware or software or any other method of support that is not authorized by ZeniMax

You kind of skipped over this part. That is the Legal rock that ZOS can stand on if they want to ban an account for doing this. Whether they will or not is a different story. But, this is their "We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone at anytime" statement that you see in some shops or restaurants.

The TOS is, as all TOS's are, suitably vague enough that they can do whatever they want as to allowing who they want into their game world. There is no "Freedom to Game" clause anywhere that I see.

All they need to do is use the smell test, if it smells like a bot, then they can treat it like a bot. Problem is, their noses are sometimes stuffed up.

You can parse the TOS all you want, but if ZOS wants to ban an account, they can. And, there is not much someone can do about it, as no one is going to spend 5 figures on a lawyer over a game. Thing is, they lean heavily on the side of leniency for a variety of reasons, most of which I don't agree with. So, this is really moot point to argue about.

Tan9oSuccka · November 2017

Why do people defend these actions?

People that macro, rubber band etc...

Ban them. End story.

coop500 · November 2017

Tan9oSuccka wrote: »

Why do people defend these actions?

People that macro, rubber band etc...

Ban them. End story.

Agreed, hell people are using this thread to promote macroing, where is the banning?

nnargun · November 2017

I'm not defending or advertising. Hope that's clear. Just explaining how this method is appealing to cheaters.

krachall · November 2017

26 hours later and he's still there. His botting macro appears to still be working, as he hasn't been booted for inactivity but I think he got turned or maybe his cat bumped his mouse as he's no longer able to autoloot the node. He was looting it flawlessly yesterday...faster than a human can hit the button to get the node before him...but today, he's just standing there and the node is unlooted.

There have also been quite a few active players standing around him periodically. I hope they are reporting him as well.

nnargun · November 2017

zaria wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

Here is what I think. If he is using a program to watch for the spawn, a macro that presses and holds "E", or has set a rock on the "E" key to hold it down, then it is against the rules. If he is sitting there actually pressing the "E" with his own finger, then he is really not breaking any rules.

You can just have an macro sending E every 10 seconds and have auto loot on.
If node respawn time is 10 minutes he will get 240 hits during a day or around 800 cloth

Btw it's only 144 hits/24 hours if node respawn timer is 10 min.

krachall · November 2017

nnargun wrote: »

zaria wrote: »

lordrichter wrote: »

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

Here is what I think. If he is using a program to watch for the spawn, a macro that presses and holds "E", or has set a rock on the "E" key to hold it down, then it is against the rules. If he is sitting there actually pressing the "E" with his own finger, then he is really not breaking any rules.

You can just have an macro sending E every 10 seconds and have auto loot on.
If node respawn time is 10 minutes he will get 240 hits during a day or around 800 cloth

Btw it's only 144 hits/24 hours if node respawn timer is 10 min.

The node respawn time in Bal Foyen is probably closer to 30 seconds. Maybe a minute at most. That's why he's there instead of some remote node where no other player would see him.

Feric51 · November 2017

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

rotaugen454 · November 2017

Anyone defending this or claiming to watch Netflix while mashing a button for 12 hours straight is either:
1) bored and trying to cause an argument or
2) using macros to violate TOS and trying to make a case that they aren't.

coop500 · November 2017

Feric51 wrote: »

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

This one makes a good point, his crafting level would have to be maxed to get the fancy CP 160 stuff. At level 5 you get jute.

krachall · November 2017

coop500 wrote: »

Feric51 wrote: »

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

This one makes a good point, his crafting level would have to be maxed to get the fancy CP 160 stuff. At level 5 you get jute.

Nope. He's CP 270 or so.

coop500 · November 2017

krachall wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Feric51 wrote: »

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

This one makes a good point, his crafting level would have to be maxed to get the fancy CP 160 stuff. At level 5 you get jute.

Nope. He's CP 270 or so.

He could be CP 270, but if the toon is still level 5 or 6 then he'll still get jute. Is the toon level 50 with CP 270?

krachall · November 2017

coop500 wrote: »

krachall wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Feric51 wrote: »

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

This one makes a good point, his crafting level would have to be maxed to get the fancy CP 160 stuff. At level 5 you get jute.

Nope. He's CP 270 or so.

He could be CP 270, but if the toon is still level 5 or 6 then he'll still get jute. Is the toon level 50 with CP 270?

His name shows CP287. If he wasn't level 50, it would show the actual level. So he's level 50, CP287 and pulling raw silk (if his clothing is maxed level) or a mix of raw silk and another material if his clothing is lower.

swippy · November 2017

this whole thread really makes it sound like a lot of people are way better at training cats than i am

rhapsodious · November 2017

coop500 wrote: »

Feric51 wrote: »

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

This one makes a good point, his crafting level would have to be maxed to get the fancy CP 160 stuff. At level 5 you get jute.

No, that was another person who was talking about a level 5 presumably farming nirncrux in Craglorn.

SisterGoat · November 2017

If you think they are botting and reporting them is doing nothing, ask some guild mates or friends to come over, screenshot them and send in a ticket. The more people report this person, the higher chance they will be banned.

Elsonso · November 2017

krachall wrote: »

26 hours later and he's still there. His botting macro appears to still be working, as he hasn't been booted for inactivity but I think he got turned or maybe his cat bumped his mouse as he's no longer able to autoloot the node. He was looting it flawlessly yesterday...faster than a human can hit the button to get the node before him...but today, he's just standing there and the node is unlooted.

There have also been quite a few active players standing around him periodically. I hope they are reporting him as well.

The node spawns more frequently than the inactivity timer, so he can stand there all day without timing out.

His inventory is likely full. Hopefully ZOS deals with these things before he sells it all and spreads everything around to his customers.

DMuehlhausen · November 2017

krachall wrote: »

Almost every time I head out to farm resources, the same player is standing in the same spot macro-farming the same raw ancestor silk node. He's usually there for 8+ hours and loots the nodes so fast that he's begun looting before the node appears on my screen. I assume he's using a macro that is spamming the E key as fast as possible.

I've reported him at least 6 times yet there he is, for hours every day, farming that same node.

If it's not against the rules, what program is he using, as I'll do that 24/7!

To my knowledge there are no ways to macros built into the game by default. This would mean and add on or some third party software is doing it for them so it would be a bannable offense.

DigitalEulogy · November 2017

rhapsodious wrote: »

coop500 wrote: »

Feric51 wrote: »

jaschacasadiob16_ESO wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

I am not sure what you mean with 800 cloth, but I do assume you refer to 800 raw silk pieces. That in EU equals to some 100K, maybe a little less. Demand aint that huge lately, possibly because the price of was is way lower than alloys.

You can get the same quantity of raw silk plus 3000 raw ore and raw wood by actively farming for a hour at the right time.

People only speaks of BF but there are plenty that are always empty throught the day. They camp a node? Let them! Less people fighting for better places.

Didn’t OP State this “bot” was level 5 or 6? In that case it’s most likely jute that it’s harvesting, and my guess will just be selling the raw mats for people to gamble on for wax, or refining themselves and selling the wax.

Bottom line, figures based on their financial gain using CP150 mats is most likely a false assumption.

This one makes a good point, his crafting level would have to be maxed to get the fancy CP 160 stuff. At level 5 you get jute.

No, that was another person who was talking about a level 5 presumably farming nirncrux in Craglorn.

Correct. I was talking about the level 5 on craglorn across from the defunct nirncrux mine. Also I know for fact that nirncrux drops from the nodes even if it is just ore and not rubedite.

Gandrhulf_Harbard · November 2017

coop500 wrote: »

nnargun wrote: »

Turelus wrote: »

That sounds horribly inefficient.

Inefficient but not ineffective. 800 cloth in 24h is much better than 0 cloth in 24h. If it doesn't cost anything besides a bit of electricity and also doesn't get you banned and you're not able to play anyways, it's a great side income.

This guy is basically admitting to cheating, can something be done here?

No, he's not admitting to cheating.

All The Best