I haven't seen any in Summerset.

PS4/NA

I always suspect players that have a random string of numbers and letters as user account of being bots. No one in the right mind would chose something like "X34YVB89PPX056URT" (just an example, not actual name), as user name. Also I've seen plenty of bots just running laps in areas where there are lots of leather bearing mobs, killing and looting them. Probably the human controller then refines them for upgrades, sell them and the rubedo leather in bulk on guild stores at rock bottom prices. I've reported quite a few and received mail confirmation for the tickets, but I doubt banning a few gets things done. I don't subsist by farming, and I don't care that much about prices, but culling the bots leaves more server resources for the human players, and may lead to performance improvements.

As for the disappearing node, I've seen it happen a number of times - I just approach the node and when I'm about to pick it it's gone. but I don't think it's because of bots "underground". Most likely a player loots the node, save some specific items like worms/crawlers in plants, or furnishing materials in other nodes, and subsequently the node despawns after a time. I've found such nodes with the disregarded items still in them, and picked them anyway out of expedience since I have craft bag. Most annoying is then when a lowbie player samples a node, sets its level then you end up picking some low level material yourself because it's still rendered as being ruby ash or ancestor silk.