Can we maybe agree that if we kicked the few thousand bots on line that real players might be able to login??

VarenDarkHeart wrote: »

I'm fairly sure the bots may have moved primarily to xbox and ps. Just guessing, but the some update ago feels super different farming nodes, going from node to node. coming back after a 2 year break, it's weird, it's like there is a buffer of some kind. Foil hat it seems, but my wife noticed it too once I mentioned it. Definitely weird that this change is so recent on pc. Maybe expect it to follow on console, maybe not. I do know after coming back after a 2 year break, It certainly hasn't gotten much better, and prices for items on PC (can't speak for console) prices for items on PC have pretty much doubled since 2 years ago, full stop across the board. I had the old data. Tempers - doubled, materials - doubled, weeds - doubled, some cases tripled.

Gold has become easier to attain, its only natural when that happens that gold becomes devalued and therefore assets are worth more. The game has also seen a drastic increase on PC of player base… this will also affect the demand and pricing.

This would honestly be a simple fix...

Under level 10 you don't get anything from nodes or creatures that offer raw materials. You'd stop the long train of bots that can just easily come to a starter zone at level 2 or 3 and just begin their life of work... they'd have to find ways to level, and that tedium would likely slow down the constant stream of them enough to end their existence.

Currently bots in bleakrock that have been active over 2 weeks. All have been reported, and reports are seemingly ignored. 7 or 8 real players just today alone in zone chat complaining they can’t get nodes because of bots. This exploiting is getting old now, and Zenimax need to address it as a matter of urgency. It’s crippling the game performce too.

@ZOS_GinaBruno @ZOS_BillE

Let me let you in on a little secret... these bots are farming mats to pass on for gold... they sell the gold on websites. That gold is MUCH cheaper to buy for real money than buying crowns to sell crowns... like MUCH cheaper.

What does that mean?? It means, ZoS... you're basically costing your own bottom line a fortune by not dealing with them. Because people who don't want to buy crowns to sell the gifts for gold because they can get loads more gold for less real life money this way... that means you're probably halving, maybe even quartering, your own potential income from crown sales.

That's impactive on the amount of money you have to spend covering the tech debt of fixing the game and maintaining it - so it then impacts the customers, which in turn... means you end up losing customers and again... your own bottom line is impacted AGAIN... all because you don't deal with the bots. See how important they are now??

These are zones I've actively spotted bots in today - and different instances could mean different bots, or maybe (if lucky) a bot free instance...

1. Stros M'kai (Node Farming)
2. Betnikh (Node Farming & Wolf Farming)
3. Bleakrock (Node Farming)
4. Khenarthi's Roost (Node Farming)
5. Alik'r Desert (Node Farming, Dolmen Farming, Mudcrab Farming)
6. Auridon (Bear & Wolf Farming)
7. Glenumbra (Wolf Farming & Node Farming)
8. Stonefalls (Node Farming)
9. Reaper's March (Node Farming)
10. Bangkorai (Bear Farming & Node Farming)
11. Rivenspire (Node Farming & Harpie/Bat Farming)
12. The Lion's Den (The Rift) (Node Farming)
13. Bal Foyen (Node Farming)

Now, I counted 32 active unique bots in Bleakrock in one instance... and Bleakrock is a pretty small zone... That would equate to approximately 400 bots over these zones I've spotted them in... And I'm sure I've missed a couple of places off my list that I might need to edit. It's also possible in the busier of the zones (such as Grahtwood, Stormhaven, Deshaan, Craglorn) that they still exist, but in different instances.

That's a lot of active bots to have to compete with, and that are adding to server usage that no doubt has a knock-on effect on performance for PAYING customers. I'm not sure if the bots make me angrier, or the lack of intention from Zenimax to deal with them that is worse - it's probably more the latter at this stage, and that's not a good thing if your customers are feeling this way.

These starter zones were designed to have a few more nodes, and faster respawn rates to aid newer players - but actual players cannot farm these nodes... AT ALL.. so, I'd say you have a couple of options...

1. Slow the node respawn rate in these zones
2. Remove some of the nodes so fewer of them are available
3. Make it so you have to be a minimum level 6 (crafting writs level) to see nodes/be able to pick them
4. Add more gamemasters to actively purge bots on an hourly clock to make it not worthwhile for botfarmers to exist
5. Track the mats... watch which central accounts that these mats end up at, and start taking action against THEM... otherwise it's like dealing with the small, expendible dealers, without taking on the kingpins.
6. ESO+ Subs get guaranteed double nodes that WILL stack with Plentiful Harvest

Whatever options you decide upon (or a combination of them all) you should definitely be sitting up and taking notice. These bots will not buy your next DLC or Expansion... they will not be subscribing to ESO+.... they will not be paying your wages.... and ultimately, they will drive your paying customers away.

ZOS would be smarter to get one these USB bots and make it go around purging the other bots, would solve the problem and use their own programs against them.

19 days for the one bot. Honestly is disgraceful and shameful that Zenimax haven’t done anything. I know they’ve had reports on reports of that same bot. What is the point in us submitting reports and tickets if you don’t actually read or act upon them?

23 days… still nothing.

And check out these Rivenspire bots. The recording doesn’t do justice to the massive drops in frame rates I was getting from them in the area. If everyone wants evidence of performance related issue being directly associated with bots…. Here it is. This is just 10-15 of them. Now, I’ve recorded over 400 of them at any single moment in time… starting to add up?

https://youtu.be/YhIHXE9cqZw

Btw… these bots are so close together you can’t make out psns… they are actively censoring themselves. Not that these are real people lol.

Rittings wrote: »

Yet another handful of bots in Bleakrock that have been around for a week.... without any action taken by ZoS....

The one near the wayshrine hasn't been offline since the patch release... you can't tell me that's a human... human's tend to need something called "sleep". I know it's been on non-stop (even when I'm sleeping) because I shift sleep with my wife, and she's been checking on it.

I had to chuckle on XBox NA Bal Foyen when many of the dispersed farming bots simply stopped and just stood there. They resumed a few minutes later, but I assume that happened across the entire game since this guy looks like he has bots farming ore in many zones.

I've been reporting them on XBox, but it is a pain, with lots of record keeping and screen shots since ZOS hides the subject of the report if you go back and look. I never report a bot twice, unless I have reason to think that ZOS needs a second ticket.

I don't know what ZOS does with bot reports. Whatever it is, the bots are still there. I have to think that if they really wanted to ban bots, there are easier ways to do it than wait for some players to report them one at a time. Some of these are so obvious that they practically carry a sign saying "I'm a Bot". I seems obvious to me that whatever party runs these bots has no fear of ZOS because they do absolutely nothing to hide what they are.

I honestly don't think they even care about bots. I chase em around and report em but I'm pretty sure I'm wasting my time.
It's SO [snip] OBVIOUS when a toon is a bot. ZOS probably has enough money to have even just one person per platform running around the mini zones hitting bots with a ban hammer. But no, they want us to do their job for them and report them. I'm not even sure they actually remove bots anymore. [snip]

[edited for minor bashing & profanity bypass]

The games performance has dipped… and still the bots strain it badly.