Welcome To: The Elder Bots Online & How to Stop Them.

Twohothardware · July 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Just to chime in here, we have passed this thread and video over to our customer service teams. One note we want to stress, for us, the most efficient way to get rid of these bots is to use the in-game reporting system. That gives us the most information regarding the parties engaging in this behavior and we can take action when we have definitive proof. But we are actively taking action against bots. We don't want bots harming the experience of players, so we are on the same page there.

They're primarily on console. I'm on PS5 NA server and they're all over in the old starter zones like Khenarthi's Roost, Bleakrock Isle, Betnikh, Bal Foyen, and Stros M'Kai.

They're usually around lvl 3 with character names like GHJDFJF and they all run like the same script. Run a set path to resource, harvest resource, open their map/inventory, run set path to next resource.

You can report them all day but without looking into who they're transferring the raw materials to and getting the person listing in the traders they'll just have a few dozen more out there in no time.

Lumenn · July 2023

Some aren't shy about it either. Xbox na I've seen trains of them run around grahtwood and vulkhel guard wayshrines. They'll move in unison, wave, run, mount and ride in circles all in unison. Then port out.

Or the video on YouTube

https://youtu.be/61n72roFNRE where bots crashed a player repeatedly because he was interfering with ones route(they spammed him) it's scary when the bots can kick you from a game you pay for.

MachineGod · July 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Just to chime in here, we have passed this thread and video over to our customer service teams. One note we want to stress, for us, the most efficient way to get rid of these bots is to use the in-game reporting system. That gives us the most information regarding the parties engaging in this behavior and we can take action when we have definitive proof. But we are actively taking action against bots. We don't want bots harming the experience of players, so we are on the same page there.

Can't customer support/GM's just log into the game and ban them there and then? They are rather easy to find. Also an in-game presence would not hurt because it's been a very very long time since anyone saw a GM in game. Win win scenario.

LalMirchi · July 2023

I read somewhere that resources and mobs are manually placed in this game. My own experience seems to confirm this. Every resource/mob appears at the exact same position when they spawn which has the side-effect of being rather boring as a game experience.

I think that the core of the problem is that the manual placement of resources and predictable spawn locations makes it very easy for the botters to make paths for their bot armies.

omnidoh · July 2023

Get used to them.
They're not going anywhere, and since A.I tech is getting better ever faster, soon you won't even be able to distinguish them from real players. Just gotta live with it.

Destai · July 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Just to chime in here, we have passed this thread and video over to our customer service teams. One note we want to stress, for us, the most efficient way to get rid of these bots is to use the in-game reporting system. That gives us the most information regarding the parties engaging in this behavior and we can take action when we have definitive proof. But we are actively taking action against bots. We don't want bots harming the experience of players, so we are on the same page there.

The core problem is, and I outlined this for you before, we cannot always tell what characters they're use in their names. They use a lot of special characters that makes it hard to report them. If we could report directly from chat, that would make the whole thing a lot easier. So while I'm happy you're passing it along to the team, perhaps it's better to address that gap and increase GM presence in problem areas frequently cited here.

VvwvenomwvV · July 2023

Lumenn wrote: »

Some aren't shy about it either. Xbox na I've seen trains of them run around grahtwood and vulkhel guard wayshrines. They'll move in unison, wave, run, mount and ride in circles all in unison. Then port out.

Or the video on YouTube
https://youtu.be/61n72roFNRE where bots crashed a player repeatedly because he was interfering with ones route(they spammed him) it's scary when the bots can kick you from a game you pay for.

That is some wild stuff.... 👀

Lumenn · July 2023

VvwvenomwvV wrote: »

Lumenn wrote: »

Some aren't shy about it either. Xbox na I've seen trains of them run around grahtwood and vulkhel guard wayshrines. They'll move in unison, wave, run, mount and ride in circles all in unison. Then port out.

Or the video on YouTube
https://youtu.be/61n72roFNRE where bots crashed a player repeatedly because he was interfering with ones route(they spammed him) it's scary when the bots can kick you from a game you pay for.

That is some wild stuff.... 👀

Indeed it is. I've seen games get overrun with bots, and most of us have been around long enough to know games, and their companies that get the reputation for bots and cheating. Glad @ZOS_Kevin has said they don't want bots harming the experience of players, and maybe they'll even enact some of the suggestions in this thread( and for my enthusiastic friends on the forum, I do NOT mean the all items are bind on pickup idea 😉 . That's an idea to implement at launch, not years later)

Sepultura_13 · July 2023

Lumenn wrote: »

Some aren't shy about it either. Xbox na I've seen trains of them run around grahtwood and vulkhel guard wayshrines. They'll move in unison, wave, run, mount and ride in circles all in unison. Then port out.

Or the video on YouTube where bots crashed a player repeatedly because he was interfering with ones route(they spammed him) it's scary when the bots can kick you from a game you pay for.

The bots have been on PC/NA from day one. I recall seeing them flying through the air or "sliding" just barely underground. Now you have coded "hack-bots" that have the ability to crash you out of the game no matter what activity you're engaged in: dolmen, dragon, dungeon, BGs or Cyro. I can tell when a "hack-bot" is near me in-game just by how my FPS and latency numbers change drastically. Their trains do everything that @Lumenn describes, up to and including ganking / tbagging in Cyro and IC.

The "hack-bots," integrated with ChatGPT or other A.I., are essentially on virtual steroids, Red Bull, and whatever "party drug" is in FASHION.

zaria · July 2023

LalMirchi wrote: »

I read somewhere that resources and mobs are manually placed in this game. My own experience seems to confirm this. Every resource/mob appears at the exact same position when they spawn which has the side-effect of being rather boring as a game experience.

I think that the core of the problem is that the manual placement of resources and predictable spawn locations makes it very easy for the botters to make paths for their bot armies.

Yes spawn location is placed, not all are very smart however like this node.

I think issue is way worse on consoles as on PC-EU I have not seen obvious bots for years.
As I understand on consoles you can just create an new ESO account from you console account, stop this as in ban include the console account at least until purchasing the game again.

If smart bot operators do instanced stuff, but you can not farm mat here just level up.

VvwvenomwvV · August 2023

I've noticed that farming bots have disappeared in the last couple of days. Thank you, Zos.

jcaceresw · August 2023

I believe ZOS have the means to check if a specific account is a real bot using a background software to do the sequence of fixed actions on one or multiple instances at the same time. Just because someone have several accounts and are farming a specific world boss (which is mobile, don't die in the same spot and have a long 5 minute cool down) means the user has created a bot train to hurt other players. Bots trains won't reposition themselves in order to attack a monster or move "intelligently" where the monster has died and loot their corpses or replying you in chat. They also attack and move individually instead of all of them at the same time (user have to switch between instances so the current instance is the only one attacking and moving while the others are static).

VvwvenomwvV · August 2023

Well...the bots came back the very next day, thought they were a goner, but they didn't stay away... 😔

Northwold · August 2023

I do my own harvesting, but I'd also like bots dealt with for a more mundane reason that has absolutely nothing to do with trading: they look stupid and ruin immersion, reminding you that you're playing a computer game along with some very desperate people who should get lives instead of fielding a team of 20 Khajiit with nonsense names to murder mudcrabs.

Lumenn · August 2023

Northwold wrote: »

very desperate people who should get lives instead of fielding a team of 20 Khajiit with nonsense names to murder mudcrabs.

From my understanding some of these people are making a good living. I wouldn't go so far as to say ALL botters are gold sellers but /shrug.

Edit: apparently some haven't read any of my opinions on bots. Its possible I detest them even MORE than our good Northwold here. They're vile, unsportsmanlike blights on any online game and should be a number one priority from the start of any game involving trade(a ship, unfortunately for ESO, that has sailed) from gold sellers to just an unfair advantage in the market they're a pestilence on any gameplay.

Hopefully that clears up my opinion? They're vile.

petanko · August 2023

I can't understand why people doing that. Considering the electricity bill, would be much wiser to buy crowns and sell (cough, "gift") them in-game.
As for blocking bots, it's too easy to add deviations, different routes, etc so there is no point.

I_killed_Vivec · August 2023

I'm on PC EU and bots are not a consideration as far as I can tell. Indeed I was thinking "how do you know they are bots?". I'm a "casual farmer", I run everywhere rather than ride because I can't bear to go past a node and I can't be bothered to dismount/mount, but there are times when I go back to the starter zones and, on seeing all those nodes, will go on a circuit - behaviour typical of a bot. But then I have around 2.5k CP... clearly not a bot for all of my bot-like behaviour.

Then I started wondering about the impact on the economy. Doesn't the influx of a large amount of mats put a downwards pressure on prices? When I trade I tend to sell at below average (MM/TTC) prices because I want to sell quick, because I have more to sell. If there's a glut of mats then won't bots enter into a trade war, or are the all part of an evil consortium?

But then I started wondering about all of the visible behaviour. People see bots in action (not me, either PC EU is blessed, or I'm just unobservant). People see the massive influx of mats on guild traders.

If players can see all that then surely ZoS have better figures! They say (even in this thread) that the best way to hit the bots is for people to report them. But surely ZoS must see low-level "players" only running circuits of nodes, and being responsible for shifting millions of mats.

Similarly, I would have thought it would be simple for ZoS to track gold sellers.

And when it comes to AI... this is what ZoS should be employing just like the credit card companies have been doing for years. Instead of "attempted purchase doesn't fit purchasing habits", they should be monitoring low level players "Continually running a fixed circuit, harvesting millions of mats, shifting millions of gold, is not standard behaviour for a level 3 player".

c363b · August 2023

I and others have reported a bot that has been harvesting a metal node east of the Thieves Den for weeks. As of this afternoon no action has been taken to close the account of its creator. Today I saw that some player had managed to displace the bot from the metal node to a spot next to 2 lions. The lions kill the bot, the bot resurrects in place, and the cycle repeats. This makes the metal node available to legitimate players again. I would like to know how the player accomplished the displacement.

c363b · August 2023

Today the same bot is back at work on another metal node below Abah's Landing wayshrine. I reported it again.

Dokolus · August 2023

I_killed_Vivec wrote: »

I'm on PC EU and bots are not a consideration as far as I can tell. Indeed I was thinking "how do you know they are bots?". I'm a "casual farmer", I run everywhere rather than ride because I can't bear to go past a node and I can't be bothered to dismount/mount, but there are times when I go back to the starter zones and, on seeing all those nodes, will go on a circuit - behaviour typical of a bot. But then I have around 2.5k CP... clearly not a bot for all of my bot-like behaviour.

Then I started wondering about the impact on the economy. Doesn't the influx of a large amount of mats put a downwards pressure on prices? When I trade I tend to sell at below average (MM/TTC) prices because I want to sell quick, because I have more to sell. If there's a glut of mats then won't bots enter into a trade war, or are the all part of an evil consortium?

But then I started wondering about all of the visible behaviour. People see bots in action (not me, either PC EU is blessed, or I'm just unobservant). People see the massive influx of mats on guild traders.

If players can see all that then surely ZoS have better figures! They say (even in this thread) that the best way to hit the bots is for people to report them. But surely ZoS must see low-level "players" only running circuits of nodes, and being responsible for shifting millions of mats.

Similarly, I would have thought it would be simple for ZoS to track gold sellers.

And when it comes to AI... this is what ZoS should be employing just like the credit card companies have been doing for years. Instead of "attempted purchase doesn't fit purchasing habits", they should be monitoring low level players "Continually running a fixed circuit, harvesting millions of mats, shifting millions of gold, is not standard behaviour for a level 3 player".

I'm also PC EU, and I've yet to see this pattern emerge for myself.

I do tend to watch other players when I roam the open zones, seeing if they exhibit bot-like behaviour, but so far I've not seen any that act like a bot and follow a strict path (like the boomkin bots do in WoW).

I do think Zeni should keep a close eye on the lowest levels going around just farming all the mats in single zones day in and out, because for one, that still gets you nowhere really, and for another, it does make them come off as a bot, because they should really be going out questing/playing with others (even though sadly some play MMO's to literally just mess with player markets and nothing else).

c363b · August 2023

There is a new bot in Hews Bane, but this one doesn't look like the typical bot. It has full metal armor and shows a 492 level. It is stationed at a metal node east of the Thieves Den entrance. It opens the journal at regular intervals and harvests the node as soon as it appears. I reported it with Bot Scanner 2000.

VvwvenomwvV · September 2023

😆

Rumancek · September 2023

c363b wrote: »

I and others have reported a bot that has been harvesting a metal node east of the Thieves Den for weeks. As of this afternoon no action has been taken to close the account of its creator. Today I saw that some player had managed to displace the bot from the metal node to a spot next to 2 lions. The lions kill the bot, the bot resurrects in place, and the cycle repeats. This makes the metal node available to legitimate players again. I would like to know how the player accomplished the displacement.

A nightblade ability ‘Twisting Path’ works very well against these. Not that I’d know or anything >.>;

Trundik · September 2023

ZOS_Kevin wrote: »

Just to chime in here, we have passed this thread and video over to our customer service teams. One note we want to stress, for us, the most efficient way to get rid of these bots is to use the in-game reporting system. That gives us the most information regarding the parties engaging in this behavior and we can take action when we have definitive proof. But we are actively taking action against bots. We don't want bots harming the experience of players, so we are on the same page there.

Once I sent screnshot to support with around 800 tempering alloys that was set in guild market by single person in 3 days. It was split between two markets in same city. And hundreds of chromium ofc too. And support answered thats fine.

But please don't tmporarily shut down resource spawn.