Why isn't ArenaNet doing anything about the bots?

There's been an apparent spike in bot activity (in both PvE and PvP across both regions) and it seems to be only getting worse. The same bots that have been running around since the start of this ranked season are still around and kicking... despite numerous people reporting and sending in feedback and/or proof through Tickets. These bots are ruining the game experience for pretty much everyone involved and might potentially worsen the economy as they supposedly make up to 4,000 gold a season from an old estimate (which is outright ridiculous) on top of all the materials they keep farming.

Back in 2019 there were these group of bots that were running around farming PvP for almost three seasons in a row. I even saw them interacting with NPCs and other vendors by the end of a it, spamming emotes against players who recognized them as there was a player using them in order to wrap up their profit. Why isn't ArenaNet doing anything about this? Or better yet, if they are... how come it's still such a big issue? They did once deal with all the gold-spammers, but these PvE-PvP bots are getting out of hand and it's rather upsetting to see... especially since they're only getting smarter (as in bigger broken builds that are nearly impossible to counter in a competitive scene).

There's even been in a rise in websites and forums dedicated to botting and hacking in GW2... And the real kicker is, people are making actual money out of this.

You might want to review this thread https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/121390/an-update-on-game-security-and-player-reporting-in-guild-wars-2 before accusing Anet of not doing anything.

I don't care much about boots farming mats.. i mean, that doesn't really affect me, even though you're avoiding you play the game you paid for.. well, too each their own.

But what i am most frustrated with are the bots that keep 1 unit orders on the trading post.I had several hundreds of potatoes to sell, but someone had an order for one.I fulfilled it, but the exact same order refreshed immediately instead of being removed. I fulfilled it like 20 times before i gave up. I'll positive it was a bot since it was always a 1 unit order that was IMMEDIATELY replaced. It couldn't have been a manual operation

@Ayakaru.6583 said:I don't care much about boots farming mats.. i mean, that doesn't really affect me, even though you're avoiding you play the game you paid for.. well, too each their own.

But what i am most frustrated with are the bots that keep 1 unit orders on the trading post.I had several hundreds of potatoes to sell, but someone had an order for one.I fulfilled it, but the exact same order refreshed immediately instead of being removed. I fulfilled it like 20 times before i gave up. I'll positive it was a bot since it was always a 1 unit order that was IMMEDIATELY replaced. It couldn't have been a manual operation

So you only care about the boys that affect you, specifically. Okay, then.

There are also a bunch of bots farming maguuma lilies using teleport hacks. I report everytime I see them but they are still there. It's disgusting.

@Ayakaru.6583 said:I fulfilled it, but the exact same order refreshed immediately instead of being removed. I fulfilled it like 20 times before i gave up. I'll positive it was a bot since it wasalways a 1 unit order that was IMMEDIATELY replaced. It couldn't have been a manual operation

this is a trading post error. periodically I come across such goods ranging from armor to food and raw resources. consider it a plus if you're a salesperson.there is always a final product at a given price(the maximum that I saw is 38 pieces), after selling which you go further down the list

@"Mannah.4012" said:There are also a bunch of bots farming maguuma lilies using teleport hacks. I report everytime I see them but they are still there. It's disgusting.

because I also reported such people every day for 2 times per person in fairness, I want to note that many who did not have a permanent offline status do not appear in the game for a long time. although apparently this fact did not reduce the influx of new collectors. I don't know if this is done with free accounts? I don't remember all the conditions for it

I will add here as some call it "parking" near the chests at the end of the jumping puzzles, daily collection of chests in bjora marches and grorhmar Valley. farm oysters in the sirens's landing.

other than expac they aint do anything much about anything so...

Have you guys ever thought about just playing a game?We can only assume someone is a bot and this is exactly what A-Net does. If there is no bullet proof evidence,they leave people alone. Rightfully so

Just play the game. How others play and how they handle their characters is not of our business. Problem solvedSame with standing farmers. It's not illegal so leave people alone

@"kharmin.7683" said:You might want to review this thread https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/121390/an-update-on-game-security-and-player-reporting-in-guild-wars-2 before accusing Anet of not doing anything.

Saying they're doing something but unwilling to explain what they actually did leaves lots of room for people to believe they aren't doing anything, especially when emprically, players are noticing otherwise. They could be doing something, but I think they need to be a little more open about who and how many they ban, etc. As well as how they intend to regulate F2P account in competitive arenas.

@Firebeard.1746 said:

@"kharmin.7683" said:You might want to review this thread

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/121390/an-update-on-game-security-and-player-reporting-in-guild-wars-2

before accusing Anet of not doing anything.

But they won't for privacy reasons. I'd rather that then have them be more specific and then being sued out of business.

@kharmin.7683 said:

@Firebeard.1746 said:

@kharmin.7683 said:You might want to review this thread

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/121390/an-update-on-game-security-and-player-reporting-in-guild-wars-2

before accusing Anet of not doing anything.

Blizzard has no problem publishing ban numbers. Also, I think it's stupid allowing F2P accounts into competitive game modes (especially ranked). The cost of punishment is severely decreased in that environment. Just make a new account.

Blizzard is not Anet. I really hate this comparison because it simply cannot be made.

@Mortifera.6138 said:

@Ayakaru.6583 said:I don't care much about boots farming mats.. i mean, that doesn't really affect me, even though you're avoiding you play the game you paid for.. well, too each their own.

But what i am most frustrated with are the bots that keep 1 unit orders on the trading post.I had several hundreds of potatoes to sell, but someone had an order for one.I fulfilled it, but the exact same order refreshed immediately instead of being removed. I fulfilled it like 20 times before i gave up. I'll positive it was a bot since it was always a 1 unit order that was IMMEDIATELY replaced. It couldn't have been a manual operation

I did not say that. That's a thought you generated yourself.I said i didn't care about bouts that just stand around farming mobs. Those specifically

Even if ANet would announce numbers or statistics you guys would never be satisfied.Everyone that doesn't play the game how you guys dictate, is labeled a bot anyways.Standing Farmers are the best example. Thousand of players getting called names and are labeled bots for no reason at all.

@"Kurrilino.2706" said:Even if ANet would announce numbers or statistics you guys would never be satisfied.Everyone that doesn't play the game how you guys dictate, is labeled a bot anyways.Standing Farmers are the best example. Thousand of players getting called names and are labeled bots for no reason at all.

Well when someone keeps suiciding mid and won't respond to the question "who here is not a bot" it makes one wonder. This does happen, but really it happens because there's a lot of obvious bad behavior in PVP anyway. It's the community's reality vs. what anet says. I think if the quality of matches improved and it became obvious there were fewer bots, people would be satisfied. But we mostly get static from our own observation against anet's "We're dealing with it, but we won't tell you anything about anything we've done". Which doesn't say much.

@Firebeard.1746 said:

@"Kurrilino.2706" said:Even if ANet would announce numbers or statistics you guys would never be satisfied.Everyone that doesn't play the game how you guys dictate, is labeled a bot anyways.Standing Farmers are the best example. Thousand of players getting called names and are labeled bots for no reason at all.

I understand what you are saying but "It makes someone wonder" is no evidence at all.As example, i do my dailies mostly in ranked PvP because of the skill level. The best way to do that is to stay at the home base.The assumption is that the game is done faster when i don participate. As faster the game is over as faster i have my daily.My character is constantly called Bot and i am reported. Not that i ever got a notice from ANet because they know.So, in reality people accuse someone of being a bot without evidence because the just assume.ANet is fully aware of that and leave players alone. Like you said, bad behavior ingame doesn't mean botting

@Kurrilino.2706 said:

As example, i do my dailies mostly in ranked PvP because of the skill level. The best way to do that is to stay at the home base.The assumption is that the game is done faster when i don participate. As faster the game is over as faster i have my daily.My character is constantly called Bot and i am reported. Not that i ever got a notice from ANet because they know.So, in reality people accuse someone of being a bot without evidence because the just assume.ANet is fully aware of that and leave players alone. Like you said, bad behavior ingame doesn't mean botting

I guess they should be reporting you for match manipulation instead.

I never mind if everyone is at least trying but my team just gets outplayed. But specifically choosing to interact with the match as little as possible so as to lose faster crosses the line for me. I guess I'd make an exception for someone staying in spawn because the team is getting camped, but it sounds to me like you're just staying at home node from the very beginning for this exact purpose.

@Firebeard.1746 said:Also, I think it's stupid allowing F2P accounts into competitive game modes (especially ranked). The cost of punishment is severely decreased in that environment. Just make a new account.

There’s no evidence that the botters/hackers/whatever are using F2P accounts. Players cannot probe this on their end. Bans are not just account bans of the account used. This has been highly evidenced.

@Firebeard.1746 said:Well when someone keeps suiciding mid and won't respond to the question "who here is not a bot" it makes one wonder.

That’s not evidence. That could be someone who doesn’t know better or just doesn’t care at that point. Ignoring you doesn’t mean that they’re a bot either.

@Firebeard.1746 said:

@"kharmin.7683" said:You might want to review this thread

https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/121390/an-update-on-game-security-and-player-reporting-in-guild-wars-2

before accusing Anet of not doing anything.

OK ... but that's not a reason to assume they do nothing either. In fact, there is historical evidence they DO act on bots.

Of all the things anyone has anything to complain about, pve botting is probably the dumbest, perhaps not as dumb as afk necro minion farming complaints, but still 2nd in the dumb ladder.

@voltaicbore.8012 said:

@Kurrilino.2706 said:

As example, i do my dailies mostly in ranked PvP because of the skill level. The best way to do that is to stay at the home base.The assumption is that the game is done faster when i don participate. As faster the game is over as faster i have my daily.My character is constantly called Bot and i am reported. Not that i ever got a notice from ANet because they know.So, in reality people accuse someone of being a bot without evidence because the just assume.ANet is fully aware of that and leave players alone. Like you said, bad behavior ingame doesn't mean botting

This is not completely correct. I don't stay at home from the beginning. Usual the daily is capping a flag or kill someone.All this is easily done with a stealthy Thief. After i have done that, i want the game over as fast as possible.

I would absolutely not call that match manipulation.I don't gain anything or favor a certain team, if my team wins, i am already good with that.It's just more efficient to aim for a loss than for a victory. By going for a victory i just extend the game by lots of minutes.I play the game different than you do. Nothing in the rules makes your or my way to play illegal.

The actual problem i call out since a while is that the most easy Dailies are in PvP and not PVE.As long as this is the case, people are forced to play PvP. You can call them Bot's if it pleases you but ANet won't do anything since they are no botsdoesn't matter how often you report them

@"Kurrilino.2706" said:I don't gain anything or favor a certain team, if my team wins, i am already good with that.

Merely "favoring" one side cannot possibly be the standard for match manipulation. If you fight hard to win, you are obviously favoring your own team, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Equally obviously, "match manipulation" must then refer to something other than "playing hard within the rules so your team can win." I would argue that "match manipulation" as a concept precisely applies to the kind of thing you say next:

It's just more efficient to aim for a loss than for a victory. By going for a victory i just extend the game by lots of minutes.

You are intentionally seeking to make your team lose. And for some bizarre reason you still go on to say

I play the game different than you do. Nothing in the rules makes your or my way to play illegal.

Check #22 of the GW2 Rules of Conduct, which specifically states: "This also includes disrupting other people’s game experience by not actively participating in matches in good faith, a.k.a leeching."

My way is fine, yours is not.

The real problem is that ANet probably has issues taking action against someone who is merely performing the behaviors you are doing in-game. I mean, it's entirely reasonable for a new an very conservative-minded player to think that they're actively helping the team win by protecting the home node, especially when the team seems to be strugging all over the map - makes sense to at least hang onto what you have, right?

But hilariously, you basically said out here in the open "nah, I'm not just new or misguided, but I intentionally do this to make my own team lose faster." Sure, play however you want, but your conduct is not defensible.

@voltaicbore.8012 said:

@"Kurrilino.2706" said:I don't gain anything or favor a certain team, if my team wins, i am already good with that.

It's just more efficient to aim for a loss than for a victory.

By going for a victory i just extend the game by lots of minutes.

I play the game different than you do. Nothing in the rules makes your or my way to play illegal.

I am sure you just forgot the 1st paragraph by accident

1. While playing Guild Wars 2, you must respect the rights of others and their rights to play and enjoy the Game. To this end, you may not defraud, harass, threaten, embarrass or cause distress and/or unwanted attention to other players. This includes posting insulting, offensive, or abusive comments about players, repeatedly sending unwanted messages, reporting players maliciously, attacking a player based on race, sexual orientation, religion, heritage, etc. Hate speech is not tolerated.

I also do not see where i violate the 22nd rule, you actually do

22. While participating in Plaver-vs-Player (PvP) gameplay, you will not participate in any form of match manipulation. Match manipulation is defined as any action taken to fix or manipulate the outcome of a match or alter or manipulate the rankings or ratings of the ladder. This also includes disrupting other people’s game experience by not actively participating in matches in good faith, a.k.a leeching.

Since i follow my dailies, i participate in good faith in PvP and am not leeching. The legal definition for "Good Faith" is, that i do not wish to defraud other.Further, the rule says "any action taken to fix or manipulate the outcome". Since i clearly DO NOT take any action i am not the one manipulating.If any, i would accuse you of manipulating, since you openly admitted that you purposely take actions to have a win as the outcome of the match.The rule clearly states that people violate rule 22, who actively manipulate any outcome of a match.

So before accusing people of misconduct, try to better yourself please. Especially when the other person is doing absolutely nothing wrong.

The main issue with discussions about botting is that people assume that someone is botting while there is no solid proof for the debate here that they truly are.1: Not all behaviour described is botting. Auto-attack/auto-loot farming is allowed if someone is able to respond to a personal message by a GM. We are unable to verify this as nobody is obliged to respond to us players.2: rubberbanding/lagging could explain the observations we are seeing. Just as other technical reasons.3: All reports are being reviewed (so claims Arenanet) and actions are being taken.4: to avoid giving away tells how they tracked a botter, they often do not take immediate action. Just to leave the botter in the dark about how they have been caught redhanded.5: botting is often part of something bigger (e.g. being part of hacked accounts used for real money transfers). Not taking action to a single offense often helps to map a network of illegal bots and hacked accounts behind them to handle the illegal goods.6: Arenanet never tells us about the actions they have taken.

I'm not saying that there are no bots. I'm just saying that it is impossible for us to know what action arenanet is actually taking and I am carefull in jumping to any conclusions here.

@Kurrilino.2706 said:This is not completely correct. I don't stay at home from the beginning. Usual the daily is capping a flag or kill someone.All this is easily done with a stealthy Thief. After i have done that, i want the game over as fast as possible.

I would absolutely not call that match manipulation.I don't gain anything or favor a certain team, if my team wins, i am already good with that.It's just more efficient to aim for a loss than for a victory. By going for a victory i just extend the game by lots of minutes.I play the game different than you do. Nothing in the rules makes your or my way to play illegal.

The actual problem i call out since a while is that the most easy Dailies are in PvP and not PVE.As long as this is the case, people are forced to play PvP. You can call them Bot's if it pleases you but ANet won't do anything since they are no botsdoesn't matter how often you report them

Well, I prefer bots to people that don't play to win.Was always against rewards for losing in pvp games.