New Account- Am I allowed a grace period to get my money back? The Botting in this game ruins the fun.

[Dawnpainterz.3914]

11 hours ago, KeoLegend.5132 said:

Troll post.

Bots exist but

1. They are in a couple of maps only

2. It doesn't stop your progress at all

I was about to say, I've never knowingly seen a bot in this game. And the only time I see afk people its in towns or gathering points. The only time I've ever seen an event or meta fail due to to many people on the map not doing it is hp trains rolling thru? If that's what op saw, an hp train, that is not bots hun, those are people.

[kharmin.7683]

1 hour ago, Yggranya.5201 said:

And you and others have managed to stop ZERO bots and AFKers this way. Trust me, I know that's a fact from extensive personal experience.

 

And I have "years of experience" too. I can't answer the OP's question, but it's pointless to fight back. Learn to live with this garbage or move on, whether you get your money back or not.

Have these bots prevented you from completing any content?  Be honest.

It's not the players' job to stop the botters.  Anet has provided a reporting tool and it is up to Anet to stop them.

[Jukhy.2431]

I've seen few suspect cases of harvest botting. Usually they are hard to report since they appear on a resource node, drop below the ground level, gather it and disappear so you'll see their name only for a second or two.

But I've also seen some "afk" farmers argue about the best farm locations in map chat so clearly they were not afk at that moment. I'd guess the reason why their numbers might be up is because covid caused many people to work from home so they "afk" farm while they work. As long as they can reply to a game master inquiry with precise answer to prove they are not afk and/or bots then this passive gameplay activity is allowed.

[Izzy.2951]

To be honest i have been playing for 6months and barely seen bots. Actually i saw more talking in reddit than in actual game xD. Tho i payed more attention and started to see some (mainly in some low areas of the core game) that i probably didnt experienced cos i was in another instance of the map. And well i never got interfered by them while doing a quest.. 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Izzy.2951

[KeoLegend.5132]

2 hours ago, DawnSketch.7105 said:

I was about to say, I've never knowingly seen a bot in this game. And the only time I see afk people its in towns or gathering points. The only time I've ever seen an event or meta fail due to to many people on the map not doing it is hp trains rolling thru? If that's what op saw, an hp train, that is not bots hun, those are people.

EXACTLY

[Hashberry.4510]

Nope, nothing to see here, nope nope nope.

[Freya.9075]

1 hour ago, Jukhy.2431 said:

I've seen few suspect cases of harvest botting. Usually they are hard to report since they appear on a resource node, drop below the ground level, gather it and disappear so you'll see their name only for a second or two.

But I've also seen some "afk" farmers argue about the best farm locations in map chat so clearly they were not afk at that moment. I'd guess the reason why their numbers might be up is because covid caused many people to work from home so they "afk" farm while they work. As long as they can reply to a game master inquiry with precise answer to prove they are not afk and/or bots then this passive gameplay activity is allowed.

I don’t know if they are botting or hacking or whatever. But one time I fell under the map in Orr where the tree clusters are that players swarm to by paggas waypoint. So I decided to go check out the botters or hackers to see if I could spot anyone there. Or across the map. I watched many players harvest and each time they harvest a node, they fall under the map for some odd reason. You don’t see that when you’re harvesting yourself, but maybe it’s a bug that sometimes make it appear above the surface as well. I don’t know, but it looked so strange to see all the players raining down towards me when they were harvesting xD 

[crepuscular.9047]

18 hours ago, SinisterSlay.6973 said:

I think I've seen maybe 1 bot ever and it was in pvp.

 

lucky you, dont think i have seen a single bot in pvp since the mass ban that happened last year.

 

In PvE, the most infamous spot is the Malchor tree farm, and the most infamous tree botter was the H**** guy with 4 accounts, think Anet finally banned him around start of the year; we had couple of very outspoken mesmers ported his toons away 😆

Next thing Anet needs to get rid off are these afkers, keeps on aggroing the vet 😒 it's pretty obvious they are using a macro to stay connected, since the game would kick you off if you after 30min; it should be pretty simple to run a check on the login server to flag characters that have abnormally long online time.

[Oxalis.3084]

This is probably the best MMO game I've played in regards to bots, I basically never see them but I heard they're mostly in PvP. I don't know if I've ever seen one in PvE, I've seen afkers but don't think I've seen a bot and I have many hours in game.

 

Go play other MMOs and see how much worse it is, like lost ark where there's 200-300k bots at any time or RuneScape where half the player base is bots, or WoW where the bots can hack and teleport around 

Edited May 10, 2022 by Oxalis.3084

[DragonMoon.6098]

I really only notice them in a couple spots...the cave system in Istan, Inquest labs in Sandswept, and the wall spot in (I think) Iron Marches. That last one sticks out because they are grouped in a heart area and can make it more annoying to finish the heart. 

It's annoying to see and can ruin screenshot potential, but I can't say it's ever hurt me as a player. If I happen to pull a vet over to them and just bounce, then oops my bad. 😉

[Jukhy.2431]

48 minutes ago, Freya.9075 said:

I don’t know if they are botting or hacking or whatever. But one time I fell under the map in Orr where the tree clusters are that players swarm to by paggas waypoint. So I decided to go check out the botters or hackers to see if I could spot anyone there. Or across the map. I watched many players harvest and each time they harvest a node, they fall under the map for some odd reason. You don’t see that when you’re harvesting yourself, but maybe it’s a bug that sometimes make it appear above the surface as well. I don’t know, but it looked so strange to see all the players raining down towards me when they were harvesting xD 

That could be the case, so it might be a toon parked on a node. Player logs in, starts to harvest and drops below ground level. I've seen this many times in Orr areas, esp in Straits of Devastation and Malchor's Leap, but it has never happened to me.

[kharmin.7683]

40 minutes ago, DragonMoon.6098 said:

 If I happen to pull a vet over to them and just bounce, then oops my bad. 😉

Careful. That could be considered griefing.

[Modain.3806]

Thanks to all that have replied. It has been very informative.

 

6 hours ago, Healix.5819 said:

If it was purchased directly from ArenaNet, they allow for refunds for up to 30 days.

 

This as the original answer I was looking for.  Thanks.

 

Many have pointed out good and bad. I did not know Botting was getting so big in many games. I think I would be more upset if I paid $15.00 a month and had to deal with them. So yes this is a lesser evil here.

 

I do know what a train is in game as it moves most the time and the people BS with each other. I have learned the difference between Afkers, Runners and Bots  a bit better now (thanks to those that informed me on the side).

 

Afkers stay in one place, have a small foot print and might have a auto attack on that is non directional. Most of the time they are there just doing home work ,watching tv, making food, falling asleep at keyboard etc. If they are not they time out after 15 minutes. Group size is usually solo or maybe a few more. never very large. So I really see nothing wrong here as it falls with in Anets guide lines.

 

Bots are people that use auto attack 1 constantly or other directional attacks  (put down turrets) that need a program to "push the button" . They have a very large footprint. Work in big groups (I call them PODS). These are the main issue as the attack's extend so far out it covers a vast area and the groups so big it kills quick. 

 

Runners are just that. They set auto run on so they can beat the 15 minute AFK drops. They are not bots  and use the allowed in game non directional auto attack. They can be large PODS. I do not know if runners are ok'ed in Anets guide lines. heard it both ways.

 

For those of you that have never seen a Runner or Bot I will give 2 locations for you to view. Now I do not care if it's remote or the impact on the game. I am just letting you see something you have never seen by what you have stated.

 

BOT'S- Blood Fin lake way point. There is always a POD. Some times on the weekend there is multiples ( this is one I had a hard time finishing the heart by killing MOB's).  

 

Runners- Domain of Kourna.  Point of interest Barballate Crater. This is a massive POD some times (20 accounts or more). It is not a 24 hour group and it seems 80% of them are clones. They wear the exact same thing and are all hunters. I have seen someone bring that big shark over there. When it hit them it will shock you how many people are there. 

 

This will be my last reply. To new players that might read this. This game has some issues. What ones do not? The game is fun and solid and plays different from others in many good ways (except jumping puzzles grrr). A large majority of the community is the best I have met online. That alone is worth playing this game. 

[Forum Moderator.3419]

Hi Everyone,

Locking this thread as OP has the information they required.

Regards.