The AFK Farm Opportunity

[Avenrise.3592]

Let me be clear, the AFK farming conversation has been had to death and I am not about to create yet another thread on the negatives, the positives or anything else relating to farming itself. I have my views, I am leaving them out of this.

Okay, so we can all agree that AFK farming exists to some extent in GW2 and also that the perceived views on AFK farming in MMOs in general is negative. If ANET were to dedicate a small amount of dev-time to come up with a funny/interesting/ingenious way of stopping AFK farming, and then (and this is super important) make sure that news of that 'solution' is distributed gaming news outlets, providing that 'solution' is smart enough they would receive almost free advertising which would reach pretty much every current MMO player.

The impact of AFK farming on the game wouldn't even have to matter. ANET would receive praise whether the issue is large or small, whether you don't mind the farming or actively hate it. ANET (and therefore the game) benefit from its removal. Now, what that interesting 'solution' would be... I'll let you lot brainstorm! Just had this thought while watching a Twitch streamer remark on Istan.

[Mungo Zen.9364]

8 minutes ago, Avenrise.3592 said:

Let me be clear, the AFK farming conversation has been had to death and I am not about to create yet another thread on the negatives, the positives or anything else relating to farming itself. I have my views, I am leaving them out of this.

Okay, so we can all agree that AFK farming exists to some extent in GW2 and also that the perceived views on AFK farming in MMOs in general is negative. If ANET were to dedicate a small amount of dev-time to come up with a funny/interesting/ingenious way of stopping AFK farming, and then (and this is super important) make sure that news of that 'solution' is distributed gaming news outlets, providing that 'solution' is smart enough they would receive almost free advertising which would reach pretty much every current MMO player.

The impact of AFK farming on the game wouldn't even have to matter. ANET would receive praise whether the issue is large or small, whether you don't mind the farming or actively hate it. ANET (and therefore the game) benefit from its removal. Now, what that interesting 'solution' would be... I'll let you lot brainstorm! Just had this thought while watching a Twitch streamer remark on Istan.

First, this couldn't have been added to any of the existing threads on AFK farming?  You are asking other players to provide a solution and not adding anything new to the conversation.

Second, while the idea that something like this could be 'free advertising', assuming the could come up with a 'smart enough solution', doesn't actually bear any form of tangible return for Anet.  Is AFK farming really a talking point of any MMO you play?  The reasons not to play GW2 are many and the incredibly low impact of AFK farmers is likely far from the top of the list.  Would there really be a financial advantage for Anet to do this?

Yet you then state that the impact of the change wouldn't even matter, it's just the perception that something has changed or been fixed.

So your idea could be distilled down to "Anet should promote the fact that they have dealt with AFK Farmers as an advertising ploy" regardless of whether or not they actually did do anything.  Classic old school advertising right there, lie about the quality of your product to entice people to try it out.

 

[DeanBB.4268]

But "impact on the game" would matter, if it changed how the professions that primarily do the AFK/mostly unattended farming. If rangers or MM's didn't get loot for pet kills, that'd be a big hit for active players (for example).

The solution obviously isn't as easy as flipping a switch, or it would have already happened.

[Tiamat.8254]

Report, move on, Enjoy the game.

[soul.9651]

Let other people kill afk farmers if they are afk longer than 10mins. They lose their inventory too 🙂

[Batel.9206]

Do what GW1 did when botting was detected: call up Dhuum out of the ground, slam a massive scythe down on the bot, and drag their player model back down into the ground with him. They'd be trapped in a tiny black space with no way to get out, and their account is blocked from doing anything else.

 

...but before that happens, which will probably be never: report and move on. As others have said, AFK/bot farmers do not have a massive impact on the game's economy or performance (aside from a bit of lag sometimes).

[Rogue.8235]

4 hours ago, Avenrise.3592 said:

Let me be clear, the AFK farming conversation has been had to death and I am not about to create yet another thread on the negatives, the positives or anything else relating to farming itself. I have my views, I am leaving them out of this.

Okay, so we can all agree that AFK farming exists to some extent in GW2 and also that the perceived views on AFK farming in MMOs in general is negative. If ANET were to dedicate a small amount of dev-time to come up with a funny/interesting/ingenious way of stopping AFK farming, and then (and this is super important) make sure that news of that 'solution' is distributed gaming news outlets, providing that 'solution' is smart enough they would receive almost free advertising which would reach pretty much every current MMO player.

The impact of AFK farming on the game wouldn't even have to matter. ANET would receive praise whether the issue is large or small, whether you don't mind the farming or actively hate it. ANET (and therefore the game) benefit from its removal. Now, what that interesting 'solution' would be... I'll let you lot brainstorm! Just had this thought while watching a Twitch streamer remark on Istan.

 

That is some contortionist-level of rationalization to be able to connect AFK farming news to bottom-line financials.  Here's an actual example of your suggestion.

April 2022 news about AFK farming solution in Elden Ring

Immediate drop of Steam players in Elden Ring after April 2022

The foregoing has more objective data than the absence of actual reasoning in how your suggestion would pan out.  Granted, the foregoing does not capture all players of Elden Ring, assuming that it is possible to play that game without using Steam.  Nonetheless, there is nothing to suggest that becoming a hardliner on AFK farming yields any actual financial gain for a video game development firm.  I can't even identify a market segment that actually makes economic decisions based on AFK farming reports, as in, there is no significant market segment which bases decisions on whether to buy a game predicated on afk farming reported anecdotally.  There is no denying that some players do make such decisions with such rationale; however, hundreds, even thousands, of players is not a sizable market segment.  Those numbers are mere fractions of a fraction of the consumer base (based on IBISWorld and MINTEL reports).

 

Edited January 25, 2023 by Rogue.8235

[Forum Moderator.3419]

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