Should ArenaNet offer some new QoL into GW2 UI and close external API?

[Urud.4925]

Hi. First of all, this is not a post about the recent banwave. But it gave me something to think about.It's possible that a good amount of players has been caught unexpectedly, while they had no idea they were actually cheating. Probably someone started with very harmless app, after reading some comment on the forum that "Anet said that it's fine, they even provide the key for the API". Then, time after time, they might have gone beyond, and tried something that was considered "hack".I don't want to take anyone's part, but I think that maybe it's the case to review this policy about APIs. I have no doubt that it's difficult for ArenaNet to provide a list of what it's allowed and what's not. And even to periodically check all the changes in the most common API. Honest players too, may have problems to understand what they are using, if it's legal or not. And probably ArenaNet is scared to revoke this service by now, since too many people are using them.

So, what about officially ask ArenaNet for the most useful (and legal) utilities that we can find in the most common API?Personally I don't like to run another program together with GW2 (even a voice chat), so I'd like to have a world timer for the bosses/meta integrated in the game interface. Not too fancy, to keep the UI light. On the other hand, I find pathfinders an unfair advantage, especially for achievements like in the Tribulation SAB, even if they don't harm directly any player.

Your thoughts?

[Leablo.2651]

I won't speculate on the likely intent of users getting caught using hacks. But the actual rules are fairly clear. 3rd party addons that interact with the game client are hacks, period. Some of these hacks are, perhaps strangely, explicitly approved by Anet for their stated use. If you want to know whether such a program is safe to use, you can try to search for a comment by Anet staff that explicitly says that they are OK, or ask someone to provide a reference link. If you can find no such statement from Anet, then the program is not safe to use. Clear enough, isn't it?

The web API only reads data from the game's backend database, whose functions are all implemented (and therefore approved) by Anet, and does not interact at all with the game client. These are completely unrelated topics, though some apps may perform both functions, i.e. hacking the game client and accessing the web API.

[Urud.4925]

I have to admit that I don't know much about it. But doing as you suggested, I tried to search "taco" (since everyone seems to use it) on this forum and I didn't find any post by a dev or Gaile that contained this word. So in theory it shouldn't be allowed? Right?Yet, I often read "it's fine". Should we do multiple cross-checks on this forum, the old one and reddit to know if something is allowed or not? And even if we find something, this would probably be an old thread, when the API was completely different. You know, this stuff receive updates.

Not to reject your opinion, but my point was: wouldn't be easier to embed some feature within GW2 and get rid of all the external APIs? Wouldn't be better if ArenaNet itself developed some simple API (if people really want to browse their account from a smartphone) and clearly reject every 3rd party app?What would you miss, that 3rd party app offer and Anet would never give us? Simply curious.

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

@"Urud.4925" said:I have to admit that I don't know much about it. But doing as you suggested, I tried to search "taco" (since everyone seems to use it) on this forum and I didn't find any post by a dev or Gaile that contained this word. So in theory it shouldn't be allowed? Right?Yet, I often read "it's fine". Should we do multiple cross-checks on this forum, the old one and reddit to know if something is allowed or not? And even if we find something, this would probably be an old thread, when the API was completely different. You know, this stuff receive updates.

Not to reject your opinion, but my point was: wouldn't be easier to embed some feature within GW2 and get rid of all the external APIs? Wouldn't be better if ArenaNet itself developed some simple API (if people really want to browse their account from a smartphone) and clearly reject every 3rd party app?What would you miss, that 3rd party app offer and Anet would never give us? Simply curious.

Here's a partial list of (GW2 API) applications (which includes GW2 Tactical Overlay [TacO]: https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/API:List_of_applicationsHere are the official rules about creating an application using the GW2 API: https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/guild-wars-2-content-terms-of-use/

Good luck.

[Urud.4925]

So all the GW2 API included on that list are allowed? Ok, that's quite simple then. There's no need to fathom the forum for a name.Thanks for the link @Inculpatus cedo.9234 I'm not going to try them, but it's good to know that there's a clear list.

[Leablo.2651]

@"Urud.4925" said:I have to admit that I don't know much about it. But doing as you suggested, I tried to search "taco" (since everyone seems to use it) on this forum and I didn't find any post by a dev or Gaile that contained this word. So in theory it shouldn't be allowed? Right?Yet, I often read "it's fine". Should we do multiple cross-checks on this forum, the old one and reddit to know if something is allowed or not? And even if we find something, this would probably be an old thread, when the API was completely different. You know, this stuff receive updates.

Not to reject your opinion, but my point was: wouldn't be easier to embed some feature within GW2 and get rid of all the external APIs? Wouldn't be better if ArenaNet itself developed some simple API (if people really want to browse their account from a smartphone) and clearly reject every 3rd party app?What would you miss, that 3rd party app offer and Anet would never give us? Simply curious.

This forum is not the only place where one can conduct a search, nor would I recommend that it be the first place where one should do so. I'm not sure why you drew that as the meaning of my post. In either case, you cannot get banned for NOT using an approved app. So if you could not find a source that said taco was ok, you could just not use it and yes that would be fine. Since your original proposition was that people were using unapproved hacks because they didn't know they weren't approved, the answer is, you need to know that it's approved before you use it, there is nothing unclear about that. All third party code is hacking by default, and it's only those apps that are approved that can be used.

And no, they should not get rid of "external" APIs since the web API is designed to work with complementary devices such as a phone, which cannot run the game client. And the removal of the web API is not even worth discussing until Anet actually provides a client modding API, which they have yet to even hint as a possibility. Do you think you're the first person to have thought of this?

[Neural.1824]

Specific parts of the API? yes. All of it?If you placed a sign at Traders forum Waypoint that said "No", and another sign about 10 feet south-ish of that which said "heck no", you'd find my response somewhere in Istan.

[Zushada.6108]

@Inculpatus cedo.9234 said:

@"Urud.4925" said:I have to admit that I don't know much about it. But doing as you suggested, I tried to search "taco" (since everyone seems to use it) on this forum and I didn't find any post by a dev or Gaile that contained this word. So in theory it shouldn't be allowed? Right?Yet, I often read "it's fine". Should we do multiple cross-checks on this forum, the old one and reddit to know if something is allowed or not? And even if we find something, this would probably be an old thread, when the API was completely different. You know, this stuff receive updates.

Not to reject your opinion, but my point was: wouldn't be easier to embed some feature within GW2 and get rid of all the external APIs? Wouldn't be better if ArenaNet itself developed some simple API (if people really want to browse their account from a smartphone) and clearly reject every 3rd party app?What would you miss, that 3rd party app offer and Anet would never give us? Simply curious.

Here's a partial list of (GW2 API) applications (which includes GW2 Tactical Overlay [TacO]:

https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/API:List_of_applications

Here are the official rules about creating an application using the GW2 API:

https://www.guildwars2.com/en/legal/guild-wars-2-content-terms-of-use/

Good luck.

Thank you for this list! I have been looking for clarity on this for a while.