First off, I am playing -and love the game so far, BUT !!!   NCsoft has a bot report button that seems to make reporting bots EASY !    the problem is then, WHY do i see so many of them all the time ?!?!

Last night my guildies and i went to the ASMO side and we killed over 105 BOTS in a small area, (half the lower map).  We would find them in small bunches of 2's , a healer usually (chanter) and a gladiator were the norm.   We seen maybe 12 real life players and that was only after we killed a few near a town and they called for help ... We tried to let them know we were only killing BOTS but they wanted to die also  (made a private store saying "KILLING BOTS : DANGER STAY AWAY").  

The point is .. these bots where between the levels of 34-42  .. u cant tell me with how easy it is to report the bots that they have never been reported before .. so why is it there are so many in just that little zone we where in, (imagine all the bots if u take in all the zones),  if NCsoft is doing anything about it , why are there more bots than players?

Because truely, i see more and more diff ones every day  just on our side alone, its retarded and i think it will ruin the game long term.  The people i see and talk with are getting fed up.

I heard rumors, the next patch is supposed to deal with them a little better.  I really think they need to tackle the problem sooner than that though, it really is ridiculous, and who know how many proxy characters have all the kinah they've gathered?

And the problem was...

Most of them were chinese gold farmers... But now with the power of google and forums, the botting software is soo easy to acquire regular players now use it.

Which brings me to the second point, NCSoft wasn't prepared to meet such popularity, because there was so many players at launch they had barely time to concentrate on bots. So most people nowadays feel invincible and run bots software.

This might be a bigger problem than it seems, on one side if NCSoft release a "super patch" and get rid of bots, all those players that have already botted their way up will not be able to use software and start playing, and will not get banned. It's going to take some time before AH inflation goes back to normal.

The last issue is if NCSoft doesn't come up with the "super patch" and start banning bots at an alarming rate, they gonna get negative community forums, which ain't good either...

Honestly I wouldn't like to be in the shoes of the manager right now

Well, it's all about manpower I suppose. Also, I'm sure they want to minimalize the amount of innocent people caugth in their web.

However, I will say that I had been very proactive in reporting those stores that are set up in front of key areas in order to advertise gold selling and they do remove them.

I basically have been going to their support site, putting in tickets and lo and behold I will get an e-mail indicating that they have been removed and that NC was looking to see who else had dealings with them. I actually went in game each time and they were gone.

The problem is that it's an ongoing war. At what point do I give up because it's just too large a pain in the butt for me to constantly do this?

Is Asian version of Aion (out for a year now in Asia) the exact same version as the EU/NA? I mean content wise.  But regardless, if the game has been out in Asia for so long, and NCSoft still cant do anything about bots?  I don't know how you people can stand it.  My favorite FPS games (wolf et, sof2, CS) I had to quit because developers stopped patching/protecting against hackers.  And that usually after playing for a year or two in each game.  But MMOrpgs are the opposite, they get better after each patch, like bug fixes, smoother frames, etc.  Aion has been out in Asia for so long, why so many problems(posts?) about bots?

Originally posted by peenk

Is Asian version of Aion (out for a year now in Asia) the exact same version as the EU/NA? I mean content wise.  But regardless, if the game has been out in Asia for so long, and NCSoft still cant do anything about bots?  I don't know how you people can stand it.  My favorite FPS games (wolf et, sof2, CS) I had to quit because developers stopped patching/protecting against hackers.  And that usually after playing for a year or two in each game.  But MMOrpgs are the opposite, they get better after each patch, like bug fixes, smoother frames, etc.  Aion has been out in Asia for so long, why so many problems(posts?) about bots?

Bots = gold = more lazy players with dollars = more accounts = more dollars for the company.

 you will see more and more "real" players turning to bots in this game for two reasons. 

1) the leveling past like 33 is extremely dry and boring. 

2) people have been convinced by a lot of fanbois "oh this game gets so much better at 50"

so people will turn to bots, imo i don't see how anyone can bot a game they pay for. If the games content forces you to bot? what does that tell you about the game. 

Also this was a problem that was NEVER solved in lineage 2 i honestly don't see why it would change in Aion. 

Im taking my time to level and this being 1 of the major reason. Hoping that they will be gone when i reach a certain level. Btw reaching 21 soon...

Originally posted by altairzq

Originally posted by peenk

Is Asian version of Aion (out for a year now in Asia) the exact same version as the EU/NA? I mean content wise.  But regardless, if the game has been out in Asia for so long, and NCSoft still cant do anything about bots?  I don't know how you people can stand it.  My favorite FPS games (wolf et, sof2, CS) I had to quit because developers stopped patching/protecting against hackers.  And that usually after playing for a year or two in each game.  But MMOrpgs are the opposite, they get better after each patch, like bug fixes, smoother frames, etc.  Aion has been out in Asia for so long, why so many problems(posts?) about bots?

 

Bots = gold = more lazy players with dollars = more accounts = more dollars for the company.

Exactly what altairzq  said.

Why would NCSoft want to cut off 1/4 or more of it's monthly profit?

(1/4 is a generalization before everyone gets rabid about the number tossed around)

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

 you will see more and more "real" players turning to bots in this game for two reasons. 

1) the leveling past like 33 is extremely dry and boring. 

2) people have been convinced by a lot of fanbois "oh this game gets so much better at 50"

so people will turn to bots, imo i don't see how anyone can bot a game they pay for. If the games content forces you to bot? what does that tell you about the game. 

Also this was a problem that was NEVER solved in lineage 2 i honestly don't see why it would change in Aion. 

No it say much about the player and not the game. It's not that hard to make it to level 50 and the reason some players bot is not to level but to make money.

There is a post on AionSource.com regarding the reporting of bot.  Sure, we have a feature in game called /AutoReportHunting, but apparently, the only way to really get a bot on the list is to submit a ticket through the official Aion site.  Apparently, one an official ticket is made, you may be contacted by a GM regarding the issue and from there, a friendly one will tell you to email the bot names to them directly.

Now, regarding the comments about NCSoft making money from the bots or RMT companies, the majority of those accounts are being played with stolen CC's or accounts (people who were dumb enough to go to one of the links in regular chat promising gifts from GMs) that were keylogged.

NCSoft has a real problem on their hands and better communication with the community regarding properly effective reporting methods would be a step in the right direction.  They have already cut down on the gold spam in chat, though some creative spammers have found ways around it, for the most part it has been dealt with nicely.

If you're just now starting this game, be aware that there are bot issues and if you want to help improve the game, all players need to work together to report bots.

There is the same frequenecy curve with every, every, every, every mmorpg.  The frequency of bots and hackers are rampant in the first few months as devs address them, then it tapers off.

Same will be with Aion, but as with every, every, every, every other mmorpg, they will never be completely eradicated.

Originally posted by DevilXaphan

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

 you will see more and more "real" players turning to bots in this game for two reasons. 

1) the leveling past like 33 is extremely dry and boring. 

2) people have been convinced by a lot of fanbois "oh this game gets so much better at 50"

so people will turn to bots, imo i don't see how anyone can bot a game they pay for. If the games content forces you to bot? what does that tell you about the game. 

Also this was a problem that was NEVER solved in lineage 2 i honestly don't see why it would change in Aion. 

 

No it say much about the player and not the game. It's not that hard to make it to level 50 and the reason some players bot is not to level but to make money.

Yeah people play bots pre 50 because they want to make money...  I've played many mmo's and theres a major influx of bots in these "asian grinder" games. If you think its because people want to make money you're just fooling yourself. 

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

Originally posted by DevilXaphan

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

 you will see more and more "real" players turning to bots in this game for two reasons. 

1) the leveling past like 33 is extremely dry and boring. 

2) people have been convinced by a lot of fanbois "oh this game gets so much better at 50"

so people will turn to bots, imo i don't see how anyone can bot a game they pay for. If the games content forces you to bot? what does that tell you about the game. 

Also this was a problem that was NEVER solved in lineage 2 i honestly don't see why it would change in Aion. 

 

No it say much about the player and not the game. It's not that hard to make it to level 50 and the reason some players bot is not to level but to make money.

Yeah people play bots pre 50 because they want to make money...  I've played many mmo's and theres a major influx of bots in these "asian grinder" games. If you think its because people want to make money you're just fooling yourself. 

And your fooling yourself if you think "asian grinders" have the market on hackers and bots in mmorpgs.  Welcome to the genre?

Originally posted by Cik_Asalin

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

Originally posted by DevilXaphan

Originally posted by DiSpLiFF

 you will see more and more "real" players turning to bots in this game for two reasons. 

1) the leveling past like 33 is extremely dry and boring. 

2) people have been convinced by a lot of fanbois "oh this game gets so much better at 50"

so people will turn to bots, imo i don't see how anyone can bot a game they pay for. If the games content forces you to bot? what does that tell you about the game. 

Also this was a problem that was NEVER solved in lineage 2 i honestly don't see why it would change in Aion. 

 

No it say much about the player and not the game. It's not that hard to make it to level 50 and the reason some players bot is not to level but to make money.

Yeah people play bots pre 50 because they want to make money...  I've played many mmo's and theres a major influx of bots in these "asian grinder" games. If you think its because people want to make money you're just fooling yourself. 

And your fooling yourself if you think "asian grinders" have the market on hackers and bots in mmorpgs.  Welcome to the genre?

Don't argue. Nothing any fan of the game says will ever be taken serious on this pathetic forum

This game is so much fun, people have bots level for them!

I think that says alot.

What amazes me is how sophisticated bots are these days. I've seen them resurrect and run back to the same camp spots after being killed, and some of them even avoid killstealing, by only attacking mobs that aren't fighting anyone else. Even if not out of consideration, it probably helps them avoid being reported.

The one thing they can't seem to do is fight enemy players. I've seen people gank them, and the bots don't fight back or anything. They behave as if they aren't even aware they're being attacked, which never seems to be the case when they're aggroed by mobs. Makes me think the devs have more control of the situation than they let on, if they can limit what bots are capable of targeting. Either that, or bots are programmed never to target players, for some reason?

NC doesn't give a rat's ass about bots.  And please don't say that "All games have bots" because it's not true. I'm guessing that jsut because WoW had bots (never played so I have no idea) that means that ALL other mmorpg's have them.

I'll say this again - I never saw a bot in pre0cu SWG, EQ2, CoH, CoV, hell I dont even remember seeing any in AoC when I played.

Maybe if NC actually tried to STOP the botting, quite a few players (like me) would come back and see how the game is without them. But I know that will never happen, especially after playing Lineage 2 for a few years.

I really liked Aion in the beta's. Was a lot of fun and no one was cheating. But now, the game is full of one of the worst communities I've ever seen and cheaters galore.

Originally posted by Slythe

NC doesn't give a rat's ass about bots.  And please don't say that "All games have bots" because it's not true. I'm guessing that jsut because WoW had bots (never played so I have no idea) that means that ALL other mmorpg's have them.

I'll say this again - I never saw a bot in pre0cu SWG, EQ2, CoH, CoV, hell I dont even remember seeing any in AoC when I played.

Maybe if NC actually tried to STOP the botting, quite a few players (like me) would come back and see how the game is without them. But I know that will never happen, especially after playing Lineage 2 for a few years.

I really liked Aion in the beta's. Was a lot of fun and no one was cheating. But now, the game is full of one of the worst communities I've ever seen and cheaters galore.

You can say that all you want.  I botted in just about every game you listed.  Just because you didn't see it, doesn't mean it didn't happen.

The real question is why did NCsoft feel that they had to drop the anti-cheat that is present in the Asian version of the game.

http://news.bigdownload.com/2009/09/18/aion-dumps-troublesome-anti-cheat-software-gameguard?icid=sphere_blogsmith_inpage_massively

They already have a very good tool (as do most asian MMO's btw) to stop this type of activity.  They didn't use it because they feared the backlash of the western community to such deep probes of their system.  They don't care, they're still making money.

The only place that bots need to be is to fill out the other side in a FPS or something. I can't stand bots in MMOs at all. I hope NCSoft can do something about this, because as much as I like Aion, even I think there's still too many bots.

its a tradition of ncsoft to don't give a damn about bots.

It is?

Originally posted by mikepatson

It is?

Yes, it is... See Lineage 2  for more details.

The reason they havent mass banned , is because they dont have the resources...  the best thing they could do is try to disable the bot, to avoid losing subs. 

First off there are no where near as many as there were 1 month ago. Also you think that the west has a ton of gms just standing by doing nothing. At most there might be 5 gms. Yea don't see them being able to instantly ban bots.