Do bots really diminish your GW gaming experience? - Guild Wars Guru archive powered by Guild Wars Legacy

gogoblender

Academy Page

Join Date: Jun 2005

Montreal, Canada

28 Jun 2005 at 22:26 - 1

I mean really...how does having so many bots in the game personally impact your game playing experience?

I'm so curious because...the only thing I've REALLY noticed...lag...is something that should maybe be taken care of by Anet.

If the owner of a bot has payed his fifty bucks to play...doesn't it then seem logical that anet would have the money to up bandwidth to accommodate that extra person/entity/bot/thing/whatever that's now sharing online space in our community?

Are there more reasons?

Thanks!

gogo

Dusk_

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: Jun 2005

W/

28 Jun 2005 at 22:30 - 2

It's based on the economy. People Bot to make money. The more money there is in the economy, the more expensive things become. The more expensive things become, the harder it is to buy things. And the harder it is to buy things, the more people are forced to Bot (or spend hours on end farming...).

It's a vicious cycle

.

Lasareth

Aquarius

Join Date: Jun 2005

Somewhere between Boardwalk and Park Place

28 Jun 2005 at 22:32 - 3

That's a pretty ridiculous premise... to say the least.

For one, it's explicity stated that bot programs are against the rules. Why should Anet pay more for people breaking their rules?

Also. Anet does take care of lag... by banning the bots.

There should be no question or argument here.

Edit: btw, that thing that you skip over and press "I agree to these terms and conditions" when installing is the EULA. It's stated in there, and you are bound to it when pressing that agree button.

Sledge

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2005

Denver, Co

Doom Brigade

E/Me

28 Jun 2005 at 22:34 - 4

Alot of bots are used by groups who pharm gold and items to sell.

Basicly a person or group will set up a "sweat shop" of 30 or so computers to run the bots. Then hire some people at a low wage to montitor the computers that run these bots.

Then the person or persons running the show then sell that gold to players or to companies that deal in this type of practice. IGE is a company that does this, they sell ingame gold unsually.

Thats 30+ computers running 30+bots. Thats alot of bandwidth, because there's not just one bunch doing it.

As to how this hurts the community, there are so numerous reasons. They have been posted before and will be posted again, so I'll let others post them.

Talesin Darkbriar

Krytan Explorer

Join Date: Jun 2005

California - irrigated desert...

The Myrmidon

E/N

28 Jun 2005 at 22:47 - 5

Quote:

Originally Posted by gogoblender

I mean really...how does having so many bots in the game personally impact your game playing experience?

It impacts all of us Gogo.
Bots are used to generate real world profits for slimey individuals within what is supposed to be a "free-to-play" game.

You see there is a rampant disease in the community; it's called, "avarice." And simply put, people with this disease covet everything, constantly, and NOW. They can only derive pleasure from feeling superior to those around them, and using bots (or purchasing goods from them) is the literal "drug" of their addiction.

We are all being cheated by these people as they attempt monopolize a resource, and then seek to gain coin by selling their ill-gotten wares at an outrageous price - then taking the coin to sell on 3rd party sites - for real world coin.

Compare it to having an inside track on horseracing - you know which horse will win in advance, so you can maximize your profit at the expense of all the unknowing suckers.

It's illegal in both instances - game and real life.

Talesin

toastgodsupreme

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: May 2005

United States

Me/

28 Jun 2005 at 22:50 - 6

lags me out when i go to seekers, so yes, it does affect me

Sledge

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2005

Denver, Co

Doom Brigade

E/Me

28 Jun 2005 at 22:51 - 7

Actually, the latest Computer Gaming Monthly has a great article about these botters/gold sellers.

Very informative to exactly what goes on with this "black market".

gogoblender

Academy Page

Join Date: Jun 2005

Montreal, Canada

28 Jun 2005 at 23:02 - 8

ahh, thanks fer the awesome answers guys!

lol, Talesin...of course...it was only when you compared it to the inside on horseracing it instantly made sense to me!

gogo

p.s. Sledge thanks fer the info on the gaming magzine...i'm definitely gonna have ta check that out.
Cheers!

Principa Discordia

Site Contributor

Join Date: Apr 2005

England.

28 Jun 2005 at 23:05 - 9

Botting is against the Guild Wars EULA, therefore it is breaking the rules. It doesn't need to affect anybody, the rules are the rules.

threedices

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: Jun 2005

E/Me

29 Jun 2005 at 04:01 - 10

Guild War has focused their attention trying to provide a gaming environment where skill counts, not the hours played. And yes, botting does inflate the prices in the game, which totally contradict their policy and efforts in creating a good gaming environment. So that's a no for bots.

Crowskie

Academy Page

Join Date: Jun 2005

AR, US

FLA

R/Me

29 Jun 2005 at 04:21 - 11

While I agree the GW is being hurt by bots, I will say that some of the most fun I ever had on D2 was chasing a bot doing Bale Runs.

DrSLUGFly

Desert Nomad

Join Date: May 2005

European Server or International

29 Jun 2005 at 04:21 - 12

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sledge

Actually, the latest Computer Gaming Monthly has a great article about these botters/gold sellers.

Very informative to exactly what goes on with this "black market".

I'm very interested dude, do they have an online article?

Kash Zeppelin

Ascalonian Squire

Join Date: May 2005

Intentions of Death

R/Me

29 Jun 2005 at 04:26 - 13

I've read that article...

basically it reveals that these gold sellers aren't actually doing it manually. They employ sweatshop-esque workers in poor countries to run bots all day long for very low pay.

Sanji

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2005

Mo/

29 Jun 2005 at 04:39 - 14

When I first heard that Chinese Gold Farming Sweatshop were run/contracted by "Secondary Market" companies like IGE more than a year ago, it was pretty hard to take it seriously.

Other time, I began to. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that online game companies have. Or at least, all I've are token bans and band-aid patches that don't really do anything to address the issue.

Fortunately, Guild Wars is the opposite of Final Fantasy XI in terms of needing wealth and self-sufficience so my gaming experience is barely effected at all by bots/farmers.

DrSLUGFly

Desert Nomad

Join Date: May 2005

European Server or International

29 Jun 2005 at 04:53 - 15

what needs to happen is for the big companies to come together under a single effort and address the problem collectively. It's not worth the dent in Anet's pocket to seek legal action against these people, but if Anet, Blizzard, whoever runs EQ, etc were to all band together and put together an anti-breach task force, they could certainly put a serious slow down on bot activity and real world sales of game properties.

Darc.Syde

Frost Gate Guardian

Join Date: Feb 2005

Spirits Of War

Me/Mo

29 Jun 2005 at 05:00 - 16

Quote:

I mean really...how does having so many bots in the game personally impact your game playing experience?

lets say a bot was made to get you gold. this bot nets you 4k per hour. now, lets say 300 others also use this bot.

now that these guys have gold, they buy EVERY rune on the market making alot of stuff expensive for anyone to buy becuase of how the economy is set up.

you wont be able to get as much gold as a bot.. so now the economy is skrewed, no one but botters can buy stuff.

that's how a bot can affect someone elses experience.

Narcissus

Lion's Arch Merchant

Join Date: May 2005

North Carolina, USA

Evolution

Me/A

29 Jun 2005 at 13:07 - 17

Bots artificially flood the enconomy with gold and/or loot. This quickly speeds up inflation with the large influx of gold that is entering into the economy. It also attracts those wretched people that like to sell gold on ebay. I hear the light drives them away though.

Hell, if you are so keen on bots, lets take it a step further for EVERYONE. Just put an NPC in LA/DF/Henge/Amoon/Ascalon that you just walk up to and click the "Im going AFK for X hours" option. When you get back online you are presented with a rather large sum of cash in your inventory.

Sanji

Wilds Pathfinder

Join Date: Jun 2005

Mo/

29 Jun 2005 at 13:32 - 18

Quote:

Originally Posted by Narcissus

It also attracts those wretched people that like to sell gold on ebay. I hear the light drives them away though.

No, people willing to buy Virtual Items attract sellers on eBay. Gold Farmers and Gold Sellers, simply put, are here because enough people want them to be.

Sledge

Academy Page

Join Date: May 2005

Denver, Co

Doom Brigade

E/Me

29 Jun 2005 at 15:42 - 19

OOPs

my bad, it Computer Gaming World, not monthly, sorry.

And I have been unable to find the article online

Pevil Lihatuh

Jungle Guide

Join Date: Apr 2005

Yorkshire, UK

R/Me

29 Jun 2005 at 19:41 - 20

as well as the economy thing, there's also the 'well if no one else is gonna level their character up/make money themselves, why should i?' feeling. No matter how fun a game is, if you see thousands of bots going through things faster and easier than you, it's gonna demoralise your gaming fun.