Introduction
Don't fool yourself -- They are out there. They might only walk to wee hours of the morning, skulking in the dark corners where nary a traveler will go -- but they are there, poisoning your economy. It is time we know what to look for.
Some people think bots are a myth. Some people think bots have no impact on the economy. These two statements are myths themselves. There are many bots out there for those who know what to look for, and it is the job of this guide to tell you what to look for. It is only through us, and occasionally the Warden, that we can take bots off the market.
But Ven, how does bots affect the economy? Why are they such a bad thing?
One word can describe the bots' impact on the economy -- inflation. "That's it?" you might say? "That" is devastating to an economy. the US's Federal Reserve Bank exists to curb inflation in the US economy. Russia's economy completely collapsed after experiencing inflation of 1500% or greater. Inflation is death to any economy.
To you, the consumer, a bot makes your money worth less. Say you have your eye on some Spellstrike Pants. That'll set you back about 2k gold, ouch! So you spend two weeks saving up that 2k gold, your excited and you can't wait to jaunt down to that auction house to pick up your death incarnate-in-pants. But wait, every time you look, you can't find it for less then 2.5k gold! What's going on? That is inflation in work, and by far the largest cause of artifical economy inflation is bots. Furthermore, this makes it nearly impossible for new people -- who's income relies on vendor sold merchandise -- to get a foothold in the game. It is bots that create this inflation and makes the game more expensive for an average joe like you.
So how do the bots do it? Most bots are designed to simply pick up equipment -- be it greys, whites, greens -- and sell it to the vendor. That's how they make their money. However, this does more then makes money, it creates it. Also, since they just pump that money into the economy while bypassing any money sinks -- repairs, mounts, things like that -- it causes massive inflation. You can't by your spellstrike pants because money is worth less. Inflation is never good, and most inflation is caused by bots. However, it is within your power to make them stop!
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Dang bots ruining the economy! How do I identify them Ven?
Glad you asked! Blizzard actually helps us quite a bit with identifying bots, with their program the Warden. The Warden can detect common bot programs used. More importantly, the Warden can detect common traits in bots -- through watching if they bypass the hardware (keyboard & mouse) to take actions, for example. There is also many, many other things the warden looks for to identify a bot, but I couldn't tell you what they are. The warden will flag accounts they think is botting, and after some quiet observation by a GM, usually gets banned.
And don't kid yourself. If you are thinking about botting, you will be banned.
Unfortunately though, it takes a while to process things through the warden, since flag accounts take low priority for a GM. There is also an off chance that the warden will miss some of the more sophisticated bots. This is where you can help.
First off, almost all bots are hunters. Usually they are hunters with boar pets to minimize the chance of them dying since they are inferior to real players. If you see a hunter for a boar pet, that's good grounds to observe them as a possible bot. There are bots that aren't hunters, mostly for players paying someone to level their character for them. These, however, usually quickly get flagged and taken down since it's much more difficult to program, say, a mage, then a hunter.
You'll also find that almost all bots play within the early hours of the morning. This is to minimize the chance of them being caught, because it's pretty obvious when someone is botting. If you see a hunter with a boar that doesn't reply to tells at 4:00 in the morning, you can be almost certain that it's a bot.
Next, look for keyboard movements and trouble with obstacles. If you watch a player run into a tree for a while, stop, back up (not turn around, back up), then turn, then move, that's most likely a bot. A real player will simply mouse-move around the obstacle. That's fairly difficult to program in a bot, so almost all their movement will be through the keyboard. So if you see a keyboard-turner, keep an eye on him -- he might be a bot.
Which brings us to the next flag, if a character is backing up. How many times have you backed up? Maybe right after a frost nova if your a mage, and that's about it. Almost everybody will turn around, run back, then turn around again. Since a bot doesn't often use mouse commands, they will *not* do this. They'll back up almost always. If you see a character backing up extremely often (usually, for a hunter bot, when they are too close to shoot), then he's probably a bot.
Finally, equipment. Bots will almost certainly have inferior equipment for their level. /inspect is your best friend when identifying a bot. A bot will not waste any potential profits when getting equipment, so almost all of their equipment is quested. If you see a level fifty character using a gun thirty levels below him, with mainly equipment gotten from quests in darkshore, that's a good sign he is a bot.
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Quick Summary of how to detect a bot
Here's a quick list of some common traits that most bots share
It is a hunter, usually with a boar pet
It uses keyboard commands to move
It backs up as opposed to turning
It has troubles with obstacles and adds
It has bad problems with latency
It doesn't reply to tells
if a player exhibits most or all of these traits, then it is most likely a bot.
Great, I think I found a bot! GRRRRR. What should I do now?
First off, try to send him a tell. If he doesn't reply, has a dnd sign, replies *instantly*, has a long-winded message, or replies in chinese, there's a good chance he is a bot.
Furthermore, there is a couple experiments you can do. I don't suggest griefing in *any* circumstance, so don't do that. However, try bringing a couple mobs close to him and see how he reacts. Try tagging a mob he is about to fight and see whether he just goes about his business anyway. If he is on the opposite faction on a pvp server (*note* - you will probably never find a bot that's pvp flagged if he doesn't have to be), try doing some unusual things to him to derail him off his code. Try killing his pet then counterspelling his revive (some bots I've seen will just keep trying to fight as though they have a pet and die). Try mind controlling him into some mobs. If he starts acting strange, that's good proof. If he still acts normally, he might still be a bot -- he could just be using a good program.
Which brings me to the ultimatum. Report, report, report. Report is your best friend. Even if you're wrong and he isn't a bot, the worst that can happen is that your wrong. If you have a suspicion, any suspicion at all, report. Just send a report, like, "X player could possibly be a bot. He is acting very strangely and won't reply to tells I send him". That will flag the person's account for observation, and if he is a bot, that's one less person ruining the economy! The worst you can do is kill him or mess him up. A GM can permanently ban him, which is much worse then you can do. You did your job as a citizen of azeroth, nice work!
Conclusion
I suggest you look at these two informative, and very funny videos.
Chronicles of the Goldfarmer, 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CoXGJRxUO4o
Chronicles of the Goldfarmer, 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxWwM...elated&search=
They are more for entertainment, but they show the common behavior of bots.
I hope you found this informative, and hopefully you too can take care of the bots that roam our poor defenseless world!