Me too, I actually have a distro and artist account 
Jan 1. Early estimates were 750k songs…
Indie artists thought we were being targeted and it was a big label conspiracy. Turns out, they got tired of the “Look How I got 5 million listens in one day!” Youtube vids.
Fyi theyll now only curate one song per artist per month to add to spotify playlists instead of the revolving door.
Pretty safe to say any character from the same account is good. They can also identify where you are from by the IP address. So a 10,000g transfer from someone playing in the Philippines to someone playing in Austin, Texas should raise some red flags.
Of course the whole IP thing can be thrown off by VPNs.
Well id never send that much, im not that wealthy lol. Some rogue out trying to make gold picking flowers.
I do move around the NW a lot and play on my laptop from time to time and dont want them to take guesses and ban me for doing things the right way while allowing rampant botting. If they can tell my other accounts are me then fine, hammer away. But im highly doubting the company that is allowing fly bots and teleporting bots really has this under control. As much as someone else in this thread tries top pretend they might, actions speak louder than words.
If you switch accounts with the drop down on the launcher then yes they absolutely can tell it’s the same person. I’m sure they have a lot more data on you than you realize.
Yeah people keep saying that. They should use their wealth of info and take action with it from time to time. Maybe the economy wouldnt be crippled if they used some of that info
I feel the indie struggle and I definitely commend their efforts… but the problem and the solution were entirely different and not at all applicable to MMO’s. They didn’t ever actually solve the BOT problem… they just found a way to make getting caught using bots harmful enough to be a deterrent… I don’t think there’s any way you could get there in an MMO.
Artists also have Aascap/BMI/Sesac fighting for them (much as I loathe their existence generally) which means they have a lot more clout than a bunch of random MMO players
I think this is the only thing we might disagree on actually: WoW could track gold transactions on AH or via mailbox, with scripts and create red flags indicating RMT activity. Not everyone pays 10k for the Practice Sword transmog for example.
They could tally character names with id numbers for say, Lotus, and compare # of times a particular character and account, pick the lotus and compare that with more natural frequencies of that transaction. Its all SQL or db variant stuff…not tough to parse.
These are the precise methods Spotify used to red flag artificial and inorganic listening.
The major diff I think we both agree, is that the errant playlist behavior was interfering with how Spotify improves a listening experience for others, threatening their bottom line.
On the flip side, Blizzard gains on their bottom line for errant bot behavior and has muuuuch less motive to fix things until: people unsub over it.
No they haven’t.
https://us.forums.blizzard.com/en/wow/t/actions-taken-to-address-exploitative-gameplay/558339
Let me pull a specific quote:
I call BS. Show that this included gold sellers, and show proof that they actually did what they said.
There are no raw gold farms in retail. I wouldn’t be surprised if most of the people buying game time off the AH are actually bots.
What constitutes as “proof” in this case? Do you want someone to walk around Blizzard HQ with a camera making sure people are doing what you want them to do?
I think they just recycle it and they use Players to do that. That’s why it’s difficult to find out who is at fault. I’ve explained this in other threads, but here’s my working theory on how the current system works:
The way players will try to earn gold and remain competitive is to rely on GDKP runs. They will do this regardless of the fact that GDKP indirectly keeps bot system up and running.
Bots have major influence over the market. If you’re buying Black Lotus, Plaguebloom, or whatever else you need for raids, there’s always a chance you’re buying your stuff from a bot and not a real player.
The gold you used to buy your mats is then recycled. It is traded to other players in exchange for real-world money. The gold through RMT can then used in the GDKP market to buy items. Remember the guy who spent 198k for Gressil?
So where does the gold go after the GDKP is over? Naturally, that gold can be used to buy more things on the AH which have been farmed by bots. And the cycle continues…
Here’s what this looks like more simplified:
Bots farms mats
GDKP Raiders spend gold to buy mats from Bots
Bots sell gold to Player A
Player A uses gold they just bought to bid on items in GDKP Raid
GDKP Raiders walk away with lots of gold
GDKP Raiders use gold to buy mats farmed by Bots…
Bots can essentially recycle the same amount of gold over and over again using players as a third party.
I don’t know, but blizz’s word definitely DOESN’T constitute proof.
If you spend any amount of time on these forums you’ll quickly realize that anything that benefits the community in some way isn’t part of the greater problem, ex: GDKP.
Oh, I get that in-game as well. I’ve had the same argument with people in LFG and nobody seems to get how GDKP is wide open for exploitation. Boosting is the same thing.
The argument isn’t that GDKP or Boosting are inherently bad. The problem is, nobody knows where the money is coming from. For all anyone knows, the player made a Mage and spent time AoE farming mobs in wherever for however many hours. Then again, the gold could have been bought.
What bothers me about all of this is that GDKP and Boosting have become two of the most reliable sources of gold generation in the game right now.
The materials market (Black Lotus, Arcane Crystals, etc.) have largely been influenced by bots. You can still cash in every now and then, but for the most part these are unreliable sources of income. The only time I’ve ever been able to find and pick a Black Lotus is when it’s just spawned and I happen to be there. Without fail, after I’ve picked it, 2-4 Hunters usually converge onto my location. These are un-guilded Hunters, wearing greens. If you’re a normie herb farmer, you cannot compete with that.
So, how to you make gold? And I mean reliable gold? You boost. Your guild runs a GDKP. And, somehow, the people paying you for either always have gold to spend. Where did they get that gold?
Ask yourself: if you can’t find a reliable source of income, then how about the folks paying for your boost? How about the people who paid for the GDKP items? Where did they get their money?
You can’t quote someone’s entire post.
It’s not well established at all because blizzard doesn’t actually ban them. Plenty of people see the same fly hacking bots doing as they please day in and day with out consequence. The accounts they claim to be banning are pool boosting accounts which do not effect the economy in any way and only have to be remade using the same names to still count.
You guys. Blizzard doesn’t care enough for bot banning. Go to Durotar right now and you’ll find bots.
I’m not sure about the problems with doing this, but it makes sense.