How long does it take for Farming Bots to be banned?
I’ve been reported for 4 days, when there were still 2 bots, now it’s 4
And nothing happens, they’re still there.
I don’t know exactly, but I do know it takes time for them to be able to detect what they’re using and to break it.
They also check the accounts and see if any are stolen, etc before taking action.
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I inspected the characters, apparently level 60 boosts were purchased and used
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Well, the CS forums isn’t a means of reports, let along wanting account(s) banned. All you can do is report and move on. Posting here won’t speed anything up.
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Maybe it happens, and maybe someone can give me an estimate like the other friend did.
The accounts could still be stolen or the credit cards used could be, which they also look for. You’re doing your part and reporting and I know they appreciate it.
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It could be within hours, days or weeks, Angstnel. While we do act on individual accounts the most impact we have is with ban waves.
Report what you can using right click report, but know even without those reports our teams are working to eliminate what exploitation and botting they can as quickly as possible.
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Hello Angstnel,
Sometimes, while out Q’d and gathering, doing WQ, etc. I’ll run across a number of toons that look like bots and act like bots in Retail (mostly ball farmers that look seriously automated). I report 'em all and almost all disappear. But it can take time.
The scale, however, is huge. Take last month. They hammered 270k accounts, that’s 9000 accounts per day, that’s a lot every hour. On a bad day I can report 50+ w/ screenshots, usually half that or less, sometimes none (good day there). The numbers I am sending in are less than a drop in the bucket, and because the numbers are so large, the ban wave method almost has to be used.
Anyway, keep reporting. Be patient and try not to let it get to ya.
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I’ve never seen ordinary people who stay on the same route for 4-5 days without rest
But that’s okay I’m going out
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Your not there 24/7 so you have no idea. They could be there the same times that you play each day. So report them and move on, if they are botting it will catch up to them.
Notice they do not always ban bots the second they find them. They want to find how they work and how to search all servers for their signature. They also want to track their network of where the gold is going too.
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I totally agree with you.
There is a person who is running 4 toons constantly (Doesn’t matter what time of the day or night it is I still see them) farming tuskkar tackleboxes in Shifting Sands area. I have reported them more times than I care to count (I’ve been reporting them for 2-3 months now) and I still see them every.single.day.
What is so strange about this person is…the 4 toons phase in (Their home realm is Area-52) at a specific point (every time), fly around and loot tackleboxes that are not near any nps so they never enter combat. Then they fly back to the specific spot and immediately phase out. They fly the same exact route every time they phase in, then fly back to their original point then immediately phase back out.
All this person does is farm chests. Nothing else. Never enters combat and have only seen 2 of the 4 toons laying dead on the ground when Phleep is up in the area and Phleep one shotted 2 of the 4 before they could get away.
I am really starting to wonder if they even pay attention to bot reports anymore. I have been reporting this person for a long time.
Looked up one of the 4 toons and found all toons are in the same guild, which was created in May 2023. There are 29 members in the guild with a bunch of boosted characters and a few low level characters. A lot of the characters have very similar names, and most are either Demon Hunters or Druids.
Why hasn’t something been done about this person?
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Thing is it comes down to investigation sure it could be a bot or a multiboxer if its a mb as long as there doing it right it ends ther. Now if its a bot they gota check check double check then do a massive ban wave.
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What I find most odd about it is the phasing in/out. The flight path they fly is a circle, they phase in, fly the circle, come back to where they phase in, then they phase out.
In that they might be multiboxing?
You have to let Blizzard decide if they are botting or not, but Mulitiboxing is allowed with in limits.
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Since they haven’t been banned after several months of reporting, I guess it is safe to assume that that the person is multiboxing and not botting. It is what it is. I will stop reporting.
You don’t know what has happened to anyone else’s account.
It’s a solid assumption, but still an assumption. You are free to report any situation you feel is against the rules.
But there are two things to remember:
- You thinking they should be banned does not mean Blizzard agrees. Even if they are breaking the rules, a ban may not be the corrective action Blizzard decides on.
- Report, then move on with your life. No need to follow them around and keep tabs on their activities.
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All of what you have said is true. The only time I See these characters is in the Shifting Sands area. I was in that area recently and saw the tacklebox train flying through several times.
I am making a point to stay out of that area now.
You know they could have been banned and now they could be using new accounts and use names that are very close to the names they had prior. Gold sellers do this to make people think nothing happens when someone is reported.
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Hello Oaklei,
I have seen the phasing as well and cannot figure it out. It is not a log out, those look different in game. Sometimes it happens when I hover while reporting them, they target me, and then just poof gone. Other times (2 actually) I’ve been following a flying train of 10+ guardian druids trying to target each and presto! they just disappeared when the lead saw me and turned around. And then out came the geared warrior to try and show me what is what, heh.
If you feel it is suspicious or botty (is that a word lol, probably not), well bot-like, then report. Some groups of 2x4 ball farmers, despite in game appearances, are just that and maybe others in gathering trains are legit multiboxers, or those at all hours solo BM hunter skinners doing endless random circles skinning in the Azure Span and Ohn’ahran Plains, maybe that is just 3 or more super dedicated skinners? Maybe. But, we can’t see from our end.
Keep up the reporting when yah can.
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This unusual behavior may explain why a bolt of lightning doesn’t descend from the skies and instaban anyone.
If a bot is exhibiting “interesting” behavior, the development team may want to monitor that so they can find the root cause enabling the exploit they’re using, and then patch that exploit, AND THEN ban the accounts.
Squashing one roach at a time is a sucker’s game. Nuking the whole nest and all the other nests like it is the only way to go.
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