How to Avoid being Wrongfully Banned?

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Edit/Summary: The rules are intentionally left vague by Blizzard since, if they did clarify them, it would help cheaters avoid getting caught. AHK is basically recognized as a botting program, and even if you’re not using it in WoW, having it up in the background could get you banned. As for everything else (Steam, The Link, using software to remap unsupported buttons, etc), it’s a little like going a few miles over the speed limit. You probably won’t get in trouble, but you could, and what you’re doing is technically against the rules. Even if you do follow the rules, like having AHK running in the background, you could still get banned. If that happens, there’s an appeal process (hopefully you can get reasonable customer service rep).

Just to give a little background, I’m an amateur programmer with Carpal Tunnel.
Yep, I’m a gamer/programmer with Carpal Tunnel, shocking right?

I’ve been playing this game for a long time, and would hate to be banned for my misunderstanding of the ToS, or being incorrectly targeted by some glitchy algorithm.

I use programs like AutoHotkey (AHK), and various different home-grown programs, but I intentionally disable them before playing WoW. It’s not that they’re bad, or in any way automating gameplay, but if I remap a key with AHK then TECHNICALLY I’m “using a 3rd party software to yada yada yada”.

Since I have Carpal Tunnel, I tried playing with a game controller and absolutely love it! I’d like to expand on this, but again, I’m afraid I’ll be falsely marked as a Bot.

Here’s a few situations for consideration.
Which of these are against the ToS?
Which are likely to get me wrongfully marked by anti-botting algorithms?
And although I don’t think this comes into play, which of these do you think are morally wrong?

  1. Using AHK to remap keys.
    The Insert button on my new keyboard is where the Delete button was on my old keyboard, so I use AHK to remap Insert to Delete.

  2. Using Steam to remap keys on my controller.

  3. Using a programmable button on a controller to send a single keystroke with modifiers.
    For instance, hitting LT+RT+RP (Left Trigger, Right Trigger, Right Pad) is awkward, so I don’t keybind anything to it. But what if I used one of the 4 back buttons on my new controller to send that combination of keys?

  4. Using AHK or Python to remap controller keys.
    It would be really nice if I could remap controller buttons myself instead of struggling with the default settings. For instance there’s a “screenshot” button on my Xbox controller I’d like to use to toggle my map, but Windows has that hard-coded to the GameBar and it’s nearly impossible to disable it (well, it’s only difficult using the built in settings, if I can program something myself it’s easy).

  5. I found something interesting called The Link in Steam. It basically uses a webcam with motion tracking to send keystrokes to WoW. If you want to see what it looks like Google Graysfordays. Oddly enough I found this thanks to Graysfordays and the last Twitch Battle Pet promotion.
    Lose weight playing WoW? Why yes thank you. :slight_smile:

  6. There’s an open source project by hoangv97 on Github called MotionMap. It looks like it would be fairly easy to program something very similar to The Link.

So what does everyone think? I understand that the best way to avoid problems is to just do things normally. But I’m a paying customer who’s not doing anything morally wrong, so I’d like to have fun!

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I’d suggest moving this to the Customer Support Forum.

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I agree, this is greek to me :100:. Felt so old reading it lol. I imagine a definitive answer is what you are looking for and general forums probably isn’t your best bet for that. :woman_shrugging:

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I’m no expert but anything that isn’t a macro and uses some kind of automation outside the game probably will get you banned.

Remapping keys is probably fine if that’s in the game interface. And controller support is a thing.

Like I now have a proper MMO mouse with 9 buttons on the left inside to assist with me not having so many shift+ or F789, etc

:ocean: :crab: :ocean: :crab:

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You don’t need third party applications to remap keys or use a controller.

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I would not use AutoHotkey or any outside application to Macro/automate any activity in WOW, and would make sure to have them disabled when running WOW, simply having them in memory is likely enough to result in an account action. So likely would advise against any of your ideas.

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WoW recognizes most buttons, but some controllers come with extra buttons, and the screenshot button I mentioned is used by Windows unless it’s intercepted by a program like AHK.

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Being a paying customer entitles you to nothing more than server access. When you agree to the EULA time and time again, that takes the “morally” part out of the equation and it’s either right or wrong.

In general, if you have to ask? Then the answer is that you shouldn’t do it.

While what each of us decides is fun is vastly different, this is entirely too much. Regardless of AHK being turned off, that immediately throws up a red flag. You’ve got so many external programs and processes tangled into this that you’re kind of asking for Warden to have a field day with your account.

The SFAs will never specifically give you a green light/red light to do things. They cannot.

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So first off, you’re technically correct. With that said, we’re talking about anti-cheating measures, taking morals out of that is just silly.

If you read the section on cheating in the EULA, the last part basically says “and everything else”. It makes it so that if someone comes up with a way to cheat Blizz hasn’t thought of they can still ban it (which is a good thing, they own the product, they need to maintain control). But that makes it so that anything other than old school serial keyboards and mice break the rules.

So you’re right, “it’s either right or wrong” and according to the EULA everything is wrong, but that’s not how the real world works.

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Dont use third party
Dont use automation

Pretty easy not to get banned. Dont break the established rules.

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Autohot key will get you banned if your using it

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This ^. Don’t use it. Search the forum here for reasons why. It can’t be bargained or reasoned with, just, don’t, use it.

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It’s not, not really. So many of Blizzards rulings happen without intentions or context. The majority of the time if something raises red flags, that’s enough. They can’t tell if you’re actually cheating or botting. That something can potentially be used illegally (in the gaming sense, at least), that’s enough. I’ve been around this forum for a hot minute, and I’m just speaking on the things people have brought here to CS.

If people can be suspended or banned for something as mundane as keying an action to the mouse wheel, and having it activate rapid fire that mirrors automation, despite the person manually rolling it? All of that that you’re proposing? You’re playing fast and loose with your account and you have to be prepared to potentially have it suspended or outright banned.

Again I’ll say, if you have to ask if it’s permissible, then you are far safer just…not.

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Understandable about not wanting to get actioned, but there’s no “glitchy algorithm” at play here. First and foremost, since it seems this question is stemming from seeing people talk about catching bans for doing nothing wrong, it’s important to note that they are rarely telling the whole truth.

Second, Blizzard can certainly make mistakes and they would be the first to admit it. That’s why there’s an appeals process. But that doesn’t mean there’s anything faulty about it.

Anyway, onto your questions:

Blizzard never gives a blanket “yes” or “no” for programs. But AutoHotKey is definitely a program that you should not have on your WoW system. Even if it’s not running, the mere presence could cause complications. Not to say it will, but it’s a very risky thing, at best.

Remapping keys is fine, as is using a controller. I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong with it, but I would lean towards an abundance of caution with modifiers. Probably ok, but I’d be weary of it. Macros done outside of the Blizzard interface are allowed, but can easily cross the automation line if you’re not careful.

Also, I would never recommend anything open source or just a downloadable from GitHub. Even if you completely trust the author, it’s so risky in many ways.

Again, this isn’t going to happen. That’s simply not how Blizzard operates.

This is 100% irrelevant. Blizzard has set rules that everyone must follow. That’s the only compass for right/wrong in these scenarios.

There are plenty of things I wish Blizzard would reconsider, or clarify, or do more effectively, etc. But it’s their game, and they set the rules. We don’t get to push our personal morals onto Blizzard or anyone else in this game.

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Do NOT use AHK for anything or have it running while you have WoW running. Using AHK will get you banned even if you are not using it in WoW at the time. Turn it off.

Do not use anything outside of the game to link together any abilities. If you want to macro something, use the in-game macro maker.

Remapping keys is usually ok. You can use a footpedal for example mapped to your WoW UI.

The rest of that? Avoid it. Anything that appears to automate WoW in any way, including just cast sequences (outside what the Blizzard in-game macro maker does) is a risk.

Blizzard will never give you approval to use anything. Keep that in mind.

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I think I’d avoid that.

I use foot pedals to send, for example, “alt+shift+F7”. But two of those are modifiers.

Anyway, speaking to the overall title – Blizzard has a solid appeals process for false positives BUT – and this a huge but – the vast majority of people posting about false positives were, in fact, properly actioned.

We don’t judge people looking for assistance as that is their right, and we cannot presume guilt as we’re just third parties in all matters, but players are often actioned for events occurring farther in the past than they realise, different events than they’d thought, or of course there is the plain old disengenuity which some players bring into this forum.

Anyway you seem straightforward and interested in crossing your t’s, so I wish you luck. Carpal tunnel is a bear.

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PS you can also check in with accessibility. I think that’s accessibility@blizzard.com? I’m sure Vrakthris will correct me. :slight_smile:

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I would agree here.

As noted we cannot really give you a definitive yes or no on what you are doing, but AHK tends to be used in various methods of automation, commonly used to automate or streamline multiboxing. So overall, I would recommend against it as simply having it running may cause an issue.

For accessibility concerns, I would recommend reaching out to our Accessibility team.

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So let me address the whole “morals” thing. Since the goal is to avoid cheating, there should be rules to answer the question of “is this cheating?”.

The problem is, if you go strictly by the rules, nothing is allowed. In the strictest terms, most hardware requires at least some “code and/or software” to run. This usually happens in the background, or maybe you get prompted to install something when you first plug in a mouse, but software that’s not “expressly authorized by Blizzard” is involved… I think, I don’t know if a list of approved software even exists.

So the argument that it’s either against the rules or it isn’t is faulty. It’s all against the rules.
“We own it, we promise nothing, and can ban you for anything” allows Blizzard to address issues without worrying about random lawsuits.

Now there’s some common sense you can use.

  • If I wrote a program to press the same 2 or 3 buttons over and overs again so I can go AFK while farming something, that’s obviously cheating.
  • Or if I write a script to execute my cast sequence with perfect timing, that gives me an advantage in gameplay, thus cheating.

A keyboard and mouse use code or software to interpret my actions and send keystrokes.
A game controller uses code or software to interpret my actions and send keystrokes.
A game controller using AHK to remap a button to something WoW supports… uses code or software to interpret my actions and send keystrokes.
Motion capture uses code or software to interpret my actions and send keystrokes.

I’m not saying I don’t see the difference, but that circles back to “is this cheating?”. I’m not going to top the DPS charts by shaking my hands to cast Wrath, or to jog in place to get my character to run.

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To be frank, you’re trying to make something out what it isn’t. You wondered what was or against the rules, and folks explained why using something like AHK would get your action. Nothing about a mouse driver, a system update, or anything of that kind would fall against the rules as nothing like that in of itself would automate/repeat actions for you. It’s just a straw-man statement.

What Blizzard sees is that a program that’s well known for automating actions and it is recommended not to use it if someone is fearing account actions. Blizzard can’t give a blanket list of systems/programs of what is/isn’t allowed as the maker can change it to be something that’d be against the rules.

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