theres 2 spot in the game that u dont need to move at all to be able to access to Mailbox and AH at the same time without AH mount. The first one is at The Cape of Stranglethorn and Shrine of Two Moons on pandaria.
so i basically found it my AH items are undercutted within 10 minutes for 24/7 by him and at first i did not suspect anything but i added them into friendlist and i see him online 24/7 on those spots and undercuts every 10ish minutes.
i had a little more reasearch and detective play… they are posting crafted items and i found out their crafters name and try adding them to the my friendlist account once again and found out that they are using 2 accounts. the AH undercut bots are low lvl and their main crafters account is on another account.
i also try to spam invite spamming whisper very agressive for couple minutes for couple days and he respond nothing and im pretty sure that they are using some clicker program to do this boring task for over 24/7 every single day.
also i use feature “report a player” but its been more than a week they are done this but it seems i stil see him online and undercuts 90% of my AH within 10 minutes.
now if u guys are from Area52 server and can craft some boe 200 or 230 gear try to post and see who undercut you for 24/7 or at least add him on friendlist and see him always online.
but this only my suspicion i might be wrong. so my question is is this allowed? i can ez make clicker for undercut ah 24/7.
Undercutting, in and of itself, is not against policy. A 10 minute turnaround for undercutting doesn’t seem very bot-like. Most of those would be nearly instant. Even with the use of an addon most legitimate players can undercut fairly quick.
That said, if you believe someone is exploiting to do so, that is another matter and should be reported. You can use the right click report option by clicking on the characters portrait and selecting the proper reporting option or, if you are unable to target and do that, email hacks@blizzard.com and provide what details you can, such as the name/realm and your suspicions.
There are no rules in the game that someone needs to respond to a whisper or an invite. Someone not responding doesn’t indicate they are botting. Someone responding doesn’t prove they aren’t.
You don’t know this unless you too are on 24/7. It is not impossible for that player to play the same hours as you.
Investigations take time. Even after a week your report may not have reached the front of the queue.
2, Blizzard may have investigated them and determined they are not botting.
the suspicion is he never sleep =) 24/7
i already did report but no respond from blizzard inside game.
i can make clicker interval for 15 minutes each time and that is possible. is this allowed ?
The 24/7 aspect would be pretty suspect, were that true.
The rest of it isn’t really abnormal. 10 minutes is really slow unless they’re super diversified. There are people who relist multiple times per minute but they’re very dedicated to those markets.
Now I’m not saying it’s a good experience, or good for the game, but I’ve yet to think of a good solution.
I really think you’re underestimating how hard some people work the AH. Without any sort of illegal software or setup. Everything you’ve described is perfectly fine. You can have multiple accounts. You can have your high level active toons on one and use a whole other account for nothing but playing the AH. Just because they’re going harder than you for scanning/undercutting/relisting does not mean they’re a bot. Even if it is them up and online 24/7, some people have some pretty warped sleep schedules.
And too, I would be reporting the heck out of you for harassment for the un-instigated invites and whispering. No one has to answer you or acknowledge you in any sort of fashion. You’re not entitled to that in your grand investigation scheme.
i have to note again that i agressively spam whisper and invite party without a respond and not only for 1 time i did it multiple time. also i try to online at random time and i found he is literally online everytime i log in. thats why i making this post because i feel hopeless with the report system.
The behavior describe is completely normal. Matter of fact, it describes me perfectly. I have my main account which crafts/gathers everything I need. Then there is my alt account which I use to post in the AH. It is a very convenient way of handling this activity.
Perception can often be way off without an ability to verify that. Which, as mentioned, would require you to be on 24/7 or near that, to do.
While some players have long playtimes, which in no way is against policy (though people really should get some sleep to remain healthy), it rarely is what is perceived by others. In this case, Lethal, your assumption is entirely inaccurate. They do not play 24/7, or anywhere close to it.
That isn’t to say that they could not be violating policy, I’m not part of any associated investigation, I can just easily confirm that they are not playing as long as you seem to believe.
We don’t normally provide an update outside of the system thanking you for the report. Investigations can take a while so it could be mid-investigation or the investigation could have already happened. If it has and nothing happened it means no violations were found.
There are several addons out there that help players deal with that kind of annoyance. Some people like to just play the AH and not be bothered with certain social interactions outside of the circle they created for themselves.
The reporting system isn’t hopeless, it’s extremely useful. However, you have to take into consideration a few things.
Investigations often take time and depending on the circumstances could take a good deal of time to have the most lasting impact so no action could have been taken yet.
You very well may be wrong and expecting a result based on the belief that you are right when you are not will result in disappointment.
We do appreciate that you are reporting those that you suspect of cheating. We take these reports seriously and will continue to investigate those claims.
See, you’re hung up on this in the wrong kind of way. You reported them. That’s all you had to do. Right-click, report and you move on along.
First off, Blizzard investigates each and every report. Just because YOU are hung up on them being a bot, does not make them a bot. Sometimes investigations take time, or it could just be that hey – they’re not really a bot. And that’s why they’re still there and doing their thing. Because they’re not breaking any rules and they’re allowed to keep doing what they’re doing.
Thank you for reporting them, but that’s all you had to do, that’s all that you can do. Anything else is excessive and kind of stalkerish to be honest. I may add my competitors to my friends list on my AHing alts, but that’s just to keep an eye on any who may be on to undercut me right away. In fact, I’ve spoken with quite a few of those folks and we all are cordial and acknowledge one another. Heck, we’ve helped to catch when someone has accidentally not paid attention to ilevel when listing and would list something for 5k rather than 75k.
Others? Just don’t respond. And that’s fine. No one has to respond to someone who starts blowing up their chat box.
Something I want to touch on: yes, there are players who keep a second account active simply for playing the AH. This includes undercutting, cornering markets, buying low/selling high, and even using add-ons to buy and undercut seemingly instantly.
None of what I listed above is against any rule. The AH is a free market, and people can post for any price they want, buy what they want, etc. Now, I would never say that AH bots don’t exist, because they do, but they are very rare. Because:
as stated, anything above, done manually or with add-ons, is not illegal. It’s silly to risk an account when a botting program can’t really do much more, and…
when players are moving/storing/using so much gold, it’s silly to potentially tie up an account and lose all that work. Especially considering #1, and how players can use allowed add-ons to do 95% of the same things.
It’s encouraged for you to report your suspicions (that’s all they are) to Blizzard. Please do, and speaking for myself, it’s much appreciated.
But I would also encourage you to remove this player from your friends list, and not worry about what the account is doing. If they are breaking the rules, Blizzard will action them. If not, they won’t. Your part is done.
