More and more players are using TSM (Trade Skill Master) to unfairly dominate the AH by performing actions that no human could ever possibly do (scanning tens of thousands of the AH each second, INSTANTLY buying things either accidentally listed or intentionally listed well below market value, and instantly canceling + re-listing when someone undercuts you – an action which prevents anyone without TSM from making sales).
This is making it impossible to use the AH normally, and is undermining the gaming experience for honest players. Blizzard recognized this was a problem in retail, and throttled the number of scans players could do on the AH to kill this addon/bot.
Blizzard HAS also made changes to WoW Classic prevent unfair/exploitable situations (such as removing the XP from mobs spawned from the prison/Gor’shak quest, patching WSG, fixing black lotuses spawns, etc.), and also implemented layering to make the game playable when servers were crowded. In keeping with this precedent of fixing things that are unfairly breaking the game, Blizzard NEEDS to throttle AH scanning in classic, like they did for retail.
18 Likes
Honestly they should just delete the AH instead. Let players ply their wares in towns.
3 Likes
This is the first I’m hearing about this addon. I’m sure they’ll break it if it gets to far out of hand.
It isn’t instant. It requires scans and manual canceling of every auction. Stop posting misinformation.
13 Likes
patching wsg would be nice ppl are still wall jumping up the tunnel and through holes in the fences
2 Likes
It’s already getting out of hand on Faerlina. There’s one guy who sits on the AH literally 24/7. If anyone lists consumables for less than he does, he cancels his 2h listings, and re-lists them for 1c cheaper. Since they’re 2h listings on consumes, the listing fee is like 7 copper – which is a stupidly negligible amount, essentially a free listing.
This makes it impossible for regular players to sell potions, since this one guy’s bot can literally out-compete an entire server’s economy of sellers.
2 Likes
No. The AH neutering on retail for people who refuse to take the time to double check what they list before pressing post is half the reason i dont play retail.
And no, TSM sniper isnt a bot. It scans the auction house and you have to manually click through the menus to buy the items it finds still.
That “instantly re-list” is simply a lie.
I can easily see (with or without TSM) when I am undercut.
I can cancel that auction (with or without TSM) .
Then I must run to the nearest mailbox (with or without TSM) to get it.
TSM does NOT let me instantly re-post an item in my mailbox. I have to go get it.
I sometimes use TSM for crafting. In the AH, I don’t bother using TSM. It does nothing for me that I cannot do without it.
Before TSM I used Auctionator. Before that I used Auctioneer. I have been using addons to improve the AH for many years.
Sniper shows items being sold below their “average” price. Sniper does NOT promise that an item will be sold at any price. I’ve checked sniper a few times: it is mostly green items that won’t sell at the “average” price that stupid TSM claims for them. I don’t use it.
Blizzard updated the AH’s UI interface…finally, in BFA. If you want some of that “improvement” in Classic, then use Auctionator or Auctioneer. Or even TSM, if you like.
if you yourself are not scanning the auction house with your own eyes, then you are considered to be using a ro’bot’ to do it for you.
They throttled it on retail not to break the addon, but because it was causing servers to break.
What UI window allows you to scan all items in the auction house? That does not exist! Every UI (including the one created by Blizzard) filters a hidden database, and only shows you a few items (50 or less per page).
So what on earth does your “scanning the auction house with your own eyes” mean? Doing something illegal?
On my server, the auction house has more than 10,000 items. But Blizzard does not give me any way to “scan those 10,000 items.” I have to look at them 50 at a time AFTER filtering them, in Blizzard’s UI.
Addons (Auctioneer, Auctionator, TSM) give you different ways to filter. After that you “scan items with your eyes.”
4 Likes
Auction house scanning addons have been around since vanilla. You’re real late to the party, bud.
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This really sounds like part time player angry at someone who spends a whole lot more time playing and is using tools readily available far more effectively. Just git gud
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I’m surprised LFG was throttled but TSM hasn’t been. Both types were available in vanilla, kind of interesting how one was adjusted. In any case, unless tsm causes server depreciation I doubt it’ll be adjusted
This app scans for commonly-listed items literally every second. If it detects an item, it makes an alert sound on the player’s computer, and all they have to do is flick their mouse wheel to “provide player input” to proceed with a purchase.
Multiple times today TSM users have purchased my items BEFORE they showed up in my own listings tab. Snatching up items literally one second after they’re listed is virtually instantaneous.
No, you don’t. You can set it to automate 99.9% of things. Basically you can set it to “buzz” and flicking your mouse wheel or pressing any button on the keyboard in response will count as you “manually” purchasing 20 items, or you “manually” re-listing 20 items. That is hardly “manual” activity.
3 Likes
So you believe having to click or scroll a mouse wheel isn’t manual input?
unless you have something set up to scroll that wheel for you, you’re still a person physically pressing the button. This isn’t rocket science.
much of what sniper reports back are very bad investments. If you’re blindly buying it all, you’re gonna have a bad time.
flicking your scroll wheel and in response performing a plethora of complex auction house functions is no different than pressing “k” and having your character go kill 20 earth elementals, or pressing “m” and having your character go collect 20 herbs. it’s using a robot to perform MANY COMPLEX actions that no human could possibly do in that amount of time.
it’s not “convenience” or “UI improvement” or “displaying some extra information” (things that mods do), it’s botting.
3 Likes
Again - if you blindly purchase everything sniper spits back out at you with a scroll wheel macro, you are not going to make money. You will lose it, and lose it badly. Players who try this are easy pickings for folks who manipulate market prices through clever listings and don’t understand the difference between tsm market values vs what items actually sell.
The situation you describe is not a winning strategy. Nobody is getting a leg up on anyone doing this.
1 Like
You mean the desktop TSM application? That’s not what it does.
Do you mean the in-game TSM add-on? Because that’s definitely not what it does.
I can’t tell if you’re horribly misinformed, talking about something else (actual bots, perhaps), or lying to push your agenda.
4 Likes