3rd Party Software: Area's Owned By Bots.

I enjoy this game most of the time, but on many occasions I have become extremely frustrated and disheartened by the hundreds of, what I have become completely convinced, are characters being controlled by 3rd party programs. Having only recently returned to Lineage 2, I have concerns about 3rd party programs and their use. I felt like I had to raise the issue publicly.



I have not played 'Lineage 2' for many years before I recently returned to the game only two weeks ago. The release of C4 is roughly the point in time that I draw reference about past experiences of the game, 'Lineage 2.' I know that this subject is not entirely new as I have witnessed many instances of both individual characters being automated by 3rd party software as well as whole groups of characters being controlled by such programs when I played the game many years ago. However for some reason it seems to me that there are now literally hundreds of software controlled characters, forming veritable armies of clients that are consistently located in core leveling and questing areas, at all time periods and on all days that I have played the game. I know I can not declare that I know for a fact that 3rd party programs are being used however I have become increasingly convinced that I am correct is assuming that there are many clients being controlled by 3rd party programs by a great many characteristic examples, such as;

• Every time I visit the town of Heine, I have clearly seen that on one pier in particular a large amount of individuals that number over 40, (I counted them and I stopped counting at 40), have been fishing what appears to be the same target location. The characters that I have seen fishing in this location, continue to do so without pause or delay and continuously ignore any social interaction by use of either general chat or by means of private messages that I and others have made towards them. In my opinion, this lends credibility to my theory that these characters are being controlled by a 3rd party program as opposed to a living human being.


• There are blatantly obvious groups of Dark Elf Summoner characters that are so numerous I could only describe them as armies consistently located in the different area's of the area called 'The Wall of Argos.' Every time I have visited the area in game there have always been many, (I would estimate between five and twenty) of these characters in each of the mob spawning area's, at any one time, all appearing to move in exact unison to attack the areas mob's as they re-spawn. I am convinced, that these characters are (at least mostly) automated botting programs. These dark elf summoners all seem to be generic as from what I can tell, most of them have the same face/hair choices. I have not seen the characters return to town for any kind of re-supply or rebuffing. A player controlled character would almost certainly take advantage of supply items as well as the newbie buff which is now provided for free until level 85. I am convinced that these characters are controlled by botting programs and not a human being, and I am also convinced that they are all connected as it would appear that due to their sheer weight in number, they need no support from buff or consumable item.

My questions are as follows;

• Firstly, I apologize if this thread is written incorrectly or perhaps posted in the wrong place, if it is so, where should I direct any questions and concerns regarding the issue of people that are suspect of using 3rd party software to automate control of their characters in this manner; as well as the issue of areas becoming too overcrowded by the large groups of these characters that I suspect to be automated by 3rd party programs of various types?


• I am interested in learning if I'm alone in my concerns, or if the in-game problems caused by this subject does indeed hinder and frustrate some or many of the games legitimate players as much as it does myself?


• As the characteristic behavior of these large groups of characters matches the known behavioral patterns of 3rd party botting programs; What action, if any is being taken by NCsoft to reduce the impact these large groups of 3rd party program controlled characters have on legitimate players who are trying to enjoy the game?


• In support of the EULA of the game, a player friendly community and the actual intended in-game experience created by NCsoft itself, what action (if any), can be taken by legitimate players to combat the above issue? - (In my opinion, the current method of using the 'Bot Report' button seems to be ineffective because the amount of characters I suspect of being controlled by 3rd party programs is so large that I would not be able to play the game properly as I would have to spend a large portion of my play time targeting individual bot controlled characters and reporting them. I have reported a moderate amount of these characters already by use of the provided button, however many of these reported characters are always easily seen to be in the same places doing the same activities, even a week after I have reported them).


• What would Lineage 2 admin suggest that a player should do if they find it too difficult to complete a quest goal or other objective because of a lack of available mobs caused by the large groups of almost identical, ever-present, ever-active, and ever-synchronized bots. (by bots, I mean the characters that behave in a manner that is, (as I have learned from my own research), characteristic of being under the automated control of 3rd party software).


• Can the admin of Lineage 2 at least sympathize with the huge levels of frustration to players; as well as the added hindrances to character progression; Which is a result of certain key areas of the game world being permanently "Owned" by these groups of (suspected), characters that are automated by 3rd party software usage?


• When will the legitimate players of Lineage 2 no longer face these issues?


• And lastly, until such a time as this issue is resolved, could NCsoft possibly place the mobs needed for the progression of the various quests that are recommended along the path to level 85, in some other locations in the world which would further grant players the ability to complete their quests within a reasonable amount of time. (It can be so very hard to collect enough quest items, when the other characters hunting the same mobs as you, seem to have the gift of being able to instantly target a mob immediately upon that mobs re-spawning in, doing so milliseconds before it has even fully appeared visually).

I apologize if this thread seems to be just another repeat of previously discussed issues; However, I feel that this subject must be resolved and until it has been, it will continue to be raised as a facet of the game which takes away from the enjoyment of new or returning players who desire to make legitimate progress as they explore the amazing world of Lineage 2. I do NOT believe that NCsoft does nothing about this issue. In fact, I believe it to be quite possible, that the game Dev's who work upon the ever-evolving game of Lineage 2, may be continuously angered and frustrated by the problems caused by all kinds of 3rd party software that players ask them to resolve. I know that NCsoft tries to deal with people using 3rd party software or scams and exploits, in ways that would be considered to be cheating by legitimate players and game Dev's alike.







The point of this thread was not to complain, it is instead to ask for professional advice about the subject and what solutions the game admin would suggest as well as to allow me to further express how much this issue slows my game progress and takes away some of the enjoyment of playing the game. (And maybe, many others as legitimate players, feel a similar way and share my concerns about this subject).





Thank you for your time.