Clarification: Botting vs Multiboxing

Greetings Everyone,

I know that a day doesn't go by I don't hear someone talking about Botting. But most of the time this is brought up it's miss classified. There is a difference between Botting and Multi-Boxing.

Botting

A bot is an unmanned drone that will often sit and repeat several actions. It will be macroed to attack, and loot and will likely be melee based to get the loot close enough to collect. Sometimes they will jump to keep from going /afk. They do not typically move and will usually follow a very defined pattern. 

Bots are reportable and will be removed from game when discovered. This is a bannable offense and most of your goldspam etc is generated by bots.

Multi-Boxing

Multi-Boxing is not a bannable offence and is a common practice in MMO's. Developers wont ban them, they wont even boot them. This is when 1 person plays multiple accounts. Bot's are unmanned, Multiboxes have people behind them.

Please be careful when throwing out the term botting. While both are annoying Botting is the one that is exploiting the game. Those are the ones that should be reported.

So, the next question is. When is a multi-box truly have a player behind it. Does it need a full set of independent controls or is a single keyboard/mouse enough for 6 accounts simultaneously player controlled?

Back when I use to multibox in WoW I had a lenghty discussion with a GM about this. It was decided by the dev's that using a program like Keyclone for your bots was ok, since in fact, you are still inputing the commands via a human source, aka single keyboard. Letting a program control your toon, with no human input, while you are afk or watching it work, is botting.

I've seen plenty of both in gw2 and reported them all. The differences between multiboxers and bots are negligible, as far as I am concerned as both ruin the spirit of gamesmanship. Also, as a player, it isn't my job to differentiate between the two. If a developer wants to allow shady gameplay of one type, but not another (that, to a player, looks essentially the same) then asks us to report suspicious behavior, they are going to have to live with the extra work. Report them all and let Anet sort them out...

I have confirmed with both Trion and ArenaNet that it is not illegal to play multiple computers at the same time. Even with just 1 keyboard and mouse

Khangor that's an incredibly close-minded opinion. Just because someone enjoys playing the game differently than you, doesn't make their opinion of fun any less/more valuable than yours. A multiboxer finds enjoyment and a challenge in running multiple characters, while you find enjoyment and challenge in running just one. Botters exploit, multiboxers do not. Just my 2cents

The bots in GW2 seem to be much more sophisticated than described in the original post. In the first month of gameplay they were that way, but over the last month I've steadily watched as they became more and more complex. First they went from combat to ranged (Rangers with Bears specifically). Then they started patrolling small circuits instead of running back and forth from the one spot. Now it's not uncommon to see them patrolling impressively large circuits and even working in mixed Warrior/Ranger teams. They are most definitely bots, as they often get spread out along their circuit by random spawns and CC and can be clearly seen to be operating completely independently from one another. I've yet to actually encounter a multiboxer in GW2. From my experiences in WAR and Rift, they are usually pretty easy to identify, because their toons tend to consistently travel in a tight clump, all using the exact same abilities at the exact same times. A real player will also often pause every now and then, while bots are tireless and will move endlessly from one enemy to the next without missing a beat.

I have no problem with people multiboxing unless they show up in WvW. If they can control 4 separate accounts with one keyboard doing identical actions, identical burst abilities, then how is that any different to using a third party program hack? I saw this in Warhammer and WoW, most notably in WoW where a multiboxed group of 4 or 5 shamans would move around and all frost shock (Instant burst spell) at once to instagib the target. Now just imagine 4 thieves or warriors multiboxed together to charge, knockdown and 100blades through the ranks... Arenanet might think it's okay, but I don't.

I was really bothered by the groups of rangers with bears at first because I assumed they were bots and reported them. Now that I am exploring the higher tier areas I have actually been rescued by them twice and even rezzed once. There's someone behind a keyboard there. It's a strange way to play in my mind, but I stopped reporting them and if they show up I move to another area. Just my 2my cents. I could be wrong, but it's my personal observation on the ranger groups...usually 5 to 7 with names like kfhrthew.

» Edited on: 2012-11-02 04:14:21

As long as they don't multibox in WvW then I don't have a problem with it. Cause I'm sure 5 chained rangers using Rapid Fire with Sharpening Stone could drop every class instantly.

Ekochai, If a player can string multiple toons together and control them all using one keyboard, mouse, and a few macros then there is no more challenge than a single player experiences. In fact, there is far less challenge. Game content is intended to challenge single players during normal gameplay and groups of players for the more difficult content. Multiboxing, well it's obvious what it does. I'm fine with my narrow-mindedness in regards to multiboxing. At its best, multiboxing is pathetic. At its worst, it is griefing. Thankfully, in gw2, they cannot tag every mob in an area and other players can still get experience from kills. I'll only mention the financial gain from multiboxing, which is disallowed, but cannot be enforced.

Even though there is a real person inputting commands with one keyboard and mouse, it is a program that is coping/cloning the keystrokes over to another open instance of the game. With that in mind, to me, each character beyond the first is a bot. I only get to play for about a half hour to an hour at a time and do not take the time to figure out who are the multi-boxers and who are the botters. I just report them all. It seems unfair to expect me to take the limited time I have to play to analyze the differences to establish bot vs multi-boxer to make sure I am reporting the correct ones. I don't mean to seem stubborn, but I can either report all of the them or none of them.

» Edited on: 2012-11-02 07:51:42

Personal feelings aside, we have a very simple motto here. Blades out, not in. As has been mentioned, multiboxxing is considered an acceptable playstyle by Trion and Arenanet. Whether you agree with them or not, it's their game and their rules that we play by. And as long as multiboxxing is considered a legitimate playstyle, please refrain from negative comments about it and the people who choose to play that way. We could have people in this family who choose to multibox and we don't want them to feel unwelcome or even attacked by us. That is a clear violation of blades out, not in. Please remember that.

I'm going to lock this thread. This was not ment to be a "Debate". In my opinion both styles hurt the game. What I tried to do with this post is explain the difference so that when you report you use the correct terminology and can make accurate reports. This is not a message stating the family Supports Multi-Boxing. This has nothing to do with our family and our policies. This is the policy of the game developers not us.