Done with GW2 it seems.

I have 2 GW2 accounts. The one my son uses has been terminated by Anet for a "supposed" 3rd party program. This is not the case. He only plays for a few hours every night and I'm right beside him. The computer is password protected also. Even though i knew he wasn't using any 3rd party program i still searched his pc. There's hardly any programs on it since it was a fresh installation so this was easy. I even checked his browsing history and checked every single website he's visited. I even went as far to download a program called "Restoration" that undeletes everything you've deleted in the recycle bin. All this was easy to do since he never downloaded anything and hardly visisted any websites. Even his keyboard is a standard one and not able to macro.

During the last week he's been in Southsun Cove farming Karka, and the last couple days before his account got terminated I was with him. He made 120 gold in the last week which he used to buy his T3 cultural armor. They drop powerful blood (25 silver) and karka shells frequently (7 silver).

My suggestion is don't farm too much. Especially in a group. If someone reports you for botting, good luck. If my son did something wrong I'd be the first to teach him a lesson but there's nothing here at all. He is heavily supervised when he's on. I appealed it and they rejected the appeal. I sent one more appeal after that and instead of the normal 2 hours to respond it's been 24 hours and no response.

So unless Anet investigates this further and clears this up I'll be done with GW2 on sheer principle of the matter. People get banned and unbanned all the time in this game. The system they use isn't perfect. I would be willing to work with them to see what would give them this false positive but their customer service is usually some Dear John letter, nothing feels personal about it. It's not Trion's customer service here so I'm not too hopeful this will get cleared up.

<a href="http://www.gaiscioch.com/member/Solarity/" target="_blank"><img src="//www.gaiscioch.com/images/signatures/solarity.png" border="0" width="600" height="100"></a>

eso here you come....lol seriously tho maybe somebody who knows somebody inside anet (nudge fog) can help out a bit if nothing is resolved in a bit :)

hopefully this will be resolved in a positive way. We'll keep our fingers crossed for you.

This is a problem I knew was coming when games tried to lean away from the "grind". Grinding in most MMOs was for exp and for money since nothing else in the game was a suitable source for either. However most MMOs now days have made it to where you get exp for everything really easily and quickly, but they never upped the amount of money. I actually prefer grinding over questing because it's more profitable in the long run. This ingame behavior is similar to how bots work. But yeah if I'm going to get banned because they didn't think to make money easier to obtain then that is a developer fault, not ours. I played Ragnarok Online for years and Grinding was the ONLY source of anything at the time. Bots were a huge problem to, but there was a simple solution, have an invincible mob in every area that did no damage back, bot's would get stuck on it, and be banned.

» Edited on: 2013-02-09 08:37:59

This is awful news. Could this "third party program" detection be the result of their system detecting multiple copies of GW2, connecting to their server through one IP address? Similar to how Punk Buster will likely kick players who try to connect to an FPS server through one IP address, without port-forwarding through their router first. The game server's anti-cheat program or person/s try to distinguish the two, but sees it as one PC running the game twice at the same time...assuming the second connection is a hack. I hope they re-consider your appeal.

» Edited on: 2013-02-09 09:01:43

@Xiixen I don't believe this to be the reason. Myself, my husband, brother, and sister all play on the same ip and no problems....yet. @Solarity I'm so sorry this happened to you and your son. If this was me, I'd appeal it again and again until they caved or ask for a full refund (game/gems) and buy another copy. I know the latter isn't the best option, but it is an option.

Yep I`m not a fan of the dull themepark hand holding quest level treadmills either . I hate how every game since 2004 is designed to hold the players hand leading them from 1 quest area to the next take wow, rift ie wow jr, lotro, warhammer, swtor etc all the same . you go to 1 quest hub and gather up all the quest go gather me 10 bear claws and 10 wolf teeth etc kill 50 mobs each to find 10 that have claws and teeth . Then you run down the road a mile and get the new quest to gather 10 bear paws and 10 wolf paws this time etc all the way to endgame . I played EQ from 1999 - 2005 and while it was a bit grindy due that you didn`t get any real exp doing quest but from killing mobs , quest were done to get magic armor, weapons jewelry, etc not for lvling , you didn`t ding a new lvl just running into a new part of the map haha . you grinded in that game basicly farming spawn spots for rare mobs that could drop magic items or quest items and you got lvl exp as a byproduct while you were camping the rare mob . most people made cash in EQ from selling craft mats , or selling phat loot that was tradeable they got from camping the rare mobs or from farming certain mobs that dropped cash items like Gems or jewelry opal bracelets, or platium coins like seafury cyclops, hill giants etc and vendor it . like ruby, opal bracelet, emerald etc could be vendored for 90 platium to 110 plat etc .sadly games today even tho they have better graphics better UI they are still not as good in game play as games pre wow , its like they gave up on content and gameplay in exchange for dumbing down the games to get more subs and shiny graphics . I hope you get your account back soon .

» Edited on: 2013-02-09 10:41:47

I am so sorry to hear that Sol! If there is anything we can do... even if its flooding Anet with mail from the whole family please let us know! It is a shame how people not cheating get banned in the process of them trying to find and ban the ones that are.

I'm sorry to hear that Solarity, it's surprising some of these kinds of stories I hear. I've been off the game for a few months and when reading these kinds of things happening I logged back in hoping to not have my stuff gone or banned. I am one of the lucky ones I guess. The thing that surprises me most about these stories is the blanket responses of ArenaNet. I feel like it's a right to see the evidence of what you are being accused with. Well in any case I hope it all gets settled in a timely painless fashion. Just keep on keeping on my brother.

I hope things work out for you. We'd hate to lose your companionship here in GW2. You have been a good influence and would be missed if you stopped playing. Fraternally, Drae

Sorry this happened Solarity, we will miss you! Come hang out in RC still sometimes :) My main criticism of Arenanet and GW2 has been the appalling level of customer service and their slow response times when people are hacked or banned. I have seen so many examples of this really makes me question how much they value their fanbase and genuine players. Botters and goldspammers are fairly prolific in the game, and yet there are frequent instances of genuine players making money resulting in banned accounts. Fair enough to ban someone while they investigate, I think it is the template letters people get without any actual reasonable answer that is the kicker. They got so much right with the game, and then fell down where it really counts! This type of thing trumps the lack of endgame pve for me. It amazes me how Anet put so much time into developing the game, but got the customer service side so wrong. They need to take lessons from Trion for sure. If your son would like to play my account, I only log on a few times a week in the middle of your night, and for the Tyrian Campaign. I have 3 character slots he is welcome to use, if that is of any help to you, send me an email :)

» Edited on: 2013-02-09 14:48:03

Sorry to hear that bud. :[ It's a shame to have read so many stories since launch, of players being punished for simply playing the game. Worse so when it happens to family. Their customer service leaves much to be desired.

This sucks :( I hope they restore your account and you do decide to continue playing. It's sad that "farming" exists in the MMO world, because there are times when lots of players need to farm and make in game money. Unfortunately it seems this triggers something that bans an account and ruins the regular gamer. I hope you come back.

I would suggest getting in touch with Denji about how to get your sons account back. Denji is somewhat of our resident expert on the matter as he has been banned so often (for playing the market so well), the customer service know him by name. I'm on my last tether with this game, this is my first buy to play MMO and it is becoming increasingly clear that they sacrifice the game experience in order to boost gem sales. I don't think I will ever play another buy2play or free2play game after this one.

I second what Elth said. Actually, not just about contacting Denji, but about getting fed up with ArenaNet and the direction they are going with the game, which seems to be boosting their Gem sales at the expense of lessening the enjoyment of playing the game. TBH, I think we got conned, because this game is not what was released, nor what they promised they'd stick to in their "gaming manifesto", regardless of what they're claiming, now. I can't imagine that most of the ArenaNet employees are happy with the current direction either, since it has to be upper management, maybe even just NCSoft, pushing for the money grab and changes that enhance it. Rumor has it that NCSoft is not doing so well and needs Guild Wars 2 to make money, badly. Regardless of rumors and speculations, the fact is that this game has changed. Its becoming more of a chore than "fun", now. Sorry, Anet folks, but I really do love the game and hate to see it spiral down in its current direction, too much to not be brutally honest with my opinions.

» Edited on: 2013-02-09 23:51:46

any update sol? sure am wondering

It's the weekend, if he does hear anything it will be during the coming week. I have to admit I have not had any contact with the customer service side of this game yet. The worse mess I ever dealt with for customer service was with EA after they took over Warhammer and charged me for a canceled account. I had to make it so that even I would have to jump through hoops to even reopen the account just so they would stop charging me for it. And there wasn't even an 800# to call, but I found a number that worked and that was all that mattered at the time. Hope you get it sorted out Solarity. At least this mistake is not hitting the pocketbook like a pay to play mess I had with EA.

pretty much what elth and sekk said try and talk to denji as he gets his account banned every day and gets it restored , so he should be able to help you . And yes i`ve been playing MMO since 1999 and this is the first buy to play so called free to play mmo i have played and will be the last I will play . I`d rather gladly give them a mere 50 cents a day to get a better overall gaming exp which 1 day of overtime covers the cost of a 2 yr sub, then play a free one where everything is nerfed and extreme controlls placed on stuff in order to steer you towards the ingame store to buy stuff .

My second appeal got changed from "Unresolved" to "Duplicate" and they didn't respond. So I put in a third appeal and after 24 hours that one got changed from "Unresolved" to "Duplicate". So I'm not sure if they are done responding now.

Update: They got back to me saying this account was hacked and used a 3rd party botting program. I guess they looked up the IP addresses and found out it didn't happen here. So they just requested some basic information from me and they are gonna restore the account. Thanks Fog for rattling some cages up top :P

YAY!

Awesome to hear that Sol!

It shouldn't have to be this way though. Nobody should have to "rattle some cages" to get decent customer service. Checking IP's and the like should be routine before banning accounts especially since Anet knows that hacking accounts is prevalent in their game. Honestly, I need to farm - I am broke and I need gold to buy the things I want and I just can't get it unless I start farming. Good drops are just too far and few between. I am of the mindset that I don't want to spend any more money in the gem store - as is I have spent more than I would if it was subscription based - not by much, but more. I like "eye candy" and they dangle it in front of me - I drool - but I have cut myself off now. I have set a max spending limit. In other games I would grind to get my eye candy - because you knew this or that mob would eventually drop it. - Find "so-n-so" rare spawn and usually within 50 or so kills he would drop your bow - might take you a month or more - but eventually you would get it (and once it happened on the first kill - first time I went looking - I peed myself with joy). Here - the only guarantee you have is to find it on the AH because someone else - who could care less about it - got it to drop for them. So I am going to grind for drops to sell... the thing is, if I get banned for it - I won't complain. I won't appeal... I'll just be done with the game - that is the way I am. I get so - well - ticked off since I know I don't do things like what they claim - I don't trust them as a devs anymore - there are other games I enjoy also. But I don't grind in groups - I prefer to suffer alone :) I am happy all is back to normal for you Solarity - I would have missed you.

» Edited on: 2013-02-10 16:36:42

Yay Solarity! That is awesome!!! What really bothered me is that most gamers do not have the "influence" and contacts with the devs that Gaiscioch has. I am pretty sure all those people would just be left banned.

They treat everyone the same. Do not feel bad for reporting players that you suspect of botting, but do be careful and at least watch for several minutes to see if they exhibit any signs of repeated patterns or pathing. I normally pick a "turn spot" and watch it for at least 5 passes. If they hit that same "turn spot" 5 times in a row, then I report them, because its a script. Something that does bother me, is that last night I saw Imy x Leah running a path in a common bot spot. Unfortunately Imy x, while in na Morrigan, was representing "funny I", so I was unable to query via guild chat, so I just moved on. I didn't want to send them a whisper, because those bot scripts are coded to respond and react to whispers, so figured I'd watch the character for a day or two, to see how long it stayed online and what zone it remained in. But one thing to remember, is that when you are out farming, never run the same pathing circuit several times in a row, never stay in the same spot for more than a couple of passes, and always move around the zone as much as possible. This way, even if you are reported, the investigating GM will be able to easily tell that there is a player at the wheel, and will disregard the report and leave you be.

good news sol. @ Sekkerhund that is when you contact and elder and have them go look and see. We can switch to all the branches and speak in guild chat to them.

good news on sol's part. As for the A-Net customer service wing, I know they have to deal with hundreds if not thousands of things on a daily business... but it is no excuse for poor customer service. As sad as it is, the reason why most players are leaving is solely due to this department. People get upset when their family/friends get banned for reasons unknown. I say reasons unknown since they are extremely vague at their best description. I personally have had close to 40 post deleted on the GW2 forums. Was it because It was a rip on anet, nope. Was it because it was needless or even derogatory post, nope. It was because it had to many capital letters in it. My response to my appeal was, (automatic message) your post was immature and was seeking attention via capital letters. This was a post on how they could fix a major bug in their system that would of fixed some of their Trading post errors. And thus I have completely given up to helping Anet fix GW2 in any ways. I don't even bug report now, since I know has a 90% chance of have a 5 second scan and thrown in the trash. To be honest though, I would jump at the chance to forgive and lend my Software expertise to anet... but only if they add a human factor to their customer support. I have actually never seen a case of a human factor in their online customer support system.

@SHG wow, that sucks. I don't contact Customer Support, had no idea it was that bad. That's worse than EA's support, to be honest. @Jexia I'm on really late at night and early morning, which is when I happened to notice Imy x Leah (3am-ish server). There's rarely any Elders on, sometimes Elth is. I can't remember if Elth was online or not, as I didn't think of doing that. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll remember that next time. :) I have been watching, and tbh I was hoping Imy would notice and respond to this thread, but please folks, be very careful of where you farm, who you farm with, and if there's several other players in that area and seem to be running in a "pack" together, stay away from them, or you will have a high chance of being reported as a bot.

Great news!!! I just remember shortly after joining the guild and running some WvW and remember how good you were playing your mesmer and laying down portals for us!!!

Congrats at getting it back. Very good news.

Welcome back! :)

cerulean did you by chance play EQ years ago I think my old raid guild had a ranger or druid with the same name .