Whats the risk factor on this?

[elf2000]

I would like some opinions and feedback's on the described general scenario.

Say someone could make 3+aa every 45 min on each toon he boxed. This required entering a very low-level/unpopular instance. You completed the instance in under one minute, and it required warping and stealthing.

Would you guys rate this high, moderate or low risk? I was feeling low-moderate at most. What is your 2cents? I dont know much about sony and how they flag for certain things, including what specifically they focus and prioritize on, so I guess thats why I am desiring more experienced feedback.

Thanks in advance.
JD

 

[DemonH2]

If its not like an afk macro your running 24/7 i would say its pretty low risk.

 

[boostit]

Be cautious. They do have some automated monitoring software that apparently monitors how many MM you do and if you complete too many in too short of a time period (and I am not sure if anyone actually knows what the threshold is), auto ban stick.

So if you are completing one MM a minute, 60 and hour, and run for several hours, there may be some risk.

The wave of Auto-bans from May 2008 for the macro'd naggy MM is the prime example.

Perhaps others have more info and can elaborate further.

 

[icebox11]

He didn't specify that it's a MM exactly, and most instances have a certain lockout period (15/20min?) before you can request a new one, but this certain instance he's referring to could be different.

 

[thez]

3+aa every 45 min

You completed the instance in under one minute

Looks like there is a lockout to me.

A lot of the risk comes from leaving and entering the instance, as well. Many macros leave bots standing in one place outside the instance for at least some period of time, or have them warping places / appearing & disappearing at a predictable (and faster than human) rate. Even an unpopular instance has people around once in a while. The warnings given above were very valid, but I've always felt that the greatest danger to MQers was other players.

A couple of suggestions, then, which go from "Duh" stuff to the level of paranoia where perhaps you'd be better off just taking a pill and going to sleep.

-If there is waiting to do, do it inside the instance.
-If you need to have a character moving to get the instance, don't warp. Spend the time, create a path for MQ2AdvPath or something similar. Once you get it working well, you can time this run and subtract it from the time you have to wait in the instance.
-If you're really paranoid, make multiple paths. Use the ${Random} TLO to decide which one of them you take.
-If you're shrouding, try to pick different forms every time if possible. People might not always recognize (or even look at) names, but they DO recognize body forms eventually if they glance at them enough times. Change it up, and you help your chances.
-When writing your macro, don't write a single macro. Write one for the "master", obviously, and then a "bots" one...but then have 2 or even 3 versions of the bot one, with minor changes to each. Add action / movement / spell casting / food eating / etc -- make it RANDOM, but include it. The more you look like a person, even just a little bit, the better your chances of not looking suspicious. Yes, you might be in an underused zone / instance, but if someone decides to forage in your zone for a couple days in a row and sees the same group over and over again...you might be in trouble.

 

[JimJohnson]

Write just one bot macro just add in a Random 0-5 with 5 different path options so no one uses same path EVERY time

 

[snout]

Hell, if you're really paranoid about it just get about 12 different paths with randomized delay periods and offshoots. Granted, the time creating the macro will be high but it'll be quite safe, insofar as these things can be considered safe.

 

[Kachiko]

It won't be much of a problem until it catches on a several are doing it.
Once word spreads enough, it may be an issue.
And the less automated, the better.