What should a player do when they see AFK farming

[Bloodstealer.5978]

> @"Adenin.5973" said:

> > @"Bloodstealer.5978" said:

> > > @"Adenin.5973" said:

> > > > @"mindcircus.1506" said:

> > > > > @"Adenin.5973" said:

> > > > > And then they sell the t4 mats they've farmed and you still haven't even given me an example how afk farming t4 mats hurts lvl 80 players that in 9/10 cases do not sell t4 mats on the trading post, because they use more than they get dropped.

> > > > > That's the reason why ppl are farming t4 mats in the first place. The price is high when many ppl want it and few offer it. That's a mere fact. Which means the majority of GW2 players wants to buy t4 and not sell it. Which means the majority profits from lower t4 prices.

> > > >

> > > > The flaw in your logic is right here. You pull a number like "9/10" out of the air and make a supposition about their needs and actions that is inaccurate.

> > > > I'm a pretty average player, I personally sell my t4 mats. If you drive the price lower with afk farming, then when I go to cash out by selling them at TP then I make less money. If you were actively playing the game then awesome....but you aren't. You're autoattacking, tabbing out and making sure you are only active enough to respond to a GM.

> > > > If Anet recognized this as a viable playstyle, then awesome.

> > > > But they don't.

> > > > If they did there would be no catapults in Lake Doric.

> > > >

> > >

> > > No the flaw is that you don't accept the fact that the very fact that the price is high is already proving that a high number of players is behaving the way I described. The number 9/10 doesn't come out of the air, it's the conclusion after looking at the price of an item.

> > >

> > > If it really was like you said, that the average player sells more t4 mats than they buy, then we wouldn't have these prices. The average player sells more T5 mats than he buys. And no I didn't hallucinate that, you can see that in the super low prices for them. And you won't accept that as an fact.

> > >

> > > Alsoyou don't seem to be able to differentiate between Anet not "promoting" some behavior and to outright "ban" people because of violating their ToS. There's a huge difference between these things. Anet doesn't like semi-afk farming like they don't like raid selling for ingame gold. None of that is a violation of their ToS and none of that should be reported via the report tool, which is there to report people that violated the ToS and not for people that are not playing the game how you would like them to.

> > >

> > > And as said before, there are already things in the game to limit afk farming, there are tools in the game where Anet devs check if there are macros or bots involved (report tool), there are systems in place to find exploits and those that used them (like when you could buy super cheap karma weapons and sell them for huge amounts of gold), there is "diminishing returns", which is in one of its implementations a very specific tool to make afk farming less attractive.

> > > [https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Diminishing_returns](https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Diminishing_returns "https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Diminishing_returns")

> > >

> > > We both are simply disagreeing on how many hackers/bot users/macro users are out there farming in comparisons to players that Alt Tab, with an AoE weapon skill as Auto attack, that watch a Netflix movie or whatever.

> > > And we simply disagree to what extend the economy as a whole gets affected by this. I have still not seen any proof whatsoever of any normal GW2 longterm player that had to sell his stuff for far less because of afk farming.

> > >

> > > Look at Riba and Istan and Halloween events , new legendary weapon releases, where many players sell stuff if they don't like the weapon and many buy stuff when it's an awesome new GS, balance patches, where ppl have to craft new gear with new stats. That's why ecto prices, T5, T6 mats are dropping and falling. These are the events that really hurt/benefit the normal players.

> > >

> > > A bit of a price drop for items that are annoying to farm, a price drop btw that is controlled by the ppl that afk themselves, since they change the location and mats that they farm based on how low the price drops, is nothing that massively affects the economy as a whole or most of the players in a negative way.

> >

> > Pretty sure ANET already came out and officially posted in regards to AFK farming not being permitted especially when using macro's/ autoclickers to circumvent the timeout/logout process. When a player is sat 24/7 for months on end with precisely times skill clicks in order to exploit respawns it is against the Tos... but maybe ANET have shifted, which would not surprise me in the slightest (as their silence around these issues is deafening), which is why I am more inclined to think they just are not bothered about the mess the games is in right now with AFK farms, macros, bots, exploiters and Hackers.. too many players have brought it up over the past 12 months, too many farms have materialised in game and not enough action has been taken to dissuading the behaviour.

> >

> > So ANET make an official announcement., once and for all.. either its against Tos or it's ok for everyone to open up masses of accounts , place a plethora of AFK toons to farm the same spots 24/7/365, be able to utilise macros in order to precisely time the autoclick of a variety of skills and functions to draw in respawns and have our minions, turrets and pets do their thing while we go on vacation long term. Then make it clear the policy on using TP bots to sell the ill gotten gains throughout the game so we can all play market manipulation wars instead...... at least then everyone is on a level playing field, there is no argument and if players like myself dislike the official policy we can just leave the game behind and go elsewhere.

>

> Strictly, yes "AFK farming" is always against the ToS. Ppl here (including myself sometimes) just call it "AFK Farming". What I really mean when talking about this not being an issue, is "semi-afk farming". You can't "afk farm" unless you cheat the system that gets rid of afk ppl after sometime.

>

> And manually pressing the keyboard every few minutes means your no longer AFK and until the timer runs out that kicks AFK ppl, from the perspective of Anet, you're not "afk". So ever person that walks forwards and back again and then alt tabs is not considered afk and he's strictly not officially "afk farming" , since he returned for a brief moment back to the keyboard.

>

> Only when you use automated ways to make sure the afk timer doesn't kick you, only ppl that haven't returned in person to the keyboard and are still in the game after the afk time has run out and should've kicked them, only those are officially "Afk farming" which is against the ToS and can get you banned.

>

> And if ppl continuously use bots and macros and get reported over and over again and Anet doesn't do anything about it, even if it is all so obvious like you all say, there's only one reason: The time and resources needed to kick bots or implement another solution is not worth the effort. Which means Anet seems also to think that afk farmers are not that big of a deal for the economy.

 

Which is exactly why players should report those they consider AFK farming.. that's what has been said all through this post.. false reporting is not our fault, the report function is a check a flag for ANET to at the very least look.. no one goes perma AFK for months, if they are manually moving around then go AFK for a short spell then maybe ANET will se that but 3-6months in the same spot.. shooting at the same bare patch of earth every couple of seconds then rethrowing turrets on a precise timer.. Necro putting out an AOE on a precise timer and having minions do the rest. Of course that's not normal, not for the length of time its been doing it. So if ANET choose to ignore, which is what I think is going on then make it official, so everyone has the option of doing it and see what the game becomes in a short space of time.

If ANET put out the green flag then they wont have a mountain of AFK farming reports to appear to have to go through all will be good and Farmwars can run unabated... until they do reporting is the only thing we can do.

[Shikigami.4013]

This thread is about afk farming, not semi-afk farming.

 

-AFK farming is forbidden and the quote by Chris Cleary (game security lead) is in this thread, there is no need for further clarification on ArenaNets stance

If you need to read the original post you can do it despite the forums having been deleted, because there is an archive. [it is here.](https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Please-a-clear-statement-re-AFK-farming/6161450 "It is here.")

 

-It is irrelevant if prices on the TP are affected, be it negative or positive. What is relevant is that the afk farmer gains an unfair advantage over other players by a practice that is against the rules.

 

We all know that duping gold is against the rules and that it is cheating and should be sanctioned, but nobody would get the strange idea to say "_I think duping gold is ok because it does not affect the prices of mats or items on the TP, so who cares, people should mind their own business_". So why does this argument come up when it comes to afk farmers again and again? I know the answer to it, but of course there is no point in saying it. It would just be denied by "those people".

[Laila Lightness.8742]

And tell me how do you know theyare afk even if theydont answer dosent mean they are not there and afk farming is not tos breaking i dont get why ppl bother doing it but it is allowed

[UnDeadFun.5824]

I am not for it but certainly, there are bigger problems with this game. I don't understand why it seems like there is a new thread on this topic every few weeks other than it seems to annoy people. If Anet came out with specific hard numbers how it is somehow recking the economy then I would understand the hysteria.

[Laila Lightness.8742]

> @"UnDeadFun.5824" said:

> I am not for it but certainly, there are bigger problems with this game. I don't understand why it seems like there is a new thread on this topic every few weeks other than it seems to annoy people. If Anet came out with specific hard numbers how it is somehow recking the economy then I would understand the hysteria.

 

Its a fictional issue for you arent really afk ore game would kick you character select

[thehipone.6812]

For obvious stuff, just report it and move on. I report anything like three necros with all possible minions all neatly stacked up and GS#4 going off automatically if it is in a spot where the mobs drop something advantageous. Nobody who has to run to answer the door says "oh, hang on a minute, I need to run to the spot with the mobs that drop powerful bloods and set up all of my minions". If you play enough open world you learn where the true AFKers set up (and figure out strategies to get them killed).

 

1. It devalues the drops that legitimate players get and 2. It makes the game look like some cheap unmoderated junk

[Shikigami.4013]

> @"Laila Lightness.8742" said:

> And tell me how do you know theyare afk even if theydont answer dosent mean they are not there and afk farming is not tos breaking i dont get why ppl bother doing it but it is allowed. [...] Its a fictional issue for you arent really afk ore game would kick you character select

 

1. You don't have to know if they are afk, there are people who get paid to find this out (those who are getting the reports and check the characters).

2. You obviously have no idea what you are talking about, because the official post stating what is not allowed (AFK farming) is included in this thread

3. The head of ArenaNet game security does not come to the forums to post a clarification about what is forbidden because of a "fictional issue". The issue is very real.

 

I suggest reading the thread before making any further uneducated comment.

[Adenin.5973]

> @"thehipone.6812" said:

> For obvious stuff, just report it and move on. I report anything like three necros with all possible minions all neatly stacked up and GS#4 going off automatically if it is in a spot where the mobs drop something advantageous. Nobody who has to run to answer the door says "oh, hang on a minute, I need to run to the spot with the mobs that drop powerful bloods and set up all of my minions". If you play enough open world you learn where the true AFKers set up (and figure out strategies to get them killed).

>

> 1. It devalues the drops that legitimate players get and 2. It makes the game look like some cheap unmoderated junk

 

Yeah but most of those ppl are not officially afk. For anet you're afk when the afk system kicks you from the map. This means there should not be anyone that anet officially considers as "afk" on their maps and certainly noone that is afk should farm mobs.

 

What ppl here don't get is that if you're moving forwards and backwards every 10 minutes and if your AI pets attack stuff and your Auttoattack AoE weapon skill gets off every few seconds, you're nomt officially afk, because right before the system would flag you as "afk" and kick you from the server, you returned personally to your keyboard and moved your char forwards and backwards.

 

You may don't like it that ppl do that but this doesn't violate Anets ToS. Only an automated system that cheats the system that should get rid of afk players is against the ToS.

[thehipone.6812]

> @"Adenin.5973" said:

> > @"thehipone.6812" said:

> > For obvious stuff, just report it and move on. I report anything like three necros with all possible minions all neatly stacked up and GS#4 going off automatically if it is in a spot where the mobs drop something advantageous. Nobody who has to run to answer the door says "oh, hang on a minute, I need to run to the spot with the mobs that drop powerful bloods and set up all of my minions". If you play enough open world you learn where the true AFKers set up (and figure out strategies to get them killed).

> >

> > 1. It devalues the drops that legitimate players get and 2. It makes the game look like some cheap unmoderated junk

>

> Yeah but most of those ppl are not officially afk. For anet you're afk when the afk system kicks you from the map. This means there should not be anyone that anet officially considers as "afk" on their maps and certainly noone that is afk should farm mobs.

>

> What ppl here don't get is that if you're moving forwards and backwards every 10 minutes and if your AI pets attack stuff and your Auttoattack AoE weapon skill gets off every few seconds, you're nomt officially afk, because right before the system would flag you as "afk" and kick you from the server, you returned personally to your keyboard and moved your char forwards and backwards.

>

> You may don't like it that ppl do that but this doesn't violate Anets ToS. Only an automated system that cheats the system that should get rid of afk players is against the ToS.

 

Yeah, it's fine if you feel that way. AI basically playing the game for you is always going to be a gray area with subjective interpretation of how long AFK is really AFK. I report and let whoever sees the reports sort it out. Anyone who doesn't technically violate the set rules should be fine. Anyone who is gets a deserved ban. Anyone standing too close to the elite skelk will die.

[Ardenwolfe.8590]

I used to train mobs to bots in Sparkfen back in the day. Great fun. Otherwise, just report and move on.

[Shikigami.4013]

> > @"thehipone.6812" said:

> Yeah but most of those ppl are not officially afk. For anet you're afk when the afk system kicks you from the map. This means there should not be anyone that anet officially considers as "afk" on their maps and certainly noone that is afk should farm mobs.

>

> What ppl here don't get is that if you're moving forwards and backwards every 10 minutes and if your AI pets attack stuff and your Auttoattack AoE weapon skill gets off every few seconds, you're nomt officially afk, because right before the system would flag you as "afk" and kick you from the server, you returned personally to your keyboard and moved your char forwards and backwards.

>

> You may don't like it that ppl do that but this doesn't violate Anets ToS. Only an automated system that cheats the system that should get rid of afk players is against the ToS.

 

Wrong, as so many people are wrong because they just do not care to read the threads where this all has been explained already, including this thread.

 

The definition of being AFK has nothing to do with the system timer that logs you out. It has been posted and reposted a dozen times since it was explained in 2016: Being AFK when it comes to the topic of AFK farming is defined as "Unresponsive to interaction with GMs" (see source 1 below post). That simply means that if a GM tries to get your attention by doing what their guidelines tell them to do, and you fail to react to them because you are not there, you are "AFK".

 

This is not that difficult, is it? They will not state how much time a player is given to react, but they do state that any player will be given an overly generous amount of time to respond (see source 2 below).

 

Source 1:

[Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-18, 19:58:36 UTC](https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Please-a-clear-statement-re-AFK-farming/page/6#post6161450 "Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-18, 19:58:36 UTC")

Source 2:

[Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-19, 05:35:15 UTC ](https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Please-a-clear-statement-re-AFK-farming/page/6#post6162437 "Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-19, 05:35:15 UTC ")

[Bloodstealer.5978]

> @"Shikigami.4013" said:

> > > @"thehipone.6812" said:

> > Yeah but most of those ppl are not officially afk. For anet you're afk when the afk system kicks you from the map. This means there should not be anyone that anet officially considers as "afk" on their maps and certainly noone that is afk should farm mobs.

> >

> > What ppl here don't get is that if you're moving forwards and backwards every 10 minutes and if your AI pets attack stuff and your Auttoattack AoE weapon skill gets off every few seconds, you're nomt officially afk, because right before the system would flag you as "afk" and kick you from the server, you returned personally to your keyboard and moved your char forwards and backwards.

> >

> > You may don't like it that ppl do that but this doesn't violate Anets ToS. Only an automated system that cheats the system that should get rid of afk players is against the ToS.

>

> Wrong, as so many people are wrong because they just do not care to read the threads where this all has been explained already, including this thread.

>

> The definition of being AFK has nothing to do with the system timer that logs you out. It has been posted and reposted a dozen times since it was explained in 2016: Being AFK when it comes to the topic of AFK farming is defined as "Unresponsive to interaction with GMs" (see source 1 below post). That simply means that if a GM tries to get your attention by doing what their guidelines tell them to do, and you fail to react to them because you are not there, you are "AFK".

>

> This is not that difficult, is it? They will not state how much time a player is given to react, but they do state that any player will be given an overly generous amount of time to respond (see source 2 below).

>

> Source 1:

> [Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-18, 19:58:36 UTC](https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Please-a-clear-statement-re-AFK-farming/page/6#post6161450 "Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-18, 19:58:36 UTC")

> Source 2:

> [Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-19, 05:35:15 UTC ](https://forum-en.gw2archive.eu/forum/game/gw2/Please-a-clear-statement-re-AFK-farming/page/6#post6162437 "Chris Cleary (Head of game security) 2016-05-19, 05:35:15 UTC ")

 

I knew I wasn't dreaming I had seen CC post about AFK farming and the behaviour issues that plague the game.. and which are right now.

 

But as I also posted.. Actions speak LOUDER than Words... but the action part seems to me to be very much lacking in GW2 these days.

[Tenrai Senshi.2017]

Well, this thread has become needlessly bloated. Lol.

[moonstarmac.4603]

I always like bringing them a present...usually in the form of a champion or two.

[artemis.6781]

> @"moonstarmac.4603" said:

> I always like bringing them a present...usually in the form of a champion or two.

 

Which technically could count as griefing, especially if they are not really AFK.

[Plautze.6290]

You know, you could also just be on your way and mind your own business. I personally don't see the motivation to waste my gaming time to report somebody because I suspect them to be AFK. When the case seems clear (like 20 necros/engies doing the same thing), you would also have to report them all for fairness instead of just one, taking up even more time. Ofc you may do as you please, but IMHO it's not worth the time investment as you are trying to boil the ocean here.