Simple next anti-botting step: Drone aggressive mode in PvP only

Communications Center Crime & Punishment
#1

A simple next step against botting and thus making time, activity and ISK in EVE more meaningful could be:

  • Allow the auto aggressive attack mode of drones to function only against capsuleer ships / aka in PvP.

This means that when ratting you actually at least have to press your configured hotkey for your drones to attack. It is a small change with a potential big effect on botting / AFK playstyle. I think we all know how easy it is to have high speed droneboats on separate alt accounts running in the background while your main is doing other stuff. I would be happy to see this disappear.

1 Like
#2

Bots have no trouble doing this. Semi-AFK ratting is not against any CCP rules.

3 Likes
#3

You think bots can’t be programmed to just press a hotkey?

1 Like
#4

Yes that is what I thought… But I also hopes it reduces AFK playstyle…
BUt maybe those AFK-ers are actually a nice source ot targets for other players? So that would actually then be already taken care of?

#5

I think the rats aggroing the drones probably helps with that.

2 Likes
#6

Defeat a bot and a better bot will be pushed out. What has had proven results though? The blackout.

#7

Removing AFK activities would simply cause people to switch to bots and RMT, both of which are much worse to EvE’s economy. Instead, encouraging AFK activities that aren’t profitable would actually decrease amounts of bots as there is not much reason to bot (it is easier to bot but since it is difficult to run multiple clients at once the only risk is a client running the same AFK activity 24 hours a day, which botters already do, and since AFK activities are least profitable it doesn’t really matter).

#8

It’s not a bad idea, just because it doesn’t 100% solve the problem doesn’t mean it not something to implement. AFK and bots will have to target the npc and then send in the drones instead of just waiting till the drones are done, requiring increased effort.

1 Like
#9

Removing aggressive mode for drones is something I support - we need to lock and select targets for all our other weapons and it would discourage AFK ratting. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t inconvenience bots - as others have said, they will have no problem locking and selecting targets.

#10

Except auto targetting and defensive missiles :wink:

1 Like
#11

and Smartbombs.

2 Likes
#12

Fixed that for you.