AFK Checks

They are legitimately getting people that are simply AFK at zonelines. I've watched it happen in both The Deep and Ssra now. Granted, they're also getting those that are killing stuff while AFK, but they aren't doing anything about the non-stop AFK farmers in the common zones (chardok, velks, Sirens). They are following their announced punishments of suspensions first and then bans at least.

We also need to ban anyone using Gina, Gamparse, or any non-Everquest provided drivers on their devices while playing. /sarcasm off.

Most non boxers are jealous and have no idea what they are talking about, they are just afraid of change.

Well, the GM did say before your next action please reply . . . . . . .

What I find unacceptable is any AoE group in the Deep can easily get tagged as automated when individuals are just repeatedly smashing 1 button to complete his actions as for enchanters. ( which gets complicated to reply to a msg while in mid AoE depending on what you are boxing ).

IE : Groups of 6 suspended for 7 days because 1 of those members of the groups was AFK during respawns and completes an action upon returning which results in a full group being suspended for 1 persons lack of action.

Guess it is time to start playing #lawyerquest and report anyone.

mmmhmmm.....

afk is afk, they either been watchin ya, or someone reported you

Had a wizard in my guild mid aoe pull while nuking get AFK checked in say chat and banned because he didn't see it.

Im sure they will afk check an enchanter that is stunning mid pull as well. Pretty sad implementation of "afk checks".

In the eula it even says if you need to AFK to go to a safe place in the zone.. yet they afk check people that are literally sitting at zoneline doing nothing. Then you got the simps on the forums telling you "SHoulDvE jUsT RepliEDD"

I sympathize, but at the same time there isn't anything stopping you from loggin' out either.

You'll probably rebut, 'but I'll lose my camp'.

Unfortunately and recently Dark Paw has been a bit iffy on their own rules and picks and chooses when they enforce camps, NPC claims, and/or damage races. It's probably safe to say that In your case there aren't any camps. Therefore, logging out is your best option.

That's not entirely what the rule says and that's the problem.

" If you need to be away from your PC for longer than a few seconds please move your character to an empty corner of the zone or log out completely."
- AFK Policy

If we're talking about Aradune or Rizlona using common desirable zones in the current expansion (Deep or SSRA) then the zone line is hardly ever empty. The problem here is that players take it upon themselves to interpret the rules how they see fit or try an find loopholes. Just follow the rules as they are written and you won't have any issues. If you don't understand the rule ask for clarification and get it in writing from someone official - Dreamweaver does respond in discord if you ask nicely.

This whole thing is ridiculous and will ultimately lose them a lot of revenue. Especially on Rizlona where it is one strike and you're out. I've got no problem at all with them suspending or banning players that are legitimately afk automated exping, but they are getting way more false positives than they are legitimate afkers due to their absurd method of checking. I know several players that were busted just for being afk long enough to go to the bathroom. Others that weren't afk at all and just didn't notice the gm /say. And as other posters have mentioned, it is being weaponized--players are absolutely petitioning each other in contested situations. I know players that are afraid to go exp because they've been suspended once already for missing a /say check, and know if they do so again they will lose their account permanently.

As Foaming pointed out last night, 60 seconds is the total amount of AFK time it takes to be banned. Step away from your computer for 30 seconds twice, and that is sufficient. I suspect every single one of us is afk for at least that long every day--bio breaks, getting a drink, etc. And don't even think about tabbing out to browse the web between respawns when you know nothing is going to be happening in game.

SoE, Daybreak/DPG have been guilty of some really attrocious customer service policies across the years, but this is the most egregious.

Really? And you know this how? Hyperbole much?

I can personally say you are 100% full of it to think they will give you "In writing clarification".
I have asked repeatedly since the launch of Aradune.

They have not elaborated what so ever when it comes to the AFK check policy they are using and how they enforce it.

You should know better then anyone on how that false positive reporting works
How is that 6 box of druids !

Dreamweaver has specifically responded to me in discord on this issue and declined to comment. He is aware of it and unwilling or unable to speak to it. The context was that almost all of the guild leaders on Rizlona met and decided to invite Dreamweaver to join us for a conversation about the policy in hopes that he might work to address it. He declined to even come meet with us.

OMG, I'm dying laughing. A true nobody comes here and calls Machen a nobody.

Responding and providing clarification are two completely different things
I have had plenty of conversations with DreamW regarding plenty of issues but the result is always what you just described. " Unable to speak or unwilling"

Care to provide a screenshot of something that you've asked? I'd love to see the manner/context of your question.

The AFK policy is pretty straight forward and really doesn't need elaboration. How they enforce the rule? Why would they disclose that? So people can setup alerts to automatically circumvent the checks? How much sense does that make knowing EverQuest has archaic anti-cheat in place.

I may be, but I approached him on behalf of 18 guild leaders representing well over 1000 active players and probably 5-10x that many subscribed accounts. Seems like he could have at least met and listened to our concerns even if he couldn't speak to them.

They should absolutely let people know that they need to not have /say minimized or sent to a window where it is spammed by combat. The default setup that you load into the game with on a new character is not capable of successfully passing their afk check. And even while we've tried to raise awareness, some players still have no clue that this is the approach the GM's are using.

Why not code in a pop-up box for the user to validate when being afk checked?
Worried about auto-validation methods? Make it include a specific typed response provided by the GM.

I've read GMs will use /tell, /say, and even /emote to communicate - and they aren't always identifying themselves as GMs. There's no consistency in practice or enforcement from what I've seen, and that needs to be addressed.

I totally get what you're saying, but don't you think their targets are people they've been watching?

I find it hard to believe GMs are going after a fresh account in a newbie zone (or even an older expansion zone) where the person probably doesn't yet have a grasp on the game. The players that tend to complain and get caught are what appear to be seasoned veterans that got caught slippin' as they'd say in California.