Accounts Banned (Jan. 25)

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

We would like to report the termination today of multiple accounts held by players involved in the usage of third-party tools or cheats, or engaged in RMT (Real Money Trading) activities.

Over 6,100 accounts were permanently banned due to terms of service violations. Details of the violations are as follows:

- Usage of tools that allow enhanced character movement.
Approx. 2,300 cases

- Usage of tools that circumvent game mechanics with respect to the timing of ability use, etc. in certain areas or at points where Notorious Monsters appear.
Approx. 850 cases

- Accounts from people that were previously confirmed to have RMT connections, or that had violated the user agreements but re-subscribed to PlayOnline.
Approx. 1,850 cases

- RMT-related activity
Approx. 1,100 cases

The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 17.2 billion gil from circulation.

We would like to remind players that as well as adversely affecting game balance, the use of third-party tools or cheats can also have consequences that are not immediately obvious, such as introducing damaging viruses, and comprising the security of private account details. Usage of third-party tools will not be tolerated within FINAL FANTASY XI, and we will continue to severely penalize any players found to be in violation of the PlayOnline Member Agreement.

We would also like to announce that the issue where players could illegally obtain gil through the Quest "An Explorer's Footsteps" has been fixed as of the maintenance work that was carried out on Jan. 16th. We have also taken action against any accounts that were confirmed to have participated in illegal acts related to this issue.

As we continue to ensure a fun and balanced environment for FINAL FANTASY XI, we hope that our players enjoy the game as it was intended and take care to avoid involvement in activities that violate the PlayOnline Member Agreement.

Thank you for your continued cooperation and understanding.

[Fiye]

Windower {No thanks.}

So... that's about 6k accounts banned... 6 x 13 =... 18 + 60 = $78,000 a month lost because of the accounts they banned.

That doesn't seem like alot to SE now does it. Now, if they could only get the other fifty billion account....

[Okuza]

What's really amusing about the RMT "war" that SE is running is that it's all totally wasted effort on their part. They could do some simple server-side changes and pretty much stop all the issues with the cheats -- most are used for claiming or warping&movement or JA timing. It's trivial for the server to prevent those from being misused.

Only cheats left would be bona-fide bugs that get released.

[Fiye]

JA timing is a bit useful all around.

All they need to do is just ban credit cards. And with that, they get rid of RMT problems for a long time.

[Pheonixhawk]

True SE isnt doing very much, but damn at least they are doing SOMETHING. Vice just letteing RMT completely control the game. So what if RMT is still there. I just quit having the patience to even care. Its just a game....

[Fiye]

True. It's just a game, where RMTers like to camp High Profitable notorious monsters.

*Sigh*

At least Anarchy online was better. The worst I had to do was kill King Trash Bot. Just think of it as a HNM that needed an Alliance to kill.

[Pheonixhawk]

Who cares, not like there's no other way to make gil in game. I don't even waste my time camping NM's. I make way much more gil just farming and crafting. RMT can have the NM's. I really don't care anymore. Although Im quite sure they piss off HNML's but I really don't care, seeing as most of the PPL on Phoenix that are in those type of Ls, don't have a life, or a real life job at that. (Standing around for 24 hours for a drop that you have to lot on if it even drops? NO friggin thanks.)

[Okuza]

JA timing is a bit useful all around.

I didn't mean stuff shows the recast timer on the screen. I meant stuff that let's you use your 2H as often as you like. The server trusts the client *far* too much. All they'd have to do to shutdown hackers is add some checkts.

Client says "I just ran across the zone, update my pos!" Server checks and says "uh, no -- you can't move that fast! Bzzzt. Calling GM." Well, that's how it should work. What really happens is the Server says "Sure thing Mr. Hacker. Anything else I can do for you?"

It really is that brute simple, but for some reason they're waging this war on the RMT'ers and trying to track 'em down via other means. Weird.

All they need to do is just ban credit cards. And with that, they get rid of RMT problems for a long time.

I think FFXI supports game-cards. Those are as anonymous as cash. ; ;

[ScarlettPheonix]

Not game cards per se. Visa/Mastercard gift cards work and are just as anonymous but they're not a game card that has value of x amt of game time/minutes.

[Sugami]

Who cares, not like there's no other way to make gil in game.

The people who want stuff off gods do.

[Fiye]

I think FFXI supports game-cards. Those are as anonymous as cash. ; ;

Hahahaha, no.

If they supported it, you'd be able to buy them from the website, or hit up an EB games, or something. I found a game card for Planetside, some MMO everyone's forgotten, and I cannot find one for FFXI.

Plus, with their system, I think it's entirely impossible.

[Karou Ariyen]

I'm sick of SE being yelled at for not doing anything, even when they are, people in general (not pointing fingers here.) want everything to be done immediatly. Getting rid of credit cards won't stop the problem, and game cards are a hassle, I know becuase I have to buy one every fugging month for SWG.

At least square is DOING something. Albeit a small step, but you have to walk before you can run. Look at WoW, Lineage II, Star Wars Galaxies, their losing players becuase RMT is out of control on those games. SOE isn't stepping up to do jack crap about RMT problems. Square is. and frankly, I'm glad SE is taking the initive to do something.

It may not seem like it, but Hades was an RMT ridden server, our prices would make the other servers cry. However, things are quite normal now. RMT keep going down in droves and gil is back to normal.

Just remember, don't take the small things for granted, becuase we're a lot better off then most MMORPGs. Square actually is doing something

[Sakino]

I'm sick of SE being yelled at for not doing anything, even when they are, people in general (not pointing fingers here.) want everything to be done immediatly. Getting rid of credit cards won't stop the problem, and game cards are a hassle, I know becuase I have to buy one every fugging month for SWG.

At least square is DOING something. Albeit a small step, but you have to walk before you can run. Look at WoW, Lineage II, Star Wars Galaxies, their losing players becuase RMT is out of control on those games. SOE isn't stepping up to do jack crap about RMT problems. Square is. and frankly, I'm glad SE is taking the initive to do something.

It may not seem like it, but Hades was an RMT ridden server, our prices would make the other servers cry. However, things are quite normal now. RMT keep going down in droves and gil is back to normal.

Just remember, don't take the small things for granted, becuase we're a lot better off then most MMORPGs. Square actually is doing something

Hear, hear! The lower prices are a godsend.

[Sugami]

I think the point was that although SE are doing a little it's a case of too little too late. They're going about it the wrong way and like almost everything they do it's a half-assed solution to an ongoing problem.

[Kessa]

Its probably harder than we think to ban a RMT. If it works like anything else in the legal world they have to gather a metric ton of evidence before they can act. Because we all know as soon as they ban the one innocent player all hell will break lose.

[Keavy]

Ever since the RMT taskforce was initiated I've seen a huge improvement on my server. The countless fishing bots that spent hours in Windy Woods are now gone, Lovelovelove and her gang of Shihei spamming bots are nowhere to be seen, and the alliances of TaruTaru BLM's leveling in Crawler's Nest and Eldieme Necropolis are gone, too.

On top of that we have Shihei at 2-3K a stack (Was 9-10K on a good day) and Moat Carp are so damn cheap its actually worth it to buy them for your Lu Shang's.

Overall things are going great on my server. Only real problem we have is people who think they can't make money now are filling the AH with questable scrolls. Last night I saw over 20 scrolls of Utsusemi: Ichi and 10+ each of every Tele scroll, Drain, Aspir, and Warp II. All of which have fallen significantly in price because of the high supply. If you're a lazy Ninja, WHM, or BLM or one of those jobs that sold your scrolls a long time ago for cash, its your lucky day. They're all widely available and getting cheaper by the day.

[Kintrra]

Its probably harder than we think to ban a RMT. If it works like anything else in the legal world they have to gather a metric ton of evidence before they can act. Because we all know as soon as they ban the one innocent player all hell will break lose.

Um...actually I think they loopholed that through the ToS contract, I believe there's a portion in there with that whole "SE may choose at any time to suspend/ban an account" or something to that effect....been a good while since I looked over it tho

[Pheonixhawk]

Ever since the RMT taskforce was initiated I've seen a huge improvement on my server. The countless fishing bots that spent hours in Windy Woods are now gone, Lovelovelove and her gang of Shihei spamming bots are nowhere to be seen, and the alliances of TaruTaru BLM's leveling in Crawler's Nest and Eldieme Necropolis are gone, too.

On top of that we have Shihei at 2-3K a stack (Was 9-10K on a good day) and Moat Carp are so damn cheap its actually worth it to buy them for your Lu Shang's.

Overall things are going great on my server. Only real problem we have is people who think they can't make money now are filling the AH with questable scrolls. Last night I saw over 20 scrolls of Utsusemi: Ichi and 10+ each of every Tele scroll, Drain, Aspir, and Warp II. All of which have fallen significantly in price because of the high supply. If you're a lazy Ninja, WHM, or BLM or one of those jobs that sold your scrolls a long time ago for cash, its your lucky day. They're all widely available and getting cheaper by the day.

Agreed. Things are really starting to look up on Pheonix Server. My rdm has MUCH better gear now (and so does my Drk) because the original prices of things have dropped.

[Sakino]

Its probably harder than we think to ban a RMT. If it works like anything else in the legal world they have to gather a metric ton of evidence before they can act. Because we all know as soon as they ban the one innocent player all hell will break lose.

Um...actually I think they loopholed that through the ToS contract, I believe there's a portion in there with that whole "SE may choose at any time to suspend/ban an account" or something to that effect....been a good while since I looked over it tho

It's not so much that SE can or can't ban as they please, the point is that if they DO ban an innocent person, that would cause a sh*t load of PR problems in various forums. I've seen full well in the past what can happen when a MMORPG company makes such an error.

The prices on Phoenix are a refreshing change. It makes it much easier for new players bridge the gap now between the haves and havenots.

[Tianshii]

Someone I know said his HNMLS leaders (the actual pearl holder and her BF, a sackholder) were banned & said they were innocent.

I'm of the opinion that SE doesn't really care if you get mixed up in their mass bannings. I'de be interested in a true story of a real innocent who got banned & re-instated with some kind of apology from SE.

I just keep reporting unsavory activity that I see to GM's and encourage my linkshell members to do the same. When they gripe that GM's don't do anything I say that it's really our only option.

Its probably harder than we think to ban a RMT. If it works like anything else in the legal world they have to gather a metric ton of evidence before they can act.

metric ton hehe, seriously... that is why I keep turning in lists of names and describing what went down to GM's.
The "gg" gang is still roaming around, though... I always see them trying to GET TO SEA!!! Noooeeesss... that's like the last sacred area on leviathan.

[Kintrra]

The "gg" gang is still roaming around, though... I always see them trying to GET TO SEA!!! Noooeeesss... that's like the last sacred area on leviathan.

That's odd, cuz they invaded sea already on Alexander...and left it cuz no one was interested. XD

Only problem is now the former Sea RMT are yuckin it up in Sky...can't even get my SkyLS to farm 3/4 of the time cuz "Sky is owned by RMT, period." <.<;

[Okuza]

I'm of the opinion that SE doesn't really care if you get mixed up in their mass bannings. I'de be interested in a true story of a real innocent who got banned & re-instated with some kind of apology from SE.

I agree with this one. A friend of mine had her long time whm banned (long ago, like last year in the first round ever of bannings). As far as I know, she never hacked or sold gil. However, she was the banker for their shell. She sold the gil drops and then distributed the shares. A TON of gil passed through her char to everyone in the shell.

Right before she got banned, one of her shellmates quit game, liquidated char, and sold it all (including char) to RMT. This guy was pretty damn rich (5th stage relic, speed belt, etc. etc..). Not all his gil was from shell, but my bet is that gil-trace showed a solid gil connection to this guy RMT'ing. So, she got banned. Or maybe it was just the sheer volume of gil. That's why I think she got hit.

[Tianshii]

"Sky is owned by RMT, period." <.<;

That makes me so mad at RMT!! That's why I will NEVER buy any sky triggers. More then likely, whoever is selling it is RMT & I will do everything in my power... allbeit the power of a snowflake... to thwart RMT.
I'm considering going to the people I know is Sky linkshells and asking if they will {team up} against RMT @ Ulli... just so RMT don't get the claim.

[MittensValefor]

I wonder if SE is leaving the various hacks unfixed as bait. Seems like the mouse traps have been working pretty well... Prices are waaay down on Valefor.

[Okuza]

I wonder if SE is leaving the various hacks unfixed as bait. Seems like the mouse traps have been working pretty well... Prices are waaay down on Valefor.

I wondered about that, too. Unfortunately, that's not what they're doing. I've seen people use warp and claim hacks (in sky). I saw RMT use positional hacks to claim dynamis from the other side of the zone without ever going near the actual Trail Markings. All these were reported. All are still in game.

So, either they've not put some reallly brute simple assertions in the game to catch these folks or GMs are ignoring infractions from certain folk. If they really did have the assertions in game, there would be no need at all for anyone to ever petition a GM. The server itself could summon the GM for observation and review of logs.

Hell, the server could even warp offenders directly to jail while a GM reviewed things. It could be instant at the time of the cheat or it could be delayed a few hours or until next log-in (if they don't want to give instant notice to hackers that the system itself caught them). All of this is really very very simple to do in server side code. One day of work for a competent engineer. One-Two weeks for your average game programmer.

Obviously, SE doesn't want to do this. My guess as to why is: 1) they're afraid of touching their own code. This is unfortunately something I've seen A LOT in many companies -- especially with code that's been around over two years. 2) SE management has a serious case of "face saving". Ego seems to be a serious issue with game-company management. Perhaps over-compensation? Whatever. They have this emotional need to pummel RMT. They don't really want the problem to go away. They want RMT to bleed and whimper.

[Kintrra]

They have this emotional need to pummel RMT. They don't really want the problem to go away. They want RMT to bleed and whimper.

I agree except I wanna do all that AND make the problem go away.

[Pheonixhawk]

Actually as much as I hate to say this... I thought the prices of things going down on Phoenix server was a good thing. But now I see its just bringing a Economic Depression. Gil is seriously becoming harder to make as of late. You can't even sell silk and beehive chips and make much gil anymore (Or make gil from fishing Moat Carps). And to make matters worse, the prices of everything are still plummeting.... true you can make a little bit and save that up, but what about buying stuff thats a few mil. You would have to save for a loooooooong time.

[Karou Ariyen]

depends on the server, Hades isnt having a depression. Beehive chips are 10ka stack but silk is staying at 50kish. Flame rings (which my war/sam needs badly) are down to 900k so I'm farming that now, Woodville's axe is 800k I can finally get that ^_^

[Kahvi]

Seraph is in a mild recession... but since the prices were so badly inflated to begin with, everything is do-able.

Recently, though, the economy seemed to have started bouncing back from the RMT removal hit. Many overpriced items are actually buyable now and the normal money makers still about the same or slightly lower cost.

it aint utopia, and i will never live to see 1 mil in my hot lil pockets for a scorp harness or V-cloak, but hey, i got most of what i need to survive.

[Karou Ariyen]

Here's a money making hint, Bronze coin stacks, Just get Imperial Standing from meriting or beseiged, 2k IS nets you 1 stack (5 coin incriments, use your 100th coin for mog locker or somethin) and let the cash roll. our stacks range from 30k to 70k depending on how much is up for sale, that's how I make my money since I EXP/Merit alot in Aht urghan.