Cheating is everywhere in video games, because gamers at times just can’t help trying to get a step ahead of others, while not putting in the work that other players do. One of the biggest cases of cheating in World of Warcraft is the use of bots. Bots are actual characters, but are ones that are “automated”, and thus only do one task. While this may not seem like cheating, people can use third-party programs to make these characters run, even when they’re not at their computer.
Again, this may not seem harmful, but in bulk? Over thousands of players? It can be darn harmful. You need to look no further than what happened in the Suramar zone, which was overrun by bots in both farming and group finder. For these bots can hurt the economy of the game, and honestly just ruin the gameplay experience as a whole.
True World of Warcraft players spend their time and money to try and make the best characters possible, all the while, enjoying a great MMORPG, these bots ruin that, and Blizzard knows that. That’s why they revealed that they’re really cracking down on bot users, saying in a Battle.net post:
“We’ve recently taken action against thousands of World of Warcraft accounts that were found to be using third-party programs that automate gameplay, known as “bots.” We’re committed to providing an equal and fair playing field for everyone in World of Warcraft, and will continue to take action against those found in violation of our Terms of Use. Cheating of any form will not be tolerated.”
The proof is in that statement right there, “thousands of World of Warcraft accounts”. Thousands! That’s how many participate in using bots, and ruining the experience of the game. But Blizzard’s fighting back, will it make a difference? It’s hard to say. Let us know what YOU think about all this though. Do you think botting should be wiped out forever? Should Blizzard take more drastic steps to stop it? Let us know what you think in the comments below!