[PSA] Pokemon GO Botting is bad

[Croc]

As of late, the selling of Pokemon GO accounts has gotten out of hand. Most of the accounts sold here are botted and will get you banned from using the service eventually. I came up with a few questions that I just can't come up with a logical explanation for...

Why do people even bother to bot Pokemon accounts?

Who in the world wants to be known as a cheater?

Do you feel accomplished catching them all as fast as possible while sitting on your lazy ass all day doing nothing?

Niantic wants people to get up and move (exercise) and explore their neighborhood and meet other trainers, not use some silly script to do it for them! These botters ruin the game for everyone else who wants to play fairly. It's the same principle as to why every Minecraft faction server uses anti-cheat. They want to level the playing field for all players and botting completely counter-acts that.

Also, many of you probably noticed my unfortunate flame session in the shoutbox this evening. I take full responsibility for the things I said and only blame myself. I try to be nice to everyone in this community, but sometimes my words just get the best of me.

I specifically would like drgn to politely answer the questions above, but anyone is welcome to reply with their own thoughts on the subject. Keep all replies on topic!

 

[Shadow]

It is almost impossible to determine if a account in run by a bot or a person.[DOUBLEPOST=1470281244][/DOUBLEPOST]

It is almost impossible to determine if a account in run by a bot or a person.

For the people that disagreed and you explain how they can determine if its a bot or a player?

 

[Croc]

For the people that disagreed and you explain how they can determine if its a bot or a player?

Niantic tracks frequent location changes. Say, you are playing in Atlanta and then 5 minutes later you appear in London. That's half way across the world, so it is obvious that you are cheating.

 

[Shadow]

Niantic tracks frequent location changes. Say, you are playing in Atlanta and then 5 minutes later you appear in London. That's half way across the world, so it is obvious that you are cheating.

But most botters don't do that and wait before they log into their account from a different location.

 

[Croc]

But most botters don't do that and wait before they log into their account from a different location.

Either way it is wrong!

 

[Shadow]

Either way it is wrong!

I said it is ALMOST impossible for bots to be detected.

 

[Croc]

I said it is ALMOST impossible for bots to be detected.

Niantic can cut off a bots access to their API. That will stop it dead!

 

[MostlySnakes]

Its a bit ironic that I agree with this

 

[Shadow]

Niantic can cut off a bots access to their API. That will stop it dead!

Niantic doesn't own the api. The api is made by a 3rd party.

 

[drgn]

My answer to this question is a bit more complex than "Yes, I support cheating in video games" or "No, I don't support cheating in video games." When it comes to games that are literally a PvE grind, like Pokemon Go, for example, I'm perfectly okay with botting and cheating. People are lazy by nature, I'm just here to fill the void and supply them with high-quality bots. Though, when it comes to botting PvP, I'm definitely against that. It's why I don't release any gym-taking Pokemon Go-bots and will not ever support something like that coming out. I also do not support users that use botted accounts to take gyms and ruin the experience for other legitimate players.

1. I believe I've answered your first question already, but just to be sure, I'll say it again: People are lazy by nature. In games that are overly-grindy where you can spend hours a day playing with little to no results, it's a lot easier to skip to the top and not exert any effort.

2. Obviously, nobody wants to be known as a cheater, but I know a lot of people take pride in having a maximum-level Pokemon Go account with a complete Pokedex. It's just the completionist in people that wants to come out really.

3. Ignoring the fact that that's a loaded question, I spend hours a day working to ensure everybody receives high-quality bots. I have to say, I've met some really great people throughout this experience and really enjoy seeing the community I've built use bots that they enjoy. To be honest, I think the answer to that question is different for everyone. I'm constantly in group chats, voice chats, and other direct forms of communication with many people that hold up a large portion of Pokemon Go's player base. We, as botters, don't really intend to harm anyone else. People are welcome to resell accounts as they wish, but again, that's something that I would never do myself. My foot in this market is supplying bots to people. Hell, I don't even bot accounts myself.

In closing, I have to reiterate my initial point that there really is no easy way for me to answer your question. It's a lot more complex than just a simple yes or no response. We may have our differences, but I think we can both agree that it's not really cool to attack people just because they enjoy a game differently than you. But, that being said, you can't stop the bot.

 

[Croc]

My answer to this question is a bit more complex than "Yes, I support cheating in video games" or "No, I don't support cheating in video games." When it comes to games that are literally a PvE grind, like Pokemon Go, for example, I'm perfectly okay with botting and cheating. People are lazy by nature, I'm just here to fill the void and supply them with high-quality bots. Though, when it comes to botting PvP, I'm definitely against that. It's why I don't release any gym-taking Pokemon Go-bots and will not ever support something like that coming out. I also do not support users that use botted accounts to take gyms and ruin the experience for other legitimate players.

1. I believe I've answered your first question already, but just to be sure, I'll say it again: People are lazy by nature. In games that are overly-grindy where you can spend hours a day playing with little to no results, it's a lot easier to skip to the top and not exert any effort.

2. Obviously, nobody wants to be known as a cheater, but I know a lot of people take pride in having a maximum-level Pokemon Go account with a complete Pokedex. It's just the completionist in people that wants to come out really.

3. Ignoring the fact that that's a loaded question, I spend hours a day working to ensure everybody receives high-quality bots. I have to say, I've met some really great people throughout this experience and really enjoy seeing the community I've built use bots that they enjoy. To be honest, I think the answer to that question is different for everyone. I'm constantly in group chats, voice chats, and other direct forms of communication with many people that hold up a large portion of Pokemon Go's player base. We, as botters, don't really intend to harm anyone else. People are welcome to resell accounts as they wish, but again, that's something that I would never do myself. My foot in this market is supplying bots to people. Hell, I don't even bot accounts myself.

In closing, I have to reiterate my initial point that there really is no easy way for me to answer your question. It's a lot more complex than just a simple yes or no response. We may have our differences, but I think we can both agree that it's not really cool to attack people just because they enjoy a game differently than you. But, that being said, you can't stop the bot.

Thank you for the polite response and providing ensight into why people bot Pokemon GO accounts! I apologize for my attacks toward you.[DOUBLEPOST=1470282691][/DOUBLEPOST]

Niantic doesn't own the api. The api is made by a 3rd party.

It is Niantic's private API that has been reverse engineered.

 

[Shadow]

It is Niantic's private API that has been reverse engineered.

But how can they tell if the api is interacting with a bot or a normal player?

 

[drgn]

But how can they tell if the api is interacting with a bot or a normal player?

I'll step in to answer this question as I'm heavily involved in the botting scene. Currently, bots are not authenticating themselves with the servers properly. When it sends data to and from the server, Niantic also receives your device information, number of soft bans, and other pieces of information that, if they really wanted to, could be used in a ban wave. This has been confirmed through data interception using a MITM attack.

So yeah, Niantic knows if you've been botting. It's just a question of whether or not they're going to do something with that knowledge.

 

[Shadow]

I'll step in to answer this question as I'm heavily involved in the botting scene. Currently, bots are not authenticating themselves with the servers properly. When it sends data to and from the server, Niantic also receives your device information, number of soft bans, and other pieces of information that, if they really wanted to, could be used in a ban wave. This has been confirmed through data interception using a MITM attack.

So yeah, Niantic knows if you've been botting. It's just a question of whether or not they're going to do something with that knowledge.

Huh, I did not know that. I guess I am wrong, srry.

 

[Dragonfly]

Niantic can cut off a bots access to their API. That will stop it dead!

Actually they can't. They can change up protobuf (which they did) and then bots will adapt. Them dealing with bots is basically an endless game of whack a mole.

 

[Sloth]

I won't lie, I cheat in Pokemon Go. It's like 110 degrees here every single day and it's hell to go anywhere outside. The heat is so bad it literally blinds you. So, I used my already jailbroken IPhone to download some hacks for the game that allow me to use a joystick to walk around.

 

[Find]

Honestly the game seems pointless now to much botters I would like to play a game with fairness

 

[Toler]

Funny fact is that i'm softbanned because my friend (who lives in america) logged in on my account after I just stopped playing. Niantic must get an anti-cheat system like clash royale's one: Stop all players using prohibited 3rd party software programs.

 

[Find]

This explains botters

>Hey I wanna be the best at pokemon go!
> I'm to lazy to walk!
> Hey! you my friend you own a bot yes!
> Take 30$ And make me level 50
> They get a level 3000 dragonite and lapras
> Goes outside
> Hey everyone look at how hard I've been playing this game
>Stays overweight/obese has no friend
> Thinks to himself did I really win