Using Auction Bot legal?

[DreamCast]

My mate is currently using a auction bot to win his bids by making the program bid at the last second. I think it's unfair and frustrating for the rest of us but I plan on using it myself if it's allowed?

[Kewi]

It is not illegal

[OnlineSamantha]

No, it's not allowed under any circumstances.

[Deleted]

For a variety of gameplay and security reasons, we will not be supporting bots or mods in Diablo III, and they’ll be expressly prohibited by our terms of use for the game. from blizz

[Caiada]

You won't be arrested, but you will be banned if you're found out.

Also, if it's 'unfair and frustrating for the rest of us', why the hell would you do it?

[Lathais]

Illegal? No. Police are not going to come knock on your door and give you a ticket or take you to jail over it.

Against ToS? Yes, Blizz does not allow ant third-party software, even things that just alter graphics. If caught you will get banned.

[RedDragon4275]

It's a bot. So it's not allowed. Anything that does something for you without you being there isn't allowed.

[Deleted]

it's not legal

... then again blizzard can't detect it

feel free to use it, i'm using 1 :P

[Lathais]

It's a bot. So it's not allowed. Anything that does something for you without you being there isn't allowed.

Actually, anything that alters the game in anyway is not allowed in D3. No add-ons, no grapic alteration, nothing. Anything third-party is a bannable offense.

[Darsithis]

It's against the TOS, and to a degree, that does make it illegal. Those kinds of agreements are legally binding and you can be prosecuted though no one is going to bother unless what you do is causing serious harm to the business, such as distributing your own copy of the game or hacking into other accounts.

So no, I wouldn't worry in terms of legal problems, but yeah he'd likely get banned in short order once Blizzard figures it out.

[Lathais]

it's not legal

... then again blizzard can't detect it

feel free to use it, i'm using 1 :P

Can't detect it yet. I'm sure once there are reports of these types of bots out there, they can look at accounts who constantly bid on items at the last second and then catch you. Use at your own risk I guess.

[Deleted]

So no, I wouldn't worry in terms of legal problems, but yeah he'd likely get banned in short order once Blizzard figures it out.

d3 has no warden protection

and if it 'did' have warden protection ... AH bots have existed in WoW for eons and still do exist

really most bots nowadays are undetectable, the only thing that gives it away is 'knowing the person' - and the d3 AH is entirely anonymous

thus you can freely bot/use scripted AI in this game with no fear of getting banned

[RedDragon4275]

Actually, anything that alters the game in anyway is not allowed in D3. No add-ons, no grapic alteration, nothing. Anything third-party is a bannable offense.

For D3, yeah. Generally though as a rule of thumb what you quoted from me applies to any game.

[Darsithis]

d3 has no warden protection

and if it 'did' have warden protection ... AH bots have existed in WoW for eons and still do exist

really most bots nowadays are undetectable, the only thing that gives it away is 'knowing the person' - and the d3 AH is entirely anonymous

thus you can freely bot/use scripted AI in this game

Does that make it right? No. Whoever is doing that is harming the experience for a lot of other gamers. I realize they don't care, but it doesn't change that anyone using that stuff is someone who lacks some morals...and probably doesn't get very far in life if that's the kind of route they take when faced with a challenge.

[Deleted]

Can't detect it yet. I'm sure once there are reports of these types of bots out there, they can look at accounts who constantly bid on items at the last second and then catch you. Use at your own risk I guess.

well you can do that manually anyway if you use your own timer, so it's not that easy to distinguish the bots from the real, unless it's on a massive scale.

[Deleted]

i'm not saying it's right Darsithis, i'm just letting the OP know his friend, and anyone else who wishes/wants/currently uses an AH bot/AI script/hack in D3 isn't going to get banned.

just make sure the program you are running though (incase blizzard ninja activates Warden) has safety. for example bots in WoW (gatherers, fishing, pvp, AH bots etc) hide behind a vent/ts/mumble/skype name so blizzard can't ban you primarily off of the basis that warden detects a 'bot' - they can't ban people when the bot is hiding behind skype/mumble/ts etc.

hence why it's so hard to beat bots in WoW.

(if this information risks me getting warned feel free to delete it, but i see no reason why people shouldn't know why bots are prevelant)

[Kewi]

No, it's not allowed under any circumstances.

His question was the legality of it.. There is no law that I know of in the US that makes auction bots illegal...

[DreamCast]

You won't be arrested, but you will be banned if you're found out.

Also, if it's 'unfair and frustrating for the rest of us', why the hell would you do it?

Because I have lost a lot of bids to botters, I tested one auction out with my mate with the bot program to see if could make the bid at the last second, working it out manually, I still lost and the auction ended literally 2 seconds later.

[Nerraw]

d3 has no warden protection

Actually, it does. Someone asked a question about Warden at the D3 panel at Blizzcon last year. They didn't give out any details, for obvious reasons, but they did confirm it's being used.

and if it 'did' have warden protection ... AH bots have existed in WoW for eons and still do exist

The bot makers get smarter. When Blizzard discovers one method of hacking/botting/whatever, they do a sweeping ban of everything illegal at the same time, and then the bot makers go back to work and find some other way around their problems. It's a tug-of-war, and it won't change.

really most bots nowadays are undetectable, the only thing that gives it away is 'knowing the person' - and the d3 AH is entirely anonymous

I can all but guarantee that Blizzard records and logs everything in the game. How do you think they can reimburse people for things they've lost due to bugs or account compromises? Logs and backups. They know everything everyone does in the game. If someone is botting, they'll discover it sooner or later. Specifically, the OP's botting friend's pattern is very easily recognizable once found.

thus you can freely bot/use scripted AI in this game with no fear of getting banned

Like I said above, it's a big risk to take. They'll find out eventually, and then you're gonna be marked for all time, if they don't ban you permanently outright.

[Deleted]

d3 has no warden protection

and if it 'did' have warden protection ... AH bots have existed in WoW for eons and still do exist

really most bots nowadays are undetectable, the only thing that gives it away is 'knowing the person' - and the d3 AH is entirely anonymous

thus you can freely bot/use scripted AI in this game with no fear of getting banned

I actually think Warden is up now, wasn't before though.