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Ban research

Joined
Nov 2, 2015
Messages
302
I feel there can be a lot done by botters and people inside the botting community to figure out many of the methods Jagex uses to detect botters.

The following should be looked into to help understand how Jagex detects botting:

1) Client ban detection is needed.
If the client could detect, log and monitor the amount of banned players, the times they were banned (last played successfully), script used, and play time, these simple things would help us better understand Jagex's detection process.

2) Bots (scripts) that result in a high percent of bans.
I'll use tutorial bots for this example. People usually refer to these bans as "heavy monitored areas". First of all Jagex does not have a mod on per the hundreds of worlds. There has to be something that triggers and is either auto processed or alerts a mod. It is also highly unlikely that it alerts a mod as these bans happen frequently at all all times of the day.
  • These scripts should be looked into and taken apart changing one thing at a time to see what lowers the ban rate.
3) Immediate auto bans. The type of ban that is processed as soon as your character is made in a bot client.
These opportunities do not happen every often. We just had one and hopefully something was learned from it that leaves us better protected.

4) Legit player bans
This happens. Recently there was a claim of a persons Grandma getting banned. If we investigate her play style it could help us understand what triggers detection at Jagex.
We can assume multiple things because "Grandma"
  • a) she probably didn't talk much
  • b) she probably used inefficient methods to train/play
  • c) she probably did the same thing over and over


Some after thoughts.
  • I personally do not think Jagex manually bans players very often. With exception of their live stream bot busting I feel Jagex staff rarely need to go in game to ban a botter. This method would be so slow and inefficient that if this were a main way of banning players most of us would still be queued for investigation and never banned. I do, however, know for a fact that Jagex browses forums (like these) for account proggies and bans/investigates the associated accounts. Even if you hide lots of your stats for Jagex to run a database query to detect accoutns based on several xp values or stat values would take them no time. I used to moderate a RWT subforum on an old botting website and TONS of accounts were banned for RWT just based on a picture of 4-5 skills.
  • I feel chat plays a HUGE role in bot detection. I know Jagex has said it doesn't play any role, but I feel they are lying.
  • I feel break time and consistency plays a HUGE role in bot detection. The average legit player will get sidetracked quite frequently and or afk. They also change their training methods often. Bots do not do either of these.
  • Clicking habits. It Jagex hasn't yet they will soon monitor clicking habits. How often is the account right clicking compared to left clicking? I guarantee you players right click at least half as often as the bots.
  • I dont believe "high ban rate" exists. High detection rate, probably.It is much more likely that botting a certain task is much more detectable instead of having a higher ban rate.
  • I believe every task you do that is bot like adds to a meter. A bot meter. This meter would fill up with points based on the task you did. For example lighting 100 fires in a row gives 100 points. being 20% above the average right click interact quota could give 200 points. You played 18 hours when the average for that day was 3, 1000 points. Once you hit say a million points your account is then banned. These points could scale with total level+(questpoints*10) for example, or possible very slowly go down, or be based on information scaled to a month or week.
Any thoughts, comments, suggestions?
 
Last edited:
Ex-Staff
Joined
Apr 19, 2015
Messages
540
Very interesting theories you got there.
I highly doubt they will auto-ban you if the "bot-meter" fills up.
They have a special section for these type of investigations, and must be done manually.
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
77
I agree that client logged time and consistency are a factor. Since most players don't play for 5hours a day for 3 straight days and then break off only to weekends (legit playing) for just an hour or two.

Clicking, forsure. But I doubt there's a bot meter otherwise a lot of people's grandmas would be getting banned. (or grandpas I don't discriminate) I believe its based on the mouse paths used and how often that same path is used.

Chat, I doubt plays a role. Because these bot hunters will report players who talk to them just so that jagex can get a read on the account. I'm sure the 'botting transcript' is manually read.
 
Joined
Nov 2, 2015
Messages
302
Chat, I doubt plays a role. Because these bot hunters will report players who talk to them just so that jagex can get a read on the account. I'm sure the 'botting transcript' is manually read.
While you may be right, if we researched the 4 points it would help us figure this out. Add a chat feature to a high risk script and see if ban rates drop sorta thing.
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2015
Messages
77
While you may be right, if we researched the 4 points it would help us figure this out. Add a chat feature to a high risk script and see if ban rates drop sorta thing.
I agree. I have been giving Cloud my 2cents on what I think is responsible for this sudden ban wave. (Even though, let's just say it was Seasonal, based on the reports of bot busters manually dick riding their way around RuneScape) But more research such as collected, calibrated, and accurate research to read for these things, is crucial. You have my support and I am glad you brought this up @blisterz
 
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