25 April Accounts Banned

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.

Based on the results of our investigation, over 3400 PlayOnline accounts were terminated while over 500 accounts were temporarily suspended.
Details of the violations are as follows:

- Usage of tools that allow enhanced character movement.
Approx. 600 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. 200 cases

-Using cheats to automatically repeat a particular action.
Approx. 2200cases
*The above number reflects the total number of accounts banned within the period of a month. This does not include individual cases handled by GMs.

- Accounts from people that were previously confirmed to have RMT connections, or that had violated the user agreements but re-subscribed to PlayOnline.
Approx. 900 cases

The termination of these accounts has led to the removal of approximately 2.8 billion gil from circulation.

*As there were no significant violations, we will not be reporting the number of accounts banned in this round of investigations. Rest assured that we will continue to look into and penalize accounts found to be engaging in RMT activities.

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.

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.

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Deflation good or bad
# Apr 27 2007 at 10:48 AM Rating: Good
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1,067 posts
Deflation is frustrating, but deflation alone will not kill FFXI. Deflation could however stop some people from doing events such as Limbus and Dynamis. I believe the prices of these events were orininally intended to be "gil sinks" to rememdy yesterday's inflation.

If you think about it, Deflation could actually save the game. Not Deflation alone, but Deflation and a campaign to bring newbies back to the game could save FFXI.

I still believe the biggest problem facing FFXI today is not Deflation, but the waning population in the starting cities. This "starting city" population decrease is mostly to blame on the emmence popularity of the ToAU expansion. Many players have set Whitegate as their homepoint and then rarely leave.

People will always be leaving this game due to RL intrests, finacial reasons or the feeling that they have finished FFXI. To combat this we need a healthy influx of new players to match or exceed the number of people who leave the game. Unfortunately, the small number of players who are just starting out on this game makes accomplishing the simple tasks of 2004, much more difficult. When was the last time you saw anyone shouting "Eco Warrior @12, 6 spaces available"? Do you remember when finding a decent camp in the dunes was difficult? Now this once popular level spot is often empty.

What SE needs to do, while armor and weapons are cheap and plentiful, is to increase the demand on these items by getting more people playing FFXI. The increased demand will drive prices (values) higher and stop Deflation. The smartest way for SE to gain new members is to make the game free for 30 days. Perhaps make FFXI, Zilhart and CoP free to download with a 30 day pass. Subscribers would still need to buy the latest expansion, but they won't need it for more than 30 days anyway.

Maybe SE is planning something like this already. Had they tried this a year ago, newbies would have been very frustrated with the high prices at the auction house. The stage is set for a very nice population explosion of newbies.

Eventually all the elite players have everything they want and move on to new games.

Only newbies can save FFXI.
millions of gil
# Apr 27 2007 at 2:46 AM Rating: Decent
Scholar
19 posts
I have been playing this game since about 5 months after its release in NA. And personally I have never had more then 300,000 gil.
the only time I even had close to that was when I got lucky on a tree growth and got a fire ore, which cubsequently sold for 250,000 gil. I was able to purchase new armor for my two main jobs.
I do not understand why everyone has issues with prices dropping, you don't need money to go through this game, stop griping and enjoy it.
Play the game for what it is, an RPG, talk to the NPC's do quests and missions. with all that stuff, you make plenty of gil to support your jobs.
____________________________
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Isn't there things worse than RMT...?
# Apr 26 2007 at 7:02 PM Rating: Decent
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339 posts
Quote:
-Using cheats to automatically repeat a particular action.
Approx. 2200cases
*The above number reflects the total number of accounts banned within the period of a month. This does not include individual cases handled by GMs.


Of the 3900 Accounts that were banned/suspended (3400 + 500), more than half of them are botters.

While everyone has a gripe with RMT, isn't anyone taking a more serious view on the issue of bots?

IMO, botting is, in certain ways, worse than RMT.

RMT is a very broad and general term. In any case, RMT depends on 2 willing Parties for a transaction, be it buying/selling of Customized or Existing Accounts, PLing, Gils, Rare/Ex Items. It is still an 'honest' transaction where 2 Parties come to a common business agreement.

Botting on the other hand, places ALL honest players in an unfair and disadvantaged position. Unlike human players, bots can go on for 24/7. This is plain cheating, no 2 ways about it.

If based on the assumption that we play an average of 4 to 6 hours everyday, whatever a human player can accomplish via repetative actions such as Synthesis, Fishing etc... bots will easily out-perform a human player by 4 to 6 times.

Remove the bots. This will bring about a chain-reaction which will result in Gils harder to farm for the Sellers. In-turn, prices of Gils will go up to the point where it is unfeasible for players to regularly purchase Gils. RMT will definitely go into further decline.

There is nothing much we can about buying/selling of Customized/Existing Accounts, paying RL cash for the PLing of a User's Character to 75 or paying money to tag along with RMT Groups when they go on Raids for the rights to lot on Rare/Ex items though.
Deflation
# Apr 26 2007 at 3:39 PM Rating: Decent
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493 posts
I agree that this isn't a really bad thing, but its starting to get a little crazy. It can only bottom so much though. The value of things you farm drop, but so do the prices of things you want to buy. Equally? Sometimes, but its not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Making money just seems slower because of it
It's not so bad
# Apr 26 2007 at 2:31 PM Rating: Good
I see a lot of people complaining here about the dropping prices. So, why is this so bad? Ok, so your former favorite money-making techniques are looking kinda sad because they dropped in price. However, consider that the item you want to buy has also dropped in price. If it took you 100 kills to buy that item before, chances are, it takes 100 kills to get it today. Even better, however, is the fact that stationary rewards are becoming more valuable. This is the perfect time to do those quests/missions that you wanted. I actually firmly believe that this is a good thing, because I'm introducing 5 new characters into the game, and they actually stand a chance. Try to imagine if you will what it was like for new players to get a foothold in our economy a year ago. This game is not dying, that's just a rumor. As a matter of fact, enrollment has been steadily increasing.
what about the loyal players
# Apr 26 2007 at 2:23 AM Rating: Decent
K i have been on this game for 3 yrs now and i have also seen a lot of accounts baned in that time.Why if they have took out all that gil do they not give some of it back to its loyal players.Wouldnt it be nice to see 20k in ur mog house lol.

Any way to get back to all this with the prices falling again i find it realy hard to make even a decent amout off gil and it is starting to put me of playing.

Heres my example i use my bst 39 at the moment now lets say i sub nin not only do i have to find the cost of new wep armour and pets and food but also the nin tools i farmed for 3 hours one day for bee chips silk threads beastman blood and moss and out of all that just about made enough to get nin tools pet and one or two items for my character.

Why dont se at least make some of these drops easier to get and at least let us have a chace to make some gil to keep our jobs going.I am not looking to make mil of gil i am only looking to make enough to play my job and have fun with it without having to farm all day for a few gil.

Anyway i have had my moan but dont know if this continues if i will be playing much longer i mean i use to make 300-400k in an hour and i cant even make that in week these days.

And i know before u all say do bcnm do god and the like but not all of us has a ton of friends to help or high enough jobs to do gods so thats not an option for me just yet and shouting in jueno could get u help but to find somone to trust or even one that wont charge u is a mircle in its self.

Edited, Apr 26th 2007 6:26am by ragnarockw
what about the loyal players
# Apr 26 2007 at 11:04 AM Rating: Decent
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457 posts
I have 1 job at 75, and am working on my second (66thf, atm). When I am too broke to buy maintaince items (food, tools, ammo, etc.), I level a lower level job. I think we all have some type of lvl 1 event gear that we can use to get another job up a little. Sub mnk and bare hand-to-hand low level mobs to death as you level low level jobs. You will get sellable items off the mobs, and with a signet you can get crystals. The AH fee in the 3 starting towns isnt extremely low. If you cant afford it, kill a beastman for the 6 gil and that should cover your AH charge.

I find that I can make some gil leveling lower jobs. I can use my conquest points to get gear, and as I finish with it, sell it for a few thousand gil. As I finish with my jobs, I might be able to use it to sub to my main and farm more effectively, or maybe help with others a bit easier. The skills you gain can help make you a more well-rounded player... as well as a couple extra gil with little to no cost.
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meh
# Apr 25 2007 at 3:02 PM Rating: Decent
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356 posts
I personally love the bannings and the removal of mass amounts of gil from circulation. Deflation is greatly needed in my opinion. I was one of the idiots who levelled GS into the 90's, got the plus three items and raked in around 50 mil gil during the inflation periods. I bought an Osode for about 47 mil and it was a steal at that time. Now its worth about 4-5 million, maybe, on Shiva. I don't even have the patience to craft anymore, I'm nearly broke all the time, but I'm enjoying it much more. It means something again when I get a stack of some sh*t that sells for 10k. I target weak NM's that drop 3-6k straight gil and its fun. I enjoy the deflated economy much more than the infalted one.



Edited, Apr 26th 2007 1:29am by RexWalker
meh
# Apr 25 2007 at 3:50 PM Rating: Decent
XD I stand corrected, somehow I put an extra 0 on it ;;

Edited, Apr 26th 2007 12:35am by ShadowflareOfShiva
meh
# Apr 25 2007 at 7:54 PM Rating: Decent
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438 posts
Actually you need to check YOUR math.

It's about 823,500 for each account. Which is what I think the OP was trying to say but said "million" instead of "thousand".
HQ'ing
# Apr 25 2007 at 1:38 PM Rating: Decent
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220 posts
Believe me, it's hard to even make gil off HQ's now. I've had 2 Kingdom Horns on ah for almost a month w/no sale...and guess why? The last 5 or 6 asshats (yes I'm looking at you idiots who sold on Ramuh -.-)sold them for 10k...with a previous steady ah history of 80k. That's not even undercutting...it's straight up symptoms of down syndrome.

My Sand'orian Horns (the NQ version) sold for 17k....see a problem with that? lol

Overall bannings of course unbalance gil for a while, but it always stablizes...even if it's lower. What's the difference of beehive chips selling for 4k a stack or 40k if Hauby is down to 200k? >.>
The good and bad of it.
# Apr 25 2007 at 1:37 PM Rating: Decent
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50 posts
As someone who played FFXI at the US release, quit, then just recently started again 6 weeks ago, I was shocked at AH pricing. Yes, I expected inflation as prices were ever-slowly rising when I left, but nothing to this degree. If anything, I think this will help the game last longer, as the harder we work for the gil the more we appreciate it, and therefore the more we value the time we spent to earn it.
issue w/ deflation
# Apr 25 2007 at 11:32 AM Rating: Decent
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66 posts
Quote:
the big issue to me is the cost of Limbus. 50k 2x a week means you need to make 100k a week to go on limbus runs. The cost of limbus was determined when the economy was at a 3-5x inflated rate compared to now. Making 100k a week is no easy task for some people, esp those with relatively limited playtime
I have been having the same problem.. I wish you could just buy the key item and thats all, not every run.
issue w/ deflation
# Apr 25 2007 at 9:26 AM Rating: Decent
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234 posts
the biggest 'issue' with deflation imo seems to be limbus costs. dynamis is one thing, where it has always been 1m for the hourglass, and spread out across a fully attended run really isn't that bad (just under 16k,) plus not many people actually are in a position where they have to pay for the glass at all.

the big issue to me is the cost of Limbus. 50k 2x a week means you need to make 100k a week to go on limbus runs. The cost of limbus was determined when the economy was at a 3-5x inflated rate compared to now. Making 100k a week is no easy task for some people, esp those with relatively limited playtime
FFXI has seen better days...
# Apr 25 2007 at 9:20 AM Rating: Decent
for one, the monthly due's from 3400 accounts would add up to a loss of around 500k/yr for SE, why would they do that?

as for the game:
1. the economy will NEVER recover....it will stabilize, but it will never be the economy it once was. imho, i actually miss the RMT, they turned the economy into a bull market, prices were always on the up and up. sure that means things are more expensive, but it was much easier to make money. now we have a bear market with sever deflation, everyone is slashing prices...i feel very sorry for the crafters, me being one myself, there have been some good write-ups about it and while there are opportunities to make money, they are no where near as plentiful as they used to be, you almost HAVE to HQ to make a buck.

2. the game is on it's way out, sure there will be some hardcore fans that stay around, but it's served it's purpose. when looking at other popular online games, ie. Everquest, Quake 3...they had runs of about 5-7 years...then most people moved on to something else. i mean i still log onto a Q3 server every now and then, there are still some who play. i think eventually SE will have to start removing servers and herd everyone onto just a few, which should keep things around for a while longer.

Edited, Apr 25th 2007 1:23pm by Aerias
FFXI has seen better days...
# Apr 25 2007 at 11:57 AM Rating: Good
Aerias wrote:
for one, the monthly due's from 3400 accounts would add up to a loss of around 500k/yr for SE, why would they do that?


The RMT are in it for money. They will buy more accounts ($20 a pop) and have to pay dues again ($12+ month). They will probably repurchase the game with a quickness to replinish their losses, so SE might not even lose that one month of dues for banning RMT.

I know a couple of people (friend of a friend of a friend) who weren't RMT, but used stuff like Flee and POS hack, or fishbots, and were banned multiple times. They rebought the game and came back, and used hacks to "catch up" to where they were before, only to get suspended or banned again.

Banning is good business when you got dedicated players. :\
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Until we meet again... stay gold. *bang*
FFXI has seen better days...
# Apr 27 2007 at 5:07 PM Rating: Decent
Dandruffshampoo wrote:
Aerias wrote:
for one, the monthly due's from 3400 accounts would add up to a loss of around 500k/yr for SE, why would they do that?


The RMT are in it for money. They will buy more accounts ($20 a pop) and have to pay dues again ($12+ month). They will probably repurchase the game with a quickness to replinish their losses, so SE might not even lose that one month of dues for banning RMT.

I know a couple of people (friend of a friend of a friend) who weren't RMT, but used stuff like Flee and POS hack, or fishbots, and were banned multiple times. They rebought the game and came back, and used hacks to "catch up" to where they were before, only to get suspended or banned again.

Banning is good business when you got dedicated players. :\


O.o
wow, that person must not have gotten the hint the first time round.
2.8billion gil gone
# Apr 25 2007 at 8:59 AM Rating: Decent
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2,626 posts
ok, not that i agree or disagree with SE's zero tolerance towards tool usage, gil seling etc, but our economy is currently in a very fragile state. the removal of all this gil so far has led to mass deflation, undercutting & more.

Now another 2.8Billion gil has gone so this will continue to happen. Unfortunately it is a lose - lose situation. rmt's have to be dealt with, but as more gil goes, the deflation wil get worse. Their is a complete lack of new ppl starting, but then again, ffxi is not the most welcoming enviroment for new ppl to start in.

Many ppl i speak to think that ffxi is slowly dying (which upsets me alot when i hear it, because yes - I love & enjoy this game. When my fiance & i return from work, we still even now look forward to logging on & spending 5-8hours in fantasy land lol) So, I'd like to ask what you think -

1. Can our Economy ever recover?
2. Is ffxi dying & and how much longer will the game we all love be around for?

:P



Edited, Apr 25th 2007 1:03pm by Sandmasterr

Edited, Apr 25th 2007 1:05pm by Sandmasterr
2.8billion gil gone
# Apr 25 2007 at 11:38 AM Rating: Decent
During the rusty cap exploit from maybe 2005, lots and lots of gil were entered into the economy almost from out of nowhere since padded caps were sold to NPC's at major profits. A lesson can be learned from this, sorta. Just don't cheat or anything. But the point is, gil is easily drained out by Limbus, Dynamis, OP warps, AH fees, etc. We must bring gil in, too. Many overlook selling their loots to NPC's and go to the AH right away. I check with NPC's first and then the AH to see where I can get a better deal. Most of the gems that drop from BCNM's sell better with NPC's. Used up enchantment items like warp cudgels and hi-potion tanks shouldn't be thrown away. I go ahead and take the "loss" and NPC wind crystals because they are so abundant now. To think people used to camp Wind Elementals back in the day.


2.8billion gil gone
# Apr 25 2007 at 11:04 AM Rating: Decent
I think not the erased money is the problem, but people who drop the prices because they want to sell their stuff faster.

As an example. The price of Beastmen blood droped by 10K in 2-4 weeks on the server Alexander.

The first 5 people drop it by 1K, then the next 5 drop it again by 1K and that goes on untill its not worth to farm the items.


Sorry for my bad english!
2.8billion gil gone
# Apr 25 2007 at 9:17 AM Rating: Good
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978 posts
While deflation may be painfull for all those with formerly high priced gear (I'm one included) it is very much needed and has been long in coming. As deflation happens it makes it much easier for people new to the game to play as their primary gil source isn't crafting or high lvl area farming. Overall while it is a painfull thing for those of us who have watched our 3mil items drop to less than half a mil it is very much needed. As prices drop it becomes more and more tempting to just farm Beastmen in mass for direct gil.
2.8billion gil gone
# Apr 26 2007 at 1:15 AM Rating: Decent
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101 posts
Yes, but there is still a problem with this. As a crafter(mainly Goldsmithing) I try to buy my stuff in stacks when I can since a stack sells less per unit at my level. The problem is, I'm buying at one price and just a day or two later, the price is dropping, and people are undercutting me on the AH. These drops would be good normally, but not everything is dropping together. Zinc ores(on Garuda) still regularly seem to go for over 1k each. There's not even enough in 1 auction house usually to make a stack of brass ingots. And since I'm at a point where I need to improve weapons(bronze daggers to brass daggers), up to 1k profit each, when they sell. I found that a lot of lower level people are having to skip levels of weapons. I had to use my Warhammer from level 20 to level 39, simply because I lacked the excess money to replace it. The money that I had, I had to earmark for crafting, in the hopes that I can turn a decent profit on it.
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