This is getting out of hand.

I don't disagree, but the best thing you can do is report every player you suspect of hacking. Bioware can investigate and verify on their end whether or not the player was hacking, or if it was a bug in the game itself. Then they can apply punishment and hopefully they can put in measures to prevent that hacking/bugs in the future.

I don't disagree, but the best thing you can do is report every player you suspect of hacking. Bioware can investigate and verify on their end whether or not the player was hacking, or if it was a bug in the game itself. Then they can apply punishment and hopefully they can put in measures to prevent that hacking/bugs in the future.

I have been reporting people. Apparently from the intel I am getting from the other side offenders get a slap on the wrist.

I have been reporting people. Apparently from the intel I am getting from the other side offenders get a slap on the wrist.

^^

We're talking REPEAT OFFENDERS here, too. The worst I've seen someone get was a few weeks ban after their third or fourth cheating attempt. There's no logic here. If BW are trying to preserve as many active accounts as possible (cheaters included), this would actually have the opposite effect of driving honest PvP'ers away in larger numbers, especially when these repeat offenders return to their hacking ways after a short vacation.

Most times I complain about cheaters yet still kick their asses, but I've seen far too many instances of 'twitch twitch stutter twitch... endzone'.

I'm sure Bioware WANTS to. But this is a matter of ability not desire. Bioware has proven over and over again that they don't really know what they are doing with this game, so expecting them to actually be able to detect and stop hackers is out of their league.

This is asinine. Get consultants... there really is no excuse for allowing people who implement and use cheats in your game to get away with it.

This is asinine. Get consultants... there really is no excuse for allowing people who implement and use cheats in your game to get away with it.

Exactly. And when they do find out that a person is hacking, they just let them into the game again.

It's not like they're going to re-write the game engine to make hacking more difficult. Therefore, people will continue to hack even if they are "punished" for it.

If you get caught twice, lifetime ban. None of this "3-day ban" nonsense because it's a policy that clearly doesn't work.

This is getting out of hand.

Can you offer some specific scenarios you've seen? It would be helpful to have a discussion about it so we can bring it to Bioware's attention.

^^

We're talking REPEAT OFFENDERS here, too. The worst I've seen someone get was a few weeks ban after their third or fourth cheating attempt. There's no logic here. If BW are trying to preserve as many active accounts as possible (cheaters included), this would actually have the opposite effect of driving honest PvP'ers away in larger numbers, especially when these repeat offenders return to their hacking ways after a short vacation.

 

Most times I complain about cheaters yet still kick their asses, but I've seen far too many instances of 'twitch twitch stutter twitch... endzone'.

That happens a lot - the whole twitch-stutter endzone thing. Pretty sure most of it is caused by lag particularly after things like speed buffs (notice you always seem to root the force speed using ball-carrier JUST BARELY beyond the fire pit - similar effects occur from other classes with speed boosts as well, though less significantly), gap-closers (force charge/leap/obliterate, etc.), and knockbacks (many times I'll root someone (so as to guarantee my angle) then use a knockback that would/should and visibly DOES knock them off the defending ledge, only to see their character blur ("twitch-twitch-stutter-twitch") for a bit then reappear (somewhere seemingly impossible for them to have been knocked back to -i.e. 15m away on the edge of the ledge on the side, despite the knockback I'm referring to only having a 5m knockback- yet the location is still conveniently in their benefit) - oh, and you never can attack them while this happens. Though I'm sure some people might be abusing a "warp" hack, I'll still attribute many of these occurances to game bugs due to the frequency and diversity of players they happen to (pretty sure EVERYONE isn't hacking - coz it certainly CAN BE replicated on everyone).

Can you offer some specific scenarios you've seen? It would be helpful to have a discussion about it so we can bring it to Bioware's attention.

Of the hacks I HAVE seen and am 100% certain to be hacks, there only appear to have been 2 that are/were widely used:

1.) Speed Hack - movement speed set to x value - movement speed altering abilities have no affect on their movement speed yet they still suffer from roots, stuns, and knockbacks as normal. Easy to confirm. You'll have no issues noticing this if you have an ability to reduce movement speed. However, do NOT confuse speed-boosting abilities (force speed/predation, passive movement speed increases via talent trees, talented movement speed increases and/or immunities -i.e. powertech/vg middle tree spec- abilities for 8s durations, and talents that increase movement speed and/or grant immunity to effects that alter it that follow certain abilities via talents, and of course, wz speed boosts) - always check to see if they have certain buff icons up before you accuse people and learn to recognise buff icons (not only for this purpose, but it'll improve your pvp performance against many classes, regardless).

2.) Untargetable Hack/Exploit - though less common, and possibly accidental, there are certain individuals that seemed to ALWAYS happen to be unable to be targeted via tab-targeting and usually their name doesn't display over their head like normal when this happens. I have seen it happen occasionally and infrequently to random people, so it appears to be a glitch, but there are also people that ALWAYS have/had it, so I believe this is more of an exploit than a hack per say. Only possible ways to target someone when they have this is to click on their character or to have no target and have them hit you. Other than that, only possible way to damage them is via ground-targeted AoE's. Haven't seen this occur with much frequency since 1.2 personally.

Of the hacks I HAVE seen and am 100% certain to be hacks, there only appear to have been 2 that are/were widely used:

1.) Speed Hack - movement speed set to x value - movement speed altering abilities have no affect on their movement speed yet they still suffer from roots, stuns, and knockbacks as normal. Easy to confirm. You'll have no issues noticing this if you have an ability to reduce movement speed. However, do NOT confuse speed-boosting abilities (force speed/predation, passive movement speed increases via talent trees, talented movement speed increases and/or immunities -i.e. powertech/vg middle tree spec- abilities for 8s durations, and talents that increase movement speed and/or grant immunity to effects that alter it that follow certain abilities via talents, and of course, wz speed boosts) - always check to see if they have certain buff icons up before you accuse people and learn to recognise buff icons (not only for this purpose, but it'll improve your pvp performance against many classes, regardless).

 

2.) Untargetable Hack/Exploit - though less common, and possibly accidental, there are certain individuals that seemed to ALWAYS happen to be unable to be targeted via tab-targeting and usually their name doesn't display over their head like normal when this happens. I have seen it happen occasionally and infrequently to random people, so it appears to be a glitch, but there are also people that ALWAYS have/had it, so I believe this is more of an exploit than a hack per say. Only possible ways to target someone when they have this is to click on their character or to have no target and have them hit you. Other than that, only possible way to damage them is via ground-targeted AoE's. Haven't seen this occur with much frequency since 1.2 personally.

Thanks for sharing - I'll have to keep an eye out for those.

Regarding the movement speed one you mentioned, is it possible it is against classes with a consistent cleanse? As a seer I'm pretty much spamming cleanse on myself in warzones to rid slow effects on me.

Anyone pretending to not know what is going on with hacks needs to get off their arse and do a google search.

There are programmers that have created BOTs for SWTOR that can provide all kinds of unintended abilities.

For instance:

Movement Speed

Clipping (Moving through objects that should impeded movement)

Teleporting

Crit Hits

Untargetable

UnCC'able (I think this one gives full resolve)

Cool Down Bypass

One of these BOT makers was confronted by EA / BW with a Cease / Desist order or face legal action. Doubtful this really accomplishes anything other than making the BOT makers go underground instead of bragging on the Cheat sites.

Bottom line for me is that as long as SWTOR is a pay for play service, EA / BW are legally obligated to police and stop and punish cheaters.

In the end the only thing that will make EA / BW do anything substantial is voting with your wallet.

I've seen a few (mostly the infamous speed hack). But one which really got me going was a teleport hack in Huttball

In the middle pit, I see an enemy assassin, so i think "She's not getting that ball, im gonna gloop her in the back hehe" So i went to do jus that.

We were in the throws of combat for a short while. I was shocking her, she was swinging a double ended lightsaber in my face, the usual.

Got her down to about 1/3 life and <blip> she moved to the higher platform behind her. No travel, no other players were no that platform, so no chance of pull, grapple etc. She just popped from one place to another!

Reminded me of the film, Jumpers (those unfamilar with it, youtube the trailer and you'll see what i mean).

As a possible solution, would it not be a good idea if the server scanned the parcels used for WZ's when a player enters a WZ? I know this sounds like an unpopular choice at first, having files scanned in your computer. But i mean just so they can detect any programs attached to the SWTOR folders. None others.

Usually I personally would feel uncomfortable about a company scanning my computer for such stuff, however:

- I personally have nothing to hide on my computer (no hacks etc, no "iffy" movies lol)

- Every patch we download involves a skmall scan of the version of the SWTOR program we are running anyway!

- On said patches, files are altered on our systems through exchange of information upload and download.

I know the first reaction is to snuff this idea, but let's face it, it's the lesser of 2 evils

And of course, if such "interesting" programs were found on said attached files, appropriate action should be taken.

If anyone esle has some ideas on how BW could find hackers more easily, post it here and let's get this fire growing

x

That happens a lot - the whole twitch-stutter endzone thing. Pretty sure most of it is caused by lag particularly after things like speed buffs (notice you always seem to root the force speed using ball-carrier JUST BARELY beyond the fire pit - similar effects occur from other classes with speed boosts as well, though less significantly), gap-closers (force charge/leap/obliterate, etc.), and knockbacks (many times I'll root someone (so as to guarantee my angle) then use a knockback that would/should and visibly DOES knock them off the defending ledge, only to see their character blur ("twitch-twitch-stutter-twitch") for a bit then reappear (somewhere seemingly impossible for them to have been knocked back to -i.e. 15m away on the edge of the ledge on the side, despite the knockback I'm referring to only having a 5m knockback- yet the location is still conveniently in their benefit) - oh, and you never can attack them while this happens. Though I'm sure some people might be abusing a "warp" hack, I'll still attribute many of these occurances to game bugs due to the frequency and diversity of players they happen to (pretty sure EVERYONE isn't hacking - coz it certainly CAN BE replicated on everyone).

There is an exploit of the IA/Smuggler cover mechanic that has this effect. If you learn to time the cover button just at the right time as you're getting knocked back you'll leap into cover instead of getting knocked back . I've seen you tube videos of this being done. It's pretty stupid.

here is a link to a video:

This is asinine. Get consultants... there really is no excuse for allowing people who implement and use cheats in your game to get away with it.

I know you are assuming so all I can say is check your facts. A few months ago when the first hacking reports started coming into this forum I checked a few of the more popular hacking sites I saw to my dismay there were indeed hacks out there

But in reading the forum posts on the hack sites I could see people complaining about 1 week to perma bans in regards to some of the hacks so bio ware IS actively working against hackers. Now the question as to if they are effective enough is subjective. They aren't getting all the hacks bit it seems they are working at it

Now if you are talking exploits that's a different subject but I've read the patch notes and I know they have closed some holes in some maps. So I guess they are trying to do that too

^^

We're talking REPEAT OFFENDERS here, too. The worst I've seen someone get was a few weeks ban after their third or fourth cheating attempt. There's no logic here. If BW are trying to preserve as many active accounts as possible (cheaters included), this would actually have the opposite effect of driving honest PvP'ers away in larger numbers, especially when these repeat offenders return to their hacking ways after a short vacation.

 

Most times I complain about cheaters yet still kick their asses, but I've seen far too many instances of 'twitch twitch stutter twitch... endzone'.

So why don't you see the same behavior in other warzones? Do hackers only cheat at huttball?

I know you are assuming so all I can say is check your facts. A few months ago when the first hacking reports started coming into this forum I checked a few of the more popular hacking sites I saw to my dismay there were indeed hacks out there

 

But in reading the forum posts on the hack sites I could see people complaining about 1 week to perma bans in regards to some of the hacks so bio ware IS actively working against hackers. Now the question as to if they are effective enough is subjective. They aren't getting all the hacks bit it seems they are working at it

 

Now if you are talking exploits that's a different subject but I've read the patch notes and I know they have closed some holes in some maps. So I guess they are trying to do that too

Exactly correct. The forums on the hacking sites will give you much more accurate info as to what action is being taken against hackers. Some guy that is in a guild with other guys that you think was hacking, saying that no one has been banned is not.

So why don't you see the same behavior in other warzones? Do hackers only cheat at huttball?

Show me where I said that hackers only cheat in huttball.

Huttball is the most obvious example because people can cheat just by using simple exploits. All the other war zones require channeling in order to interact with the objectives whereas huttball only requires getting your body over a threshold.

I only report people of cheating/hacking when I am as certain as I can be that they are using some sort of exploit and bending game rules. If someone is using a speed hack while in the tunnel under the middle turret in the civil war, I would have no idea they were cheating.

My point is just that it's hard to categorically state that someone is cheating, which punishes honest players even more.

I know you are assuming so all I can say is check your facts. A few months ago when the first hacking reports started coming into this forum I checked a few of the more popular hacking sites I saw to my dismay there were indeed hacks out there

 

But in reading the forum posts on the hack sites I could see people complaining about 1 week to perma bans in regards to some of the hacks so bio ware IS actively working against hackers. Now the question as to if they are effective enough is subjective. They aren't getting all the hacks bit it seems they are working at it

 

Now if you are talking exploits that's a different subject but I've read the patch notes and I know they have closed some holes in some maps. So I guess they are trying to do that too

You clearly misunderstood my simplistic post. I was saying there is NO REASON why Bioware can't hire consultants to fix the problem if they are incapable of fixing the issue on their own. My point is there is no excuse for allowing hacks AND exploits to continue; the excuse of "well Bioware doesn't have the technical expertise" is asinine. Here is the ENTIRE post in case you didn’t read the person I had quoted.

I'm sure Bioware WANTS to. But this is a matter of ability not desire. Bioware has proven over and over again that they don't really know what they are doing with this game, so expecting them to actually be able to detect and stop hackers is out of their league.

This is asinine. Get consultants... there really is no excuse for allowing people who implement and use cheats in your game to get away with it.

Please read posts a bit more thoroughly before trying and failing to respond to a quote. No where in my post did I state that hacks were non-existent, nor do I need to check facts on an opinion.

I have seen and fraps speed hacks and hacks that prevent the player from using their resource (Heat/Force/Ammo, etc), so I am no idiot.

You sir, need to check YOUR facts.

Show me where I said that hackers only cheat in huttball.

Huttball is the most obvious example because people can cheat just by using simple exploits. All the other war zones require channeling in order to interact with the objectives whereas huttball only requires getting your body over a threshold.

I only report people of cheating/hacking when I am as certain as I can be that they are using some sort of exploit and bending game rules. If someone is using a speed hack while in the tunnel under the middle turret in the civil war, I would have no idea they were cheating.

My point is just that it's hard to categorically state that someone is cheating, which punishes honest players even more.

You didn't. But for the most part, the only examples anyone ever uses as "proof" of hacking is when characters glitch out in huttball.

If someone has the ball and they get knocked off the goal area and then appear away from the pit and score, are they hacking?

Every person I have reported for obvious hacking no longer plays. Compared to my experience with SC2, where Blizzard just cannot seem to stop the hacking, Bioware seems to be doing really well.

I wish that was true.

I've reported 9 players since 1.15, and all 9 disappeared from the warzones within a couple of days of reporting.

But only 2 of them have not returned 1-2 weeks later (they might just have quit playing altogether, who knows).

Yes, Bioware punishes the exploiters, but not harshly enough to be a real deterrent.

You didn't. But for the most part, the only examples anyone ever uses as "proof" of hacking is when characters glitch out in huttball.

 

If someone has the ball and they get knocked off the goal area and then appear away from the pit and score, are they hacking?

Like I said, it's very difficult to find proof of hacking. All I am arguing is that the burden is generally on players to report potential hackers (who might NOT be hacking), or someone who seems to have hacked when in actuality, the game is broken and allowed for unintended behavior.

However, when BW does find a cheater, they should ban them for life. Not a week. Do they suddenly think these hackers are going to see the light and stop cheating? Once a cheater, always a cheater.