The Final Entropia Exploit

I think Mindark does a good overall job of dealing with exploits that pop up in the system. In years past their response was sluggish, but that improved drastically. Such exploits' existence is inevitable in a game where the envelope is constantly being pushed. There's real money involved, and its a free download, so you can bet EU will host a good number of would be cheaters with nothing to lose. The only variable is how Mindark deals with them.

Last year we saw countless well known players locked, short term and long, for attempts to cheat the system. From the "101 Auction Bug" to hardcore use of hunting bots, Mindark made it clear that they would show no tolerance for those trying to cheat the system.

Mindark should be applauded for their crackdown. But this trend of behavior compels me to ask - why doesn't Mindark eliminate the final exploit that their software specifically enables?

I'm talking about Follow Bots.

Follow Bots are a simple exploit. A player logs into EU on a second PC with a secondary avatar (which is illegal). They equip an expensive FAP (med kit), turn on an autoclicker, and then command their secondary avatar to follow their primary avatar. Whenever the primary avatar gets hurt, the Follow Bot automatically heals them. One player is now driving a team of two.

At this point, the primary avatar can walk around and hunt without Armor, and without ever having to stop to FAP themselves. This technique allows those who use it the ability to leverage their $25k FAPs to exploit the system. How? By not paying armor decay. By not having to FAP themselves, reducing a mobs regen. By not having to employ the services of a medic.

Consider these screen shots. Here you can see one of the games most highly regarded players employing a medic. I am not implying that he is using a Follow Bot in these screen shots, but if someone were to do so, this is what it would look like.

Here you can see the scan of our player, blasting away without the need to wear armor (which decays at a high rate) or stop to heal himself (during which time he can't be firing, and during which time the mob's health regenerates). He is hunting the biggest mob in the game, the Daspletor, naked. You read that correctly, the games biggest mob does not require armor using this method.


And here you can see a scan of a low skilled avatar. Low, that is, in everything but his medical skills, which seem to be quite robust for such an inexperienced avatar. This avatar has also been entrusted with a $25k FAP, the most sought after item in the game. I'm sure that in this case it was just a friend who was doing the FAPing all day, but it does a good job of illustrating how the exploit could be used.

Follow Bots have existed in EU for quite some time. Their ability to track and follow the primary avatar's movements are quite sophisticated. The irony being, of course, that Mindark built this sophistication into Entropia. The Follow command is rarely used for any required activities, and it's removal would not be missed by many.

Hunting big game in EU isn't usually profitable. But when such an extreme advantage can be leveraged, you have to wonder when the proverbial dung is going to hit the fan. An ATH to a Botter is only a matter of time.

I can hear the objections already! Of course you can lend your FAP to your brother and make him follow you around for a 16 hour hunting session. (I'm amazed at how many EU players have patient, inexhaustable brothers) But if you find that without the Follow command he is no longer willing to mindlessly FAP you for 16 hours a day, put on some damn armor or hire a medic. Either of those options drive the economy and deny Follow Botters the benefits of this final Entropia exploit.