Tip - Sivions Tips - Play It Safe

[Lord Sivion]

In response to the suspension threads that get posted, I thought I would share some things I do myself to play it as safe as possible when using MQ. At the end of the day, it's always risky to play the game with MQ due to it being against the rules set by DBG.

There is no "completely eliminating" the possibility of a ban or suspension, however, I believe you can reduce your risk. No matter what you do, you will be in a better place mentally if you first accept the fact that you will most likely lose your accounts at a moments notice from a random ban. If you have legacy accounts that you have some sort of sentimental attachment to, stash them away and do not use them with MQ. Make new accounts.

EDIT (08/09/2024): From the latest suspension / ban wave reports over the last couple of months, it seems like things are getting a little more complicated with trying to avoid a suspension or ban. Even users who completely removed MQ, made new accounts, are being banned just a few weeks later on those accounts even though they are not using MQ. This leads me to believe there is a common identifier they (DBG) are using to track people other than by account, e-mail or IP, and perma-flagging those players / connections. See #6 below as an additional suggestion based on what I believe they are doing at this juncture.

**ATTENTION: These things are my opinion only, from my own perspective and experience. Take it or leave it.

With all that said, here they are!

1. Do not play on an account you are not prepared to lose at a moments notice. Stash those sentimental legacy accounts away, and don't use MQ with them.
2. Do not try to play on servers that do not allow boxing. Not even relaxed true box. Just stick to legacy servers
3. Do not AFK play (even with a bazaar mule running a macro, Lua, Etc)
4. Do not play for 24 hours or more straight. Even if you are actually at the keyboard for 24 hours (addict much?), scale back. Play in realistic time sessions like you would back when you didn't use MQ. Play like a regular player. Camp your toons when done with your playing sessions. Don't leave them logged in (especially with MQ running)
5. Do not use the same IP address for more than a week at a time. Most people have dynamic IP addresses on their connection which may stay the same for long periods of time. Consider releasing and renewing your IP once a week manually. I find from reports of banned or suspended accounts who do not use MQ on those accounts, may be getting hit with a suspension or a ban due to a sort of scan where they log your IP for accounts that are using MQ. Therefore, when they decide to sweep, anything connected with that flagged IP will also get the ban stick.
6. Do not use the same MAC Address continuously. I recommend changing your Mac Address every so often. Be sure to shut down and restart your PC in order for the new Mac Address to be used with your connection if you manually change your Mac Address. I think this might be a way DBG is tracking players in general in order to perma-flag some players based on some reports of players using new accounts after they un-install MQ and still get suspended / banned. Mac Addresses are hardware identifiers that remain constant even if your IP address changes. Some network adapters cannot have their Mac Address changed. But if yours can be changed, then change it periodically. Also, if yours cannot be changed, consider purchasing a network card for your PC that you can change the Mac Address to. They are relatively cheap.
7. Do not use hunter methods of mob killing in non-instanced zones. Use traditional pull camp fighting instead. Hunter modes look suspect, and will likely get you suspended or banned if using in non-instanced zones.
8. Do not play at the same spot / camp for many play sessions in a row (Epic camps would be an exception here). Give other players a chance to have your camp spot.
9. Do not harass other players. Even if they harass you first. This includes other MQ / Automation players. This is especially important when dealing with the server "vigilantes". You know the ones. They make it their mission to train "botted" players because they feel righteous, and a hero for doing so. Do not retaliate against them. Just move to another zone or log off that character / group. It's not worth the exposure if you report them. They will either burn out of doing it after awhile, or they will train a group / player that doesn't use MQ that will petition them. The problem will take care of itself.
10. Do not refuse to give up your camps to other players "playing through". No matter how amazing the camp is
11. Do not play during CSR hours. (M-F, 7AM-6PM PST). Non-CSR hours and weekends are better. -- Notes: This is how I decided this is a good piece of advice. From the information I have gathered from all of the postings related to bans and suspensions, a great many waves happen during business hours. This likely means, that whatever software they are using to find MQ (on a global scan/scale), is being executed in real time by a staff member. This global scan also accounts for why people get booted and banned/suspended when they are seemingly doing "nothing" except hanging out in game by themselves. Additionally, petitions seem to still be answered mostly during business hours. I, myself, have petitioned multiple times after business hours, and on weekends for game / bug related help, only to have gotten a response the next business day. Never have I gotten a response after hours. I have enough data collected here to reasonably conclude that petitions are not handled (or mostly not handled) outside of regular business hours. Which means that responses to botting via the petition system are also not investigated unless it's during business hours. DBG likely doesn't have the budget to normally keep any staff online after hours to run the global software check, or police the servers responding to petitions either.
12. Do not play current expansion content until it becomes "last years" content. Fighting over newer camps and raids will increase suspension / ban rates. Non MQ players are quick to petition/report people for their grievances. Better believe they have itchy trigger fingers for the new content. That is their sandbox. Let them have it.
13. Do not play on new servers even if boxing is allowed. Players frequently go to the new servers for the new server feel. They don't want to see a bunch of people camping everything using tools. It will spawn a bunch of vigilantes with itchy trigger fingers for those petitions.
14. Do not invite other players into your MQ groups, ever. You may think that other player is cool, and would never petition you. But, things always seem friendly, until they aren't. In EQ (and most online games) everyone is laced with the propensity for betrayal and fits of rage. Just depends on their specific trigger to make it happen. You will always be at a disadvantage here when it comes to the wrath of an irritated player. Just don't. You are a lone wolf with MQ.
15. Do not play with MQ in your main guild. Make your own for guild perk purposes. MQ life is a lonely one. Don't try and make it more than it is.
16. Do not offer a mass buff bot to buff people in social areas (PoK...).
17. Do not use a chase function in high population areas. Dead giveaway. You will look botted and catch petitions running through.
18. Do not lie to a GM when they ask if you are automating. Just say you are and don't be rude. They already know. Just like speeding tickets, the officer (and you) already knew you were speeding. You might get a pass if you are straight with them and be polite in the process.
19. Do not tell other players you are using MQ whether they ask or not. If you tell people you are using MQ when they ask, they have you admitting to it in chat which is the fast track to a suspension. If they ask you about it, just deny it. (yes, even if you look obvious and they are telling you it looks obvious). To be honest, when a player starts getting offended and gets harsh about things, I just add them to my ignore list. Then I move my group/character somewhere else, or log on to a different group/character.

Additional Thoughts: Between the server wide scans and petition investigations, we have a lot going against us when using MQ. I am hoping that some of the information in this post is helpful to the RG community, as we continue to enjoy the game the way we want to.

I will update this post with other helpful tips as they come to mind.