OGRank - Matrix Online - Clarification on Macros and Exploits

On the official forums, Walrus admiits that "Due to some miscommunication on my part, several players were temporarily suspended from the game for using macros to mine specific Data Nodes that apparently never went away. There is much confusion on what exactly happened and what the policies are."

An explanation on what are macros and exploits, what is legal in The Matrix Online and what is not, follows:

Data Node Mining

There are, by design, certain Data Nodes with an extremely large amount of $Info in them. Recently, many players have been hunting these nodes down to Data Mine. Given the behavior of two of these nodes, we believe they are actually not working correctly and never drain and disappear. This is why CSRs have been asking players to not mine these particular nodes.

As we investigate Data Nodes for a potential bug, we do ask that players avoid the following nodes:

Creston Heights
X: -1124, Y: 5, Z: 731

Creston Heights
X: -1502, Y: 5, Z: 797

Players who continue to mine these nodes after CSRs give them a warning may have actions taken against their accounts.

Using Macros

Using macros to perform in-game actions is, for the most part, not considered exploiting. If you wish to use macros to mine Data Nodes so you don’t have to continue clicking, that’s fine.

The one exception to this rule is using a macro to perform an in-game action that earns either experience points or game currency and leaving the game client to run unattended. If you’re sitting at the keyboard while the macro runs, fine. If you leave it running while you leave the keyboard, that’s not fine. This is a policy across all SOE games and many other MMOs.

Exploits

In general, using in-game bugs to gain currency or experience repetitively is considered exploiting. Finding a bug that does so, reporting it, and never using the bug again is not considered exploiting.

In this case, now that we are investigating these two Data Nodes, mining them is considered an exploit; and players in the area will be asked to leave by CSRs. Also, as stated above, using macros while AFK to gain currency or experience is also considered exploiting.

Our Apology

Due to our miscommunication and the ensuing confusion, those players recently suspended from The Matrix Online have had those suspensions lifted. The policy was not clearly stated to players, and some statements on the forums led players to believe they were not doing anything against the rules. We apologize for the confusion and miscommunication and thank you for your understanding.

-Walrus