Macro
From the Dark RuneScape Wiki - follow the rules, or else!
Macros (also known as Autos, Autoers, Bots, Borgs, and Macroers) are players who use illegal third-party programs while playing RuneScape which automatically perform boring tasks such as training or making money. These programs directly break Rule 7 and enable these players to unfairly gain large amounts of resources, money, and high skill levels without actually working for any of it. This also has a negative effect on hard-working players who play fairly and earn their skills and money, as the large number of macros have caused a drop in the price of sharks, lobsters, yew logs, willow logs, green dragonhide, and other commodities. Macroers posed a significant problem in free worlds, though they were also not an uncommon sight in members worlds. Most macro characters have the default look (Bald, brown beard, green pants, and khaki shirt), have low combat levels, and have names like Jingzhao998, 1087937239 or Ssxx348 which make it hard for any player to report. On occasion, however, there are high-leveled players that have lost their patience with training and employ bots and/or borgs in their place. The main goal of these players is to gather RuneScape gold by doing repetitive money-making tasks. These "gold farmers" then sell the collected gold for real world cash. The term "borg" describes a macro that is assisted by human input, a common trait among macros that work in sweatshops (most notably Green Dragon Bots). It is now very rare to find macroers around RuneScape now (especially in free-to-play) due to the recent trade update.
[edit] False Reports
Some people walk by a user who is training a repetitive skill (usually woodcutting) will automatically assume that the person is a macroer and reports them. To avoid this, players should try to start a conversation with people who might be suspicious of them every once in a while. Although with more advanced bots and borgs, some can talk and even type in characters usernames.
Also someone might mistaken a person who has been temporarily or permanently muted as a macroer since they cannot talk at all. However, muted players generally communicate using emotes or the Quick Chat system, so if the player doesn't talk, perform emotes, or use Quick Chat when spoken to, they are probably a macro.
There is a very small chance that a user might have public chat off.
For information on who to report go to the Evidence of bots section.
[edit] History of macro-related events
- May 29, 2002 - about 2,000 players were stat-wiped for using RuneBot. This was the first "mass ban" in the history of RuneScape.
- Between December 2006 and April 2007 - Raw sharks and cooked sharks slipped in price from 1,000 coins each to 800 coins each due to an increase in fishing bots. The number of bots continued to increase, and began to flood the market, causing both raw and cooked sharks to plummet to 400 coins each (see 2007 Raw Fish Dip). After mass bannings against the fishing bots, sharks have rebounded back to 800 coins each.
- Early 2007 - Green Dragon hide plummeted by 500 coins from 2k each to 1.5k thanks to the Green Dragon bots and borgs.
- Another macro that was increasing in annoyance in 2007 was the autobuyer. In many of the rune stores, one or more level 3's are in trade with the store (player is busy, if you try to trade them) and every chaos and death rune is bought out as it appears. Even if they are within the luring range of a monster, they have probably already been there long enough not to be bothered by it. Jagex reacted by updating all shops, giving the shops infinite stocks of items, but with increased prices. As a result, autobuyers are now extremely rare, if they even exist anymore.
- May 1st - 2007 Jagex announced a massive crackdown on macros. They also made the discovery that many bots and borgs are actually East Asian (especially Chinese) players working for sweatshops that sold these resources for real world cash in violation of Rule 12.
- July 8th - The price of willow logs has decreased from 30 coins to 20 coins.
- Early November 2007 - Willow log prices decreased from 20 coins to 10-15 coins.
- Late November 2007 - Lobsters have dropped from 250 coins to around 220-230 coins, though it's not uncommon to see people still buying and selling them at 250 each.
- December 10 2007 - A game update was made which gave a big blow to real world trading. The update eliminated unbalanced trades by making the net worth of the traded items have a 3k limit within each other, therefore making it nearly impossible to deliver gold or any items to players in game (the update also eliminated any covert methods of trading such as Duel Arena). As a result, nearly every type of bot has disappeared from the game, including woodcutting bots (nearly every f2p yew and willow tree is vacant now). The only bots that haven't disappeared are Green Dragon bots, though the numbers of them have decreased dramatically.
- Mid December 2007 - Because nearly all of the macros are now gone, the prices of various items have climbed back up, as the market is no longer getting flooded by them. The prices of raw sharks have risen from 700ea to about 900ea, and willow logs have risen from 10-15 coins to approx 25 coins. It is not known but possibly likely that the prices will continue to rise.
[edit] Jagex's Reaction
This view changed on May 1st 2007 after Jagex announced a crackdown on bots. Jagex has stated that they ban over 8,000 macro accounts a week. This thread on the official forums was created by Mod Jon H in response to players complaining about bots on the forums. It includes a way to report large amounts of suspected rule breakers at a time. [1]
- On the 17th July 2007 under game play improvements removed the Axe Head event.
- On 11 June 2009, Jagex announced a zero-tolerance policy for macroing, stating that any and all accounts caught macroing will be instantly and permanently banned, with no chance for appeals of any type.
