The biggest complaint in Aion since launch has undoubtedly been the kinah
sellers and the bots.  These game wreckers plague every game on the market
to varying degrees and they descend upon a new game like a swarm of bees
affecting every legit player's gameplay experience.

It's almost disconcerting when you read and hear that NCsoft is doing every
thing that they can to combat the problem then log in to see gold sellers
setting up their marketplace advertising their websites in the same spots that
you always see them in.  Hitting mob grinding hotspots will turn up an army
of automated characters running around and killing anything that spawns. 
If we as players know that they are there, shouldn't the game makers and
shouldn't they be there with their ban hammers smacking them down?

I'm a gamer like everyone else, so I'm not privy to the whys and hows of NCsoft
policy and procedure to take out these obvious offenders.  I continue to
have faith that they will do what needs to be done but meanwhile, I am
absolutely determined to not allow bots and gold sellers to ruin my fun. 
As such, I've developed a little list of tips to take back your gaming fun!

 - Remove general chat channels.  This very easy process can
practically eliminate exposing yourself to kinah sales spam.  You can
either remove the regional channels altogether, or put them on a separate tab
and only view them when you choose to.  Click on your chat preferences menu
to add tabs or change what channels show up on your tabs.  To remove
regional channels, go to the channel menu and uncheck channels 1 (Regional), 2
(Trade), and 3 (LFG) or simply add those channels to their own tab.

 - Use /autoreporthunting liberally when you suspect a player to be a bot. 
This feature

penalizes a player if they receive enough reports, limiting how much reward
they get when they kill.  Limiting botters makes their job harder and
flagging their accounts makes it easier for NCsoft to spot the offenders. 
To use it, target the offending player and type the command into your chat box.

 - Trump the botters. Botters tend to pick well mob populated areas which
also end up often being quest mob areas.  Along with using the above
reporting tool don't be afraid to yank those mobs out from underneath bot
farmers.  How can you tell if they are bots?  Looks for characters who
are several levels above the mob levels that they are killing, they run after
every mob that spawns in the area, they don't move when nothing is around to
kill, and tend to be in the same area day after day.  If you're not sure,
send off a whisper to the other players just to check.  If you're certain
it is a bot, play nice rules don't apply.  Careful with this though, some
legit players like to farm too!

 - Don't buy kinah or power leveling services!  Botters and gold
sellers are in game for a reason; it is profitable.  If players do not
support these services, visit the websites, or part take in these crimes, the
botters and sellers have no reason to be in game.

Bots ruin everyone's gameplay experience, but they do not have to drive you away
completely.  You belong to be in game and they do not so while NCsoft works
on things behind the scenes to cut down on the problem, you can use these few
steps to make your gameplay experience just a little bit better taking a small
win against the game wreckers.

Do you have your own bot and gold sales strategies?  Be sure to pop by our
forums and share them!

~Savanja

Aion Site Lead

Tired of travel costs?  You can travel between some zones
on foot!  In Eltnen you can find roads to Verteron and to Heiron and vice
versa.  In Morheim you can walk your way into Altgard and Beluslan. 
You can save that kinah for other things like wicked armor and skill upgrades!

• 
  Aion Cooking Guide 100-199 -
  Kick it up a notch in the next tier with our comprehensive cooking guide.

• 
  
  Spiritmaster PvP Guide - Get the scoop on how these mage powerhouses
  fair in PvP.

• 
  
  Elyos Vitality and Aether Extraction Guide 100-199 - Want to level
  the skills but aren't sure where to go?  Find what you need here.

• 
  
  Aion Alchemy Guide 100-199 - Make more in the next tier with this
  great step by step guide.

• 
  
  Aion Stats Dictionary - Stats defined and explained so you know
  exactly what they do!

• 
  
  Spiritmaster Grouping Guide - Continue learning all you can about
  the powerful Spiritmaster in this look at their role in a group.

• 
  Spiritmasters to get Flying Pets - SM pets take to air in a much
  welcome change.
• 
  Potential Future Changes Translated From Overseas - Some very cool
  changes are happening on the other side of the globe, find out what they
  are.
• 
  Patch 1.5.1 has been Implemented! - See what changes made the cut
  for this last week's bit patch.
• 
  Gamespy Reviews Aion - How did Aion fare against this one site's
  review?  Follow the link to read more.
• CM
  Tamat Hints at Future Updates - Mark your calendars for November
  24th to see video on upcoming changes.
• A
  Treat for Machinima Fans - See what creative players can do with a
  good song and some free time.

If you have questions, comments or suggestions for our
newsletter please feel free to drop me
an e-mail any time!