15 replies to this topic

[xXDeniXx]

Hey fellow adventurers,

I’ve been playing International Ragnarok Online (iRO) for years, and I’m honestly at a point where I need to speak up about something that’s slowly but surely destroying the game: bots. This isn’t just a minor inconvenience—it’s a full-blown crisis that’s affecting everyone who actually wants to enjoy the game.

For those who might not be familiar, bots are automated programs that farm items, experience, and zeny without human input. On paper, it might seem harmless—“just someone else playing the game while you’re offline,” right? But in reality, the impact is far worse, and it hits non-botting players the hardest.

How bots ruin quality of life in iRO

1. Hyper-inflated economy
   Bots flood the market with rare items and cheap zeny, destroying the value of things we actually earn by playing. Ever try to sell an item for a fair price, only to see bots undercut it by 50%? It makes legitimate gameplay feel pointless.
2. Hoarded spots in hunting grounds
   The classic experience grind spots are now monopolized by bots. You can’t even hunt freely without running into a screen full of nameless characters silently farming while you wait. It’s frustrating and discouraging for anyone trying to level up legitimately.
3. Increased lag and server instability
   Hundreds of bots running 24/7 can seriously affect server performance. Lag, crashes, and disconnects become more common, making normal gameplay miserable.
4. Community decay
   iRO used to thrive on player interaction—trading, party grinding, and events. But when bots dominate, community engagement drops. Legitimate players feel ignored, frustrated, and eventually leave.

The inevitable outcome

If nothing changes, the cycle is clear: non-botting players will leave in droves because the game stops being fun. And when the human population declines, the game dies. iRO isn’t just losing a few players here and there—it’s slowly bleeding its lifeblood, one bot-infested map at a time.

Call to action

To the iRO team: please invest in better bot detection, stricter punishments, and community-driven reporting systems. The game’s longevity depends on your willingness to protect legitimate players.

To the players: support the servers that actively combat bots. Don’t give up on the game—but don’t tolerate bots either. Speak up. Report. Make your presence as a real player felt.

This isn’t just about zeny or rare loot. It’s about the heart of iRO—the sense of accomplishment, community, and adventure that we all signed up for. Bots are slowly draining that heart dry. If we don’t act now, we might be saying goodbye to the game we’ve loved for years.

Stay strong, stay vigilant, and let’s fight to save iRO.

 

— A frustrated but hopeful player

 

[LouisLu]

They dont care ....

but compare to back then, they did use anti cheat to block most of the bots, but it doesnt work on smart bots that has AI 

[K1shinami]

They don't care and they don't have the ability.

They were completely incapable of dealing with the robots, but they still pretended to tell the players that they were already investigating.
 

[HickV]

Maybe if players stopped doing RMT bots would have no reason to even be in the game in the first place, but instead of getting an actual job those losers make a living from iRO because clueless people give them money.

[Troisieme]

Bots are getting way more aggressive recently with kill stealing and teleporting away. Seem to be crashing the servers regularly now. I'm getting D/C and lag constantly.

[Viewfinder]

I just took a 6-month break from the game and finally came back. I was expecting that either WP fixed the bot problem slightly or didn't do anything at all - it was neither. It seems like the bot problem has gotten worse. In the year of our lord 2026, I am seeing (more) bots in maps that haven't had them for 7 or more years. Example, I started a new Doram character yesterday, and when I went to the map that's south of Juno, I was greeted by like 10 bots that are endlessly farming Harpies. One of them was a level 99 merchant with a grade A Cocytus Armor on, casting Jack Frost before Greeding and teleporting away as inhumanly as possible.

 

Bot users have become so emboldened over the last several years due to WP not treating the problem with the seriousness it deserves. These botters have become so greedy too that they're now targeting maps which make a pittance compared to the others which they usually frequent. I won't be surprised if in the future we again start getting maps similar to the Mandragora map during the late 2010s.

[leofrasson]

Bots are getting way more aggressive recently with kill stealing and teleporting away. Seem to be crashing the servers regularly now. I'm getting D/C and lag constantly.

Sometimes I just close the game because it is ubearable to play in some maps, due to the amount of bots doing KS+teleport. Usually a Genetics or a RK. 

I returned to the game after 10 years, and I am already considering quit again.
It is really sad to see what the game became now. 
I remember when the entrance of every leveling map had a party setup: High Priests healing and buffing, Professors giving SP and enchanting weapons, and Minstrels playing Magic Strings while recruiting killers or mobbers. Now, you’re lucky if you even see a human player, because the maps are just filled with bots KS-ing and teleporting away. What a sad downfall for the game.

[6773131031232342973]

Killing? it already killed it, you imbeciles just have stockholm syndrome.

[leofrasson]

What is the real active player count right now?

The server displays around 2.3k online, but what’s the actual breakdown of real players versus bots?

 

The botting issue isn't just ruining the leveling and farming maps anymore; it's everywhere. Just walk through Prontera and look at the vending shops—some of them literally have "/navi... blablabla" script errors as their store titles. It’s a blatant coding mistake by someone setting up a merchant bot.

 

The developers could easily fix this game if they wanted to. People still want to play Ragnarok. It’s a 24-year-old 2D game that requires almost no heavy hardware to run. RO is highly profitable and has a huge community of veterans looking for an excuse to come back. The demand is there, but the server management needs to step up.

Edited by leofrasson, 29 May 2026 - 02:10 PM.

[freddym]

I'll keep saying this, the game NEEDS bots. People die...they quit, they take long breaks, they're unpredictable. Bots are ALWAYS going to be there...ALWAYS!!! You people ever play one of those fighting games that have multiplayer?

 

Sure you can bring a buddy or two and play together but once they leave your stuck with level 1-9 npcs forever.....or until you stop, right?

 

So the same rules apply here sure you can play with random people but the bots are place for your entertainment believe it or not.

 

Now I'm gonna spit some real facts here, ready? People are boring TOO, yes I said it. People suck just as bad as bots sometimes even WORSE at least the bots can't control it.  I've played with people who blatantly ks and don't give a damn about it.

 

Yes play with your buddies or don't. Play with level 1-9 npcs OR don't. Moral of the story you can just....DON'T. 

[EdwardEG]

Above everything else, the game needs active devs that are actually monitoring the game, fixing the bugs and hiring more staffs to actively patrolling populated maps. But i guess y'all know that aint gonna happen

[freddym]

And you think they don't have it? Lets be a little bit realistic here. If I or you or the next person and the next person after that and the next person after that were all hired by Gravity to log into a game and get PAID to get rid of bots wouldn't you think that everyone in the world would take this job!?!?!!? Cause it doesn't sound hard to do, you're sitting down logging into a game and getting rid of bots......AND

 

GETTING PAID TO DO IT! I'm pretty sure everyone and their moms would take this job.

 

So this is clearly not the case and yet year after year after year nothing changes, everyone keeps making the same bot thread on forums hoping it changes *It doesn't* and people are STILL shocked by it but I guess it's hard to accept the truth and just move on.

 

 

Side note I've now reach 666 post on forums.    I kinda don't ever want to post just to keep it like this.

Edited by freddym, 31 May 2026 - 04:19 PM.

[Midgardson]

Have you played other popular games like genshin, nikke, wuwa and tower of fantasy? Their bots there are far worst than RO and nobody complains there.

[freddym]

I could only imagine cause I don't play those trash games, I barely play iRO. 

 

It's the whining and complaining for me it makes me not want to log in even more and this is coming from actual people.

[clueless124]

Have you played other popular games like genshin, nikke, wuwa and tower of fantasy? Their bots there are far worst than RO and nobody complains there.

 

Genshin, nikke, and wuwa do not have bot problems... no one is complaining because even if someone were using malicious software, it would not affect any other player.

 

Bots are a problem, and everyone has a right to complain about them. Being told otherwise is self-centered arrogance.

 

We cannot confirm if Gravity endorses botting and conspiracy theories don't help. Gravity has taken measures to counter botting in the past. Botting is mainly a major issue for end-game users. It may make items/gear/materials accessible to everyone, but with RMT it becomes a huge legal issue. If bots disappeared today, they would not be missed until the economy crashes and would take a while to recover.

[EdwardEG]

And i can guess they might get fed up dealing with bots. And pretty soon, they will give up and instead of fighting bots, they will eventually legalize auto attack/skill feature. That's why they are testing it out in RO zero taiwan and soon global (ggh) with monthly subscription.