Anticheat for Dungeon and MMO PvE Servers

How do you apply anticheat to dungeon and MMO progression loops?

Dungeon and MMO PvE servers run long progression loops: parties, class skills, mob farms, mining, pets, mounts and an economy. Focus anticheat review on the repeated actions that automation tends to copy, such as ability spam, AFK farming and automated mining. Start in alert-only mode and review each loop on its own.

How is a dungeon or MMO server different from a boss arena?

A boss arena is one fight. A dungeon or MMO server is a set of loops that run for hours: clear a dungeon, earn gear, sell it, and repeat. Anticheat decisions have to cover the loops, not only the moment of combat. Single-encounter mechanics belong to the boss and arena review.

The economy matters here too. A farm or duplication exploit that runs for a week can move prices for every player. Economy staff may need more from the logs than combat staff do.

Which progression loops produce alerts?

The table lists the loops that most often produce alerts that look like automation. The right column is the baseline to compare against: a hand-played run of the same loop.

How do you tell farming from automation?

A farm is not automatically a cheat. Many farms exist because the server rewards repetition, and players repeat tasks for that reward. Separate what a person can do in one session from what a script can do. Look at timing spread, idle periods and whether the player responds to chat or to game events.

• Pick one loop and write down its expected session length and drop rate.
• Record alerts for that loop on staging, with alerts only.
• Compare the alert timing with a hand-played run of the same length.
• Decide whether the signal is automation, designed repetition or unknown.
• Adjust the check that fired, not the whole profile.

Who owns a progression loop after launch?

Name one owner for each loop. The owner updates the hand-played baseline, reviews the alerts for that loop and signs off on any change to its check settings. Without an owner, a loop keeps its old settings long after the design changed.

Which settings should a PvE profile keep?

Keep ability and skill checks active, because repeated casts are a common automation signal. Track economic actions in plugin and transaction logs rather than in combat alerts. Use separate profiles for the dungeon world and the open world when your anticheat supports per-world scope.

Do not disable skill checks for a whole world to fix one class. Adjust the threshold for that class's skill, test it on staging, and leave the rest of the profile unchanged.

Who should review progression alerts?

Route progression alerts to the staff who know the loop design. Route duplication and trade signals to economy staff with access to transaction logs. Combat staff can review the movement and action alerts that accompany either issue, then hand off the rest.

Keep a hand-played baseline for each loop, updated after every content patch. A baseline that is six months old describes a dungeon that no longer exists, and alerts measured against it will mislead reviewers.

What have we not verified?

This article does not state detection rates for farming or automation in any anticheat. It describes which loops to review. Test each loop on staging, and treat every alert as a question about the loop rather than a verdict on the player.