User blog:ZeroTigress/Joining Those You Can't Beat

Autopotting is basically an auto-heal program that unsavory players use in order to keep themselves alive without having to actually keep an eye on their HP. With it, players can essentially play without fear of dying provided they have enough potions on hand to sustain themselves while the program does the work for them. Legitimate players see it as cheating and those who use it are typically shunned by the community.

This is an issue that is unique to Ragnarok Online because most other MMORPGs on the market (including RO2) have cooldowns on potions to address the issue of unfair gameplay caused by autopotting. Allowing players to chug down HP-replenishing items quickly in order to gain an advantage over others basically boils down the competition to who has the better computer instead of who's the better player.

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So after many years of trying to address the issue of cheaters using autopot to beat others at PVP, Gravity Interactive has decided that the adage of "if you can't beat them, join them" is a possibility for them concerning the issue of autopotting. I personally don't use autopot as I don't know how to get it nor do I care to use it. The issue is mainly more serious on the PVP scene and, as a PVM player, it doesn't impact me that much. But it does beg the question of if they allow this to be legalized, what other illegal activities will they allow next? (Well they already allow mob-leveling, which used to be ill-mannered behavior back in the day so I guess this was the next step.)

Of course, the best fix to this entire problem would be to simply add cooldowns to potions. Many RO players would protest, sure, but I can't think of any alternative MMORPG that has no cooldowns on their potions at this point in time. So where would they go if they decide that they want to quit RO because it no longer allowed for instantaneous use of potions? I suppose a number would go to pservers, but either way Gravity Interactive is at risk of losing players whether they legitimize autopotting or not.

I like to think that RO is a unique game because it has features that no other MMORPGs have, but I also don't want to think of it as being unique because players can cheat in it easier than other MMORPGs. This certainly is a disappointing state of affairs for RO.