How do I deal with AFK players in arbitration missions?

[Murbella]

I finally finished clearing the star chart and did my first one today. 

There was a player with excalibur Umbra staying in operator mode on top of the defense objective and letting his warframe fight in auto mode the entire time. 

I assume there is no hidden trick that this makes this not someone just leeching so he can get free rotational rewards? Is there some way to actually punish these players either short term (by kicking them out of the game so i don't spend 20 minutes grinding rewards for them) or long term (by getting them suspended)?

My hunch is the answer is there is no way to do anything about it, but in a multiplayer game like this that makes absolutely no sense.

 

To add insult to injury, i didn't realize if i leave after completing some waves, i can't enter a new one. So i guess the answer probably is that if you notice someone leeching, you need to leave before completing a round...

[(PSN)whoistimjones]

He wasnt leeching nor was he afk. You said it yourself, "letting his Warframe fight in auto mode". He was playing the game, you just didn't like how he was playing.

[4thBro]

32 minutes ago, (PS4)whoistimjones said:

He wasnt leeching nor was he afk. You said it yourself, "letting his Warframe fight in auto mode". He was playing the game, you just didn't like how he was playing.

You sound like a lawyer that only helps the bad guys.

[(PSN)whoistimjones]

Just now, 4thBro said:

You sound like a lawyer that only helps the bad guys.

Ok? Anything worthwhile to add to the conversation?

[EquinoxPrime]

So... people shouldn't be able to use their Operators and take advantage of Umbra's specter passive without fear of getting kicked/suspended because you don't like it? Some players put an awful lot of effort into their Operators maxing out focus schools, grinding Operator/Amp arcanes, etc. They can be quite effective.

Also, I'm sorry, but if I were pent-up with rage after some eons I would want to have a little fun too. #FreeUmbra

[Erytroxylin]

That's not leeching or AFKing. It's a viable strategy to take Umbra, gear it out and then let it continue fighting while you do whatever in Operator mode. Whether that is avoiding dying, or dishing out some pain, or providing support buffs. A well equiped Excalibur Umbra/Equinox Duality can do massive amounts of damage as there are some quirks they get to ignore certain disadvantages.

The only annoying thing is that the work they are doing doesn't show up in the stats at all. It should really be tallied to the player of that frame. It's not uncommon for me to do an index where if you look at the stats, the enemies died 40+ more times than we can see kills for by adding up all four players. That's Umbra killing them 40+ times and nobody getting credit in the stat page.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Erytroxylin

[Asphyxiants]

You can't afk in operator as the void mode only lasts so long and you're squishy as hell when exposed.

[Oreades]

1 hour ago, 4thBro said:

You sound like a lawyer that only helps the bad guys.

I guess that's an accurate statement as long as we interpret "bad guys" as people who use a mechanic that DE added to the game in literally the only way it can be used and thus the way it was intended. 

[Murbella]

His operator was not doing anything except standing on top of the objective, completely stationary the whole game and not performing any obvious action. It was a defense mission where the objective was tall, so he could just park his operator on top with basically no fear of death.

I admit i don't have any experience with the power of  Excalibur Umbra in auto mode. I've used him a bunch in his typical sword configuration, but never focused on having the warframe in auto mode the whole game. However, it is pretty obvious his warframe was not doing a ton of damage, even if it did not show up in the stats. It did not seem capable of killing enemies near it at all (a few times i specifically stood next to it and watched it fight enemies) and half the time it appeared to be shooting in to the side of the objective.

[(PSN)whoistimjones]

14 minutes ago, Murbella said:

His operator was not doing anything except standing on top of the objective, completely stationary the whole game and not performing any obvious action. It was a defense mission where the objective was tall, so he could just park his operator on top with basically no fear of death.

I admit i don't have any experience with the power of  Excalibur Umbra in auto mode. I've used him a bunch in his typical sword configuration, but never focused on having the warframe in auto mode the whole game. However, it is pretty obvious his warframe was not doing a ton of damage, even if it did not show up in the stats. It did not seem capable of killing enemies near it at all (a few times i specifically stood next to it and watched it fight enemies) and half the time it appeared to be shooting in to the side of the objective.

Youre in arbitration, not too much operators can do in high levels. And you changed what the problem was. First it was afk/leeching, now you dont like his output, which wouldn't change a whole lot(rate would increase, but not the per hit).

[Murbella]

6 minutes ago, (PS4)whoistimjones said:

Youre in arbitration, not too much operators can do in high levels. And you changed what the problem was. First it was afk/leeching, now you dont like his output, which wouldn't change a whole lot(rate would increase, but not the per hit).

Ok, my mistake. You're right. It is perfectly acceptable to just play Excalibur Umbra in defense missions, go in to operator mode, stand on the defense objective so i don't die and then go watch TV. I wouldn't be AFK because my warframe is technically doing something even though i am not personally pushing any keys or taking any manual actions. Maybe i will click the mouse every five minutes so i don't get kicked, but i won't take any actual manual actions during the entire mission.

[KIREEK]

afk gameplay is the absense of any movement (aiming, moving, shooting)

If so then he was afk, if he was moving then he was playing.

For example, casting and AOE ability that kills enemies in a certain range and then not moving is afk gameplay and can be reported despite the player having the most kills

AFK reports require human visual apreciation and common sense, it's not as simple as "i think he wasn't doing anything and i think he should be reported".

This is the very reason why an afk report button doesn't work like some would like.

Edited November 5, 2018 by KIREEK

[Williamwaitunnaing]

I mean I have heard about 4 umbra squad and stuff so this doesn't actually seem like a problem to me. Besides, an umbra in index is a pretty great dps for the group

[Fishyflakes]

Just do Survival Arbitrations instead.

Every other one isn't worth it imo.

[Erytroxylin]

43 minutes ago, Murbella said:

I admit i don't have any experience with the power of  Excalibur Umbra in auto mode.

 

Then I encourage you to go experiment with it and see just how it works. It's very powerful when done correctly. To me, its the best way to grind out the Index.

 

That said, it's a pretty terrible idea for Arbitration because the drones are the real focus and Umbra isn't smart enough to target them first, so spends a lot of time being useless. But, that's no different than someone bringing anything else and just sucking with it. It would still be effective though if someone else on the team was dedicated to popping drones.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Erytroxylin

[Chaosdreamer]

So the main question is is letting someone afk still get reward for him after two min afk?

If he Ain't getting reward for the afk'ed time because operator did'nt move problem solved but if he get reward because his umbra self moving that a bit annoying ain't it?

[JawNuts]

Don't know if this will work at all. But try pushing the operator out on top of the objective so he falls down. Or stay on top of the objective as well. So when enemies aim at you, they would hit the operator as well. 

[(PSN)whoistimjones]

2 hours ago, Murbella said:

Ok, my mistake. You're right. It is perfectly acceptable to just play Excalibur Umbra in defense missions, go in to operator mode, stand on the defense objective so i don't die and then go watch TV. I wouldn't be AFK because my warframe is technically doing something even though i am not personally pushing any keys or taking any manual actions. Maybe i will click the mouse every five minutes so i don't get kicked, but i won't take any actual manual actions during the entire mission.

Actually it is. The game has deemed it so. Again, its his passive. Just because you dont like it doesn't mean its not a valid playstyle. And if you just clicked your mouse while doing nothing, you would get hit with the system. You have to move a certain amount before long.

[Peter]

3 hours ago, 4thBro said:

You sound like a lawyer that only helps the bad guys.

Welcome to the forum.

[(PSN)Pizza_Parker]

4 hours ago, (PS4)whoistimjones said:

He wasnt leeching nor was he afk. You said it yourself, "letting his Warframe fight in auto mode". He was playing the game, you just didn't like how he was playing.

can we just stop with the ”technically” BS?

Edited November 5, 2018 by (PS4)Pizza_Parker

[(PSN)whoistimjones]

14 hours ago, (PS4)Pizza_Parker said:

can we just stop with the ”technically” BS?

I dunno, can you? Because nothing I said was technical, it was a pure undisputed fact.

[(PSN)WyleECoyote]

I personally agree with OP.  Its super f ing lazy way to play and barely helps your team.  I would leave the match myself discouraging others from doing it. Is it a mechanic that DE intended? yes  Doesn't mean I have to support it.  Arbitrations are heavy team focused, besides the fact that it's lazy play and cant even possibly be fun for the player doing it.  Just my 2 cents.

[Makunogo]

the OP is just complaining because they wanted a more Nuke like frame in their squad clearly. 

if you ever played an umbra excalibur you would know they are in operator mode as much as possible. its not lazy at all. 

the man just complaining cuz the squad wasn't as good as he wanted clearly

even if the guy was AFK - which he wasnt - void mode only lasts so long ( i think id say no more then 20 seconds) yet "somehow" this afk player managed to stay alive for 20 waves. 

yea totally not buying it. 

Edit: i know exactly which map you are talking about and it is possibly to get hit up there because i used to do the same method to avoid getting hit, but even if they did stay up there not doing anything. they will not get rewards. the sample applies to other spots where u can possibly avoid getting hit

also remember this is basically a nightmare mission in that once u complete it, you cant do it again. nor get the reward for it twice. until it refreshes.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Makunogo

[Eirshy]

19 hours ago, Murbella said:

 However, it is pretty obvious his warframe was not doing a ton of damage, even if it did not show up in the stats. It did not seem capable of killing enemies near it at all (a few times i specifically stood next to it and watched it fight enemies) and half the time it appeared to be shooting in to the side of the objective.

Excalibruh is the master of the 360 noscope. I've seen him get kills in the Index while he's visibly reloading. Which way he points the gun amusingly has nothing to do with where he's shooting.

Also, Excalibruh actually scales like enemies rather than like us. Reason he's so good at Index.

 

Honestly this whole thread seems more like you just dunno how Excalibruh works lol

 

1 hour ago, (PS4)WyleECoyote said:

I personally agree with OP.  Its super f ing lazy way to play and barely helps your team.  I would leave the match myself discouraging others from doing it. Is it a mechanic that DE intended? yes  Doesn't mean I have to support it.  Arbitrations are heavy team focused, besides the fact that it's lazy play and cant even possibly be fun for the player doing it.  Just my 2 cents.

Arby's maybe not as much since drones would mess with him a lot, but Index he's one of the best carry options in the game. And to be fair on drones, operators are great vs them.

As others have said, this is more you just not liking how that guy's playing. It's a valid strat that contributes waaaay more than you think when properly set up.

Edited November 5, 2018 by Eirshy

[(PSN)Pizza_Parker]

5 hours ago, (PS4)whoistimjones said:

I dunno, can you? Because nothing I said was technical, it was a pure undisputed fact.

are you actually that dense? do you actually think that letting the AI play while you are not moving means you are not AFK?

ok then, let's play the ”facts” game:

AFK

Away From Keyboard : often used in online gaming when someone is not moving they are assumed to be afk.

23 hours ago, Murbella said:

His operator was not doing anything except standing on top of the objective, completely stationary the whole game and not performing any obvious action. It was a defense mission where the objective was tall, so he could just park his operator on top with basically no fear of death.