Thread: Can you stop AFK logout?

I'm tired of finding that I've been logged out when I leave my toon AFK for an extended period of time. Is there anyway to stop this?

Get a cat.

No way to prevent this except interacting with the game. so...

Originally Posted by Darmokk

Get a cat.

is a good advice. My cat is walking constantly over my desk and keyboard too

There are a few ways. If you can find an NPC who is walking around, set your toon to /follow it. You cannot be logged out while moving. I've tested this.

Also for me, I can leave Windows Media Player running in the background and for some reason it doesn't allow the game to log out.

Originally Posted by Darmokk

Get a cat.

Good idea, lol.

Originally Posted by naval

There are a few ways. If you can find an NPC who is walking around, set your toon to /follow it. You cannot be logged out while moving. I've tested this.

Also for me, I can leave Windows Media Player running in the background and for some reason it doesn't allow the game to log out.

Be careful. Trying to bypass the AFK logout may result in a account ban by the Game Masters. Turbine has banned customers for this issue in the past. The logout timer is designed to remove players from the game that are consuming server resources, bandwidth and a character slot to reduce Turbine's operating costs. Plus allow the resources to be allocated to customers that are actively playing the game.

You do not want following an NPC around while gone for 3 hours. Have a Game Master investigate why you are doing repetitive activities that suggestion that your computer is playing the game. You will get an automation test. You are not there. You can't pass. You get a ban.

In 2012, no idea how much effort Turbine spends to reduce or elminate this kind of undesirable game play. Each customer has to decide how important staying logged is. Whether it is worth the risk. Obviously, the more hours you do it. The more likely something bad will happen.

From Turbine's perspective, it is not necessary to catch everyone doing things immediately they do not like. The ides is to keep the problems down to a manageable level. Plenty of people have run into the situation where they broke the naming policy. It took months or even over a year to be spotted, reported and receive a forced name change. Being left alone only proves that you been left alone.

Originally Posted by naval

Also for me, I can leave Windows Media Player running in the background and for some reason it doesn't allow the game to log out.

Man they really messed up their keyboard logging and mouse spying so that it looks like it's active

I'm only half-joking. I'm sure there is some DRM #### in there that makes sure you don't copy out music you, well, own anyway. But that's how it goes.

Originally Posted by naval

There are a few ways. If you can find an NPC who is walking around, set your toon to /follow it. You cannot be logged out while moving. I've tested this.

Not long enough, probably. I wanted to guide my Hobbit hunter safely through a skirmish and partied him with my main, a Dwarf champion (I have two computers which are good enough to run LOTRO on it), and after the skirmish, I went around and had the Dwarf kill mobs that should count as deed for the Hobbit.

Believe it or not, but not only did the Hobbit get an AFK sign while he was following the champion around; after half an hour the logout countdown kicked in, and I had to stop it so that the hunter could stay in the game.

Maybe it takes a bit longer when a character follows another or a NPC, but LOTRO obviously doesn't like it when players are idle, even within a party. Maybe it is a counter measure against bots, although it won't help much against a bot that issues a move command every other minute.

Greetings, Polymachos

Originally Posted by Polymachos

Maybe it takes a bit longer when a character follows another or a NPC, but LOTRO obviously doesn't like it when players are idle, even within a party. Maybe it is a counter measure against bots, although it won't help much against a bot that issues a move command every other minute.

It isn't a Bot counter measure. It is method of reducing operating costs. All long as you are in the game:

1) Turbine has to pay for all bandwidthand CPU resources required to keep your client up to date on everything around them.

2) You are tieing up a server slot. Something that Turbine would like to reserve for someone playing the game.

3) Getting AFK characters out of the game, means that Turbine can downsize the server. The average and peak load on the system has been reduced.

You will find just about all session based client server systems use AFK timers to shed customers that forget to log out. In some cases, AFK tmers have some other benefits like improved security for banks and similar system.

Prior to AFK timers, service providers used system restarts to shed all the customers. Only the real customers came back. Some services still use restarts or periodic resets to because their customers are using a AFK timer defeater. ISPs are famous for daily resets. Or Yula been hammering away for two hours - he must be running a server app - reset the connection - maybe change the IP address - unless Yula is at home and notices - Yula is Dead In The Water.

Originally Posted by Darmokk

Get a cat.

Hehe, nice idea.

Simply auto-run into a wall if you'll only going downstairs to eat lunch,otherwise"GET A CAT."

I've forgotten the store window open and left. Came back after an hour, and I was still logged in.

Not saying that's what's caused it, as I have had buggy moments in game. Going auto AFK and returning while in combat, leaving and coming back after about ten minutes to find I'm not auto afk or that "I'm no longer marked as AFK" as if I moved the mouse or hit a key.

One trick I haven't tried here that has worked in other games is to put your optical mouse's sensor on the very edge of your mouse pad. Get it in the right spot, and it will make your cursor bounce a tiny bit, even without touching it.