Big MMO titles have a big problem with RMT or Real Money Trade systems. This is a system of bot spammers or players that are giving away tradeable in-game items and or loot in return for real-world currency. This practice has put developers into panic since there are huge risks of scam artists taking advantage and there has also been an increase of boosted accounts that use this to their advantage.
Here is some information on the RMT craze that is happening.
Lost Ark: RMT meaning
RMT stands for Real Money Trade which is an unethical business tactic that uses popular MMOs like Lost Ark in order to garner income. How this works is by the usage of spambots that flood the chat with offers.
These offers usually have a link or email address that is used for the transaction.
These offers usually include gold for a sum of actual cash, but they could also consist of items and weapons and even power leveling.
The Risks
RMT is a big problem that has plagued the MMO scene, and it is a big risk for players since a lot of RMT bots are made for scamming and can lead to massive scams leading to many players losing a lot of money.
It can also lead to Account hijacks, banned accounts and in some cases a personal information breach of players.
Since the spam accounts use hacks to garner gold and items there’s a big risk of in-game inflation of prices and rarity of items.
How can Developers Fix this Problem?
The Developers are trying their hardest to address this issue. But there are certain ways that developers could try to potentially destroy RMT altogether.
1. In the case of Lost Ark, what’s missing is a better reporting system, because of this oversight a lot of spambots go off scot-free with little to no consequence.
2. They could limit the abilities of low-level characters. Developers must balance out restrictions carefully. If a “solution” hinders a new player more than an RMT operation, it’s not worth it.
3. They implement a dedicated RMT prevention team. Even though costly in time, effort and manpower this solution might be the most effective.