A bot (abbreviation of robot) is a computer program that automates actions in the game (performing a trade, fighting, exchanging resources, selling, etc.)
These programs give their user an unfair advantage by altering the game’s mechanics. It’s a way of cheating and it is totally forbidden.
Bots slow down the progression of real players in the game because they over-exploit resources, disturb the game’s economy (through resource inflation), flood the chat system and cause lags in the game. Bots are also dangerous for the bot users themselves because they allow outside access to their account(s) and computer(s).
For all of these reasons, the fight against bots is a priority for Ankama. In accordance with our Terms of Use, any player found using bots will be permanently banned from all of their accounts.
The problem of bots is (unfortunately) well-known to Ankama and has been going on for a long time. We fight this problem every day. The ongoing work includes in-game moderation, and above all, tools that we have deployed to detect and eradicate bots.