"[Complaint] Niantic is Breaking the Rules with Softbans on Spin/Catches and Users Should Call Them Out"

#PokemonGO: Hi everyone! I'll try to keep this as succinct as possible.Some background:Niantic has restricted the limit of Pokestop Spins to ~500/day and Catches to ~3500/week. We only know about this ban from active users reporting it. This is extremely problematic for a number of reasons, despite the limits being high for even the most active users. I have confirmed these bans have affected between 8-10 people in a group I regularly play with, so it is not an isolated incident that is only affecting me. More evidence here:http://ift.tt/2yksr5j Equinox event is presumably designed to get users to play the game more. They have a sale on Super Incubators and Lures as well as 2x stardust and exotic 2K egg hatches for a limited time. This would cause most users to play the game more than they had previously. While these limits are no doubt in place to prevent spoofing/bots from taking over the game, it is punitive to hardcore players, and this conflict needs to be addressed by Niantic in a clear manner. In other words, these softbans are counter-intuitive to their goal of getting players to be more active.The problem arises when there are limits to what you can do with in-app purchases that are not made clear to the user at any time, until you hit this limit, and even then, the error reporting is vague and unclear (in typical Niantic fashion).Pokestop Spins:Within a 24 hour period, Niantic limits you to ~500 pokestop spins, based on user evidence.All pokestops will be unspinnable at the time, with an error reporting "Try Again Later." If you try to spin the stop with the Go Plus, it will state the Pokestop is "Out of Range." I am very familiar with the stops that I received my limit for, this is definitely not a technical issue with my phone/reception/drift/GPS, and affects all pokestops within the timeframe of the softban.If you run into the softban for Pokestop spins, it means you will eventually run out of eggs. Nowhere does Niantic specify a per day egg distribution limit tied to pokestop spins. Niantic is putting an artificial limit on the usefulness of a paid item (incubators) without making the rules and limitations clear.You will also run out of pokeballs and berries. While you can purchase additional pokeballs, not being able to accrue berries has a lot of in-game consequences, not least of which is not being able to effectively catch a Legendary Pokemon in the manner that the user desires (nanab, pinap, etc).Does the limit start and end at the beginning/end of a day? One limit cleared for me in 30 minutes time, but during the same day as the ban started. Other users I personally know have been banned from spins for time periods of 1, 3, and 10 hours. Again the problem is not knowing what the rules are.Have seen many reports of previous methods of unbanning yourself no longer work, either (i.e. 40 spins to a pokestop).Catch Limit:Within a 7 day period, Niantic limits you to ~3,500 pokemon caught, based on user evidence.This one is very hard to pin down because it's very unclear when the ban starts and ends, and how long it applies to the user. When you have the ban, all pokemon run away from the first ball until the ban is lifted.This ban is extremely frustrating, as you are actively forced to use items (balls and possibly berries) to find out if you are actually banned. There is no error reporting whatsoever to the user that a ban is in effect. Additionally, this creates a state of mind for the player where you have no idea if you are in a catch ban situation, so you will only hand-catch rare spawns for fear that catching more commons will put you over the limit. And again, this is while an event is going on, which makes this fear very counter-intuitive and makes actually playing the game pretty terrible.The specific limits are again unclear and vague. How long do you have to go without catching a pokemon before the limit is cleared? Does it apply to raids? A friend with a high legendary catch rate (70-80%) had a legendary break out of his excellent curve ball throws immediately on all throws. If this ban applies to legendaries, why are they not reporting to the user before they buy a Premium Raid Pass? There is also no in-game way to keep track of how many catches you have within a specific time period (other than screen grabbing your collector badge).Evidence of Raids being affected: http://ift.tt/2t8BJvf https://twitter.com/Johnnyl990/status/886585228436942848While the limit is high, it's unproductive to argue about whether or not the limit is achievable. It is clearly doable by an active user, using lures in a dense area, which of course, is a paid item.So what to do?Report to Niantic. I haven't heard a report of Niantic replying directly about this, but users need to report it as that is the most direct form of communication with Niantic about the issue.Ask for a refund of your PokeCoins from Google Play/iOS App Store. I'm serious about this. While you may not get your refund, additional pressure from Google and Apple will put pressure on Niantic to clarify the situation.Google Play Store TOS: http://ift.tt/2yjyeIm" In the case of Content other than apps, subject to any limitations in the additional terms for the specific Content below, you may cancel purchases you have made from Google Play to Google if Google Play does not perform as stated with respect to that purchased Content, and Google will provide either a replacement Content (if available) or a refund of the purchase price."Since Niantic does not state explicitly before you purchase content (lures, incubators) that there are limitations on these paid consumable items, Niantic needs to be taken to task. They need to be specific about what the rules are, and users shouldn't just put up with it.If Niantic wants to impose limits, tell the users specifically what they are, allow the users to track their progress towards that limit (i.e. have an in-game progress meter of your daily spins and weekly catches), and warn users of the limit before they purchase items for actual money. I do not personally think that raising the limits would be enough to resolve the issue. The issue itself is communication to the user as to what the actual limits are.Also, why not create a method for outlier, highly active users to regularly authenticate their account instead of random shadow bans? I'm sure all hardcore players would be ok with doing a complex capcha instead of getting banned.TLDR: Niantic has put limits on Pokestop Spins and Catches in specific timeframes, but does not report to users what these limits are. Paid items are affected by these limits, so Niantic ought to be taken to task to come up with a better solution than softbans to prevent very active users from being affected, especially during events designed to have players play more. via /r/pokemongo http://ift.tt/2xbFIYM