FFXI: Players V.S. The RMT

Dealing with the RMT (Real money traders) within Final Fantasy XI has always been a problem. They are more abundant in this game because the fact that making gil is a bit difficult.

I had a recent run in with RMT a week or so ago in Bastok Mines (one of the main cities). I was watching a group of level 1 players with randomized names like "abcdefg" go to the noob gear npc then trade among them selves for hours on end. They are basically gil laundering to throw off the GM's. The trick to distrupt them is to instigate a trade with them so they are blocked from trading with others until someone cancels the trade. I've seen other players make mules just to disrupt them!

To further confuse them, I stripped down to my underoos to look like them and I mimicked their motions by going the noob gear NPC and trying to trade with the one of the RMT. One of them almost gave me 700,000 gil! He must have thought I was one of them. LOL. Another time, one of them traded me brass pots on accident. He realized what he did and tried to get it back but I ignored him, lol (threw away the pots later). I think they are growing craft ingredients to sell on the Auction House.

Anyway, So I reported them and got a message a few days ago from the GM saying that other people have reported it and are now investigating. There would be no need for RMT if there was no demand so I urge everyone to not buy accounts/gil/services if you want the FFXI economy to not suck.