BOTS...
A never-ending discussion about bots. Most likely, you already fought one and not realizing that they were bots. If you were not yet familiar with bots, a bot is a software program that operates on the Internet and performs repetitive tasks. They can play 24/7 without any problem since they were just a program. I can still remember back in the days when the boom of online games, bots already exist (*cough, Ragnarok Online, *cough).
Before, bots are illegal stuff that could lead your account to be banned. Why? Because it is a form of activity where bots have a huge advantage since they never tire out. They can sometimes outperform humans on some scale. However, that is the thing of the past. But is it?
From several AMA session with the founder of Splinterlands, they repeatedly telling players that bots will not be banned and are welcome as they create traffic for the game.
IS THIS A GOOD THING?
We need to remember that bots are automated, which means they run according to their instructions without a human user needing to manually start them up every time. Bots often imitate or replace a human user's behavior. Since there are lots of players who use bots nowadays, there will be no shortage in terms of opponents in rank battles. In short, there will be no idle time when you were playing rank games.
THE BAD PART
Since bots never tire out, they can earn more than a normal player can do ideally. Some players report that most of the bots can accurately predict what splinter they will be going to use and counter them. Is this possible? Yes, it is possible with the current technology nowadays. I'm not saying that all bots can do this but I could say that maybe some.
HOW CAN WE AVOID BOTS?
Since bots is a program, it will take a large pool of effort and time to create a perfect bot that always wins. Usually, bots are programmed to use the highest winning splinter and cards per mana cap. In reality, the highest win/lose ratio of a bot is about 50-60% only (unless it is a premium bot).
If the bot can really see what splinter you use, that will be bothersome. Good thing, some people in the splinterlands community stated that it can be avoided by clicking a single button and can be found on your settings.
CONCLUSION
Apparently, no one knows if bots can really see which cards you will be using. And if it does, then it is not bad to just turn this option on, right? I mean prevention is better than cure. However, please be cautious as this kind of setting have risk. What does this mean to us, real players? Remember that we are smarter than bots and humans tends to learn from a mistake. Most likely, we will develop a new form of strategy to outsmart bots. Yes, it could be bothersome at first but the way I see it, it is much easier to fight bots than a real human being since bots only use the same kind of splinter every game.
At the end of the day, which is more important to you? The preventive measure that this option provides or it is ok for you to let the bot sees your cards? Let me know your opinion on this matter.