[RangerDown]

Even our little ol' EQ tried its hand for a while with having the game report what other tasks were running. They added to the EULA, effectively saying that by continuing to play you agree to allow the client to scan your processes, so their legal bases were covered. (If you think they're still legally in the wrong in spite of adding it to the EULA, you may be correct, but that's for a different thread.)

They stopped it and they stopped it QUICK. Not out of legal fears -- but from the backlash they received. Many long-time players threatened to quit if they kept it going. I don't foresee SOE trying *that* again in the foreseeable future. Other game companies, as much as they'd like to do it, probably learned a lesson from EQ and would be hesitant to do it too.

That said, it is my opinion that for your own computer's security, you have a right to see any network traffic that comes and goes. And anything SOE tries to state to the contrary I believe to be null and void.

Now, as for PC'ing, you can probably do 95%+ of what needs to be done using your free trial account. What we need is what kind of data is sent to the server or received from the server when a particular action is performed or a specific event takes place. For example, if we need to collect what packets are sent while you're hitting on a mob or the mob's hitting on you, then it doesn't really matter if that mob is a_large_rat or if it's Quarm, the packet structure is the same. If we need to collect the packets associated with casting a spell, it doesn't matter if that spell is the Skin Like Wood the druid gets with his starter gear, or the ultra-rare-only-2-casters-on-your-server-have-this spell. About the only thing you might be locked out collecting at low levels is LDoN adventures and AA abilities.