Warzone devs crack down on VPN abuse, targeting cheaters

As a long-time gamer with countless hours spent in Call of Duty titles, I’ve seen it all – from wallhacks to aimbots and everything in between. The recent announcement by Black Ops 6 regarding the implementation of measures to prevent VPN abuse is a welcome change, but it feels like a drop in the ocean compared to the sea of cheating methods that still persist.


In simpler terms, Black Ops 6 now has systems in place to stop players from using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) to encounter weaker opponents in Warzone.

A VPN allows you to mask your IP address and play Warzone in a different location and time zone. The leading theory has suggested that using the device can make it possible to bypass skill-based matchmaking and connect to quieter servers.

Moreover, a VPN serves to bypass the slowing of internet connections, also known as network throttling. This happens when Internet Service Providers (ISPs) intentionally reduce the speed for users who consume large amounts of bandwidth, often gamers. By using a VPN, you can shield yourself from such practices, potentially leading to faster connection speeds.

So far, there hasn’t been any penalty for employing a VPN, but recently, BO6 proposed a strategy to address this issue and seal the loophole.

In the update for Season 1, Treyarch announced they’ll tweak ping thresholds so that players must participate in games within their geographical area to combat VPN misuse. This change will apply not only to regular matches but also to Ranked Play, which is set to debut with the mid-season update.

The developers of Black Ops 6 and Warzone have begun gradually blocking the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) by modifying ping limits. Additionally, participating in Ranked Play now requires a minimum of 50 Multiplayer (MP) match victories.

— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) November 13, 2024

The exact level of stringency for these ping limits isn’t certain yet, but it’s likely that rule-breakers will have a more limited selection of less challenging lobbies to join.

To clarify, this revision does not tackle the issue of “two boxing,” a technique exploited by content creators and other gamers to gain access to less challenging lobbies more effortlessly.

To bypass difficulty in multiplayer games, a user maintains two profiles. The less skilled, lower-level profile is employed to enter simpler matchups as it has poor matching statistics. Once a suitable lobby is found, the more skilled player switches over to this account, and then exits after successfully joining the game.

The RICOCHET squad aimed to tackle the problem by improving the system for identifying players who are away from their keyboards (AFK). However, this adjustment didn’t effectively solve the problem because less skilled players can simply leave before the game begins, making them invisible to the enhanced AFK detection.

It’s not just this instance where RICOCHET anti-cheat is under scrutiny. A Call of Duty hacker alleges they were able to incorrectly ban numerous Warzone and MW3 players using an exploit.

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2024-11-14 00:48