Online games today are bigger, faster, and more competitive than ever. Because of this, game developers must work hard to keep the gaming environment fair. A ban wave is a situation in which a game developer bans a large number of accounts simultaneously after cheating is identified. Developers usually reserve special days or weeks to implement such bans. This can be done manually and slowly, but in most cases, ban decisions are automatic.
In case of cheating, modifications, or other suspicious activity, the account is flagged by the system. Such flags are then logged into a database and checked in the subsequent scheduled ban wave. This way, developers can keep their detection systems secret longer, since cheaters will have a hard time determining what caused them to get banned.
Being informed about what causes bans can also help you avoid making mistakes that big firms do not take lightly.
Reason Game Developers Favor Ban Waves
Many people wonder why developers do not issue an immediate ban to players. The solution is very easy: immediate bans disclose too much information. In the event that a cheat is identified and the user is automatically banned, it would not take long before cheat developers would determine what the anti-cheat system detected. However, when bans occur in major waves, it becomes more difficult for cheat makers to know precisely what has occurred. This makes the game more secure since the other cheats take a long time to develop.
Another message that is stronger is sent by ban waves. As thousands of accounts are lost in a single day, it frightens other fraudsters and demonstrates that the company is worthy of safeguarding the game.
Anti-Cheat Systems Detection
There are numerous signals that are sought by anti-cheat systems. Others are self-evident, such as a gamer becoming incredibly precise or possessing improbable skills. Yet still others are more technical. Anti-cheat software scans your game files, identifies illegitimate memory injection, detects aim patterns, checks for suspicious speed alterations, and confirms that your hardware information is as expected.
Such hardware data is significant since, despite the ban, when a person opens a new account, the anti-chat systems can still tend to identify the same device. Numerous games rely on the use of HWIDs (Hardware IDs) to recognize a computer. In case the HWID is prohibited, any new account created on this device is also suspicious. That is why even after getting a new account, the players who violate the rules usually find it hard to get back.
False Positives for Innocent Players
Anti-cheat software is not flawless, but very sophisticated. Errors may occur in ban waves and occasionally, officials are caught up in cases where innocent people are wrongly charged. This normally occurs when the software on your computer behaves like a cheat program, or when you use programs that alter graphics or performance. When this occurs, developers tend to manually check the case and reactivate the account in case they believe that no cheating occurred. That is why most individuals call support following a ban wave.
But in the majority of situations, ban waves identify real cheaters who are aware of the fact that they violated the regulations. Although errors are inevitable, developers would favor causing ban waves in the most aggressive way since the risk of letting cheaters go is much more damaging to the gaming community.
How Players Avoid Ban Waves
Other players conceal their hardware data or they do not want to be detected using tools. These devices fake or alter the HWID of the device to appear to the anti-cheat system as an entirely different computer. This is the reason why HWID spoofers are prevalent in the cheating world.
For example this HWID spoofer provides the tools that modify your hardware identifiers to complicate matters, should anti-cheat software get a hold of a banned person. Whether you’re clearing an HWID ban or just protecting your setup before entering your desired ranked game, this spoofer quickly resets your hardware footprint to keep it safe.
One should keep in mind that methods used in detection are constantly improved by the developers, and so even the temporary solutions are eventually identified. Fair play is always the best and intelligent way to go.
