Several content creators, streamers and regular Call of Duty players believed they were “banned from the shadows” or “blacklisted” at Warzone, being forced into hacker-filled lobbies, simply because they were reported by opponents.
Cheating has been a constant thorn in Warzone’s side since day one, as cross-play makes aimbots, wallhacks and other unfair advantages prevalent even for console players.
There is a report function within the game, allowing any player to report any opponent for cheating in just a few clicks of the button. The increase in cheating has left many players overly suspicious and, therefore, false reports are very common.
Now, some players claim that while they don’t cheat, they are being reported as cheaters thanks to good natural sights – especially with the incredibly powerful DMR now dominating Verdansk.
Players believe their accounts are being banned – just because they were reported.
Ban on war zone shadows for suspected cheaters
It appears – although it cannot be confirmed – that if your account is frequently reported for cheating, you can be placed in lobbies with a lower trust factor (ie, with other players also often reported for cheating).
If true, it would mean that good players, playing fairly, without any tricks, can find themselves in an endless cycle of hackers facing off, simply because they have been reported. The question was raised by the popular YouTuber Tomographic, who explained his own experience.
“Essentially, my account was blacklisted by the matchmaking system and I have now been moved to a ‘cheat key’”, explains YouTuber. “I am finding countless cheaters now. And it sucks, I can’t play with my friends, because all my games are occupied by cheaters. The matchmaking system sees me as one of the bad guys, and it spoils the game for everyone else. “
He claims that while playing with friends, other YouTubers Aculite and JackFrags, they encounter constant cheaters. But after Tomographic left the party, the other pair said they were no longer meeting cheaters.
And they are not just cheaters. One of the other disadvantages of this problem is the much longer queuing times. Tomographic reports that wait up to 20 minutes to find a match. And even when a match is found, the connection is poor, with high ping and unbridled cheating.
Previously, players reported similar ‘shadow bans’ in Modern Warfare multiplayer. In October, another YouTuber, Expel, says he had a similar experience, with games full of cheaters and bad connections.
War zone players banned ‘for no reason’
On the Activision forums, players also claim to have shadow bans, with no helpful response from support teams.
A player complains about “200 ping matches” and “even if you find a game that you compare to hackers”. They continue: “It is a pity that the game works like this now, the normal player is banned by the shadow for no reason and is stuck with malicious people who prefer to cheat the game”.
The DMR 14 tactical rifle took control of the war zone, making more players think they were duped.
There is no answer on the Activision Support forums – nor is there likely to be a next one. For a system like this to work, it must be kept confidential, to prevent anyone from trying to abuse it.
But in its current implementation, it appears that players may maliciously target an opponent with false ban reports, or simply mistakenly believe that they are cheating. This can result in the ‘blacklist’ of that account from the regular dating pool.
The problem has the potential to worsen while DMR 14 remains the strongest weapon in the game. Players who are killed so quickly by this high damage weapon are perhaps more likely to report their killer for cheating.