Warzone devs crack down on VPN abuse, targeting cheaters

Black Ops 6 has finally implemented measures to prevent players from using a VPN to go up against less-skilled Warzone players.

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.

In addition, a VPN can evade network throttling. This is when your ISP slows down users with a high bandwidth, which is often gamers. A VPN can prevent your ISP from doing this, allowing you to potentially enjoy faster speeds.

Up until now, there has been no punishment for using a VPN, but BO6 finally laid out a plan to close the loophole.

As part of the Season 1 update patch notes, Treyarch confirmed that it will adjust ping thresholds to require players to join matches in their own region to cut down on VPN abuse. This will also be active in Ranked Play, which launches in the mid-season update.

It’s unclear how strict these ping thresholds will be, but cheaters will at least have fewer options when trying to find an easier lobby.

In saying that, this update fails to address “2 boxing,” which is another method that has allowed content creators and other players to invade easier lobbies.

For this circumvention, a player has two accounts, with the second low-level and poor match-making numbers account used to join easier lobbies. The higher-skilled player joins the lower account, searches for matches, and then the low-level account leaves upon successfully joining a lobby.

The RICOCHET team tried to address it by enhancing AFK detection to battle against account boosting. Yet, the lower-skilled account can just leave before the match starts, so this change doesn’t adequately address that issue.

This isn’t the only RICOCHET anti-cheat controversy. A CoD hacker claims that an exploit let them falsely ban thousands of Warzone and MW3 players.