Blizzard Warms Up Banhammer for StarCraft II Cheaters

[John Funk]

Blizzard Warms Up Banhammer for StarCraft II Cheaters

If you have been cheating in games of StarCraft II [http://www.amazon.com/Starcraft-II-Wings-Liberty-Pc/dp/B000ZKA0J6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1284499840&sr=8-1] online, it may already be too late for you to repent.

Let's get one thing straight: Cheating in online games ain't cool, brothers. It's one thing to win a game via skill and proper planning; it's another to win a game because you were using a modified client of the game that told you every single one of your opponent's moves in advance. That stuff just isn't kosher, yeah?

Blizzard agrees. The developer is already known for sweeping bans of hundreds of thousands of cheaters [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/100152-Blizzard-Busts-320-000-in-Battle-net-Ban], and big blue looks to be warming up its mighty hammer for another swing, StarCraft II style. The following came in from Blizzard earlier today:

[blockquote]Blizzard Entertainment has always taken cheating in any form in Blizzard games very seriously, and that's no different for StarCraft II. If a StarCraft II player is found to be cheating or using hacks or modifications in any form, then as outlined in our end user license agreement, that player can be permanently banned from the game. This means that the player will be permanently unable to log in to Battle.net to play StarCraft II with his or her account.

Playing StarCraft II legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client. Doing otherwise violates our policies for Battle.net, and it goes against the spirit of fair play that all of our games are based on. We strongly recommend that you avoid using any hacks, cheats, or exploits. Suspensions and bans of players that have used or start using cheats and hacks will begin in the near future. [/blockquote]

In other words, don't think that quitting the cheater scene this instant is going to save you: Blizzard may already have you on its nuke list. It's like when the guy from Fist of the North Star would tell his enemies, "You are already dead," and they'd be all "Huh?" but then their heart would explode. Only here, the consequence is less of a brutal and bloody death and more of you having to schlep on down to GameStop to pick up a new copy of the game.

And this is why we don't cheat, people.

Permalink

 

[lacktheknack]

Maybe it will be safe to enter the Multiplayer area now... maybe.

 

[Fallen-Angel Risen-Demon]

Yay.
I don't like RTS's in general ('cept for one but let's not get into that...) but we can all agree that cheaters and hackers are bad.

 

[SnootyEnglishman]

Well i guess Korea's fucked.

 

[Jack and Calumon]

I take it these guys tried to fake the funk against you, John?

OT:
What do you want me to say; pwned?

Calumon: No, that word hurts my head.

 

[GoGo_Boy]

And hacking they are, quite a lot. But recently Warden got activated for SC2 (and again de-activated I think lolz ;P).

There are a lot maphacks out there and other exploits. Already looking forward the incautious fuckers getting banned <3

 

[Cynical skeptic]

it's another to win a game because you were using a modified client of the game that told you every single one of your opponent's moves in advance.

Oh come on! if the AI opponents can do it, why can't I?

 

[jamesworkshop]

Hell its about time

Cheater ruin online games

 

[Alar]

What do they mean by cheating, anyways? Wait, they could see their enemies movies? That's weird. What kind of hack would do that?

 

[Azaraxzealot]

people using bots are who annoy me the most...

 

[BobisOnlyBob]

The major difference between this and Warcraft III/Original Starcraft cheating is that accounts are purchased, rather than simply created. You actually have to pay for a new account every time you get banned, or wait out the ban duration. And if you're caught hacking the client for multiplayer games, you're gonna get banned.

I support modifying game clients for solo and off-competitive play (ie. players agree to use modified clients, servers and rules), but when playing on Blizzard's servers, you play by Blizzard's rules.

 

[Credge]

And this is why we don't cheat, people.

Oh.

Here I was thinking we didn't cheat because cheating was lame.

Now I know we don't cheat only for the fear of getting caught and not because we're good people.

 

[samsonguy920]

In other words, don't think that quitting the cheater scene this instant is going to save you: Blizzard may already have you on its nuke list. It's like when the guy from Fist of the North Star would tell his enemies, "You are already dead," and they'd be all "Huh?" but then their heart would explode. Only here, the consequence is less of a brutal and bloody death and more of you having to schlep on down to GameStop to pick up a new copy of the game.

Considering it was stated that

Playing StarCraft II legitimately means playing with an unaltered game client. Doing otherwise violates our policies for Battle.net, and it goes against the spirit of fair play that all of our games are based on.

Then it is likely more than just their copy of SC2 is gonna get banned. If Blizzard goes after the user's Battle.net account then they are out of also any other games(World of Warcraft, Diablo 3 when it finally comes out...) currently registered on that account. Makes getting caught for cheating all the more painful. And with what of RealID that is still being implemented, it could make starting a new B.net account all the more difficult.
Which all of that I am fine with. I don't cheat, I will strongly discourage my friends from cheating, and I certainly would not want to play with a cheater. Frankly I don't see the reward other than feeling more sure about how little of a spine you have, and now there is quite the penalty.
Also makes it all the more important to do what you can to keep your account secure. You can bet those who cheat and get caught will be more than happy to hack another person's account just to continue playing and cheating. Or even skip getting their own account banned and just go after other people's accounts so they have less feedback on themselves.

 

[Supp]

Here is my question. What kinds of hacks are out there anyway? Is it just a map-hack or are they actually able to make units build faster or be invincible from terrible terrible damage?

I've just heard about maphacks and drophacks. The others are probably too easy to spot.

 

[Amnestic]

it's another to win a game because you were using a modified client of the game that told you every single one of your opponent's moves in advance.

Oh come on! if the AI opponents can do it, why can't I?

Having watched the SC2 "Behind the Scenes" DVD, the AI opponents don't know, at least according to Blizzard. They still send out scouts and whatnot so either they're deliberately coded to act as if they don't know or Blizzard weren't lying and they have in fact got an RTS AI opponent which doesn't cheat. Hell, I think it even limits their APM with regards to their difficulty settings.

I can't wait to see the QQing from people who watched their B.Net account get banhammered for cheating.