In competitive games, nothing causes as much frustration as being beaten up by a cheater. That’s why a functioning anti-cheat system is so important in games like Call of Duty: Warzone. However, this does not always run smoothly, especially the so-called shadow bans often lead to problems for honest players. What exactly a shadow ban is, why this anti-cheat system also has disadvantages and what you can do about it, you can find out in this article.
What is a Shadow Ban?
If you encounter a cheater in Call of Duty: Warzone, you can report them in-game. Let’s call this player Brutus for simplicity’s sake. If enough complaints are received, Warzone’s anti-cheat system Ricochet will take a closer look at this Brutus. So while it checks to see if this player is a cheater, our dear Brutus receives a Shadow Ban.
Brutus is only thrown into special lobbies that are full of players who, like him, have received a shadow ban – i.e. potential cheaters. The chances of success for Brutus are of course in the basement, and it shouldn’t be too much fun for him either. It serves him right if Brutus really is a cheater. But what if he was falsely reported?
Why is that a problem?
Over and over again, innocent players receive a shadow ban and have to struggle against all kinds of cheaters. And it happens in secret. Our dear Brutus has not received any notification that he is subject to a shadow ban. It takes an average of one to two weeks until it is clarified whether he is really cheating. Until then, Warzone is virtually unplayable for Brutus;
What can be done about it? Almost nothing. You can contact Activision’s official support and hope that the ban will end sooner, but most of the time only patient waiting will help.
Who is affected?
Theoretically, anyone can be affected, but influencers are particularly vulnerable. Streamers and other content creators are often reported simply because they are known, because they are not liked or for other, non-game-related reasons.
Activision needs to do a better job at least protecting their creators from shadowbans. My TL is full of their own creators people who grind and promote their game day in and day out get shadowbanned. We just need to do better 😭 please
– RØKKR Smixie (@iSmixie) July 19, 2022
Streamers like (Fivebyfivex), (Rhys Price) and (RØKKR Smixie) already got a Shadow Ban, the Content Creator Metaphor already suffered this punishment twice innocently.
How do you know you are subject to a Shadow Ban
Although you won’t receive a direct notification from Activision, there are a few indications of a Shadow Ban:
- Very high ping in every match: No matter how good your internet is, you play with a ping of often over 200.
- Matchmaking takes much longer: Since the pool of other players is much smaller than usual, you will have to wait much longer for the match to happen.
- You will be completely destroyed: Even if only half of the opponents subject to a Shadow Ban are actually cheating… Then you won’t stand a chance.
In addition to the Shadow Ban, there are other systems in Warzone to make life difficult for cheaters. For example, all weapons are taken away from detected cheaters so that they can no longer defend themselves.
What do you think of shadow bans? Do you think it’s a good but immature idea, or should the system be scrapped altogether? Feel free to let us know in the comments!
