Destiny 2 launched on the PC with a controversy surrounding players who were banned within 24 hours of the game’s release. Bungie took a hardline stance against the use of software that could be used to cheat in the game and there were the usual posts flooding forums claiming innocence. The developer clarified Tuesday the game even checks cheat apps unrelated to Destiny .
Bungie Community Manager Chris “Cozmo23” Shannon posted in the official forums and the Destiny subreddit concerning how PC bans are being handled. He explained the studio does not differentiate between cheat tools made for Destiny 2 and those made of other games because “it would be easy to make a cheat tool that pretends to be a cheat tool for another game.”
PC players who have any cheat tools installed on their computer are advised to make sure they are not running when starting Destiny 2 .
Shannon went on to explain Bungie does not ban users for having debuggers running in the background like Visual Studio. However, those who attempt to use a debugger on Destiny 2 while the game is running will find themselves banned from the game.
As previously covered , Bungie does not ban players from using third-party applications like Discord, Open Broadcast Software, MSI Afterburner, FRAPS, and others. Some applications may cause compatibility problems with Destiny 2 but users will not be banned by having them running in the background.
Destiny 2 bans for running cheat software on the PC can be particularly harsh. A help article that explains restrictions and banning policies reveals bans can be applied to both the account and device level. This means a player may not play the game again from either their Blizzard account or the offending PC. Meanwhile, those who receive a restriction will eventually gain access to Destiny 2 again after the ban expires.
The harshness of bans for using cheat software on the PC has left some Destiny 2 players wondering why similar penalties are not used against those who use Denial of Service (DoS) attacks against others in the Crucible. Those caught attacking other players’ connections to gain an advantage are typically given a temporary suspension, but players have complained seeing the same players in Trials of the Nine and listed in online leaderboards with stats that reflect continued cheating.
[Featured Image by Bungie/Activision]
