Here we go again, because Activision’s anti-cheat system Ricochet has been bypassed by Call of Duty hackers. Because there’s no way they can go through at least one game cycle without having a massive cheating problem at this point. The thing is, there’s really no way to rein in hackers at this point, especially because they’re circumnavigating the anti-cheat. It’s pretty impressive how they’re doing it, but will Call of Duty survive the problem?
Which Call of Duty Games Are Affected?
Well, that’s kind of the problem. The Call of Duty games that come out every year are usually a wash, rinse, repeat cycle so the code in each is much the same. That means that none of the games currently are safe from hacking, and the future games look iffy unless something is fixed. Developers for Activision have said they’re trying to fix the issues with Ricochet, the anti-cheat software, but it’s a tough situation. Warzone is especially affected, since it hosts the highest consistent player base of all Call of Duty games.
Modern Warfare 3 is also seeing the brunt of it, with wall hacks being the most common alongside Aimbot. The series multiplayer servers have been pretty awful to play in recently without hacks thanks to the insane amount of cheating. Players will get hit through walls or just have bullets follow them to the ends of the earth. Meanwhile, Ricochet can’t do anything about it because the hackers have figured out how to pass the system. It’s a vicious cycle too, because every new measure just emboldens the hackers more.
Ricochet
The premiere anti-cheat system used by Activision in every Call of Duty game isn’t what it used to be. There are still a damn good amount of innovations coming in for it, especially when it comes to stopping cheaters, but it’s just not enough. With any kind of hacking, combating it is a game of one step forward, two steps back, as beating hackers just makes them more determined. Now, Ricochet has taken more hostile measures by implementing in-game consequences for players thought to be cheating.
The latest updates that have been enraging Warzone hackers are to the Splat system. This detects anyone going into Warzone with hacks, and before they can deploy a parachute to drop in, it’s disabled. Players fall to their deaths for everyone to see if they’re thought to be hacking, and it was a nice change of pace for a while. Unfortunately, it only aggravated hackers to find their way around the measures, and it’s gotten much, much worse.
Warzone Hackers
Hackers have been screwing up Warzone games since it came out in 2019, and it’s only gotten worse. Now with the use of aimbots, wall hacks, esp radars, and other cheats that are readily available, games have been rough. Players find themselves taken out by magic bullets from nowhere, or even found in the best of camouflage. Nothing is enough to get away from the hackers if they want to win the game, and usually, it’s a profit motive that keeps them going. When it comes to Warzone, or any Call of Duty game, there’s always money to be made in the online rankings.
Hackers in Warzone do the same thing as hackers in every competitive game– level up accounts to sell them for real money. People want to have the fun of playing without the grind, and a lot of people are willing to pay a ridiculous amount to do it. Some accounts in the top 250 ranks on Warzone have sold for almost USD 600, it’s just a matter of knowing where to look. With that kind of money on the line, it’s pretty obvious why people end up hacking Warzone to take the fast route. Some even do multiple a week, and considering the cost of groceries, they need every last dollar.
How Hackers Circumnavigate Ricochet
The main way that Ricochet tries to cut back on hacking is by routinely running a check on players. Scanning both the game file itself and the player’s system, it also takes a screenshot at the same time. Usually, this ensures that even if the player is using a third-party radar extension or something like that, it can still be seen. Assuming Ricochet detects someone using hacks, it immediately issues a command to initiate Splat in Warzone. Modern Warfare 3 players will be thrown out of the game completely. If players have already dropped in on Warzone before cheats are detected, jump sensitivity turns way up, to the point of falling to your death.
Hackers have figured out a way around this that’s deceptively simple though. They simply code in an order that turns off the hacks when Ricochet begins scanning. With the hacks off, Ricochet finishes the scan and goes on to another player, leaving hackers with no issues. It’s an amazingly easy way to bypass the system, and getting much more common as others figure out the coding involved. Some sites like VeteranCheats will sell code premade for the game, and tell players how to install it. These days it’s pretty easy to cheat at video games for everyone as long as they’re willing to do a little work
With any new Call of Duty is going to come new hacks to the game. No doubt Activision and devs are working on a fix to Ricochet, but how long until a way around that is found? Hackers just get more determined the more they’re told not to do something, so they’re not likely to give up any time soon. With cheats already circumnavigating the anti-cheat, it’s only a matter of time before they break right through the walls of Call of Duty.