Hackers and cheaters have plagued Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare since the game launched, while fans argue whether it is a product of crossplay or the inability of Activision to combat the problem. No matter the case, hackers are continuing to ruin the game for hundreds of players and forcing Warzone fans to choose between their love of the game and hatred of cheaters.
This leaves fans with several options. Players will either ignore the problem, quit because of it, or learn to deal with it directly. Activision has given fans the tools to report cheating Modern Warfare players, but there are other ways to bring down hackers. Remembering a couple of quick tips, tricks, and skills can ruin a hacker's game and bring about the ban that they deserve.
Confirming A Hacker
The first step to identifying a hacker is to watch their movements and behavior. Most Modern Warfare aimbots and wallhacks can be easily noticed through pre-aiming and erratic auto-locking motions. Aimbots normally target the head of enemies, making it appear jumpy to precise points. When mixed with a wallhack, players will have a tendency to aim at other players that are not visible at that exact moment.
A great example of aimbot behavior is the six-month-long hacker that had a full discussion with TimTheTatMan. This hacker spends some time answering Tim's questions while running through the map auto-locking on targets and getting insane kills in a round of Warzone. The moments he displayed along with the accuracy and snap-to precision are all signs that an aimbot is at work.
Wallhacks have a similar pattern. Players that use wallhacks have a tendency to forget they are cheating and turn instantly on players hiding in unconventional spots. One great tip to detecting a wallhacking player is to hide somewhere near the map boundary where the opponents have no reason to go. If they still can find the hidden player, then there is a high chance that something extra suspicious is happening on their backend.
Reporting A Hacker
Once a hacking player is confirmed, the best thing to do is to report them immediately. As shown in Activision's ban waves, it does not take much for the system to ban an account. Once the account is banned, there isn't much players can do about it. Activision operates on a one-strike system with no built-in way to appeal for accounts to be returned once deleted. This permanent solution may seem harsh, but it is a highly effective deterrent to the hacking problem within Warzone.
Once the Modern Warfare or Warzone report is filed, players should gather up screenshots and video clips of the offending player. By building up evidence, players can educate other fans about what hacker behavior looks like as well as have a prebuilt stockpile to double down on any reported case. Activision will accept screenshots and video clips submitted as evidence of hacking as long as the offending player's name is visible.
Posting the recorded content to developers observed social media platforms like the official Modern Warfare and Warzone Reddit feeds could also help reduce the number of hackers on Activision servers. It is important that the game's community continues to work together towards stopping hackers by consistently gathering evidence and reporting any hacker or cheater encountered in the game. There are already tons of players gathered around community outlets sharing their strategies, tips, and tricks on how they personally deal with cheating players. Committing clips to these groups can help educate the game's community and bring about the change that fans want to see in Modern Warfare and Warzone.
Dealing With A Hacker
Once the hacker has been properly reported and documented, the best thing that players can do is find a way to bring some fun back into the round. One great tip that self-proclaimed hackers have shared is the aimbot's weakness to Riot Shields. Because the aimbot automatically aims towards the head of targetted players, it becomes near impossible for them to stop an advancing Riot Shield user.
Wallhack users tend to fall for the same problem, but they come with an additional weakness. Warzone cheaters using wallhacks tend to become so focused on the other players that they forget to check corners of see where they are walking. Players that suspect that a wallhack user is in their lobby are advised to equip Claymores and Bouncing Bettys and place them in sharp corners. By using their character as bait, they can set up traps for the wallhack user to fall into, thereby making the game exceedingly unpleasant for the cheater and bringing some vindication back to the player.
Although it is easier to simply quit the game, players should consider staying for the chance of overcoming the hacking player. Players in the lobby should work together to report the offending player, but also maintain a safe distance and ensure that they do not make it to a nuclear killstreak. From wielding explosives to lucky shots, players should work together to overcome the hacking player and prevent them from ruining the game for the entire lobby.
By working together, the Call of Duty community can make an impact on the number of hackers populating the game. Consistently reporting players and gathering information help make it strikingly obvious that a hacker was present. With the validation system operation, the game alerts players when a ban was performed as a result of their report. Every day more players are banned from playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone because of dedicated community members standing up to the cheaters.
It has become a habit of many players who wish to avoid hackers to simply throw matches and ruin their K/D in an effort to trick the skill-based matchmaking system. By convincing the system that players are playing at a lower skill level, they can get queued below wallhack and aimbot using players who tend to have unreasonably high K/Ds. Although this is not a full-proof system, it has helped many players rekindle their love for the franchise and avoid the hacking problem completely.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.