Though not technically cheating, players enjoying the Outriders demo quickly found a few ways to game the system shortly after its release. One of these techniques involved chest farming by replaying certain story moments over and over so players could grab the best Legendary loot in the game. Developer People Can Fly responded to the farming efforts by making some changes to drop rates and steering players towards farming in side quests, but the tricks will remain viable in the full launch of the game. However, blatant cheating to get Legendary loot will not be tolerated, and People Can Fly is taking a pretty aggressive stance toward cheaters.
Developer People Can Fly has reported that out of the 2 million players that have played the Outriders demo, only 200 have been identified as cheaters. This is a pretty small percentage, and the developer doesn't expect it to grow that much when the full game releases. This is good news for Outriders fans, because some games have millions of cheaters that are typically found during large developer ban waves. Publisher Square Enix has already stated that Outriders knows when players use cheats to obtain Legendary items, but now these cheaters will be getting a permanent visual reminder of their decision.
In a recent developer update, People Can Fly revealed that players caught cheating in Outriders will be given a "discreet but visible" on-screen watermark that won't disappear. There will also be matchmaking penalties meant to hinder cheaters' efforts to join squads with honest gamers, but the watermark may make it so that cheaters simply don't want to play again. The developer also outlined a list of what constitutes cheating in Outriders, including modifying game files or installing game-altering programs.
- Intentionally running the game on PC without Easy Anti Cheat (EAC).
- Modifying game files to enhance a character: levels, skills, inventory, etc.
- Externally modifying game time to reduce time dependent features such as vendors and challenges.
- Using a trainer program or similar to gain advantages within the game.
- Using gameplay altering programs such as aimbots or wallhacks.
People Can Fly's anti-cheat measures are primarily aimed at streamers and Reddit users claiming to hold secret knowledge on how to get Legendary items easily. However, these specific measures won't include an account ban. The watermark brand will be placed on a cheater's HUD, so any gameplay video will be viewed by the development team as coming from a marked account. Other players won't be able to see the watermark, and it also seems like cheaters will still be able to play through the game and earn trophies in Outriders.
However, since Outriders is designed as a multiplayer experience, that fun will probably be heavily mitigated. People Can Fly did say that players caught cheating while trying to get to the max level in the Outriders demo will have a chance to clear their names before the game's full launch. Players must delete all characters and items on the cheat account and shouldn't try to carry over any progress from the demo to the main game. Outriders' release on April 1 will present a clean slate opportunity for all players, but unfortunately not everyone will take advantage of it.
Outriders is set to release April 1st, for PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.