It is no secret that cheating is rampant in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III. This is the reason why developer Infinity Ward employed anti-cheat measures to ensure that these hackers do not ruin the fun for everybody. While the intention is good, it seems that the game's anti-cheat may have been too aggressive in banning players, so much so that some people in the community have been "shadowbanned" for no good reason.
Caught Cheating?
Shadowbanning in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Warzone is a term used to refer to someone getting banned if that player is suspected of cheating. This is an automated process initiated by the game's anti-cheat. After some investigation, if the player is not found guilty, the ban will be lifted and they can play the game again.
That said, a disgruntled player has recently posted a video on Reddit showcasing how they got banned just by playing the game. Near the end of the clip, the player was kicked out of the match for no apparent reason. Redditor @Gojirha stated that they have a respectable kill-death ratio (KDR) and that they are now unable to enter any game mode. The shadowban took place after eliminating a few opponents in an efficient way.
Some players suspect Gojirha of using a controller. For those who do not know, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III has aim assist enabled for players who opt to use controllers when playing the game. However, in the video posted by the disgruntled player, it clearly shows keybinds that can only be found when using a mouse and keyboard, effectively debunking the claims that they were using a controller in this particular situation.
Other people are siding with Gojirha, with one stating that nothing in the video showed that they were cheating.
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Possible Reasons
Although it is unfortunate that a player got shadowbanned just because the system accused them of cheating, the community has some speculations as to the real reason why Gojirha got booted out.
Redditor @Reciprocative said that those who are killed by an exceptionally good player just assume that the player is using some sort of hack to gain the upper hand. However, most of the MW3 community does not even know the difference between someone who is hacking and those who are just really good at the game. "It's absolutely baffling that reports govern shadowbans so liberally in a game with a large proportion of casuals that don't even know what cheating looks like, they added."
Another Redditor did not mince words and said that the game is banning legitimately good players, while the system lets hackers get away unscathed.
Whatever the reason is, it is definitely baffling for someone to get shadowbanned over nothing. It would be great if the company is able to provide some feedback or message that tells the player why they got banned in the first place.
While it is good that the company is doing what it can to prevent hackers, the game's anti-cheat certainly needs more refinement to prevent a situation like this from happening ever again.
What can you say about this? Have you experienced getting shadowbanned in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III? Let us know in the comments.
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