What You Need to Know
Ricochet, Call of Duty’s anticheat software, stands as the guardian against exploits, relentlessly protecting Black Ops 6 and the newly merged Warzone. Recently, the team announced that they have removed 19,000 cheaters from ranked play and continue to conduct routine purges of the leaderboards. Despite these efforts, many players feel frustrated, claiming it’s nearly impossible to enjoy ranked matches or Warzone without encountering cheaters. Console players are especially exasperated as they’re compelled into crossplay with PC users for ranked battles.
I’ll be honest: if you’re cheating in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, I’m not angry, just deeply disappointed. It’s truly disheartening to see people spending money on hacks to fake their progress in a competitive game instead of embracing the journey like the rest of us.
Rant aside, Team Ricochet recently shared updates a week into Black Ops 6’s ranked play mode. On paper, it sounds promising.
As predicted by veterans of the game, the moment ranked matches went live, a wave of cheaters followed. While 19,000 bans might seem like a significant number, it’s just a fraction when compared to the overall player base. Although any action against cheating is appreciated, it doesn’t seem to be enough. While I’m not a developer, I can’t help but wish Ricochet functioned as effectively as intended.
However, it is reassuring to see efforts being made to safeguard the leaderboards’ integrity. Within just a day, several names popped up in the prestigious top 250, and many were quickly suspected of foul play.
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We just want to play the game properly, guys. Stop spoiling our fun. (Image credit: Activision)
Console players, in particular, have every right to feel aggrieved. Black Ops 6’s ranked matches force them into crossplay with PC players, where most cheaters tend to thrive. Yes, there are a few cheaters on consoles, but significantly less. I’m looking at you, Cronus users.
Though I’m not the most skilled player, I’ve mostly enjoyed my time with Black Ops 6. Occasionally, you’ll run into blatant cheaters during public matches, but in ranked, it feels like there’s one in every game—even at the low levels. It’s gratifying when your team wins despite this, but it’s undeniably infuriating.
I’m not sure what the ultimate fix is, but we need one. Cheaters are banned only for more to emerge, and I remember when EA faulted the Steam Deck for cheating issues. We simply want to play and relish our games. This cheating epidemic is such a downer.
