10 Most Creative Traps For Video Game Cheaters

Cheating is a common problem in online games and otherwise. Even the least competitive title will inevitably entice less honest players to try and gain an advantage, and although developers might try to ban them all, sometimes more creative solutions are implemented.

Since banning cheaters usually leads to them simply creating a new account, some developers like to use special, more imaginative solutions to discourage people from cheating or make them less of a nuisance to regular gamers.

These creative solutions really elevate the thankless task of dealing with hackers and exploiters to a whole new level. They can use the cheaters’ own tools against them, make their game run terribly while using cheats, or mark them so that they are sent to a special server where they won’t bother anyone.

In each case, dealing with cheaters isn’t as simple as banning their account. These strategies are deliberately designed to help keep a cheater out of the loop and prevent them from making new accounts for a much longer amount of time.

The following anti-cheating methods are guaranteed to make you appreciate developers’ creativity and the fact you don’t have to be subjected to them.

The Call of Duty series has always struggled with cheaters on its multiplayer servers. The problem is so notorious that in recent years Activision has started the Ricochet initiative, a special program dedicated to combating cheating.

The program has utilized a number of really interesting anti-cheat strategies, a couple of which will appear on this list. In the case of Modern Warfare II, the most creative trap Ricochet has used for hackers is cloaking.

When Ricochet notices a player running Modern Warfare II through suspicious third-party software, it will "cloak" players during online matches.

Specifically, it will cloak all the other players in the match, turning them and their bullets completely invisible for the cheater.

When they log onto a match, they can't see anything but an empty map... And then likely an instant death screen caused by a barrage of invisible bullets out of nowhere.

The punishment is meant to completely ruin the online experience for a hacker while also rendering them harmless to regular players before they can be properly banned.

Considering the concept of invisible enemies is both irritating and terrifying, it seems to be doing its job well.