Four-time Destiny 2 champion permabanned despite pleading innocent

One of Destiny 2’s most prolific players has been permanently banned for cheating but insists it was a misunderstanding with Bungie Security flagging an unrelated program.

Destiny 2 is a game known for its immense skill ceiling and endless grind. However, some players choose to skip the hundreds of hours required to be competitive at the highest level and instead turn to cheats.

Cheating has been a longstanding issue with players going far beyond traditional wallhacks and aimbots. There have been cases of Guardians flying around the map one-shotting everyone in sight, offering zero counterplay in the process.

The topic of cheating becomes especially heated when discussing world firsts, sensational feats that only the best players can accomplish which is exactly why this latest ban has proven so controversial.

Destiny 2 world first champion disputes permanent ban

Four times Destiny 2 world first champion Cruz has been permanently banned after Bungie Security accused him of the use of “editing/debugging software marketed as a cheat program,” with Bungie even checking that it was not a false positive.

Following the permanent ban, Cruz exploded on X/Twitter slamming the Destiny developer: “You just can’t make this up man. Considering the fact that I described in detail the program and what’s its purpose is for (cannot alter any files or inputs related to gaming) this is UNREAL!”

No conversation…just a simple statement that they claim to be true.

For those wondering, when I play older Total War games (rts games if you don't know) the economy system is dated and I usually run a program to alleviate the system beyond what out-dated workshop mods can do.

— Cruz (@thetvCruz) February 22, 2024

Elaborating further, Cruz claimed, “When I play older Total War games (RTS games if you don’t know) the economy system is dated and I usually run a program to alleviate the system beyond what out-dated workshop mods can do,” believing this program is what got flagged by the anti-cheat.

He reaffirmed, “This program once again cannot alter any files as it strictly is limited to working with the economy of these games,” admitting that the program was, “still active in the background,” as he had been playing Shogun 2 shortly before logging into Destiny.

Cruz’s ban is a historic event with him being recognized as being a part of the world’s first clears for Vault of Glass, Vow of the Disciple, King’s Fall, and Crota’s End. If this is not a mistake and cheating was involved it would raise serious questions over the legitimacy of those achievements.