Apex Legends hacker banned mid-match amid Respawn anti-cheat upgrades

Apex Legends players have been reporting a higher number of live bans in the game than usual and it has the community hopeful that Respawn’s commitment to an improved anti-cheat system is paying off. 

Respawn Entertainment’s anti-cheat efforts in Apex have long been a topic of contention in the community. The major tipping point was back in Season 9 when the dev team promised some serious upgrades to the game’s security measures to prevent cheating from happening, and it seemed to culminate back in August with the addition of two new hires to the game’s security team.

While the difference may have been negligible at first, a new clip has players sharing their recent experience with live bans and how the tides seem to be turning against the hackers more and more often in Season 11.

Apex Legends cheater’s live ban shows anti-cheat improvements

The cheater in question takes on a few fights towards the end of the game, hitting some unbelievably tough shots as they decimate a good portion of the lobby.

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After clearing their 16th kill, wixy is disconnected from the lobby without a moment’s notice.

The difference between a regular disconnect and a ban is easy to spot, as a ban registers instantaneously on the server whereas a player whose connection has been interrupted will either stand stock-still or repeat the same input that was happening when the problem arose.

One commenter confirmed Cobbo’s suspicion about this being a punishment for the hacker: “I think so cos I had a teammate that was clearly cheating and I reported him and it happened just like that.”

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Another user shared a story about how Apex’s Security Lead Conor “Hideouts” Ford is actively working to keep the game safe: “I was watching Bullet play ranked a few nights ago, he died to a 2 stack of cheaters and one getting boosted. He clipped it and send it to hideouts, within 5 minutes they were banned mid-game. Funny s**t to see.”

While hacking certainly won’t go away overnight, the steady efforts of Respawn could net them a big victory in the long run.