Cheating in matchmaking? For as long as games have existed, people have found ways to manipulate the game. These cheaters are present in every genre, but more so in competitive games. People expose cheaters for their unsportsmanlike deeds, but that doesn’t stop others from trying. These undetected players go every day, ruining the experience for other players.
Valve Corporation is not safe from rampant cheating in matchmaking and game manipulation scandals. It has its cases of players fixing matches, as well as teams cheating in professional games. The solution is a permanent ban or one lasting 6 months. Players learn from these consequences, at the expense of never competing in Valve events ever again. For the non-pros, however, they can simply make a new account and call it a day.
The Reddit user neco_dota posted on the Dota2 subreddit asking if Dota hacks are easy to get or not. What they found are 4 hacks that not only work, but some of them have aged already. Two of the hacks neco_dota found to have their last update during 2020. The hacks include map zoom, maphack, illusion and vision hacks, and a VAC bypasser hack. The question now is Valve’s silence in addressing these hacks.
The Valve Anti-Cheat System
Historically, Valve conducts bans on accounts called VAC bans. These are notable since they mass-ban accounts over a few days. Valve Anti-Cheat of VAC is an automated system that detects installed cheats. If a VAC-protected server detects cheating in matchmaking, the servers ban them. The severity of the ban is long enough to count as a lifetime ban, with bans spanning years.
With hacks bypassing VAC bans, there are times when a manual review of individual cases is needed. Valve doesn’t have a department dedicated to reviewing these cases, but they have other means of solving this problem.
Community-Based Solutions
On January 28, 2021, Valve implemented Dota 2’s version of Overwatch. Unlike Overwatch, this feature allows the community to check games for cheating. A community that can verify reports is efficient, as they would know the signs better. Since implementation, many cases were reported and given due penalties.
With reports of hacks coming out of the woodwork, Valve is expected to address them. In the anticipated Muerta Update, community members are expecting fixes to the problem.
