Cheating occurs in all online multiplayer games, with the likes of Call of Duty: Warzone coming under heavy criticism for its lack of anti-cheat systems to keep impostors out. Apex Legends is no exception, and the later weeks of Season 8 were rampant with cheaters and hackers, especially if you ventured to the eddying heights of the Apex Legends ranks.
Your only method of combating hackers – other than contacting Respawn’s ban hammer-wielding security guard Conor ‘Hideouts’ Ford himself – is using the game’s report function, which was somewhat limited before now. The same goes for reporting harassment or reporting inappropriate names, which is all too common in online gaming.
Up until this point, there have only been a few options to select when describing why you are reporting someone. There are four ways to describe cheating (shot me with no line of sight, aim was snapping to targets, moving in impossible ways, or ammo or recoil was unusual) and six options for abuse (offensive speech, spam, harassment, hate speech, suicide threat, or inappropriate name).
However, dataminer KralRindo has found more options in the games files, which suggests that Respawn is increasing its vigilance when it comes to reporting cheating and harassment.
The new report options include: smurfing, gameplay exploit, drug/firearm references, stalking, abandoning a match early, inactivity, teaming, sabotage, and obscene content.
others pic.twitter.com/QWHrAFWQmx
— KralRindo (@kralrindo) May 4, 2021
This means that if you see one of the biggest streamers in your Bronze lobby, or your Wraith teammate quits out immediately after being downed, you might be able to report them in the future.
The addition of stalking is also interesting, as it could either refer to creepy teammates or hackers like the infamous ‘Tufi,’ who specifically targeted streamer Shivam ‘ShivFPS’ Patel and repeatedly joined his lobbies in order to grief him.
These additional reporting methods are datamined, so could change at any point, but it is encouraging to see Respawn looking at more ways to tackle cheating, abuse, and unsporting conduct in Apex Legends.
The Loadout has contacted Respawn for comment on the datamine.