The long ban hammer of the law might take a while, but it always catches up with Apex Legends cheaters. Respawn is very keen to keep their beloved battle royale game blessedly clear of cheaters and exploit users, and the latest ban wave continues that trend.
Respawn security analyst Conor Ford recently announced on his Twitter that over 700 players have been permanently banned since last week. Those include Gold and Predator-ranked players that took advantage of an exploit that allowed them to match against lower-ranked players and just go on a stomping spree.
The last time this happened was back in February when 507 players on PS5 alone were banned for the remainder of the season. Respawn obviously wants to keep their games as fair as possible for the overall health of Apex Legends, and especially now that a lot of new players are coming to the game via the Nintendo Switch port.
Conor also mentions the recent Heat Shield exploit that allowed players to exist outside the circle for as long as they wanted. That exploit was patched as of March 15, but Respawn is still combing through game data trying to find players that abused the exploit. They’ll be banned in a separate wave, according to Conor.
Keeping track of cheaters and hackers is a full-time job, which is why Rockstar is hiring for its security teams to clean up GTA and Red Dead Online. A recent job posting for Rockstar Games India reveals a renewed focus from the developer to tackle the problem of cheating in its online games, something that has long been a problem.
Besides the constant threat of cheating, the latest problem with Apex Legends is an accidental Mirage nerf. If Mirage has a golden backpack equipped, an electrical effect makes him visible even when his passive should make him invisible while reviving a fallen teammate.
As for the Apex players that took advantage of the Heat Shield exploit, it sounds like your days are numbered.