Valve may not have released a new update for Dota 2 before Lima Major, but it did something that a lot of players loved. A total of 40,000 accounts were permanently banned for using third-party software to cheat. While that is indeed good news, what makes it even better is how Valve went about it.
Cheating has long been a problem in video games, especially in multiplayer titles. In the case of Dota 2, complaints of cheating are apparent in pubs and semi-pro level.
So, what did Valve do? First, the developer studied what the third-party software was and what it could do. It turned out that the software could access information used internally by the Dota 2 client. This information wasn't visible during normal gameplay and it gave cheaters an unfair advantage.
Valve revealed that once it understood the methods the cheaters were using, it released a patch which "created a honeypot." This was a section of data inside that game client which was never read during normal gameplay but could be read by these third-party software. That means accounts accessing the data were immediately tagged as cheaters and this gave Valve the confidence that the bans are legitimate.
In a post, Valve shared that while the recent ban wave is indeed large, it's just the latest action in an ongoing campaign. Generally, the fight against cheaters and cheat developers occurs behind the scenes. In this one, however, Valve wanted it to be visible and to make its position clear. That is, for players running any application which reads data from the Dota 2 client as they're playing games, their account will be permanently banned from playing the game. Professional players will also be banned from joining all Valve competitive events if proven using such applications.
Valve reminded everyone that as a game, Dota 2 can be enjoyed best by playing on an even field. It’s a game where players win through skill and tenacity. However, some are going to continue to develop and use new exploits to get the upper hand and win. Valve promised that it’ll continue working to detect and remove these exploits and of course, ban players who cheat.
What did you think of Valve’s action? Dota 2 is available on PC through Steam.
