Some clarification on the recent ban wave

Kabam Crashed

Hi everyone. Obviously there is a lot of consternation and confusion right now over the recent bans. I just wanted to clarify a few things.

As the official post says, playing on a client distributed by anybody other than us or our official partners could get you flagged for a ban. Yes, this means if you sideloaded the game you were likely flagged. Our official partners are Apple, Google, Flexion and Steam. We distribute the game on PC through the downloader at https://playcontestofchampions.com/ Those are the only official channels to get the game, if you used any other means you were likely flagged.

We tested this algorithm against hundreds of known good accounts without any false positives. Having said that, in any action this big, there might be edge cases that couldn't be accounted for in advance. We are obviously taking these reports seriously and investigating these cases.

dr2ws

I think there’s a high probability with people THINKING that they’re innocent when they aren’t, sometimes they can be blamed sometimes not I guess. But good to know you’re on it anyways 👍

Maybe the rules need to be clarified again? Maybe stupid question but it could prevent some of the genuine mistakes people made.

PT_99

Just a minute, maybe someone will answer you 👍

BringPopcorn

Well that's good news for some, now lets wait for everyone to claim they are that small margin of error

ContestOfNoobs

Yep, have to use official clients

lol so get wrecked and banned.

TotemCorruption

Good job Kabam keep the bans coming.
I no longer feel that sick feeling in my stomach when I start a BG match.

Shrodinberg

I think one of the main possible issue is if the google play store wasn't preloaded in the phone like Xiaomi or Huawei but installed through an APK,
Is it the case or is it still considered official partners @kabamcrashed ?

ĐRACULA

wanna make it clear that who didn't got ban shouldn't just say like yeah modder would say he ain't modder blah blah, many people got banned and have been playing since long time , they didn't ban modders only they banned everyone even those who use boosters cause the team doesn't optimise game enough and it lags hard on a mobile where I can high graphic games like genshin in mid-high setting so it's kabam's fault either warn through mail or just don't take such action

TotemCorruption

ĐRACULA said:

wanna make it clear that who didn't got ban shouldn't just say like yeah modder would say he ain't modder blah blah, many people got banned and have been playing since long time , they didn't ban modders only they banned everyone even those who use boosters cause the team doesn't optimise game enough and it lags hard on a mobile where I can high graphic games like genshin in mid-high setting so it's kabam's fault either warn through mail or just don't take such action

If your game’s modded, no one needs to prove you cheated—you're already not playing fair. Clean players shouldn't have to guess whether you're legit when you're running hacked code.

ĐRACULA

On the basis of probability you can just ban everyone and stop everyone from playing, it's just joke to ban someone and say it's just 7 days cause they will be kicked from ally and won't receive season reward, miss raids, already started at diamond 4 and won't get radiance from bgs , it's for those who are like it's just 7 days and a warning warning for doing what? Playing game with booster cause game lags in good enough phone

augustfromcn

None of the system in the world can ensure 100% success rate. Not to mention you just test hundreds of acounts.
And I suggest you reconsider the range who would get banned. Many people can't get the official client directly and they didn't want to cheat at all. It will affect more people than you think before. For the reason that it will force many people around them will quit the game at the same time

ĐRACULA

TotemCorruption said:

ĐRACULA said:

wanna make it clear that who didn't got ban shouldn't just say like yeah modder would say he ain't modder blah blah, many people got banned and have been playing since long time , they didn't ban modders only they banned everyone even those who use boosters cause the team doesn't optimise game enough and it lags hard on a mobile where I can high graphic games like genshin in mid-high setting so it's kabam's fault either warn through mail or just don't take such action

If your game’s modded, no one needs to prove you cheated—you're already not playing fair. Clean players shouldn't have to guess whether you're legit when you're running hacked code.

Thats what I said those who aren't effected acts this way towards everyone

TotemCorruption

ĐRACULA said:

TotemCorruption said:

ĐRACULA said:

wanna make it clear that who didn't got ban shouldn't just say like yeah modder would say he ain't modder blah blah, many people got banned and have been playing since long time , they didn't ban modders only they banned everyone even those who use boosters cause the team doesn't optimise game enough and it lags hard on a mobile where I can high graphic games like genshin in mid-high setting so it's kabam's fault either warn through mail or just don't take such action

If your game’s modded, no one needs to prove you cheated—you're already not playing fair. Clean players shouldn't have to guess whether you're legit when you're running hacked code.

Thats what I said those who aren't effected acts this way towards everyone

If your game has been modded, you're not the victim—you’re the risk. No one playing fair should have to trust that your hacked version is just for boosters or lag fixes.
That’s not how competitive games work, and you don’t get a pass just because you’ve been around a long time.

Emomike

So basically

ĐRACULA said:

On the basis of probability you can just ban everyone and stop everyone from playing, it's just joke to ban someone and say it's just 7 days cause they will be kicked from ally and won't receive season reward, miss raids, already started at diamond 4 and won't get radiance from bgs , it's for those who are like it's just 7 days and a warning warning for doing what? Playing game with booster cause game lags in good enough phone

So what are you saying you played the game with mods cause it lags on your phone?

Anotherconcernplayer

Can we get clarity on this statement

"Another couple thousand accounts have received warnings for potential infractions"

What was the warning?

1) 7 days bans

Or

2) a Msg you have been warn for potential infractions

HungaryHippo

In a competitive game where people pay money, side loading an app should not be allowed. Kudos Kabam.

BringPopcorn

ĐRACULA said:

wanna make it clear that who didn't got ban shouldn't just say like yeah modder would say he ain't modder blah blah, many people got banned and have been playing since long time , they didn't ban modders only they banned everyone even those who use boosters cause the team doesn't optimise game enough and it lags hard on a mobile where I can high graphic games like genshin in mid-high setting so it's kabam's fault either warn through mail or just don't take such action

To be fair, modder rolls better on the tongue. Calling someone a sideloader doesn't come out right and its not funny either

Eakomo

If you were so confident with the very specific test cases, why even give warning if you were so confident in the system?
every couple of years we get a new update about being able to detect cheats or accounts that modified, and yet there is no way to get any timeline that what was done to give suspicions for the ban in the first place, if actually valid

Serdar16

Bir hata olduğu kesin 10 yıldır oynuyorum. Böyle saçma bir ban atma şekli görmedim. Hesabımı derhal açın. 10 yıldır bu oyunu hakkıyla oynayan birine yaptığınız bu muamele akıl alır gibi değil

Priyabrata

also please make clear what exactly counts as 3rd party software cause there's just a whole bunch of confusing stuff popping out

Hulk808

10k people is a lot of people. I cannot picture that many people modding. I would be pissed if I was banned for no reason like a lot of people are saying.

Emilia90

Priyabrata said:

also please make clear what exactly counts as 3rd party software cause there's just a whole bunch of confusing stuff popping out

Everything that’s not the official game and official Kabam stuff is 3rd party software

JJ3

Kabam Crashed said:

We tested this algorithm against hundreds of known good accounts without any false positives. Having said that, in any action this big, there might be edge cases that couldn't be accounted for in advance. We are obviously taking these reports seriously and investigating these cases.

I received a 7-day suspension, downloading the game only through the Play Store that came on my phone, and using no 3rd party apps. I'm glad it's being taken seriously, but it makes me not want to play anymore, knowing that I can be suspended/banned in the future without any reason/justification. @kabamcrashed

Efrem0rem_

the same thing happened now. what i can't stand is not having a response from kabam and having an unmotivated ban. i don't think i'll play again

Glauberoso

Desde 2017 jogando , fiz o login no celular da minha irmã um s24 , porque o meu é um A14 , pra ver a fluidez do jogo , e levei Ban. Tem o game hub do próprio celular sansung , que acelera o celular não o jogo .

Demonzfyre

Shrodinberg said:

I think one of the main possible issue is if the google play store wasn't preloaded in the phone like Xiaomi or Huawei but installed through an APK,
Is it the case or is it still considered official partners @kabamcrashed ?

Yes. It's very possible because that's how emulators work. If Google Play isn't native to your device, it's probably the reason.

Demonzfyre

Hulk808 said:

10k people is a lot of people. I cannot picture that many people modding. I would be pissed if I was banned for no reason like a lot of people are saying.

They aren't modding. This is strictly for people whose app was not downloaded through official channels. Crashed laid the whole thing our for you and you didn't read any of it?

Demonzfyre

Priyabrata said:

also please make clear what exactly counts as 3rd party software cause there's just a whole bunch of confusing stuff popping out

ANY emulator- Example is BlueStacks.
Sideloading the game from a website and not a official download location like the website APKPure.

Hulk808

Demonzfyre said:

Hulk808 said:

10k people is a lot of people. I cannot picture that many people modding. I would be pissed if I was banned for no reason like a lot of people are saying.

They aren't modding. This is strictly for people whose app was not downloaded through official channels. Crashed laid the whole thing our for you and you didn't read any of it?

Thanks for the clarification. Don’t have to be a douche about it. 👍🏻

MoistToast

As someone who isn't banned, I'm curious as to what the "App Info" of those that are banned look like. Mine looks like this (spoiler cause large image):

Not saying it's definitive proof for using one of the official client distributors. I think emulators would still show this but might still be detected by Kabam.


Additionally, my phone (Asus ROG phone 6) has the option to create "Twin Apps" (clone/duplicate apps). My App Info looks like this:

Which doesn't show where it's installed from. I also haven't used this but I'd imagine it would get flagged for 3rd party client.

Also my phone has a "Game Genie" setting (built-in setting) that runs alongside the game as more of an overlay type system. It has the option to provide real-time info (cpu, gpu, etc.), block notifications, and other functions. Not sure if it's consider a "game/performance booster" but I haven't had any issues with bans or warnings. Just wanted to provide some insight.

dr2ws

Demonzfyre said:

Hulk808 said:

10k people is a lot of people. I cannot picture that many people modding. I would be pissed if I was banned for no reason like a lot of people are saying.

They aren't modding. This is strictly for people whose app was not downloaded through official channels. Crashed laid the whole thing our for you and you didn't read any of it?

Exactly this, 10,000 people to this game is, I would say there is a minimum 600K players online right now. And there are millions of downloads, this has affected only about 2%-4% of the player count right now. And 1% of players who typically play (causuals, content creators, forums users etc) There’s a lot less truth than we think there is.