Don't make VPN use the scapegoat for ridding the game of mercs
Corkscrew
Member Posts: 541 ★★★
With the recent announcement that story mode Legend/Mythic title runs will be abandoned for the foreseeable future, inevitably attention has turned to how we get rid of mercs and cheating in the game. Detection rather than deterrent is the key... since banning accounts doesn't actually hurt mercs.
VPN usage is a key indicator of merc activity, the only problem is that there are legitimate reasons for using a VPN outside of cheating in MCOC.
You might use a VPN:
- access region locked content.
- for work and secured infrastructure
- to access this very game
Yes... that's right. I use a VPN and I use it most frequently because I can't access this game consistently without it. The game isn't region locked out of my country (choosing the fastest VPN server is often a server in my country). I can access the game using my cellular connection, but as soon as I use my WiFi, connection is completely unstable. Whatever default routing my ISP is providing me doesn't sustain MCOC connections. In fact, it's the only app on my phone that has this problem.
You might ask, why I don't just use cellular? I have zero cellular reception in my apartment. Concrete walls high in the sky.
Invariably, I just leave my VPN on all the time, and I can imagine others that don't need a VPN strictly for MCOC, but use it regularly for other purposes may do the same.
I understand why VPN use was not allowed for the recent Legends title, there is probably a very small proportion of players that legitimately MUST use a VPN to compete at that level. I was under no illusion that I was contention. Roster and/or skill are limiting factors.
So while VPN usage might be outlawed for the now defunct Legends titles, if that were to propagate further into the game, it may well end the playing experience for a proportion of the playing population that has nothing to do with cheating or merc'ing.
VPN usage is a key indicator of merc activity, the only problem is that there are legitimate reasons for using a VPN outside of cheating in MCOC.
You might use a VPN:
- access region locked content.
- for work and secured infrastructure
- to access this very game
Yes... that's right. I use a VPN and I use it most frequently because I can't access this game consistently without it. The game isn't region locked out of my country (choosing the fastest VPN server is often a server in my country). I can access the game using my cellular connection, but as soon as I use my WiFi, connection is completely unstable. Whatever default routing my ISP is providing me doesn't sustain MCOC connections. In fact, it's the only app on my phone that has this problem.
You might ask, why I don't just use cellular? I have zero cellular reception in my apartment. Concrete walls high in the sky.
Invariably, I just leave my VPN on all the time, and I can imagine others that don't need a VPN strictly for MCOC, but use it regularly for other purposes may do the same.
I understand why VPN use was not allowed for the recent Legends title, there is probably a very small proportion of players that legitimately MUST use a VPN to compete at that level. I was under no illusion that I was contention. Roster and/or skill are limiting factors.
So while VPN usage might be outlawed for the now defunct Legends titles, if that were to propagate further into the game, it may well end the playing experience for a proportion of the playing population that has nothing to do with cheating or merc'ing.
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Comments
2) They would have almost no granular control over how to route my access for a particular end point
3) They would need to know what those end points were
Do you know how the internet works? SMH
FYI - I also use the VPN to access region locked content. It turns out it's also a solution to MCOC connectivity issues. At $3 per month, it's hardly cost prohibitive.
Obviously, if I was planning on doing a Legends run... I would be sure to turn it off. But day to day I always forget to turn it off.
Ofc there's gonna be SOME players this excludes from Legends, which sucks, but that number is tiny; unfortunately just how it is.
I get folks may need to VPN while playing at work, or can't get good signal in their apartment, etc, but most cases that doesn't exclude you from doing legends. Yes, you can't do it in your apartment (signal issues), but assumedly you don't have those signal issues in a cafe or even a park? If you wanted the legends title that badly could you not sit on a park bench for a few hours and crack out the title?
I think there are very limited reasons why a player simply can't find ANY way of doing legends without a VPN, and for all the number of mercs it could catch out? It's worth it.
I was a bit frustrated when they said "folks are saying they went on holiday and did the legends run there and we can't definitively say with certainty that they are mercing". Well, if I knew that content was coming in October and I wanted to get a legends run done I would not go on holiday then. Besides, it lasts for a whole month. What, are you on holiday for 4 weeks?
I consistently get booted from arena and AQ when I'm not running a VPN.
- Privacy
I’m curious how Kabam will handle Apple’s iCloud Relay that’s coming with iOS 15 (already live in the iOS Beta).
It’s on by default and puts all connections on an iOS device through an anonymous VPN/cloud host tied to your time zone (which can cover multiple different countries depending on where you live). VPN hosts vary such as Cloudflare/Fastly/Akamai. It randomises your connection and you can end up “swapping” between reported locations on the fly without any user input.