How to Fix ARC Raiders’ Cheating Problem for Good

Cheating in ARC Raiders has gotten ridiculous, with rampant exploits being used left and right to ruin the fun of many players in the online extraction shooter. Every mode has seen a plethora of wall hacks, radar tools, and map manipulations plague each match, especially in certain locations. While it’s easy to look at this situation and give up, the developers could adopt the methods of other multiplayer titles to punish cheaters in the most effective ways.

Arguably the worst part of dealing with cheaters is how hopeless it can feel on the receiving end, as reports only get so far before any action is made. This is even more challenging on the development end, as there are likely plenty of false reports mixed in with real ones regarding who is actually cheating, and who is simply playing skillfully using in-game mechanics. For ARC Raiders‘ mass cheating to be solved, it requires more intensive attention be paid to those exploiting the shooter on a regular basis.

Rust Deals With Cheaters By Following Their Actions At Every Step

One of the games that deals with cheaters the best is Rust, whose process for dealing with those type of players was recently revealed through an article with PC Gamer. Alistair McFarlane, one of the main people behind Rust‘s developers, stated that their team does not stop observing cheaters at any point, logging their every action like hawks every step of the way. “Every gun shot, every message, every dropped item, every kind of interaction is logged, recorded, and can be played back or watched live” is a direct quote from McFarlane that highlights just how detailed their approach is.

According to McFarlane, cheaters like to log off when admins are logged into servers, trying to stay away from notice from those who would ban them. Rust‘s admins tend to watch even when they aren’t linked to servers, observing cheaters “like an RTS game” based on McFarlane’s comments. Any cheat reports on players tend to go through automated systems that analyze players and take certain actions based on the content those reports contain.

While there is some lack of details regarding the whole process, the general breakdown is that Rust‘s developers have dedicated members of their staff who are always observing, reviewing, and taking action against cheaters. This goes beyond automation, especially as their systems purposefully try to anticipate cheater habits and work around them. As ARC Raiders issues get worse and worse, there are definite lessons that can be taken from Rust‘s example to improve their situation.

Treating Cheaters Like An RTS Game Helps Developers Understand How Players Are Manipulating Systems

Part of the reason why Rust‘s approach is so genius is how it creates a back-and-forth language between cheaters and developers. By carefully observing and logging cheater actions rather than just automated bans, you’re able to tell which systems they are exploiting, and how. This gives developers the knowledge on how to strengthen or modify their in-game systems to better combat cheater software, especially when common exploits become widespread in certain scenarios.

The idea of watching cheaters even when admins are offline is also a great message directed toward cheating players as well. Typically, cheaters getting banned is something they try to avoid at all costs, hence why they play during hours where they assume they won’t get caught. Simply having a threat of constant observation, even when it doesn’t seem like developers are listening, may discourage cheating from happening in the first place.

ARC Raiders Has Greater Player Numbers, But Could Benefit From Rust’s Approach

The biggest obstacle in the way of ARC Raiders assuming Rust‘s methods is that the former game has a far bigger audience than the latter right now. It would be difficult to divert resources completely into observing cheaters because there are simply a far greater number of them in the multiplayer shooter compared to the survival title. A whole department within the development studio would likely have to be opened just to deal with cheaters, with their only job being to track down, observe, and report on the biggest problem players on multiple platforms.

Despite the limitations, there are lessons from Rust that should be adopted anyway, such as some pattern recognition regarding cheaters in the game. Just knowing which signs point to specific exploits, which players are repeat offenders, and general information from more attentive practices could help ARC Raiders really narrow down their cheating population quickly. With other shooters offering experiences similar to ARC Raiders, but without the cheating, perhaps it is wiser for them to divert the necessary resources into a more observant reporting model.

It may take some time for this popular extraction shooter to get ahead of the cheaters, but some action is better than nothing. Rust has good standards, but it is far from the only game to take lessons from, and ARC Raiders should be looking for a number of good live service examples to elevate their game back to where they want it to be.

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