Let's skip the Boost cheating. The main problem is that cheaters constantly open new accounts and continue to cheat. The topic we are talking about is going to different topics.
During the space race, Americans spent thousands of dollars on a ballpoint pen that could write in space. At that time, the Russians used pencils. What I want to say is, use the systems you have instead of spending thousands of dollars on the systems you are trying to develop. What I said can be done easily and you can develop any technology you want at that time. While you spend months developing a new technology, players are dealing with cheaters.
@LaughingSharko I disagree with your first statement. It is already possible to shop with a credit card through the origin store.
As for the mobile app, you might be right. SMS can be easily faked. However, cheaters will not want to use this method if they connect to it in double-step verification.
@LaughingSharko First of all, I didn't say more than one payment method. In terms of privacy and certification, EA's 2020 revenue is $5.54 billion. They probably know something about this subject. They didn't earn this money with free games. As I mentioned in my first message, if there is no credit card, mobile phone number. I'm trying to find a solution for cheaters to open free accounts without any hassle. If you have different ideas, I'd love to hear.
@l_mRGogoI don't think the solution is to make it harder for people who want to play the game to create an account. Full stop. The matchmaking in Apex depends on having the most possible players on PC, PS, XBox, etc. I don't think gatekeeping is the answer.
I also don't think payments are as much as a deterrent to cheating as you think. Many people who have been banned used their main account. Yes, persistent cheaters make new accounts, but I would like to see data saying that all of these new accounts are the only ones cheating.
If you go to the forums for paid games such as Overwatch, you can see cheating is rampant there, too.
I think that if someone needs to cheat to be the best, and they think they can get away with it, they're going to do it whether they have a credit card attached or a phone number attached. And, they're going to find a way to pay another $5 or get around other verification methods anyway.
For me, the solution is not as simple as "Absolute Cheat Solutions," 1-2-3. It's complicated and long-term. Success probably requires technology that doesn't currently exist. Cheats have to be detected and actioned. That includes devices that act outside of the gaming platform, such as strikepacks. It includes DDoS attacks.
Edit: Your idea of an increased minimum level is something they will probably put into play in ranked. That said, splitting the player base has negative consequences and doesn't take care of the problem of cheating in the first place. It only isolates high-level players from it. But that's assuming only lvl 250+ are spending money on the game, which I doubt is true. The rest of the population would have to deal with just as many or more cheaters in their lobbies.
TLDR - Cheating is a much more complicated beast to tackle than I believe most ppl understand. "I have the perfect solution" usually oversimplifies things. The solution is probably a combination of countless different things and constantly evolving software/technology. It's probably not someone one company can do alone, but instead the whole industry.
I think you understand that in my solution, getting money from a credit card is not the goal. I am 34 years old and have been playing computer games since I was 16 years old. Until today, no technological solution has been found for cheaters.
My solution is to block the cheater, not the cheat technology. How many new accounts can you open right now? Are there any restrictions? If cheaters can open as many accounts as they want, they can easily find as many new cheat methods as they want.
Think of it this way, the faucet is open in your house and water is starting to fill everywhere. Do you clean the water or turn off the tap?
Yes, as you said, technological solutions should be found. However, there is currently no technological solution. I don't like playing with cheaters, so I'm offering an opinion.
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