Top Apex Legends players banned for using DDoS attack to win ranked game
Servers them right.
Uh oh, it looks like some ranked Apex Legends players are being naughty again, as Respawn has banned two Apex Predators on Xbox who were caught DDoS-ing a server to win a game. Like a real-life drone EMP.
Yesterday, two videos appeared on Reddit showing a game in which a top-ranked Apex Legends player was knocked down, only for the server to then mysteriously crash. How convenient. When the legitimate players reconnected to the server, they found themselves knocked down - and could see the suspicious duo standing over them. The offending fourth and sixth-ranked players were then accused of carrying out a DDoS attack once they started losing in order to get an easy win. (A "distributed denial of service" attack basically overwhelms a server with requests, thus preventing legitimate users from accessing the service.) Given their high placement in Ranked mode, it seems likely the pair had DDoS-ed their way to the top of the leaderboard.
In any case, it seems Respawn agreed with this assessment, as security analyst Conor "Hideouts" Ford confirmed the pair have been banned.
Undeniable proof that the #4 and #6 Xbox Preds are DDoSing servers after we knock them. I'm posting on Twitter for more attention but please help get this traction - Console Ranked is literally unplayable with 5 of every 6 games being DDoSed in Pred lobbies from r/apexlegends
DDoS attacks on the console versions of Apex Legends seem to have become a more widespread problem of late: some players are claiming this is now a frequent occurrence in Predator lobbies. Ford recently said that Respawn would be cracking down on the practice, with a "console reckoning" incoming for DDoSers and DDoS customers.
"You can't hide any of it," Ford said on Twitter. "51 kill games back to back?? Send me the link to that chair homie."
And this isn't the first time Respawn has had to deal with serious cheating problems in the game's Ranked mode: teaming has frequently been a problem, with some Predators caught forming six-man teams to give themselves an advantage. Back in May last year, Respawn said it would investigate several top players accused of teaming, but accusations of teaming still crop up from time to time. At least you can always soothe yourself with this video of teamers getting their comeuppance in public duos.