The developers of Escape From Tarkov are cracking down on cheaters in the game again, and they're planning on offering rewards for players willing to blow the whistle when they see someone clearly breaking the rules. The cheater reporting rewards system is set for implementation with the Escape from Tarkov Patch 0.14.9.5, which was originally planned for June but has been pushed back to early July.

On May 10, the game's director, Nikita Buyanov, reached out via Twitter to ask players what needed to be fixed in Escape From Tarkov. The responses varied greatly, from lengthy load times to a need for better-quality in-game items and optimization of maps. Still, the problem of cheating in Escape From Tarkov is one that the developers take seriously, and quelling it seems to be one of the team's top priorities.

While the official detailed patch notes for Patch 0.14.9.5 are still pending, the game's official Twitter account posted a tweet on June 29 showing what players can expect to see when the next update goes live in July. One of the items on this list is "Compensation for successful cheater reports." However, the post doesn't go into detail about what these rewards will be, or how the team at Battlestate Games will verify that players have successfully identified a cheater. Still, past anti-cheating efforts have proven very successful, as in January, Escape From Tarkov banned more than 11,000 cheaters over a span of just two weeks.

Ability to run PvE mode on local PC for solo players without the need for server queue
QoL changes
In-game poll system
New in-game questline titled Nostalgia
Item wishlist mechanics
Compensation for successful cheater reports
Ability to reset PvE character profile
New PMC outfits at Ragman
Improvements to the AI PMC behavior in PvE mode

Although the game's development team has been stalwart in its crusade against cheating, those protective measures are particularly necessary given the nature of the game. Losses in Escape from Tarkov can hit players hard, resulting in a loss of progression. In early 2023, one player took on the role of investigator by using cheat tools to identify other cheaters in the game, and the results of that unofficial study found that 60% of Escape From Tarkov matches included cheaters.

The developers' response to this investigation was bold. In addition to the ensuing ban wave against cheaters in Escape From Tarkov, Battlestate Games also shared a publicly accessible Google Docs document containing the in-game usernames of all the players who had been banned. While public releasing of the usernames of cheaters may be a step too far in the minds of some, it's also a protective deterrent to discourage players from cheating in the future, as well as a way to let the fan base know the level of diligence that is being put forth to ensure a fair playing field.

Posted: Jul 04, 2024 8:58 pm
Related Forum: PC Gaming Forum

Source: https://gamerant.com/escape-from-tarkov-reporting-cheaters-rewards-update-0-14-9-5/