Overwatch 2 has been plagued by various forms of cheating since its launch, but a recent trend has left both players and streamers scratching their heads in equal parts disbelief and frustration. Hackers are now crashing game servers mid-match, causing lag and disconnections that disrupt the flow of play and give the cheaters an unfair advantage.
The issue gained attention when popular Overwatch streamer and content creator supertf encountered a player literally named “DDOS” who repeatedly caused the server to lag whenever their team was about to lose. The cheater’s choice of hero, Torbjorn, apparently allowed them to continue dealing damage with their turrets even as the rest of the players were affected by the lag.
Cheating or Criminal Offence?
Upon realizing the cheater’s username, super exclaimed in disbelief:
Wait, his name is ‘DDOS’?! Are you serious, Blizzard?!
How is he not banned, though? How is he not banned?! He’s been doing this for, like, a week, right?
Supertf’s experience with the cheater wasn’t an isolated incident. In fact, he encountered DDOS multiple times throughout his streaming session, with the hacker causing the server to crash repeatedly. Despite the frustration of having his matches ruined by the stream sniper, Supertf managed to maintain a positive attitude, even cracking jokes about the situation and continuing to engage with his audience.
Shockingly, the cheater even had the audacity to directly address Supertf via his Twitch chat, claiming that he wasn’t banned because he wasn’t “cheating or anything?” and that he had “had this account for seasons.”
The former Overwatch pro laughed it off, telling his chat:
He’s not banned because he’s not cheating, what he’s doing is called ‘committing a crime’! And the punishment for getting caught is different.
The streamer later compiled clips from his stream into a video titled “How one guy broke Overwatch for a whole day,” showcasing the extent of the problem. In the video description, he quipped, “Cheaters in one week and DDoSers in the next. Blizzard’s security team must be on vacation.”
Not the First Time for Overwatch
This isn’t the first instance of cheaters exploiting bugs to crash Overwatch servers. In the past, players have abused certain mechanics, such as Genji and Hanzo’s wall climb, to cause server instability and force disconnections when they were on the losing side. Other streamers and content creators have also encountered similar issues, with YouTuber Flats showcasing a recent bug involving the hero Mauga that allowed players to crash Overwatch 2 servers.
As the Overwatch 2 community grapples with this new form of cheating, players are calling on Blizzard to take immediate action against offenders and implement stronger safeguards to prevent such exploits from ruining the game for everyone else. Effective anti-cheat measures are crucial for maintaining a fair and enjoyable gaming experience, and Blizzard must enforce their code of conduct consistently to deter cheaters.
While it’s impossible to completely eliminate cheating in multiplayer gaming, swift bans, and robust detection systems can go a long way in minimizing the impact of these bad actors on the community. Blizzard needs to send a clear message that such behavior will not be tolerated and that there will be consequences for those who engage in server-crashing exploits.
However, the best way for players to deal with such malicious individuals is simply by not letting them get under their skin. Cheaters thrive on attention and the frustration they cause, so denying them the satisfaction of a heated reaction can help discourage their behavior.
Supertf demonstrated this approach perfectly, maintaining his cheerful demeanor and positive attitude throughout his encounters with the DDoSer, denying them the gratification they so desperately crave.
After all, the vast majority of players are not cheaters, and these incidents, while frustrating, do not define the entire Overwatch 2 experience. As the saying goes, “Don’t let a few bad apples spoil the bunch!”
Overwatch 2 is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
