Valve has sent a strong message to cheaters in Dota 2, announcing that they have taken decisive action against such individuals. In a recent blog post, Valve revealed that they have permanently banned more than 40,000 accounts by utilizing a "honeypot" strategy.
The banned accounts were found to be using third-party software to gain an unfair advantage in the highly popular MOBA game. This software allowed cheaters to access internal information within the Dota client that is not normally visible during regular gameplay, thus providing them with an unfair edge over other players.
Valve's actions demonstrate their commitment to maintaining a fair and competitive environment for all Dota 2 players. By taking proactive measures and implementing effective detection methods, they have made it clear that cheating will not be tolerated.
Steps are taken to resolve the underlying vulnerabilities that allowed these cheats to be used in Dota 2. Additionally, they have removed the "bad actors" from the active playerbase of the game. By creating a "honeypot" within the game client, Valve was able to identify cheaters who accessed a specific section of data that is not normally accessed during regular gameplay.
Valve emphasized their confidence in the accuracy of these bans, as each of the banned accounts was found to have accessed this "secret" area within the client. They made the decision to publicly announce this ban wave, which they described as "particularly large," to make their stance clear on cheating in Dota 2.
The message is straightforward: If players are running applications that extract data from the Dota client while playing, their accounts are at risk of permanent bans from the game. This policy applies to all players, including professional players who will face bans from participating in Valve's competitive events.
In terms of the specific cheating methods employed in Dota 2, they range from removing the fog of war, using automated features for last-hitting and ability targeting, to automatic evasion techniques, among others.