Pokémon GO has nearly reached its one year milestone; it's also easy to forget that, for a time, the game took over the world. The mobile augmented reality game may not be as popular as it once was, yet it still has a large and dedicated userbase. Many players, perhaps in a bid to avoid seeing the same old Pokémon day after day, have also being using third-party apps to boost their visibility and chances of good finds.
Creator Niantic has reportedly stepped up its attempts to thwart some of these exploits by rolling out a new anti-cheat system. The program update doesn't ban Pokémon trainers from playing the game, instead it prevents them from encountering rare Pokémon and punishes them with common spawns such as Pidgey, Rattata, Hoothoot etc. In some respects it appears to be a 'shadow ban', as some may not be aware right away that more lucrative finds are being hidden from them.
The image below (uploaded by Pokémon Go Hub) depicts the difference between a banned account (Lets call it a Gary Oak) and a regular trainer account (An Ash Ketchup). The shot was taken at the same time and spot to test the new update.
Niantic Labs has made no confirmation of the new server-side anti-cheat protocol and is unlikely to do so. Of course, with Pokémon GO what can be defined as 'cheating' is hotly debated by those that are most involved in the game, with this update prompting plenty of different viewpoints online.
Do you think this new method to target bots and 'cheats' will ultimately succeed in Pokémon GO?
[source pokemongohub.net]
Comments 27
Is that supposed to say Ash Ketchup...?
Ash Ketchup...
Can't tell if it was a mistake or not.
Seems kind of silly since modders probably take up at least 50% of the remaining fan base. I guess it doesn't matter though since releasing a new generation will create another user spike.
Ash Ketchup eh? Where's Misty Mustard?
Pokemon Go seems to be dying down a bit around here, but I do occasionally still see small groups of monster seekers.
Been a while since I had it on my phone (the game's still taking its sweet time on Russian Google Play, so I suspect Belarus will get it next decade proportionally - and I don't want to hunt down sideloadable apks every update), but it's good to see the game steam on and encourage people to go out. The anti-cheating system here is as fair as it's ironic, though - people try to work their way around the "com mons" and end up with the very thing they tried to avoid. XD
Typo or not, I vote we leave "Ash Ketchup" the way it is.
Screw cheaters!
Also,
"Ketchup... Catchem... Catsup... I'm in way over my head"
Lol, it seems more like an autocorrect run amok than a typo.
It kinda beats the point if this is in the news...
Ash Ketchup!!! Brilliant. Literally lol'd at that
@ZurapiiYohane I was thinking the same thing. That episode was hilarious.
@ZurapiiYohane In French, in this episode, Ash says that its name is "Ketchup".
Very smart! If you can't wipe them out all together, just try to totally discourage them from hunting.
Good plan. It should go further and they can only find Pidgeys and Ratattas.
I don't think I understand not play the game right. I grew up with Pokémon and I loved finding the buggers. I also love to walk. So the game seemed tailor made for me.
I have never once taken a gym nor can I find out why I would care to try, nonetheless cheat to do so. Why advantage is there?
Pokémon Go is still in the Top 10 grossing apps in the Google Play Store... so while the player base is a lot smaller than when it was released... we're still talking about a large player base.
Cheaters really are wrecking the game & feel like they're fully within their rights to do so. The game about getting out & about... catching and adventuring has become all about teleporting & controlling bases. Actual players can't take a gym because of players from miles around stuffing gyms from their bedrooms. I seriously hope Niantic crackdown on cheaters (a few more hard bans too).
@Rumncoke25 Having your pokémon in a gym gives you some of the in-game currency every day which allows you to buy incubators to hatch eggs, or pokéballs etc. It's worth having your pokémon in a few gyms but it's not easy as people are cheating (spoofing) to fill gyms with pokémon from miles away.
Cheater should be punished with Cheetah.
Well... ash ketchup. Stupid auto correct!
'Pokémon GO has nearly reached its one year milestone; it's also easy to forget that, for a time, the game took over the world.'
Matt, you may want to consult your GP. 🤔
Punishment by Pidgey! That sounds like a fate worse than death. It also makes me think of a Hitchcock/Pokemon mashup.
awesome only noobs cheat which means they will be the ones holding all the gyms they should be perma banned
Screw spawns... if people cheat to find rare Pokemon that it's only their own experience of the game they're ruining... the problem is with gyms.
Constantly spoofing to take over gyms without being anywhere near, and dropping in high CP Pokemon that they only obtained through cheating... that's what ruins it for everyone... they should ban flagged accounts from interacting with gyms instead, or make a 'phantom' set of gyms that only flagged accounts can see and interact with instead of the regular gyms.
@Proust
Ethics, morals and fair play mean nothing to you?
yup I'm dumb cause I don't believe people should be cheating you sound like the people on pc that were perma banned for overwatch trying to justify it keep telling yourself that
@Proust you also sound like one of those politically correct nuts
Good to see that at least some people are still enjoying the game.
@RodSD64 that's the left for you
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