Interviewing COD's Top Cheat Provider About The Future of Cheats

Summary

In an exclusive interview, the enigmatic figure Zeer from Phantom Overlay, a major cheat provider in the Call of Duty gaming community, shares insights on the current state and future of cheating in the game. Zeer discusses the effectiveness of Ricochet anti-cheat, the potential influence on streamers, and the pros and cons of in-house versus third-party anti-cheat systems. He also delves into the complexities of DMA cheats, their security advantages over traditional software cheats, and the likelihood of hardware and computer vision-based cheating becoming prevalent in the future. The conversation challenges perceptions on game integrity and the ongoing battle between developers and cheat providers.

Takeaways

• 🕵️‍♂️ The interview is with 'Zeer', the owner of Phantom Overlay, one of the largest Call of Duty cheat providers.
• 🎮 Ricochet anti-cheat is rated as moderately effective, with a score of 5 or 6, offering basic detections but lacking in targeted measures against advanced cheats.
• 🛡️ Ricochet's server-side anti-cheat can be useful in flagging players for review, but there is criticism regarding its underutilization and inefficiency in deeply reviewing flagged players.
• 💡 Zeer plans to offer DMA (Direct Memory Access) cheat software with a sharable web browser radar feature, indicating a shift towards more sophisticated and harder-to-detect cheating methods.
• 🤔 The theory that larger streamers might be given a high trust score by Activision to avoid shadowbans is discussed, suggesting potential preferential treatment.
• 🏭 The benefits of in-house anti-cheat systems include easier integration with game development, but they require significant resources and may not be as advanced as third-party solutions.
• 🔒 DMA cheats are considered more secure than software cheats because they run on a separate computer and interact with the game using hardware that mimics legitimate devices.
• 💡 The future of cheating in gaming is predicted to involve more hardware-based and computer vision cheating, which are harder for anti-cheat systems to detect.
• 💸 The cost of cheats is not a significant deterrent for dedicated cheaters, and even expensive forms of cheating are affordable enough not to discourage them.
• 📈 Despite the presence of anti-cheat measures, the demand for cheats remains high, and the market is not expected to become less saturated anytime soon.
• 📦 The interview concludes with an implication that a well-known female streamer is using Phantom Overlay cheats, though the name is not disclosed in the provided transcript.

Q & A

What is the current impact of cheating in Call of Duty Warzone?

Cheating in Call of Duty Warzone is affecting the player experience, with concerns about the effectiveness of anti-cheat measures and the potential for the situation to worsen in the future.

Who is Zeer of Phantom Overlay and what is his role?

Zeer is known as the architect of Phantom Overlay, a significant Call of Duty cheat provider. He operates anonymously and is a key figure in the discussion about cheating in the game.

How does Zeer rate the effectiveness of Ricochet anti-cheat on a scale of 1 to 10?

Zeer rates Ricochet anti-cheat as a five or six, acknowledging its strengths in detecting overlays and certain injection methods, but also pointing out its weaknesses such as missing targeted detections and inefficiencies in the shadowband system.

What is Zeer's opinion on the server-side anti-cheat system used by Call of Duty?

Zeer believes the server-side anti-cheat system can be useful when combined with player reports to flag certain players for review, but criticizes the lack of proper resource allocation for deep reviews of flagged players.

Does Zeer plan to offer DMA cheat software and what features will it include?

Yes, Zeer plans to offer DMA cheat software, which will include a sharable web browser radar feature in the future, and he also intends to work on computer vision capabilities.

What is Zeer's theory about the relationship between Ricochet anti-cheat and larger streamers?

Zeer theorizes that Activision might grant larger streamers a high trust score to prevent them from being shadowbanned, suggesting that while large streamers might not be cheating, they could be exempt from server-side evaluations that lead to shadow bans.

What are the advantages of using an in-house anti-cheat like Ricochet Antiche?

The advantages include easier integration with the game, better communication between game developers and anti-cheat developers, and the ability to advise on secure practices during game development.

What are the downsides of an in-house anti-cheat system compared to third-party solutions?

The downside is that the company has to manage a new business in addition to their game development or publishing business, which requires significant work, funding, flexibility, and time.

What is Zeer's stance on the effectiveness of third-party anti-cheat companies like Easy Antiche and Battle Eye?

Zeer believes that third-party anti-cheat companies are far ahead of any in-house anti-cheat he has seen, with strong anti-cheat software developed over several years.

What is Zeer's view on the future of cheating in Call of Duty, specifically regarding DMA cheats and computer vision?

Zeer foresees that hardware and computer vision cheating will become popular and possibly rampant in the future, suggesting a shift from traditional software cheats to more sophisticated methods.

How does Zeer think the price of cheats influences a player's decision to cheat?

Zeer believes that the price point has little influence on a player's decision to cheat, as even the most expensive forms of cheating are affordable and can be profited from through streaming or other means.

What is the largest streamer currently using Phantom Overlay cheats according to Zeer?

The script ends before revealing the name of the largest streamer using Phantom Overlay cheats, leaving this question unanswered.

Outlines

00:00

🕵️‍♂️ Interview with a Cheat Provider

This paragraph introduces an interview with 'Zeer,' the enigmatic figure behind 'Phantom Overlay,' a major cheat provider for the game 'Call of Duty.' The conversation aims to explore the impact of cheating on the game and its community, as well as the future of cheating technology. Zeer shares his insights on the effectiveness of 'Ricochet Anti-Cheat,' the current state of anti-cheat measures, and his plans to develop new cheats, including a web browser radar feature. He also discusses the possibility of larger streamers receiving special treatment from game developers to avoid being falsely flagged by anti-cheat systems.

05:02

🤖 In-House vs. Third-Party Anti-Cheat Systems

The second paragraph delves into the pros and cons of using in-house anti-cheat systems like Ricochet Anti-Cheat versus third-party solutions such as Easy Anti-Cheat. The benefits of in-house systems include easier integration and collaboration between game developers and anti-cheat developers. However, the drawbacks include the significant resources required to manage a new business unit. Zeer argues that third-party anti-cheat companies have superior technology and are better equipped to handle the evolving landscape of cheating, despite the high costs associated with their integration.

10:02

💡 The Future of Cheating Technology

In this paragraph, the focus shifts to the future of cheating technology, particularly DMA cheats, which operate on a separate computer and interact with the game using hardware that mimics legitimate devices. Zeer discusses the advantages of DMA cheats over traditional software-based cheats, such as increased security and the ability to share cheats with others. He also touches on the challenges anti-cheat teams face in detecting DMA cheats and predicts that hardware and computer vision-based cheating will become more prevalent in the future.

Keywords

💡Cheating

Cheating in the context of the video refers to the use of unauthorized software or methods to gain an unfair advantage in the game 'Call of Duty Warzone'. It is the central theme of the video, as it discusses the impact of cheating on the game and its community. The interview with a cheat provider delves into the mechanics and ethics of cheating in online gaming.

💡Call of Duty Warzone

Call of Duty Warzone is a popular online multiplayer game that is the focus of the video. The script discusses the prevalence of cheating in this game and its impact on the player experience. It is the environment where the issues of honor and deceit are clashing, as mentioned in the transcript.

💡Ricochet Anti-Cheat

Ricochet Anti-Cheat is the in-house anti-cheating system used by Call of Duty Warzone to detect and counteract cheating. The video discusses its effectiveness, with the interviewee rating it on a scale and discussing its strengths and weaknesses in detecting various types of cheating.

💡Phantom Overlay

Phantom Overlay is mentioned as a product of the interviewee's company, which is a cheat provider for Call of Duty. It is used as an example to discuss the sophistication of cheating tools and the challenges they pose to anti-cheat systems.

💡DMA Cheats

DMA Cheats, or Direct Memory Access Cheats, are a type of cheating software that operates on a separate computer and interacts with the game's memory through specialized hardware. The video discusses how DMA cheats are more secure and harder to detect than traditional software cheats, and their potential future dominance in the cheating landscape.

💡ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) Cheats

ESP cheats in the video refer to a type of software cheat that allows players to see information about the game environment that would not normally be available to them, such as the locations of other players. The interviewee mentions that Ricochet Anti-Cheat has detected and countered some ESP cheats.

💡Shadowban

A shadowban is a practice where a player is banned from certain aspects of a game without their knowledge, often used as a countermeasure against cheating. The video discusses the possibility of large streamers being exempt from shadowbans due to their high trust scores.

💡In-House Anti-Cheat

In-house anti-cheat refers to anti-cheat systems developed and managed by the same company that created the game. The video contrasts the benefits and drawbacks of in-house anti-cheat systems like Ricochet with third-party solutions like Easy Anti-Cheat.

💡Third-Party Anti-Cheat

Third-party anti-cheat solutions, such as Easy Anti-Cheat and Battle Eye, are developed by external companies and integrated into games. The video suggests that these third-party solutions are more advanced and effective than in-house systems, despite the higher costs and integration challenges.

💡Computer Vision

Computer vision in the context of the video refers to the use of AI and machine learning to analyze game data and detect cheating behaviors. It is suggested as a potential future trend in cheating, where cheaters might use advanced technology to gain an unfair advantage.

💡Streamer

A streamer in the video is a player who broadcasts their gameplay live online, often for an audience on platforms like Twitch. The video discusses the use of cheats by streamers and the potential implications of being caught cheating, as well as the possibility of some streamers being protected from certain anti-cheat measures.

Highlights

Interview with 'Zeer', the largest Call of Duty cheat provider, discussing the impact of cheating in the game.

Zeer's perspective on the effectiveness of Ricochet anti-cheat, rating it a five or six out of ten.

Ricochet's strengths in detecting overlays and injection methods, but its weaknesses in targeted detections and server-side evaluations.

Zeer's plans to offer DMA cheat software with a sharable web browser radar feature.

Theory on Activision potentially granting larger streamers a high trust score to prevent shadowbans.

Advantages of in-house anti-cheat like Ricochet, including easier integration and collaboration with game developers.

Drawbacks of in-house anti-cheat, such as the need to manage a new business alongside game development.

Zeer's opinion that third-party anti-cheat companies like Easy Anti-Cheat are superior to in-house solutions.

Disclosure of a leaked PDB file for War Zone, suggesting possible negligence but not cooperation with cheat developers.

Ricochet's detection of certain cheats like constant UAV and overlay windows, impacting most providers except Phantom Overlay.

Common features detected in Call of Duty cheats, including risky ones like Aimbot, glow charms, and no recoil exploits.

Explanation of DMA cheats, how they differ from software-based cheats, and their use of a separate computer and PCIe board.

The rise of DMA cheats in the Call of Duty community and their perceived necessity for security-conscious cheaters.

Zeer's belief that DMA cheats are currently more secure than software cheats due to their hardware-based operation.

The high cost of cheating and its lack of impact on deterring dedicated cheaters, even with expensive hardware solutions.

Zeer's forecast that hardware and computer vision cheating will become popular and potentially rampant in the future.

Reflection on the impact of increased cheat prices on the decision to cheat, suggesting that motivated cheaters will not be deterred.

Zeer's tease about a large streamer using Phantom Overlay cheats, indicating the prevalence of cheating even among top content creators.

Transcripts

everyone seems to be feeling the impact

of cheating and its current effect

within Call of Duty war zone but what

about the near future could it actually

get any worse this is my interview with

Call of Duty's largest cheat

provider in the shadows of the digital

Battlefield where honor and deceit Clash

a figure has emerged from the depths of

anonymity today we dare Venture into the

realm of the

Forbidden the domain of Call of Duty

cheat providers brace yourselves for we

are about to have a chat with one of the

largest Call of Duty cheat

providers the Enigma known as zeer of

phantom overlay a name whispered in hush

tones amongst various anti-che teams

zeer the architect of phantom

overlay prepare yourselves for we are

about to embark on a journey that will

challenge our perceptions question our

convictions and force us to conf front

the very essence of G

morality this video contains comments

and opinions from zeer owner of phantom

overlay all opinions and comments are

his own and itop is not associated or

affiliated with Phantom overlay nor is

this in any way an endorsement of

phantom overlay their products services

or any other associates not mentioned

this is merely a glimpse into what the

very near future has in store for

Cheating in Call of Duty so buckle up

kids because this time the truth truth

is going to sting a little bit on a

scale of 1 to 10 how effective is

Ricochet anti-che and why Ricochet is a

five or a six right now as for the good

it has a few good generic internal and

external detections hiding an overlay

window which is used for external cheat

software ESP rendering is difficult

against Ricochet Ricochet also detects a

few common injection methods used by

internal cheat developers the shadow

band system is bad but the server side

anti-che itself isn't bad the server

side anti-che that Cod has in place can

be useful in conjunction with reports to

flag certain players for review Ricochet

driver has issued some very tricky

targeted detections over the last few

years I wouldn't consider the anti-che

vulnerable either as for the bad there

are many generic detections for external

internal dma and computer vision cheat

software missing targeted detections

aren't issued enough he shadowband

system completely wastes what the serde

anti-che sets team Ricochet up to be

able to do which is allocate server and

human resources to deeply review flagged

and reported players which they clearly

do not do Hardware bands are weak and

issued too rarely overall I am happy

with where ricochette is right now

because they are causing problems for

some of my competitors and keeping the

Cod Market less saturated as for me my

external has been doing amazing and I'm

still going to offer dma cheat software

too which will have a sharable web

browser radar feature down the line I

will also do something with computer

vision do you believe ricochet or any

aspect of Ricochet antiche was designed

with the protection of larger streamers

in mind this is just a theory but

Activision May Grant larger streamers a

high trust score to prevent them from

being shadowbanned if they didn't do

something like this large streamers

would be periodically getting

shadowbanned and would complain about

that very publicly I'm not saying that

large streamers are cheating necessarily

even if a large streamer isn't cheating

if they are good they are going to get

periodically shadowbanned just like

anyone else who is good at the game

unless they are given High trust by

Activision I think that the whitelist

system some people talk about is just

Activision giving certain people a very

high trust score behind the scenes I

think if a large streamer used a

detected cheat they'd still be banned

but I think they are exempt from the

server side evaluations that lead to

Shadow banss what are some of the pros

and cons of a game using an anti-che

built in house such as Ricochet antiche

versus that of a third party antiche

such as easy antiche the benefit of

using an in-house anti-che is that you

can integrate your anti-che with your

game easily the game developers and the

anti-che developers are working for the

same entity so sharing source code and

communicating becomes very easy the

anti-che team could advise the game

development team during the development

of the game which can be extremely

beneficial for example the anti-che team

might advise someone doing artwork for

the game to make enemy models such that

they are visible to humans but not

overly easy to detect with computer

vision the anti-che team could would

also advise the game developers

regarding secure practices regarding

client and server implementations like a

fog of War system where the server

doesn't communicate locations of enemies

to the client until that information

becomes relevant are also easier to

implement if the anti-che team is

working closely with the game

development team early on it may seem

like I am recommending an in-house

anti-che over a third-party anti-che but

I'm not the massive drawback of an

in-house anti-che is that the company in

charge of the anti-che team essentially

has to start and manage an entirely new

business in addition to their game

development or publishing business

creating an anti-che team and managing

them during the process I previously

described requires a lot of work funding

flexibility and time while it may not

seem ideal to hire a third-party company

to cover anti-che for a game it is

certainly the best move these thirdparty

anti-che companies like e anti-che are

worlds ahead of any inh house anti-che

I've ever seen those companies have

already formed anti-che dream teams and

they have built incredibly strong

anti-che software over the last several

years it may not be easy as to integrate

easy anti-che or battle ey into an

existing game as it would be to

integrate an in-house anti-che from the

start but it should be done I should

also mention that easy anti-che and

battle eye do charge very premium fees

to be integrated into a game because of

how much work the integration is these

fees are worth it is there any validity

or credibility to the theories that

employees from Activision or one of

their Dev Studios leaked or sold

anything that would have helped your

aided cheat providers stay ahead of the

anti-che measures a pdb file for war

zone was leaked a few years ago I have

no idea how that happened but it seems

like someone on the inside was just

negligent I don't think that anyone from

the inside was cooperating with a cheat

developer I've seen pdb files leak for

multiple games in the past and there are

many ways for that to happen without

cooperation on the inside for those who

don't know what a pdb file is just think

of it as something that makes reverse

engineering the game easy it's not

something that the end user of the game

is supposed to obtain has Ricochet or

anything related to the en ever detected

any aspects or features related to ESP

wall hacks from any Call of Duty cheat

provider Ricochet detected constant UAV

a few years ago which caused a bandwave

for basically every provider besides

Phantom overlay I told my users I wasn't

going to add that feature because it was

an easy detection Vector Ricochet has

also detected some overlay Windows of

external cheats surely just like every

antiche has Ricochet has also surely

detected some internal rendering methods

including hooking the game's rendering

itself if something like ESP or wall

hacks itself gets detected then everyone

who uses the cheat is going to be

detected it's certainly a smart thing to

detect what are some of the most common

features that get detected from any Call

of Duty cheat provider for internal or

external cheat software usually risky

features are targeted by the anti-che

because this will cause any provider who

has implemented the features in a

similar way to experience band waves

constant UAV unlock all silent aim View

single aimbots no recoil exploits perk

editing certain controller support

methods for Aimbot glow charms the list

goes on these are all risky features

with heightened detection vectors for my

external cheats I never Implement a

feature that writes to the game's memory

what are dma cheats and how do they

differ from software-based cheats dma

cheat software is cheat software that

runs on a second computer the cheat

software accesses the game's memory

through a pcie board which is the dma

board plugged into the game computer the

dma board has firmware flash to it that

masks the dma board as a legitimate

device by mimicking a real legitimate

device this setup enables the cheater to

have a client or web browser radar on

any device and even share it with

friends if the cheater wants to render

ESP over their game they can use a fuser

or the streaming software Moonlight to

do that Aimbot triggerbot and flick bot

can be accomplished with a km box which

allows you and a second computer to

control the input of one mouse or

keyboard plugged into your game computer

how long have dma cheats been used in

games like Call of Duty dma became more

common in the Cod cheating community

over the last few years cheaters didn't

see the need to use dma before Ricochet

was implemented at all and even now with

Ricochet not being as strong as batly or

easy anti-che most Cheaters still don't

see the need to use dma when I announced

that I was creating dma cheat software

for COD a lot of people thought it was

unnecessary since my external has gone

undetected for such long periods of time

I personally think that Overkill is nice

I also have a lot of customers who

stream or ENT to tournaments and it is

very easy to not get caught doing those

things when using dma are dma cheats

undetectable yes but dma boards with

quality firmware are nearly impossible

to detect anti-cheats are going to get

better at trying to detect dma cheaters

but firmware is also getting better we

are way ahead of most anticheats dma is

particularly far ahead of Ricochet are

dma cheats better than software cheats

and if they are why is that TMA cheats

are more secure currently than external

or internal software cheats because the

cheat is self runs on a separate

computer and interacts with the game

computer using Hardware that mimics real

devices do you believe more players are

using dma cheats currently or do you

think more players are using

software-based cheats currently and do

you feel that this may change in the

near future there are many more cheaters

using external or internal cheat

software compared to dma cheats that

isn't going to change anytime soon the

barrier of entry for internal or

external cheating is usually about 20 to

$40 a month dma cheating is much more

expensive and it's really only necessary

for security obsessed cheaters streamers

or tournament cheaters what are some of

the challenges anti-che teams have when

dealing with dma cheats in my last

interview with caps locked I made dma

sound easier to detect than it actually

is I was just going over the detection

vectors it has and talking about how

easy poor quality firmware is to detect

quality firmware that really mimics a

legitimate device is incredibly hard to

detect you can even reverse engineer the

driver that installs when you plug in a

PCI e board and mimic the driver and

communication so that your dma board

really appears in most ways to be a

legitimate device I am in touch with a

lot of the leading individuals in the

dma firmware space and I've even gotten

involved Myself by offering to help one

of them dma is really going to be a

long-term problem for anti-cheats and I

don't envy anyone tasked with stopping

it do you foresee a day when software

cheats are completely replaced by dma

cheats I think that internal and

external software cheats being used on

the same computer as the game will be

favored less than dma cheat software or

other cheat software that uses Hardware

in the future I think that computer

vision cheating will also get very

popular in the future hardware and

computer vision-based cheating is the

future I think it's still worth having

fun with external and internal cheat

software for now though especially on

COD plenty of internal and external

cheat software like ours goes fully

undetected for years at a time on COD

there is no urgency for everyone to

immediately switch to dma but it is a

nice option for security obsessed

cheaters streamers and tournament

cheaters as I said though in the future

hardware and computer vision cheating

will be popular maybe even rampant do

you feel if the ca to cheats were to

double or even triple in price across

the board that that would equate to less

people deciding to cheat or do you feel

that price point has no influence on a

player's decision to cheat in Call of

Duty cheaters are very motivated to

cheat even the most expensive forms of

cheating are affordable enough to not

deter dedicated cheaters internal or

external cheats cost 20 to 40 a month

which is is a very low price considering

you can profit more than that per month

from using cheat Hardware cheating also

isn't as bad as people think most

quality dma boards are a few hundred

fusers are also a few hundred but you

can use the streaming software Moonlight

to bypass the need for a fuser which is

something I didn't mention in my

interview with caps because I forgot to

a cam box is about 50 so that's not bad

either the second computer used can be a

poor quality computer or laptop so that

can also be more affordable than most

people think this isn't as cheap as the

usual internal or external cheat that

you buy for 20 to 40 a month but my

point is that you aren't going to be out

as much money as most people think

computer vision cheating setups with two

computers will be less expensive than

dma but not as cheap as internal or

external one computer cheat software

like I also said I think that if

cheaters have a way to profit from

buying cheats they will also care less

about how much they have to spend for

example many of my customers seem to

cheat for money or make money streaming

I also know that people are going to

rent out my shable web browser radar as

a service well zler we thank you for

your time and honesty and making

yourself available to answer these

questions that quite frankly Call of

Duty could have answered them but choose

not to but before we let you go we have

one last question for you you had

mentioned that a lot of your customers

or content creators streamers and and

wager scene kids my question to you is

out of all of these customers that

stream who happens to be the largest

streamer using Phantom overlay cheats

currently yes this is correct a lot of

my customer customers do profit from

their cheating Endeavors but the largest

streamer who happens to be using my

cheats well that one is pretty easy her

name

is