Legal Cheating Software? | Overwatch

Legal Cheating Software in Overwatch?

Cheating in Overwatch is nothing short of a massive issue. While we keep hearing of ban waves for cheating gameplay- We are now looking at a bit of a grey case.

We all know that hackers in Overwatch get banned with reckless abandon. But what about a piece of software Blizzard didn't outright forbid? At least so far.

Visor.GG aims to make it more easy to rank up in Overwatch. A type of Overwatch AddOn that helps us ranking up by giving us an unfair advantage via pop ups.

Naturally, this is not a cut and dry hacker ban case, so I thought it might be interesting to talk about how it could affect competitive play in Overwatch. Enjoy!

► Credit to the Handsome Lad in my Thumbnail

► Support Charity AND my Channel by using my Humble Bundle Affiliate link!

► OVERWATCH Playlist

► Connect with the community- Join the Discord!

► Commentated Gameplay by Cliff for Terios Gaming.

#Overwatch #OverwatchCompetitive #OverwatchCheating #OverwatchVisor #VisorGG #OverwatchHacking #CliffTerios #SelloutNation

[xFREEEDO]

Wait so I'm not an experience player unless I can track enemy ults via "a feeling in my groin" ? Well that explains my lack of being T500.

[Feryion]

I do not care 'bout what people think on this matter. It is a third party-software making game sense irrelevant, just as an aimbot makes aiming irrelevant. It's not even the fact that those are helpful, and arguably needed features, and maybe it should be in the game from the get-go. But it's not. And having a third-party soft doing part of the work for you IS cheating.
And before you mention it, yea, I view things like Hearthstone deckhelper and macros cheating tools too. The fact that some games/communities accept those in certain boundaries does not change anything. The issue is not wether it is cheating or not, because, by definition, IT IS. What we need to know is, should those kind of clients be forbidden, and should blizz whip out true definitive tutorials/ skillsets guides for Overwatch?

[FishyFsh]

I think most people here are in agreement that it is cheating, however this is an idea about what they could do to fix it

Instead of being in game, they could record your gameplay and give the same advice and pop ups after the game basically it could be made into a virtual coach

[ambervalkerie]

If they can get this to work when replaying recordings of your games it could be used as a really good self-coaching tool but I wouldn't use it to play actual comp games because it does fit the criteria of cheating and a good analogy I would use that like its studying for exams, I can use all the study tools I can use to help me with the exams but when I actually start the exams then all the tools would be taken away so I can rely on what I've learned and study to pass it.

[CliffTerios]

Would you use a third party software like this if Blizzard allows it?

[clique]

If it’s a 3rd party software that gives you a unfair advantage that’s cheating. Simple as

[TheMasterKrook]

I don't care mind howlegal it is, but that robot voice annoys the hell out of me

[anthonyb]

I found comparing it to aimbots brings up a good point
Aim is a very significant part of this game and aimbots are cheating because they assist or just aim for you
Game sence is a very significant part of this game and this service is doing it for you.
You can't just have a software that does stuff for you it is unfair, like if you are playing zen the software might warn you the enemy genji has ult and because of that you probably will not ult until genji activates his, other wise you might forget and loose a team fight.

[babydoctoratom]

I've personally never used this software, and am just hearing about it now but I dont think your dependency argument holds up. Do training wheels stop kids from learning how to ride a bike? If you never take them off after years of riding, maybe they will, but if you use it to understand situations better until you dont need it I dont see the problem

[SubFlow]

I have no problems at all with a coaching app. It's no different that people who pay for paid coaching. I also don't believe it makes game sense less of a priority. In fact, I think the app actually trains good game sense, the same as a coach would. Where I draw the line is the ultimate tracking. One simple case: Sombra's hack reveals enemy ult status. That's a benefit of an exclusive in-game ability. Revealing that with an application is absolutely cheating in my opinion and, as I've read them, Blizzard's own terms of service. If Blizzard allowed it, I would try it, so long as the ultimate tracking were removed.

[sgtsaltstick]

should be a part of the game as a matchmaking option as some sort of self coaching tool so when you see the pattern of the pop-ups and learn to read how players work you can eventually exploit that in blind competitive which would make you a better overwatch player

[NYsthwonder]

Blizzard should have implemented this content years ago. Instead, it relies on ludicrous hidden MMR systems to dictate the "appropriate" style play for any hero over a set time duration. However, I do think the overlay is a cheat if the whole community cannot freely access it through the game. This conundrum is Blizzard's own engineered paradox. Teach the community how to play the game and get them to aspire to play in the same fashion as teams in the ​OWL.

[knexxy]

in world of warcraft: Deadly Boss Mod basically tells you gtfo if you are in a dmg zone etc.
hearthstone: decktracker tells you what cards you have left and what your opponent already played.
overwatch: addon tells you what information was presented to you in all that time but you didn't bother reading it
I personally think many of those things are absolutely not needed since blizzard provides all the information if you bother to look at it.

[coreyparrish]

I would say I'm a mid masters player only because of my insanely good gamesense and half decent aim. There have been multiple times where I call out an enemy grav is about to get used and 5 seconds later the enemy Zarya does indeed use her ult. I didn't spend countless hours grinding the game learning the ins and outs just to have someone download software to tell them the grav is coming. This software gives people the sort of end game in OW. Little things like when the Pharah has barrage and recognizing that your healers are getting focused a lot is what separates a good player from a great one. Imo this is 100% cheating no ifs ands or buts. Also side note, can this be used on console?

[delthor]

At this point I tend to celebrate almost anything that will get people thinking about their play, rather than their team's hero choice.

Getting players thinking about ultimate prediction, trickling, peeling for healers, using ultimates more intelligently, and so on would be great, and I would happily accept the need for a third party app to keep up with others if it meant that the general mentality shifted away from "scapegoat the least popular hero."

Perhaps in-game reminders aren't a good way to do that, but your idea of having this give you after the match info seems like a reasonable way to get some suggestions on what you might have been able to improve on without being hand holding. Essentially, look at it as a constant test to see if you're playing well by the tool's standards, and clever players can use that feedback to improve their play.

[BlackwoodHDEnglish]

Alright. So lets break this down.
First i want to make sure we agree that nobody above plat actually needs these popups and it should be common sense to see if someone is dominating or stuff...
People say it improves your game awareness/sense which is false. Most popups are about your own play and your own data and call out blatant things like "you died to that genji 5 times", "your stats are below average".

There are 4 "problematic popups" in visor.

1) When i use the program there will be a popup about ultimates 2 times per match. Those popups are based on the average time a player needs to get his ult and have nothing to do with the game, so there is no "Ult Tracking" going on in the game. These popups have an accuracy of 20 percent (source: my last 2 hours, i have them on record if you are interested...). Because Visor cant read the game data but only the data visible on your screen it is impossible to make a working ult prediction. The moment that enemy genji did not get the final blow the software cant recognize him doing anything. Often the software does not even realize that the enemy already used its ult because visor cant actually analyze sound. Thats why the ult prediction popup is purely based on a timer and has nothing to do with the game. And timers are not illegal!

2) When more than 3 people die from one team there will be a popup saying "the enemy/your team is scattered, push/retreat". There is NO POINT in this popup because the fight is already won/lost at that point. Again, not improving your gameplay in any way.

3) When one of your teammate dies to the same player more that 4 times (that player needs to get the final blow!!!) there will be a popup saying "your teammate needs help". I NEVER had that popup before because there is no way one player would die 5 times in a row to the same player getting the final blow. But lets pretend someone got one. Before i reached master a long while ago i never experienced any sort of teamwork like "protecting your healers" or stuff. So either there will be no reaction at all because players just dont know how to handle the situation or it will actually make overwatch more enjoyable for everyone!

4) And last but not least: "Protect your healer", "Healers are dying 50% firstpick". As you said i think this popup will lead to a better gameplay experience for healers :)

Using Visor is not illegal because it does not modify/read the gamefiles but record your game. Using overlays is not forbidden. (If it is please show me :))
You could argue that a wallhack is simply an overlay but because visor cant read anything but the screen it would be impossible to create something like a wallhack with visor.

I use Visor for personal stat recording and its doing a GREAT job. I love the performance comparisons, i love the endscreen summary, just try it yourself it is really cool to collect and compare your data! Banning visor just because it has 4 Inaccurate, non-working, useless popups that dont improve your gameplay/sense/whatever is just.... MEH!

[jem-jams]

In its current state, Visor is most definitely cheating. However, I had an idea bout how Blizzard could implement this tech into the game.

What if they added Visor as a part of the replay system? It would run silently during the match, but display it's tips when watching the replay. The tech could still do what it's arguably best for, teaching/ coaching (even if the devs didn't design it to be a coaching tool), while also not be used in-game as a cheat.

[DxBlack]

It doesn't effect you if someone else has the ability to _THINK_ you have your ult...that's all the tool even implies. It assumes that X player has done no damage, Y time has passed, and since they haven't fired an Ult yet, be wary of that player...by proxy that will also instill a timing mechanism they can use when they aren't using the toll but people still think that's _cheating_ (when it doesn't tell you they DO have their Ult or that they're getting ready to use it) because _reasons_ .

*inb4 having a desktop stopwatch to track when someone should have their alt up is also cheating, since it serves the same purpose, gives the same "unfair advantage", and doesn't require the player using it to learn the same game mechanics that they were never taught and would require weeks of play to learn / years to "master".*

[NelsonBlakeII]

I'm on the fence. The relevant questions: Is live coaching cheating? Is the game doing more than live coaching?

Side note: It's odd to me that you keep saying this game is easy when there are so very few people able to play it properly. That means that played properly, Overwatch is quite difficult. I'd take it a step further and say that we still don't know what totally optimal Overwatch looks like, because it's calling so many skill sets into demand that it takes more than one season of OWL to have world class talent reveal the game. To support this point, there are many strategies we saw for the first time, in their best version. Meaning, we didn't get to see extensive counter-strategies, which is where the true meta of a game is revealed.

[xezzee]

My opinion is, that as long it only "moves around your ui" it is ok. Like taking kill feed and showing it next to your crosshair . . . but this goes to the point that Blizzard should give us options to customize the UI like in wow :)

Why can't I but kill feed next to my aim with 90% transparenzy and only show blue or red box when someone is killed based on their team?