Cause most people don’t do IT for a living. Most today have antivirus that is already doing this in your firewall…I have been doing it for six years. I block servers from Blizzard in Asia and EU it tries to connect to.
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An Antivirus shouldn’t block Blizzard servers by default.
Congrats, just because it isn’t main priority to bann people which do this doesn’t mean it’s allowed.
If you specifically block Blizzard servers then you’re changing what servers you’re being connected to.
This means on the main menu you’ll be told you’ve found a match only for your Client to not accept being connected to the server and reenter the queue as if you’ve never had found that match.
Which is a modification of how the licensed software operates.
Yet it isn’t encouraged / advised either if you happen to have issues with server connectivity.
No offense my man, i don’t think you know how networks work and what “modification” of a software means… This is totally legal, just accept it and move on.
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It’s fair. I’ve got a friend in SA that uses it so we only connect to NA servers, and nothing’s ever happened. Though, I completely agree; an actual server selector would be the best.
I don’t think you know how it works. So with regions, it will basically do a latency test to determine which one you have the best latency to, once it does that it will then favour that region. For some its MEA which is around 140ms over EU of 180. Which isn’t really fun or great to play on.
If you block the connection, it just won’t test and count it as 100% packetloss to that region, hence you wont be put in it.
I just love how even when OP asks a sincere question, folks start arguing with one another over mere technicalities.
To answer your question, OP: Technically, if we’re following the letter of the Blizzard EULA, yes, server selectors, VPNs, and such is technically bannable/actionable. That said, is there bigger fish to fry in terms of Blizzard actioning players? Also yes (as in, people that were abusing Mei’s Ice Wall are a higher priority target for the banhammer at the moment compared to someone using a VPN).
No. It’s a network configuration OP is talking about. Put it simply - he can install a hardware router and configure the rules there, independent of the host PC. It will then have the same effect but on a completely separate device. It’s by definition not possible to differentiate and - hence, detect. Even it was deemed to be something “shady”.
To those referring to EULA - good luck enforcing something that’s not detectable. OW will have no way of knowing if some server is unreachable because of the host config, an owned router or maybe the ISP having some issues. And if that’s bannable then anyone can be banned just because their network didn’t work as the game wants (and that’s outside of control).
I think it is completely fine - and more - if players have to resort to these kind of things to optimize game performance and “fix” the match-maker, I have no words.
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BRB getting a Mikrotik
It does break tos so is bannable as you are manipulating matchmaking with a third party tool.
It is also more detectable than a vpn.
Will blizzard ban you is a better question. Probably not but it’s still a risk.
I see people saying it’s not bannable. It directly breaks tos.
Something being bannable and it happening is if it’s enforced.
They have let streamers use vpns for years to play in different lobbies with no action.
If one day they decide to though, firewall setting are easy to see as they can see your location and can see that your are not responding to pings.
One time i lost so much that i went from 3480 to 3000, i was so mad that day
Any third party program is grounds for banning, regardless of what they do.
If you’re really paranoid, just take note of the ips and block them in your router and ditch the program.
Then in the horrible imaginary event that blizzard questions you, tell them you have no control over the network you connect to. The switch belongs to your landlord. Or you can’t customize it. Who cares? They won’t.
Seems like a ton of people are confused as to what it does. All it does is modify your Windows Firewall rules, which is 100% not-bannable. It doesn’t run when the game is on and it doesn’t need to be run more than once to ban something like MEA.
Will manually do it so I don’t have to worry about running the application.
Saying third-party programs are grounds for banning is stupid, sure a cheat, or overlay or something like that then yes. But something like a network firewall or latency monitor etc, is not bannable.
My whole question was because since this is a once-off .exe program, Overwatch could technically count it as cheating. Will just manually add the rules and hope one day the devs actually just add in a server selection.
I assume it’s not running the game is running, it simply configures your firewalls to stop anything the particular range of addresses “getting through” which just so happens to contain the only server you want to join.
I can’t imagine it would be a problem unless blizzard is sweeping your system for programs that are installed but not running…
…
Changing your firewall rules isn’t bannable. I used that very trick on OW1. Do keep in mind that the stuff for OW1 doesn’t work on OW2, unless they added the new servers IPs. I’ve personally been using a proxy to do that instead for that reason. (And getting slightly better ping as a bonus)
People that think blocking IPs in the firewall can get you banned are full of it.
Wish there was one that gave me decent latency. A VPN also works, but ExitLag is extremely buggy as their software often crashes the server connections 1/3 competitive games.
Whats the benefit of using those tools / playing on another server? I only see drawbacks actually
… the program is the issue, not the configuration
No issue with exitlag personally, i’m sure there are other services like it though.
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It is also true, any third party program that interacts with the game can be considered cheating. Thus it open to you getting banned.
As stated before, the game can potential flag it as cheating, just like with any third party program.
I am not saying every single third party program that you ever use with OW will get you banned. Yet any unauthorized program, like the one you maybe currently using runs the risk of you getting banned. If they find your behavior to be a little too suspicious, then they may come ask about it. Blizzard does scan your computer to find these programs, and these are notoriously finicky. There some reports awhile ago of players being banned on Linux for using DXVK, even though that is just a compatibility tool.
You can read more about it here: Anti Cheating Agreement - Legal – Blizzard Entertainment
Please note that I do not know the ins and outs of your program. I just know that it is a program not authorized by Blizzard that is touching its stuff.
Then you just answered your own question. Are you asking if it is worth the risk to use it?
I will say this, if Blizzard comes asking just explain to them what it is. They will probably overturn any bans.