Server blocking issue

Technical Support
1

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to the team for implementing Azure IP hosting to address the IP-range queue blocking issue. It’s a noticeable improvement, and it’s clear that effort went into stabilizing matchmaking and reducing abuse on that front.

That said, I think there’s still a key factor enabling match disruptions that might be worth revisiting. The server selection feature — specifically the small globe icon in the options menu — allows players to freely swap between regions. While this is obviously convenient for legitimate use, it also seems to be the main reason why some players are still able to manipulate matchmaking and cancel games before they properly start.

Because players can dynamically switch servers, it creates opportunities to dodge or interfere with matches in ways that undermine the improvements made with IP hosting. In practice, it feels like this feature is unintentionally working against the progress you’ve made.

I’m not sure what the best solution is — maybe limiting server switching during active queue, or adding stricter checks before a match is confirmed — but it might be worth taking another look at how that system interacts with matchmaking integrity.

Appreciate the continued work on this. The Azure change was definitely a step in the right direction.

Thanks again.

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Blizzard fixed something? Hard to believe. Now if Twitch would do something similar to stop viewbotting fraud. The people doing it don’t realize how much trouble they are getting themselves into. Twitch would actually be helping them by stopping the botting. It’s fraud under the CFAA. There are civil and criminal penalties for it. Your favorite streamer may think he’s slipping under the radar, but some people are actually recording the activity to build a body of evidence. Living in a foreign country isn’t a shield either. When the funds go to a domestic account in the US, the case gets even stronger. You might want to warn him. The patterns of ramping up viewers over an hour or so are a pattern that is easy to identify. He’s not the only one that is being watched either. When it all comes out, he and several others will have their face on videos also with bits of the info that have been gathered. Twitch is the one they are trying to build a case against, but the dishonest streamers collecting illegitimate ad revenue will be exposed right along with them. Remember the PayPal Honey thing? MegaLag built his case for over a year before exposing the fraud. This will be something similar I expect.

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