Well, it looks like the honeymoon is over for Pokemon GO cheaters. Niantic has finally decided to put down some serious ban hammering on hardcore cheating accounts in the game. No, we’re not talking about a slap on the risk, temporary ban here. We’re talking permanent account bans.
It’s not surprising really considering the fuss many players have kicked up regarding cheaters in the game. Just imagine finally getting to play Pokemon GO in your country but having to go up against 2000 over CP Pokemon in the gyms with trainers who are already level 20 and above. Not exactly fun and could even deter many from starting the game.
That last part especially would be a worrying thing for Niantic Labs as they wouldn’t want players dropping out of Pokemon GO shortly after they join it. Which could be partially why they’re going after Pokemon GO cheaters.
A look at their FAQ section for accounts that get banned has this written:
Your account was permanently terminated for violations of the Pokémon GO Terms of Service. This includes, but is not limited to: falsifying your location, using emulators, modified or unofficial software and/or accessing Pokémon GO clients or backends in an unauthorized manner including through the use of third party software.
Our goal is to provide a fair, fun and legitimate game experience for everyone. We will continue to work with all of you to improve the quality of the gameplay, including ongoing optimization and fine tuning of our anti-cheat system. If you believe your account has been terminated in error incorrectly, you can appeal that termination through this form. For privacy reasons, please do not post appeals on social media.
Based on what’s been written, it isn’t really the end for permanently banned accounts. You can still submit an appeal. How effective that appeal is and just how Niantic Lab’s intends to adjudicate those appeals are unknown, though.
We do believe though if the account belongs to a hardcore Pokemon Go cheaters, they’ll have their ways to find out.
Of course, the easiest way around the ban is to make another account with a different email but well, that would mean having to start all over again.
It will be interesting though to see how Niantic Lab’s determines if an account has been cheating or not. There are some rare cases where trainers might have been living in earlier launch countries and playing the game before coming back. Maybe, just maybe, they’ll be able to find some way to tell the difference. So, with this in
So, with this in effect, don’t try to cheat, but if you still want to take the risk, well you could still check out our guide for Android devices, though, we’d like to reiterate again, you do so at your own risk and we have warned you.
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