CS2 community reacts as player loses progress in VAC ban wave due to teammate

VAC bans are becoming more and more common in CS2 as Valve's anti-cheat punishes players for cheating. A VAC ban wave that began in late April 2024 started removing accounts and has reportedly taken down about 26,000 cheater accounts. However, one thing no player could have anticipated was being punished for unknowingly queuing with a cheater.

Redditor Minute_Butterscotch6 shared such an experience. The player was fined for ratings after playing with another CS2 player who may have cheated after their Premier game.

I got this message byu/Minute_Butterscotch6 incs2

Some players reminded the OP that the situation was the same with CS:GO and that this is why it's advisable to queue with players one knows well, as playing with cheaters could cost valuable ratings in CS2.

Another user added that the loss in ratings is justified because a game may have been won thanks to the hacker's performance during the match. This is unfair to others who may have been performing fairly in the same matchup.

Queue with others carefully (Image via Reddit/u/Eon_H and u/anlaggy)

Some community members were sorry that the VAC ban affected the player's elo. However, they still wanted OP to be happy about the cheater being punished by VAC - a sentiment common among many.

Players ask OP to be happy for the cheater getting banned (Image via Reddit/u/armsoldyah)

Another player shared a similar experience where a teammate they played with got a ban placed on their account. Despite having no hand in the cheating, the Redditor ended up with their rank being "taken away." This would be an upsetting experience for anyone.

Reddit user's CS2 rank gets taken away (Image via Reddit/u/Zolkrodein)

One CS2 community member brought up an interesting point to the whole conversation. They pointed out that perhaps many players purchase a "boosting service" to get their accounts to a higher elo by receiving help from cheaters to do so. In such a case, a ban is justified and so is the elo reduction.

Comment byu/Minute_Butterscotch6 from discussion incs2

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CS2 fans should become familiar with the VAC ban stories

VAC bans are increasing daily with at least 26,000 accounts reportedly banned in the past two weeks. All of this has come as a security measure from Valve after many players complained about facing numerous cheaters in their games. In fact, even pros like s1mple preferred FaceIT anti-cheat.

Soon, cases of Overwatch bans also came along. The system is used by a select group of observers who review cases and place bans on accounts for suspected irregular gameplay. In the coming future, VAC bans will probably increase instead of decreasing, and many more accounts will likely get banned for cheating or exhibiting irregular gameplay.