Destiny 2’s Cheating Controversy Explained

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In the course of its existence, Destiny 2 has encountered a fair share of cheating incidents. This has been particularly evident in more competitive modes such as Crucible, Iron Banner, and Trials of Osiris where players have been found to be cheating. The utilization of aimbots, wallhacks, lag-switching, and net-limiting has persistently marred the game’s PvP experiences, despite the introduction of BattlEye with the intention of completely eradicating such activities. It’s important to note that Destiny 2‘s Player versus Player (PvP) isn’t the only affected arena; even the Player versus Environment (PvE) has gradually seen a rise in cheating, as evident in the most recent instance involving the game’s latest raid.

In Destiny 2, one of the most prestigious achievements is completing a brand-new raid on its release day, but those who manage to do so within the first 48 hours can feel equally proud. This is because new raids in Destiny 2 are set to Contest Mode for the initial two days of their existence, which makes them harder overall and hence, finishing them during this period becomes more desirable. However, it appears that the allure of this achievement lured players a bit too much this time around, as the new Desert Perpetual raid in Destiny 2 witnessed an exceptionally high number of illegitimate completions due to cheating.

Destiny 2’s Desert Perpetual Raid Was a Cheater’s Paradise

Community Investigators Have Uncovered Widespread Cheating Among Top Raid Clears

Almost as soon as the Desert Perpetual raid became accessible, players started scrutinizing public data on platforms like RaidHub and others, as certain aspects seemed suspicious right off the bat. The authentic World First team, Team Nuts, spent a total of 15 hours defeating the raid while streaming their entire endeavor live. But soon after, multiple swift Desert Perpetual completions, as quick as 20 minutes, started appearing on Raid Report. Given the significant disparity between the lengthy clear time of the genuine World First team and others, it raised red flags, suggesting that those who completed it so quickly were likely using questionable or cheating methods.

Approximately 70% of the Desert Perpetual raid completions have been marked as unusual, an occurrence that’s quite rare when it comes to raids in Destiny 2.

A deeper examination uncovered some findings that weren’t entirely unexpected, as many teams that placed in the top 100 of Contest Mode had players with rather questionable statistics. These included exceptionally swift completions, inconsistencies in gear, imbalanced kill counts, and accounts with minimal activity. In other words, there were a lot of potential issues. As a result, the competitive integrity of Destiny 2‘s Contest Mode seems to be under scrutiny more than ever, which is particularly unfortunate given the game’s current struggle to remain significant.

Destiny 2’s Latest Contest Mode Raid Has Exposed a Massive Integrity Problem

In Destiny 2, it’s expected that occasional cheaters may be encountered in player versus player (PvP) matches. However, when cheating becomes rampant, particularly within the core endgame content such as the Desert Perpetual raid and Contest Mode raids, it poses a significant problem. These modes are intended to recognize and reward skilled, well-prepared, coordinated, and dedicated teams. But when cheaters dominate the leaderboards, it exposes weaknesses in Destiny 2’s endgame structure and raises questions about the game’s fundamental and structural soundness.

As a devoted fan, I must admit that the competitive integrity of Destiny 2’s Contest Mode seems to be wavering more than ever, and this couldn’t have happened at a more challenging moment for the game. It’s struggling to hold its ground in the gaming landscape.

It’s troubling to see that this issue underscores Bungie’s potential lack of preparedness to handle real-time large-scale PvE exploitation, especially given the recent layoffs in their Player Security division and the thriving market for cheats. The Desert Perpetual raid controversy raises concerns about whether even the most cherished aspects of Destiny 2 might not be inviolable without substantial updates to the game’s infrastructure and its longevity as a live-service MMO in an environment that is growing more scrutinized over time.

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2025-07-28 21:18