Be careful with Battleeye - They're horrible support.

[Xellial 1]

So I've been a long-time player of DayZ, back before the blow up. Me and all my friends played it when it was barely playable. We've always loved what Rocket's done with the game, and never had any problems what-so-ever (besides with hackers ruining our game, but that's another discussion for another time)

But today, I got a oh-so-wonderful message when I tried logging in to a private hive server of Namalsk (I haven't played DayZ in a while, and my friends told me about all the custom maps, so I was excited)

Globally Banned, ID #762d78

My friends were even more angry than I was, a couple offered to buy me a new CD Key. I laughed it off, thinking it was just some sort of mishap on Battleeye's part. I told them it's fine, I'll send in a support email and they'll fix it. I've never hacked, so I've got nothing to worry about.

Oh lord was I wrong. I got the email back today, I'll post the exact response.

"Hi,

your ban is valid, i.e. backed by clear evidence of hack usage, and therefore won't be lifted.

If you didn't cheat, then you are probably a victim of cd-key theft and a cheater used your cd-key and got banned with it. If you think that this is the case and you can prove that you are the legitimate owner of the cd-key (via proof of purchase, etc.), please contact the game developers at [email protected] and ask them for help. They might be able to disable your old cd-key and give you a new one, given that there is actual evidence of theft. Note that there is nothing BE can do about others getting access to your system (via cd-key stealers, there is a news post about this issue on battleye.com) and stealing personal data such as your cd-key, that's entirely your own responsibility. Also, it's technically not possible for hackers to steal your cd-key in-game.

Otherwise the only way to get unbanned and be able to play on BE servers again is to buy a new copy or cd-key of the game (ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead). Please understand that no further details about your ban can be revealed and no further instructions on how to get unbanned can be provided.

Regards,

Bastian Suter"

So, there you have it. Permanently banned without further appeal, and I still have NO idea what's happened, why I'm banned, or how to get unbanned. They won't provide me information whatsoever, and I am guilty without trial.

I love Day Z, And I am VERY hopeful for the standalone, but if you guys (Rocket and the dev team) decide to stay with battleeye, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to find some other sort of pastime.

Just wanted to post this and to let other people know to be careful - Rocket may be sensible, and the DayZ team may be sensible, but Battleeye is ANYTHING BUT sensible.

[Mos1ey 6301]

If you genuinely have never cheated in ArmA 2/DayZ then chances are your key has been stolen and sold on to someone that has used it to cheat.

Have you downloaded any unofficial DayZ FPS boosting .exes lately by any chance?

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Hmm, interesting. So have you ever run any dodgy scripts or joined a hacking site, maybe even using the same name?

Edited December 29, 2012 by Fraggle

[Xellial 1]

Never. I run Malware bytes to scan for viruses, AVG for my protection. and I have NEVER cheated or used any second-hand programs (Except DayZ commander). I don't feel the need to. I used to play with a lot of Freeside Trading Co. Members, and I know a few of them can vouch for me (Although it wouldn't do me any good, I know you guys don't have a handle o nthe bans, that's all Battleeye). Funny thing is, the last time I remember playing before the ban was Takistan Life.

I already know it looks bad, being a 1-post member. (Never really had a reason to post here before, all my friends and my clan use Mumble Voice Talk Services)

In the email, they said to contact BIStudio's... Any advice on what to say to them to plead my case? I honestly don't even know where to begin here. (Because BattleEye refuses to give me any information to present my case in the first place)

Edited December 29, 2012 by Xellial

[SmashT 10907]

If the ban is backed by clear evidence then there is nothing they can do, you are ultimately responsible for your own account, if you let someone "steal" your CD key and use it to cheat then nothing can be done. To be clear they are not saying that you personally are banned, but rather the CD key used to cheat has been and that will not be lifted.

Edited December 29, 2012 by smasht_AU

[Xellial 1]

Well, that's the thing, I've never let people use my account (Because that requires them to use my steam, and NOBODY except me can use my Steam). They say they have "Clear" Evidence, well, I don't see how it could hurt to let me see what they have so I can at least use it to plead my case to Bistudio about a perhaps new key.

That's why I'm so angry at the moment more than anything. If I don't downloaded Hacks, or questionable programs, Have no viruses or malware on my computer, how am I responsible for my CD Key? The least they can do is give me information so BI Studio can look into it, instead of me going to them and trying to say "so uh, yeah, I messaged these BattleEye guys and they said my key's banned. I'd like to give you more information, but they kinda' won't give me any"

Edited December 29, 2012 by Xellial

[Dankine 377]

they won't give you any because it is quite useful information to cheaters.

your word against theirs, frankly theirs holds much more weight.

[Regicide 111]

See, this is why I'm not a big fan of BE. Let's assume the worst and say that OP is lying through his teeth and has hacked dozens of servers. Isn't he still owed through common decency the opportunity to appeal it? And if you wont grant him an appeal, at least give him the details of the ban and "clear evidence" that appears to warrant it. It seems really unfair to me for bans to be final and irreversible.

Just my 2 cents.

[SmashT 10907]

Actually it doesn't require them to use your steam, anyone who has had access to your PC/CD Key can use your account, including through malware.

They don't give out specific information about what triggered a ban as hackers would love to have access to that information, what specific cheats have been detected etc.

Edited December 29, 2012 by smasht_AU

[Xellial 1]

they won't give you any because it is quite useful information to cheaters.

your word against theirs, frankly theirs holds much more weight.

I agree 100% with you on the My word against theirs, and theirs being worth more. I'm likely not going to get my CD Key unbanned, but that wasn't the real intention of me posting here. IT was mainly to let people know to be a little wary of BattleEye and their support.

I'm likely just going to have to buy a new Key if I want to play (I don't want to let my friends buy me one, it's not their fault I lost it) but after Holiday seasons, I have neither the money nor the will to do it.

Not expecting people to believe I'm some sort of saint, I had 1 post before I made the thread. Just be careful out there guys.

Actually it doesn't require them to use your steam, anyone who has had access to your PC/CD Key can use your account.

They don't give out specific information about what triggered a ban as hackers would love to have access to that information, what specific cheats have been detected etc.

That wouldn't be an Issue. I'm a 20 year old man who lives on his own, nobody has access to my PC Except me (Unless somebody broke in, and hopped on to hack a bunch of DayZ servers. But that's just silly)

At the very least, BE should present the information to BI Studio's on my behalf if I can't.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Xellial

[JustThatEpic 72]

Kids, the moral of the story is simply this:

Protect your CD key.

[xxblink 66]

Submit your IP address. Most bans get submitted with IP addresses, and if it was your cd-key that was stolen, it wouldn't be associated with your IP.

[Xellial 1]

Kids, the moral of the story is simply this:

Protect your CD key.

That's fine and dandy, except the facts I've given out about how I'm confused on how anyone could have taken it. I understand I'm a low-post user, and if I Misunderstood your comment, forgive my next one, but please stop treating all of us like hackers and kids who youtube hacks for games and download shift files. Some of us are low-post users because we never had a problem before, and made an account to post about it.

Submit your IP address. Most bans get submitted with IP addresses, and if it was your cd-key that was stolen, it wouldn't be associated with your IP.

Wow, I can't believe that idea escaped me. xD Thank you very much though, that does at least get me SOMEWHERE>

Edited December 29, 2012 by Xellial

[iegle 117]

I feel your pain. When I attempted to play DayZ for the very first time I was greeted with a Global Ban message. My copy of the game was legit, and recently installed from GOG.com. I had only played ArmaII solo until this. Nice first impression. I sent an e-mail to BattleEye support as instructed on their webpage, and was never given the courtesy of a response.

Given this atrocious customer support I have vowed to never purchase a game that utilizes BattleEye again. I can not support this business practice of treating innocent consumers of your product as guilty with no opportunity to prove yourself innocent.

In the end I did find the root cause of my Global Ban and addressed it myself, no thanks to BattleEye support (I was not launching DayZ Commander with administrator privlidges). The damage has been done, and they and the game developers they support have lost a future customer forever.

Edited December 29, 2012 by iegle

[Xellial 1]

I feel your pain. When I attempted to play DayZ for the very first time I was greeted with a Global Ban message. My copy of the game was legit, and recently installed from GOG.com. I had only played ArmaII solo until this. Nice first impression. I sent an e-mail to BattleEye support as instructed on their webpage, and was never given the courtesy of a response.

Given this atrocious customer support I have vowed to never purchase a game that utilizes BattleEye again. I can not support this business practice of treating innocent consumers of your product as guilty with no opportunity to prove yourself innocent.

In the end I did find the root cause of my Global Ban and addressed it myself, no thanks to BattleEye support (I was not launching DayZ Commander with administrator privlidges). The damage has been done, and they and the game developers they support have lost a future customer forever.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Maybe if people see that we're not all crooked hackers and kiddies who download trojans and blame it on their "Brothers" they'll realize there's an actual problem here.

I just sent an Email to BIStudio's support. Fingers crossed that my IP Address and information on the last time I was able to play Legitimately will get me a new key. Next time, I'll just use Six Updater (Because I got banned around the time I used DayZ commander to play Namalsk... you may be on to something about that, fegle)

[Frankenstein's Monster 11]

Wow, I can't believe that idea escaped me. xD Thank you very much though, that does at least get me SOMEWHERE>

It's a long shot but worth doing I suppose. IP addresses are not exactly infallible and if the hacker was using some sort of proxy then there will be no chance of becoming unbanned.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Frankenstein's Monster

[Dankine 377]

In the end I did find the root cause of my Global Ban and addressed it myself, no thanks to BattleEye support (I was not launching DayZ Commander with administrator privlidges). The damage has been done, and they and the game developers they support have lost a future customer forever.

Yeah that's almost certainly not the reason you were banned.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Dankine

[Xellial 1]

It's a long shot but worth doing I suppose. IP addresses are not exactly infallible and if the hacker was using some sort of proxy then there will be no chance of becoming unbanned.

I know, chances are I'll never have my key unbaned, but I can't complain about being banned legitimately if I don't actually go out of my way and try to prove my innocence to the company's. I just wish people would stop the whole "your an idiot and a hacker why shoudl we beleive you lol 1post" attitude, it's kind of an insult when you're confused and upset about the whole situation.

On another note, if anyone here either has been banned unjustly or knows somebody who has been banned unjustly, and has actually been able to get themselves unbanned, I would appreciate any information or tips you can shed on the matter. I'm not an angry kid trying to get people sympathy or to bitch on the forums about it, I actually would like some real advice.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Xellial

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

if you read the thread again, nobody's really been harsh, called you a kid or dismissed you because you have a low post count :/

[SmashT 10907]

@iegle

GOG for some reason sell the same copy of OA to everyone, including the same banned CD Key. They then send you your own separate unique CD key along with a CD Key changer to update the generic banned key to the one you purchased.

That isn't really an issue with BattlEye, it's an issue with GOG. Look at it from BattlEye's perspective, if you (and others) are appealing a valid banned CD key then they aren't going to lift it.

You hadn't updated your CD key to the one you were sold and were instead using the generic banned one GOG give to every person that buys the game before they change it. It really has nothing to do with DayZCommander.

Edited December 29, 2012 by smasht_AU

[Xellial 1]

if you read the thread again, nobody's really been harsh, called you a kid or dismissed you because you have a low post count :/

Sorry, I just kind of got that vibe from a few people. I'm not trying to lash out at anyone, I'm just a little Steamed at the situation is all (It doesn't help I got 10 guys yelling at me to fix it and play Namalsk on Mumble either. Lol)

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

I guess we come across as blunt sometimes because to be frank there's literally nothing we can do about it. We get hundreds of rage posts a week, most of them are legit bans, all we can do is tell people to contact BE.

DayZ is a free mod for Arma. BE ban you from Arma. I know most or many bought Arma to playDyZ but it doesn't change the fact that this is just a community forum for a free mod.

[SmashT 10907]

I'm doubtful you will have much luck getting a new key, regardless of the IP's used (That's if BE even collects that data), again, the CD Key has been banned for causing the violation, it doesn't matter if it was you using your CD Key to cheat, a sibling, a friend, someone from the other side of the world. It's the account that was used.

Consider this, if BIS start handing out new keys because the account banned was being used by a different IP at the time, every cheater will start using VPN's to cheat. Still worth a try I guess but I wouldn't be too hopeful.

With standalone using steam, at least CD Key theft will be eliminated, someone will have to steal the actual steam account rather then just gaining access to your registry and that's pretty hard with the security measures steam has in place.

Edited December 29, 2012 by smasht_AU

[Xellial 1]

I'm doubtful you will have much luck getting a new key, regardless of the IP's used (That's if BE even collects that data), again, the CD Key has been banned for causing the violation, it doesn't matter if it was you using your CD Key to cheat, a sibling, a friend, someone from the other side of the world. It's the account that was used.

Consider this, if BIS start handing out new keys because the account banned was being used by a different IP at the time, every cheater will start using VPN's to cheat. Still worth a try I guess but I wouldn't be too hopeful.

With standalone using steam, at least CD Key theft will be eliminated, someone will have to steal the actual steam account rather then just gaining access to your registry and that's pretty hard with the security measures steam has in place.

So is the new DayZ standalone going to be a bit more secure for people like myself? (this is important, I have plans to purchase the game if it is so)

[Fraggle (DayZ) 15720]

Yup, there's a lot of interviews about it. Hacking pretty much ruined the mod at one point so it's the top priority for the devs. They're very aware that if the SA isn't secure it'll destroy the game. The mod is easy to hack because Arma is designed to let people inject scripts, it was never intended to be used in the way DayZ uses it. it's one of the main reasons they left the mod and moved on to the SA.

Edited December 29, 2012 by Fraggle