When Call of Duty: Black Ops II hits the stores midnight tonight, what’s the first thing you think many gamers will try to do once they get their grubby hands on it? If history says anything, there will be those that want to make the next title their little playground of trolling, cheating, and inappropriate behavior. To prepare for the inevitable, we’ve got the latest information on Treyarch’s crackdown on gamers that don’t play by the rules. Study up!
Treyarch hits the ground running with a big list of rules and regulations regarding modding, hacking, piracy, external devices, boosting, glitching, etc. If you or anyone you know is into this stuff, it might be worth your time to look this list over before taking Black Ops II for a joyride:
Below is Treyarch’s posted security & enforcement policy for Black Ops II. All infractions undergo a thorough review process by the Treyarch security team before enforcement, and penalty is not subject to further review.
Definitions
Temporary bans can range from 48 hours to 2 weeks, depending on the severity of the infraction. Permanent bans are lasting and final.
A minor offense is one in which no quantifiable damage has been done to another user or the game community at large. An extreme offense is one in which a player has caused detriment to other users or has organized large groups of users to commit additional offenses.
Modding/Hacking
Any user who runs a modified version of game code or uses a modified game profile is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards. Console users who modify their hardware or profile data will also be reported to console manufacturers. PC users on Steam will be reported to the Steam enforcement team.
Pirated Content
Any user who illegally acquires Call of Duty: Black Ops II content is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards. Console users in possession of illegally acquired content will also be reported to console manufacturers. PC users on Steam will be reported to the Steam enforcement team.
Unsupported Peripheral Devices & Applications
Any user who utilizes an unsupported external hardware device or application to interact with the game is subject to penalty. Unsupported peripheral devices and applications include but are not limited to modded controllers, IP flooders and lag switches.
Minor offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset and will have their leaderboard entries deleted. Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Boosting
Any user who colludes with another user to exploit the game for the purpose of gaining XP, prestige, game score, weapon level, or in-game unlock is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted. Second offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, will have online split-screen privileges revoked, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted. Extreme or multiple repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Glitching
Any user who abuses an exploit in game code or other established rule of play is subject to penalty. An example includes but is not limited to using a hole in the map geo to intentionally go outside of the map boundary.
First offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted. Second offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, will have online split-screen privileges revoked, and will have their leaderboard entries deleted. Extreme or multiple repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Offensive Behavior
Any user who is found to use aggressive, offensive, derogatory or racially charged language is subject to penalty.
First offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online. Second offense: User will be temporarily banned from playing the game online and will have voice chat privileges in the game revoked. Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from playing the game online, will have their stats & emblems reset, and will be blocked permanently from appearing in leaderboards.
Offensive Emblems
Any user who creates an emblem with sexually gratuitous images, racially offensive material or foul language is subject to penalty.
Minor offense: User will be temporarily banned from using the Emblem Editor, and all emblems will be reset to default. Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from using the Emblem Editor, and all emblems will be reset to default.
Offensive Live Streams or Unauthorized Live Stream Content
Any user who is found to have offensive or unauthorized content in their live stream is subject to penalty. Offensive content includes but is not limited to foul language, racially charged language, and nudity. Unauthorized content includes but is not limited to unlicensed music, TV shows, movies and brand logos.
Minor offense: User will be temporarily banned from using live streaming and may have camera streaming privileges in the game revoked. Extreme or repeat offenses: User will be permanently banned from using live streaming. Extreme offenders will also be reported to the live streaming service provider and may have their account revoked by that service provider.
On a much lighter note, we have some awesome news for those looking into purchasing the Season Pass DLC soon after release. Originally, the Call of Duty: Black Ops II Nuketown Zombies map was going to be made available to those that purchased the Collector’s Edition. Due to the overwhelming popularity and enthusiasm from the Call of Duty community over these past months, Treyarch has decided to spice things up for the non-Collector’s Edition buyers out there and give you a piece of the pie.
Available starting in December, the Nuketown Zombies map will be included along as addition content to the DLC Season Pass! Not only do you get all four DLC map packs for a discounted price ($49.99), but the Nuketown Zombies map, along with a special, in-game calling card, will also be instantly at your fingertips as well! Thanks Treyarch!
Call of Duty: Black Ops II will be available in stores tomorrow, November 13th. And remember kids: play nice!