Anti-Cheat Guide

Call of Duty Anti-Cheat

Kernel Ricochet with HWID bans plus active server-side mitigations like cloaking and damage shields - Warzone and Black Ops 6 are a serious target.

Modern Call of Duty - Warzone and Black Ops 6 - is defended by Ricochet, Activision’s kernel-level anti-cheat, alongside one of the more creative server-side mitigation toolkits in the industry. Beyond banning, Ricochet actively messes with detected cheaters: cloaking legitimate players from their ESP, disabling their damage, and similar "mitigation" tricks before the ban lands.

That mix of a kernel driver, HWID bans and live mitigations makes COD a genuinely hard target, and the enormous Warzone playerbase keeps it a top priority for Activision.

How Ricochet works in Call of Duty

Ricochet runs a kernel driver that monitors for tampering while the game is open, paired with server-side systems that can detect and then quietly sabotage a cheater’s session - rendering them unable to deal damage, or hiding real players from their wallhack - to gather confidence before a hardware ban.

This "detect, then mitigate, then ban" approach means a build can appear to work while the server is already neutralising it. As with the other kernel games, "it loads" is not "it is safe."

What a Call of Duty ban actually means

COD bans are HWID plus account. Ricochet is built to flag hardware, so new accounts on a banned PC stay locked until the fingerprint is spoofed - making an HWID spoofer a standard part of the COD kit.

Activision also runs ban waves and publicises enforcement numbers, so the game is actively, visibly policed. Expect the hardware cost, not just an account swap.

Detection track record

We rate COD "High." Ricochet’s kernel driver plus its mitigation toolkit and ban waves put it above the EAC survival games. Public and free COD cheats are saturated and burned fast.

The mitigation layer is unique: you may notice you "can’t kill anyone" before any ban, which is the server telling you it has already flagged the session. Discretion and a current build are everything.

Cheating in Call of Duty safely

In COD the durable approach is a private, maintained build used with restraint - a capped aimbot, ESP for awareness, and recoil control - rather than obvious rage in a streamed lobby. Pair it with an HWID spoofer given the hardware bans.

Check the build’s status before each session, since Ricochet updates frequently. What we keep current for Call of Duty is listed below.

Call of Duty anti-cheat FAQ

Is Ricochet kernel-level?: Yes. Ricochet uses a kernel-mode driver while the game runs, plus server-side mitigations, which is why modern Call of Duty is much harder to cheat in than older, VAC-style titles.
Why can’t I damage anyone before getting banned in COD?: That is Ricochet’s mitigation system. When it detects a cheater it can disable their damage or cloak real players from their ESP to build confidence before issuing a hardware ban.
Does COD need an HWID spoofer?: Often, yes. Ricochet issues HWID-plus-account bans, so a flagged PC stays locked for new accounts until the hardware fingerprint is spoofed.

This guide is informational and reflects how Ricochet and Call of Duty bans generally work; anti-cheats update constantly, so treat every detail as a moving target rather than a guarantee. Last reviewed 2026-06-15.