Recent Destiny 2 contest mode raid dominated by cheating, forcing Bungie to investigate

To celebrate the Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate expansion, Bungie held the challenging Desert Perpetual raid. Six-player teams that finished the event first will receive rewards, including belts and emblems. While some gamers complained about extreme difficulty, other teams found the raid straightforward. As it turns out, after analyzing the statistics, many observers see clear signs of cheating.

Paul Tassi of Forbes highlights that 70% of the top 100 teams that completed the contest mode raid employed cheats. Some telltale signs include unrealistically low finishing times. In some cases, one player may account for nearly all the kills in a squad. The suspected offenders also recorded an inordinate number of heavy kills using the most powerful weapons.

Net limiting was likely a factor, where contestants throttle their internet connections. As a result, players can inflict more damage, which results in some eye-popping results at the end of a long Destiny 2 raid. Lorentz and Duality are two weapons that amplify the effects of the cheat. The leading teams in the Desert Perpetual raid relied on these tools of destruction.

After an outcry, Bungie has finally responded on social media, promising an investigation into the Desert Perpetual contest mode. The company encourages players to report infractions using an online form.

Players using exploits is hardly new to Destiny 2, with supporters accusing Bungie of not addressing the issue. Gamers pinpoint October 2023 as when cheating became more rampant in the looter shooter. Over 100 Bungie staff lost their jobs, including members of the Player Security team. The employees were responsible for monitoring events, such as contest mode raids. Although companies compensate with anti-cheat software, it often fails to replace human intervention.

Bungie was already facing criticism that the $40 Destiny 2 The Edge of Fate DLC doesn't offer enough value. Surfacing eight years after the base game arrived, naysayers claim that the gameplay is overly grindy. The situation isn't any rosier with the upcoming Marathon, as the publisher has delayed its arrival without a set release date.