Warzone should follow Apex Legends with Strike Packs ban, says NICKMERCS

Nathan Warby
NICKMERCS in front of Apex Legends and Warzone backgrounds

Players cheating in online games is nothing new, but devs consistently have to develop new ways to stop them. Popular streamer Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff has praised how Apex Legends has combated Strike Packs and urged Warzone to follow suit.

The issue of players cheating is an infuriating part of any online game. In fact, the sheer number of hackers in Warzone caused NICKMERCS to quit in favor of Apex Legends.

That’s not to say Apex Legends isn’t without its problems. Until recently, you could still run into players using Strike Packs.

But Nick has commended how Respawn has fought back against those with controller add-ons in the battle royale and urges similar games like Warzone to copy the idea.

Fuse in Apex Legends

Strike Packs are controller mods that allow players to map buttons on the fly and grant them advantages on shooting and movement. While they are easily purchasable from reputable outlets, they are viewed as cheating by much of the community.

However, Respawn recently made the big decision to ban Strike Packs in Apex Legends competitive modes from now on, saying they can detect when gamers are using them. NICKMERCS called the decision a “big W” for those competing at the very top.

“I think it’s huge news not just for Apex but for the gaming community in general,” Nick said in his video. “There’s a lot of lowkey cheaters out there.”

Nick continued by saying that he was “excited” to see whether or not the likes of Warzone, or even wider online games, will go down the same route.

“I don’t know if it’s going to get adopted over there on Call of Duty or spread like wildfire,” he added. “But I hope we can play together online and have a way to detect these weird cheats and weird third-party attachments, so they’re banned and not in the playing field. That’d be awesome.”

It remains to be seen if the wider gaming industry will follow in Respawn’s footsteps and ban Strike Packs in competitive modes. Although they aren’t as game-breaking as wallhacks or aimbots, removing them would go some way to leveling the playing field.

For more on Apex Legends, check out our guide on how to earn Crafting Metal, as well as the latest patch notes for the battle royale game.

Image credits: Respawn / Activision / NICKMERCS

About The Author

Nathan is a Senior Writer for CharlieIntel and Dexerto, primarily covering FIFA and Call of Duty, as well as general gaming news and guides. After leaving university with a degree in Sports Studies and a master's degree in Magazine Journalism, he took on a role as a local news reporter before moving into games media. You can contact Nathan by email at [email protected].