The official Halo 5 "Why was I banned?" thread

Games Halo 5: Guardians
3228

> 2533274909329991;3220:
> > 2533274813317074;3215:
> > While Xbox Live Support may not specifically state on their support pages about opening ports for games and services, I can guarantee that if you call up your ISP for tech support with online gaming then that’s what they’ll advise (after some other basic troubleshooting). I can confirm this for a major UK ISP as I used to work for one and assist people in doing it every weekend.
> >
> > Not every network is the same, not every router is the same and not every modem is the same - there’s always going to be edge cases of network equipment that just won’t work well on certain ISP’s or even with certain games (TimeWarner when Halo 5 shipped as an example). Factors like router placement and surrounding equipment - cordless phones, microwaves, power lines, even wall thickness if it’s a wireless connection can and will have an impact on your connection.
>
>
> “Not every network is the same”…This should be more than plenty enough reasons for people to feel the “BanHammer” system is flawed by not putting this in consideration during network disconnects. Although you may feel 343i will never do anything about it, there is a concern here.
>
>
> > 2533274813317074;3215:
> > > 2533274909329991;3204:
> > > Dos, 8.8.8.8 is very volatile over the internet that will cause many cases of attacks and fake sites. Are you trying to help people or unknowingly directing them to have their network compromised with this information?
> >
> >
> > Please don’t spread fud. You don’t need to change your DNS for it to be open to hijacking, heck ISP’s themselves hijack their own DNS for advertising purposes. Your router itself can be compromised though unpatched firmware or low security settings. You have a certain amount of responsibility for your own network in your house as well, it’s not always up to other people fix everything for you.
>
>
> You are providing an example of how our ISP’s can possibly hijack our DNS (with in-house advertisements). stckrboy, please explain to us how you think google’s would be perfectly safe without any risks?

What he is trying to tell you is that you have the same risk with your isp’s dns as you would with open dns or google dns.

3229

Hi, I have a problem. I state that I happened to drop a few games (3 or 4) and have rightly been banned for a few minutes. The problem is that at least one or two times a day I get the message “You have lost connection to the server” (or something similar) and I am also banned for this. I understand that if I go out I get banned from the games, but I do not choose to lose the connection to the server, find it unfair to be banned for this reason. Sometimes it is just ridiculous, ends the game, the screen appears with the winning team and I lose the connection there. I do not know what to do.

3230

Can you be permanently banned for quitting?

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> 2535438743414825;3230:
> Can you be permanently banned for quitting?

I don’t know, but i think The ban is only a progressive soft ban

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> 2535438743414825;3230:
> Can you be permanently banned for quitting?

Not to my knowledge. The bans do get exponentially longer however.

> 2535445235964313;3229:
> Hi, I have a problem. I state that I happened to drop a few games (3 or 4) and have rightly been banned for a few minutes. The problem is that at least one or two times a day I get the message “You have lost connection to the server” (or something similar) and I am also banned for this. I understand that if I go out I get banned from the games, but I do not choose to lose the connection to the server, find it unfair to be banned for this reason. Sometimes it is just ridiculous, ends the game, the screen appears with the winning team and I lose the connection there. I do not know what to do.

If you are getting that message immediately prior to the “Banhammer strikes message” it is part of the way bans are implemented. It takes the system a game to catch up and disconnects you at the end of the following match. If you are disconnecting at other times and they are counting as DNFS (you can check your game history by looking at your service record by clicking on your name in the upper right hand corner of this page.) than you may wish you to use the search feature to find advice about how to improve your connection or reduce the chance of disconnects.

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> 2533274880633045;3232:
> > 2535438743414825;3230:
> > Can you be permanently banned for quitting?
>
>
> Not to my knowledge. The bans do get exponentially longer however.
>
>
>
>
> > 2535445235964313;3229:
> > Hi, I have a problem. I state that I happened to drop a few games (3 or 4) and have rightly been banned for a few minutes. The problem is that at least one or two times a day I get the message “You have lost connection to the server” (or something similar) and I am also banned for this. I understand that if I go out I get banned from the games, but I do not choose to lose the connection to the server, find it unfair to be banned for this reason. Sometimes it is just ridiculous, ends the game, the screen appears with the winning team and I lose the connection there. I do not know what to do.
>
>
> If you are getting that message immediately prior to the “Banhammer strikes message” it is part of the way bans are implemented. It takes the system a game to catch up and disconnects you at the end of the following match. If you are disconnecting at other times and they are counting as DNFS (you can check your game history by looking at your service record by clicking on your name in the upper right hand corner of this page.) than you may wish you to use the search feature to find advice about how to improve your connection or reduce the chance of disconnects.

Thanks for your help, do you know if there is a way to reduce the soft ban timer?

3234

> 2535445235964313;3233:
> > 2533274880633045;3232:
> > > 2535438743414825;3230:
> > > Can you be permanently banned for quitting?
> >
> >
> > Not to my knowledge. The bans do get exponentially longer however.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > 2535445235964313;3229:
> > > Hi, I have a problem. I state that I happened to drop a few games (3 or 4) and have rightly been banned for a few minutes. The problem is that at least one or two times a day I get the message “You have lost connection to the server” (or something similar) and I am also banned for this. I understand that if I go out I get banned from the games, but I do not choose to lose the connection to the server, find it unfair to be banned for this reason. Sometimes it is just ridiculous, ends the game, the screen appears with the winning team and I lose the connection there. I do not know what to do.
> >
> >
> > If you are getting that message immediately prior to the “Banhammer strikes message” it is part of the way bans are implemented. It takes the system a game to catch up and disconnects you at the end of the following match. If you are disconnecting at other times and they are counting as DNFS (you can check your game history by looking at your service record by clicking on your name in the upper right hand corner of this page.) than you may wish you to use the search feature to find advice about how to improve your connection or reduce the chance of disconnects.
>
>
> Thanks for your help, do you know if there is a way to reduce the soft ban timer?

By soft ban timer, do you mean the time you get banned for? If so I haven’t read or heard about it going down for anyone. It just goes up with every incident. The best advice I could offer is to finish as many of your games as you can.

3235

> 2533274837003795;1:
> The following FAQ should answer some of your questions about Halo 5 bans. We will update this FAQ as necessary.
>
> I received an in-game message saying I have been banned. Why?
> If you are checking this page because of an in-game message, it is likely that you have been banned for violating the terms of use and/or committing a code of conduct violation. It is also possible, in the case of an especially egregious violation, that your Xbox One system itself is now banned from Matchmaking. The duration of this ban is based on the type, frequency or nature of the committed violation. In most cases, Custom Games will still be available. In extreme cases, they will not.
>
> How can I tell how long I was banned for?
> Ban duration will be shown on the red ban screen as the ban hammer strikes. First offences are generally low and last only a few minutes, but will increase in duration incrementally with each subsequent ban. The ban timer itself displays times as follows -
> Days : Hours : Minutes : Seconds
>
> What types of actions can result in a ban?
> Types of violation include, but are not limited to, the following example actions:
>
> - Modifying your Xbox One hardware or game software and services in any way.
> - Idling through games, habitual quitting/suiciding/betraying, or any other type of unsociable and unsportsmanlike behavior.
> - Impersonating a 343 Industries or Microsoft employee on Xbox LIVE with intent to defraud or cause harm to other players.
> Why was I banned for winning a match / quitting one match / quitting a custom game? *
> You weren’t. The ban system runs at least 1 game behind so your ban will have been placed for a previous offence. After completing your next event, whether it is a matchmaking game, custom game, forge session, spectating a friend or viewing theatre, the system will then show you a message telling you that you have been banned. As it takes more than a single offence to earn a ban you will never be banned for leaving one match, it will be multiple offences that have led to a ban being placed on your account.
>
> I shouldn’t be banned. My brother/sister/cousin/dad/mom/friend must’ve logged on with my account and done bad things. Will you please reverse my ban?
> If this is indeed the case, we do understand your frustration. However, it is your sole responsibility to keep your account information secure and not share it with others who would abuse it. We have no way of detecting who is playing with your account, and if your gamertag is caught making naughty, you will be banned. Those are the rules.
>
> I didn’t do anything wrong, and you can’t prove it. Will you please reverse my ban?
> Our automated system builds up a digital case of wrongdoing before any ban is enacted. If you accidentally disconnect a time or two, you won’t get banned. Instead the system looks for patterns that can’t happen accidentally. If the banhammer detects enough wrongdoing, you were doing wrong.
>
> Will posting in this thread guarantee my ban will be lifted and that someone will respond personally to every post?
> Unfortunately, no. We simply don’t have enough eyes, ears and typing hands to respond to every single post. However, the community will help keep you honest. You have a public game history for everyone to see. If you post you were banned unjustly, the community is in their rights to check out your history to confirm or deny your claims.Please, just keep it clean.
>
> The purpose of this thread is to keep all questions pertaining to bans in one place. Without a megathread for such questions, the rest of the forum will almost certainly turn into a cavalcade of ban questions.
>
> If you were banned and think you have a case, this is the ONLY thread you should post in. If other moderators see posts pertaining to bans in other threads, they will either be deleted outright or a kind-hearted mod might just move the posts to this thread.
>
> If any users are caught habitually spamming ban threads in other threads, we will consider that a violation of the forum Terms of Use. You will risk being banned here as well. We don’t want to have to ban anyone, but we do want an open, honest and positive place to post about all things Halo, so a thread like this is necessary.
>
> Thanks in advance!
>
> * [updated: 05/25/2016**Good explanation I got confused why I got banned for 8 hours for backing out of a stats screen but what doesn’t makes sense is the fact that I didn’t leave my last arena game and backed out of a war zone lobby that didn’t even start and getting banned for almost a day

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> > > 2533274813317074;3215:
> > >
>
>
> What he is trying to tell you is that you have the same risk with your isp’s dns as you would with open dns or google dns.

that is not the same risk!?!

What I’m telling you, and what i have been telling you is that local ISP’s, will send in-house advertisements (true) over the DNS, this type of interruption is no were near as dangerous as using a foreign DNS server, you never seem to understand that important factor. So let the people viewing this decide if using google over their own or as a substitute for the one provided with local ISP’s.

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> > > > 2533274927353745;3219:
> > > > 343 seriously need to re-do their ban system, i just got banned for leaving ONE game, and i get banned for 5 minutes, and it was on a community game, and i’m always getting banned for playing grifball, they need to add exceptions for the community playlists, especially grifball where betrayals are commonplace
> > >
> > >
> > > Well, you more than likely got banned for DNFs on 3 games since 8-29-16.
> > > I wish you didn’t get banned because that seems low, but the ban system is harsh. I know it is rough but it’s attempting to do some good (yes, I do know that this is not an excuse).
> > >
> > > Grifball does need some retooling, I do remember that there was talk about the ban system being more sympathetic to Grifball players because of how easy it is to betray teammates, but I don’t think anything happened with that.
> >
> >
> > Also, if you are trolling, then please don’t, because i just started playing Today and i haven’t been playing between the 20th and 30th, i haven’t played H5 in a week or so, and if i did, it was on grifball, so please don’t troll me by saying i had 3 DNF’s when i clearly didn’t, i had 1 DNF that was today and no DNF’s between the 29th and 20th, so, the DNF today doesn’t count, my last DNF was on 8/20/2016, not counting the one 5 hours ago because H5 froze, Please don’t troll me.
>
>
> Judging by your match history he got those dates wrong, you do have a break in your history from 8/21 to 8/31. You do however Have 6 out of your last 50 matches as DNFS. That is more then 10%.

true, but considering the DNF’s were all within of a week or so, so i shouldn’t had received a punishment for a DNF that was a week ago or so on

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> > > 2533274927353745;3226:
> > > > 2533274874078365;3221:
> > > > > 2533274927353745;3219:
> > > > > 343 seriously need to re-do their ban system, i just got banned for leaving ONE game, and i get banned for 5 minutes, and it was on a community game, and i’m always getting banned for playing grifball, they need to add exceptions for the community playlists, especially grifball where betrayals are commonplace
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Well, you more than likely got banned for DNFs on 3 games since 8-29-16.
> > > > I wish you didn’t get banned because that seems low, but the ban system is harsh. I know it is rough but it’s attempting to do some good (yes, I do know that this is not an excuse).
> > > >
> > > > Grifball does need some retooling, I do remember that there was talk about the ban system being more sympathetic to Grifball players because of how easy it is to betray teammates, but I don’t think anything happened with that.
> > >
> > >
> > > Also, if you are trolling, then please don’t, because i just started playing Today and i haven’t been playing between the 20th and 30th, i haven’t played H5 in a week or so, and if i did, it was on grifball, so please don’t troll me by saying i had 3 DNF’s when i clearly didn’t, i had 1 DNF that was today and no DNF’s between the 29th and 20th, so, the DNF today doesn’t count, my last DNF was on 8/20/2016, not counting the one 5 hours ago because H5 froze, Please don’t troll me.
> >
> >
> > Judging by your match history he got those dates wrong, you do have a break in your history from 8/21 to 8/31. You do however Have 6 out of your last 50 matches as DNFS. That is more then 10%.
>
>
> true, but considering the DNF’s were all within of a week or so, so i shouldn’t had received a punishment for a DNF that was a week ago or so on

The banhammer doesn’t reset, it remembers all of your Dnf’s from when you started the game.

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> > 2533274880633045;3227:
> > > 2533274927353745;3226:
> > > > 2533274874078365;3221:
> > > > > 2533274927353745;3219:
> > > > > 343 seriously need to re-do their ban system, i just got banned for leaving ONE game, and i get banned for 5 minutes, and it was on a community game, and i’m always getting banned for playing grifball, they need to add exceptions for the community playlists, especially grifball where betrayals are commonplace
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Well, you more than likely got banned for DNFs on 3 games since 8-29-16.
> > > > I wish you didn’t get banned because that seems low, but the ban system is harsh. I know it is rough but it’s attempting to do some good (yes, I do know that this is not an excuse).
> > > >
> > > > Grifball does need some retooling, I do remember that there was talk about the ban system being more sympathetic to Grifball players because of how easy it is to betray teammates, but I don’t think anything happened with that.
> > >
> > >
> > > Also, if you are trolling, then please don’t, because i just started playing Today and i haven’t been playing between the 20th and 30th, i haven’t played H5 in a week or so, and if i did, it was on grifball, so please don’t troll me by saying i had 3 DNF’s when i clearly didn’t, i had 1 DNF that was today and no DNF’s between the 29th and 20th, so, the DNF today doesn’t count, my last DNF was on 8/20/2016, not counting the one 5 hours ago because H5 froze, Please don’t troll me.
> >
> >
> > Judging by your match history he got those dates wrong, you do have a break in your history from 8/21 to 8/31. You do however Have 6 out of your last 50 matches as DNFS. That is more then 10%.
>
>
> true, but considering the DNF’s were all within of a week or so, so i shouldn’t had received a punishment for a DNF that was a week ago or so on

The time between them doesn’t matter. The number of matches does appear to.

3240

After reading about the whole end thing it got me wondering why I got a 24h ban from arena for quitting a war zone match that didn’t start I’ve also read that the ban is slow and counts your last game if so my last game was leaving a lobby of war zone assault with nobody in it yet banned from arena. Can someone please explain this?

3241

Btw there should be a message when they do updates. I did a hard reset and it stopped dropping me from matches. I hope 343 eventually addresses this.

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> 2545338003688378;3241:
> Btw there should be a message when they do updates. I did a hard reset and it stopped dropping me from matches. I hope 343 eventually addresses this.

There is a mention of this on the xbox support page.

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> > > > > > > 2533274880633045;3232:
> > > > > > > > 2535438743414825;3230:
> > > > > > > > Can you be permanently banned for quitting?
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Not to my knowledge. The bans do get exponentially longer however.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > 2535445235964313;3229:
> > > > > > > > Hi, I have a problem. I state that I happened to drop a few games (3 or 4) and have rightly been banned for a few minutes. The problem is that at least one or two times a day I get the message “You have lost connection to the server” (or something similar) and I am also banned for this. I understand that if I go out I get banned from the games, but I do not choose to lose the connection to the server, find it unfair to be banned for this reason. Sometimes it is just ridiculous, ends the game, the screen appears with the winning team and I lose the connection there. I do not know what to do.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > If you are getting that message immediately prior to the “Banhammer strikes message” it is part of the way bans are implemented. It takes the system a game to catch up and disconnects you at the end of the following match. If you are disconnecting at other times and they are counting as DNFS (you can check your game history by looking at your service record by clicking on your name in the upper right hand corner of this page.) than you may wish you to use the search feature to find advice about how to improve your connection or reduce the chance of disconnects.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Thanks for your help, do you know if there is a way to reduce the soft ban timer?
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > By soft ban timer, do you mean the time you get banned for? If so I haven’t read or heard about it going down for anyone. It just goes up with every incident. The best advice I could offer is to finish as many of your games as you can.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Can you be permanently banned for quitting?
>
>
> I don’t know, but i think The ban is only a progressive soft ban

Thanks

3244

Dear 343,

I recently (a few days ago) purchased Halo 5. Haven’t really played a lot arena matchmaking but ended up quiting two games and was then banned. I would like to voice my frustration about this. I feel justified in leaving a game from time to time. Life happens, you may have to take a call, you may have to help a roommate carry in groceries, or whatever else may happen while playing a game. Since matchmaking games cannot be paused, and since standing in one spot may negatively impact your team, I will leave games.

There are also situations where one can be exploring different game types. I had only played one game type and wanted to see what the different types had to offer. I played one, did not find it particularly enjoying, and decided to leave to try another. I then had to leave the next game for a reason outside the world of Halo and was punished for it. How was I banned for two minor infractions? I feel there is a better route to take than banning someone for leaving 2 games.

Unlike games of Halo past, players can join mid game. This makes leaving a game a lot less severe than in recent history, yet the punishment has escalated severely. I also see issues arising from false positives for ‘leaving’ games. Situations like a person’s internet or power going out (among many other possible situations outside of the users control). Stack this with the situations where a person is validated in choosing to leave a game (aforementioned real world reasons, escaping a harassing player, trying to avoid lag, etc) and the validity of a straight count of ‘violations’ is brought into question.

Halo 5 is a game, and a game’s primary purpose is to provide recreation. Taking away a person’s ability to enjoy that recreation because they ‘might’ have malicious intent or because they ‘might’ have done an undesirable action on purpose, seems like it would hinder more people trying to enjoy the game than punish people not playing by the rules.

I understand wanting to place deterrents for undesirable behavior. However resorting to actions as severe as banning should not be so hastily reached. I feel that a few warnings, possibly accompanied by a smaller XP gain, could help stop some of this behavior. Eventually resorting to banning may be necessary but only after other steps have been taken to curb the behavior.

With the questionable nature of the violation measurement, the possibility of punishing an ‘innocent’, and the availability of other avenues before such a severe action; I find it difficult to understand why 343 chose to implement such a harsh punishment philosophy. In light of this I would like to suggest that 343 revisit their decisions and lessen the punishment for certain violations, such as leaving a game.

Thank you for your time.

  • A concerned Halo player

(ps I am posting this primarily for feedback to 343, and probably will not respond for discussion.)

3245

> 2533274824507794;3244:
> Unlike games of Halo past, players can join mid game.

This only applies to unranked Arena playlists. The ranked playlists (like the Slayer match you did not finish most recently) do not support Join In Progress, so if you leave a ranked match, no one will join to take your place, leaving the rest of your team down a man and at a disadvantage.

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> > 2533274927353745;3237:
> > > 2533274880633045;3227:
> > > > 2533274927353745;3226:
> > > > > 2533274874078365;3221:
> > > > > > 2533274927353745;3219:
> > > > > > 343 seriously need to re-do their ban system, i just got banned for leaving ONE game, and i get banned for 5 minutes, and it was on a community game, and i’m always getting banned for playing grifball, they need to add exceptions for the community playlists, especially grifball where betrayals are commonplace
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Well, you more than likely got banned for DNFs on 3 games since 8-29-16.
> > > > > I wish you didn’t get banned because that seems low, but the ban system is harsh. I know it is rough but it’s attempting to do some good (yes, I do know that this is not an excuse).
> > > > >
> > > > > Grifball does need some retooling, I do remember that there was talk about the ban system being more sympathetic to Grifball players because of how easy it is to betray teammates, but I don’t think anything happened with that.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Also, if you are trolling, then please don’t, because i just started playing Today and i haven’t been playing between the 20th and 30th, i haven’t played H5 in a week or so, and if i did, it was on grifball, so please don’t troll me by saying i had 3 DNF’s when i clearly didn’t, i had 1 DNF that was today and no DNF’s between the 29th and 20th, so, the DNF today doesn’t count, my last DNF was on 8/20/2016, not counting the one 5 hours ago because H5 froze, Please don’t troll me.
> > >
> > >
> > > Judging by your match history he got those dates wrong, you do have a break in your history from 8/21 to 8/31. You do however Have 6 out of your last 50 matches as DNFS. That is more then 10%.
> >
> >
> > true, but considering the DNF’s were all within of a week or so, so i shouldn’t had received a punishment for a DNF that was a week ago or so on
>
>
> The time between them doesn’t matter. The number of matches does appear to.

i had 1 DNF that was 8 days ago (probably 9 now) and i received punishment for it that day of the DNF, so i don’t think i would receive another punishment for a DNF that i had gotten a ban for prior to my DNF yesterday

3247

> 2533274817408735;3245:
> > 2533274824507794;3244:
> > Unlike games of Halo past, players can join mid game.
>
>
> This only applies to unranked Arena playlists. The ranked playlists (like the Slayer match you did not finish most recently) do not support Join In Progress, so if you leave a ranked match, no one will join to take your place, leaving the rest of your team down a man and at a disadvantage.

He is basically telling you that he didn’t sign up for some pro league when he purchased halo. Im sure we all understand the policy and consequences for quitting games; but the whole point is to play halo5 for recreational entertainment and not be burdened by stricter guidelines and punishment; these circumstances should be left in Esports or some professional gaming event.