What changed
The Apex Legends anti-cheat team has fixed an exploit tied to Ballistic’s Sling passive. According to the announcement, it relied on a modified game client that could duplicate a weapon optic far beyond the intended limit.
Creating enough copies put excessive load on the server. The match would stop responding and eventually crash for everyone in the lobby. The person responsible could then reconnect and try to benefit while other players were disconnected.
The team says it identified the cause and deployed a fix. It also permanently banned one suspected account. The announcement says action is being taken against every account found to have used the exploit, but it does not specify what action those other accounts will receive.
What this means for cheat users
This is not a broad update on cheat functionality, nor does the post describe an anti-cheat system update. It gives no detection, compatibility, or status information for individual products, including Covcheg for Apex Legends or Stealth. Nothing in this announcement confirms whether a particular product needs an update, works normally, or carries less risk.
There is one clear takeaway: the Sling-based optic duplication method used to crash lobbies has been fixed, and its use is under targeted enforcement. Do not attempt to reproduce it, test the patch in public matches, or use a supposed variation. The developer specifically describes this conduct as match disruption and says it is investigating confirmed abuse.
For players who did not use this exploit, the source does not support a blanket claim that all software should be stopped immediately or that a specific cheat is awaiting a fix. Check the status of the product you use. A lack of a separate warning is not a safety guarantee; no cheat is safe.
What to do now
- Do not use Ballistic’s Sling to duplicate optics or deliberately crash lobbies.
- Do not test unverified builds or “workarounds” in an attempt to reproduce the exploit.
- Check the status and requirements of your own product instead of relying on rumours. See the cheat selection checklist for what to verify.
- If your account has already received a sanction, avoid random tools and chat advice. Start with the what to do after a ban guide.
This announcement is about a fixed method for disrupting matches, not a risk rating or guarantee for unrelated software. If you are unaffected by the exploit, wait for your product’s status only if you encounter a technical issue, and stay away from the behavior named in the enforcement update.
Original source developer announcement