Bans, how to appeal them, and how to avoid them...

The ultimate guide on preventing bans for all of the Souls games on PC, what to do if you do get banned, and how to avoid bans even with mods installed...

Disclaimers/Important Notes

1. First, I do not know everything about the ban system, no one does. But quite a bit is known about it given it's been roughly 10+ years since FromSoft started using anti-cheating measures and we've had all that time to figure out how it all works. I've created this guide because of the unfortunately large amount of misinformation that is spread around about how bans truly work, so this guide is meant to be the ultimate one-stop-shop on information about the system, how to avoid getting banned, as well as getting yourself unbanned. All of this information has been sourced from: anecdotal testing by myself and others, reliable community members who have developed mods for the game and seen how the game determines if you're cheating, and the hypotheses which still hold up and match previous evidence. If there is any speculatory information in this guide (Or rather, information not confirmed beyond a shadow of any reasonable doubt) then it will be marked as such.
   
   
2. Second, This guide applies to DSR, DS2, and DS3. And in some ways possibly even Elden Ring, though It's anti-cheating system is very different compared to the earlier games so don't use this guide for it. This guide does not apply to PTDE as that has no built-in anti-cheat and runs exclusively on community server mods due to the official servers shutting down as of October 25th 2022.

How does the ban system work?

The system can essentially be summed up in one sentence: "Whenever you go online, Dark Souls will scan all of your save files to detect any invalid data."

The ban system likely has a "timer"

(Speculation)

I've heard multiple times that when DS3 detects invalid data the game will try to show a warning within the next few hours/days, essentially saying you'll have a restriction placed on your account if you do not remove the invalid data. However, I have been soft-banned for DS3 before and never saw this warning, and I've read a lot of people describing how they got banned and never mentioning a warning either. Importantly; when I got banned didn't play for a week and then logged in to be greeted with a softban. It's also important to note that I can't find images of this warning online, so if this does exist then it's fairly rare and might not work as intended.
But the point is, this probably means you have a limited time to remove your problematic saves regardless of whether you play the game or not, and if a "clean" save is not uploaded before this hypothetical real-world "timer" runs out you'll get softbanned. Again this is speculation, but if true then this rule also applies to DSR since it uses the same system as DS3 (not sure if DS2's system is the same in this regard).

Some options if you get softbanned

As for what we do know, Softbans will be lifted via appeal if it's your first one, there is another method to nullify softbans, but it requires another Steam account (does not need a 2nd copy of the game). Both of these I will discuss a bit later on in this guide.

A quick recap

So if you tamper with the game in online mode, you'll probably get banned. And if you tamper with it on offline in a way that leaves a trace in your save file, and then proceed to go online with that save, you will also get banned (But might be fine if you immediately delete your problematic character(s) and play on a clean save ASAP afterward).

How to tell if you're softbanned

In DS3 this message says "YOU HAVE BEEN PENALIZED" instead. But it means the same thing as DSR's warning despite the difference in wording.

How does a softban affect you?

Where hardbans ban you outright from going online. Softbans will make you only match with other softbanned players, and before you ask, no...password matchmaking does not bypass this.
To illustrate this, imagine a teacher takes their class on a trip to the local pool centre, during this trip if the teacher notices a misbehaving kid they send that kid to a second pool with all the other misbehaving kids...

Softbans are not supposed to be permanent

...continuing the pool analogy, the teacher continues to monitor both pools, and if a kid in the second pool is behaves well for long enough, the teacher sends them back to the regular pool.
This is how softbans are supposed to work, it's the reason you don't get banned outright (probably because FromSoft knows the system is flawed in many ways). In other words, If you play with a clean save for long enough, you're supposed to eventually get the restrictions on your account lifted since employees are supposed to review the softbanned players and lift the restrictions on those who are no longer breaking the rules.
The problem is that the last Dark Souls "game" came out in 2018, 6+ years ago as of writing, and both FromSoft and Bandai Namco do not actively monitor softbanned players for any of the games because of their age, not to mention they have way bigger fish to fry with Elden Ring. So the chances of your softban getting lifted without an appeal are extremely low, they might do the odd check once in a while but I wouldn't count on it. More on how to actually deal with softbans later in this guide.

What will get me banned?

(Semi-speculation)

• Cheat Engine

  Cheat Engine is very risky if you don't know what you're doing. I've used it and tried supposedly "safe" cheats in offline mode and ended up getting softbanned a little bit after I used those saves online in DSR and DS3. Do not use CE online just to be safe, and make sure the app is completely closed when your game is online.
  
  The most dangerous thing which is what will get you banned are "residual cheats". This just means a cheat that modifies your save in a way that will flag your character, a +18 Crystal Moonlight Greatsword is not a thing players should have, if you give yourself one and go online, then you better remove your whole save file, start a clean one, and hope and pray that you dont get hit (TLDR: Don't give yourself invalid items, stats or anything). The rule of thumb for residual cheats is if you are unsure if it's residual then don't use it.
  
  Finally I'd recommend not using Cheat Engine at all and using DSR gadget[github.com] instead, it's less of a hassle, is safer for the most part, and generally says in the program what options will and won't flag you (same rules of thumb for CE apply to this program as well).
  
  

• Mods

  Who doesn't love some good mods am I right? I run a ridiculously modded DSR setup in terms of graphics and UI so I've had to do digging on what will and won't ban you.
  
  
  • Reshade - Likely Dangerous, as some people including me got softbanned when they only had this. However some people report it as being safe, so whether you decide to use it or not it up to you.
    
    
  • Texture Mods - Completely safe, if a mod only modifies textures you will not get banned. This goes for every FromSoft game aside from newer ones with real anticheat like Elden Ring.
    
    
  • UI Mods - Safe, these are just texture mods.
    
    
  • Weapon/Armour/Character mods - Dangerous, if a mod changes an item in the game it will almost certainly get you banned.
    
    
  • Graphics Mods - Depends on the mod.
  
  ABOVE ALL ELSE read what the mod author and comments say about using a mod online!
  
  

• Cheaters

  That's right! Cheaters can and WILL modify your character or put invalid items in your inventory to get you banned! The best way to counteract this is to use an anti-cheat mod which has features to stop this, use Blue Acolyte[www.nexusmods.com] for DS2 and Blue Sentinel[www.nexusmods.com] for DS3. There is a mod like this for DSR but that has its own section later on in this guide.
  
  

  This list is purely anecdotal and is by no means infallible. Always check what the mod page says about using a mod online before installing, or ask the mod author if you are still unsure.

Appealing softbans

So you got hit with the ban hammer, it happens. Here's what to do:

1. Getting in contact with Bandai

   Go to the Bandai Namco support website for your region, or send them a nice email :)

   
   Europe:
   https://service-en.bandainamcoent.eu/app/ask/p/6892
   
   Asia:
   https://bandainamcoent.asia/contact-us
   
   North America:
   https://support.bandainamcoent.com/s/submit-a-case
   
   
   

   You will need a Bandai Namco account for this, if you can’t create one, you’ll have to email them.
   
   
   

2. Providing information

   Put in your information about the restriction

   
   Here is an example screenshot of how you should put in your information.
   
   

   Important note about your Steam username

   
   

   When you're entering your Profile ID it is not asking for your username, instead it is asking for the part of your Steam Profile URL AFTER "https://steamcommunity.com/id/" in my case I would enter "Xeratonereal" in this field. Thanks to ohiowizard24 for pointing this out!
   
   

3. Wait till the magic happens

   Wait

   
   Your appeal could take a few hours to a few weeks to get processed, usually, it's about a week or two.

If you got softbanned twice/Protecting your main from getting banned

According to certain players Bandai will usually accept multiple appeals so make sure to try that if you get banned again.

However, you can also family share to an alt account and not worry about your main getting banned, here is a video on how to do so:

Since cheaters will use family sharing to skirt bans, some anti-cheat mods can detect when you're family sharing and notify the people in your game who are using the mod, Blue Sentinel for DS3 is one of these mods.

How to NEVER get banned again (DSR Only)

This part of the guide ONLY applies to Dark Souls: Remastered, sorry DS2/3 fans.

So, how do you turn off bans in DSR? That's right, I said turn off bans, and this is not clickbait,
The answer is pretty simple now, by using a mod, yes there is a mod that disables getting banned. It sounds ridiculous but it exists and it's a must-have mod for everyone playing this game. (This mod will not "undo" your bans, just prevent them from happening)

This mod is called "Dark Souls 1 PvP Overhaul" by MetalCrow and it can be downloaded from here:

• Nexus Mods: https://www.nexusmods.com/darksoulsremastered/mods/466
  
• Github: https://github.com/metal-crow/Dark-Souls-1-Overhaul

This mod doesn't just disable your saves from being flagged but it has a host-side Anticheat, and is fully backwards compatible with people who do not have the mod. It also uses its own save file, so if you uninstall this mod it's, save file will not be loaded and thus you will not be flagged if that save had any invalid data on it. As I said, this mod is essentially a REQUIREMENT for anyone playing this game on PC even if you only play PvE.

A precaution

(Speculation)

If the hypothesis about a real-world timer ticking down once you get flagged is true. Then as a precaution, start the game on a clean save BEFORE installing this mod. This way you have zero chance of getting banned since the mod stops Dark Souls from scanning your game, therefore the servers only see that initial clean save which is your "most recent" according to it.

If you have any questions about this mod, please read it’s Github page, if you still have questions you can ask on it's Nexus Mods page, or its Discord server. Please don’t ask questions like “Why did the mod change the size of my healthbar?!?!” on this guide, thanks!

Final notes

Don't be a douchebag and cheat in PvP. This guide is to help honest players of the game, not cheaters.

Massive shoutout and credit to MetalCrow for his amazing overhaul mod and his Discord server for helping to answer questions relating to the mod and how DSR's penalization system works.

If you find any spelling or information errors in this guide then let me know in the comments.

If you found this guide helpful at all please Rate It Up and send it to anyone who has questions about how the system works or how to get unbanned, or even if they're somehow still not using Metalcrow's amazing mod.

[Oreos with Salsa]

Read the "How to tell if you're softbanned" part of the "How does the ban system work" section of the guide.

[Dannyboy]

How do I see if I'm banned or not

[депну почку на dark artistry]

their choice whether to trust me or not

[Oreos with Salsa]

Okay well at the very least I appreciate providing a source for the item bans, I will be updating this guide in the coming days. And the reason why your "2 lines" of ban bypass are a big deal is because you are literally telling people to give money to a random Discord account so that you can "turn off bans". Which is extremely shady.

[депну почку на dark artistry]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/374320/discussions/0/2523653167117556212/

invalid items ban

and I'm not gonna post ban bypass just to prove you something. I dont understand why are you emphasizing on that so much, there literally 2 sentences about it in my guide

[Oreos with Salsa]

...But I'm not going to add information that doesn't source how the person who made it came to the conclusion they are presenting. The idea that people should just believe anything just because any random person said it online is moronic, anyone with critical thinking skills is going to question information if it's presented in a "source: trust me bro" fashion.

[Oreos with Salsa]

I know I took a long time to respond so my bad for that. I know we're not getting any official sources, but any document or video that says "Bandai doesn't ban for invalid items" or "You can buy unban cheat tables" which is truly trustworthy should source how they got to the conclusion in the first place. My guide uses information in it that is least likely to get you banned and different people will find different parts helpful. Some people may find the section about what may get you banned helpful, while others may not follow it and still be able to play without getting banned because they know what they're doing, it depends on your experience and discretion. And others may find this guide helpful primarily for the resources on how to lift your softban...

[депну почку на dark artistry]

every "doc" or "link" about bans eventually stumbles upon these questions on sources and "untrustworthy claims" that "potentially can get people banned". you cant fix that because bandai arent transparent with their policies.
such questions are stupid, you wont ever be able to provide concrete evidence for anything in that area, they lead to nowhere

[депну почку на dark artistry]

https://youtu.be/0pUOLvVWWzc

[депну почку на dark artistry]

are you dumb? what sources can you provide for stuff that has no official disclosure whatsoever? when it comes to bans there can be no "sources", simply cus all info is empirical evidence from different people