One of the first GTA 5 mods to release allowed players to tweak the FOV and there’s confusion as to whether it’s an offense to use it.
Using mods with GTA Online is probably not a good idea but there are a plenty of legitimate players and hackers modifying the game to some degree. A thread kicked off on Reddit this evening urging players to remove the FOV mod as it may have caused a couple of players to be banned during a sessions this evening where other known hackers were booted from the game at the same time.
While we can’t verify if the poster was booted for using the FOV mod, and only that mod as he claims, perhaps this should be a warning to anyone who is using mods while playing online. Rockstar support appears to be quite clueless when it comes to how the FOV mod works and there’s not been a definitive “official” notice as to whether it can be used.
Other players have contacted Rockstar support about the FOV mod who responded with, “As it doesn’t affect other people negatively, and all it does is increase how much your character sees, I don’t see why you’d get banned for it”.
Rockstar appear to be fine with cosmetic changes but the FOV could get caught in an anti-cheat system. At the time of its release mod developer DrDraxxy added the note:
Be advised: We do not yet know the game’s anti-cheating measures – use at your own risk. This mod modifies game memory and as such looks like a cheat, and may even be considered one in online multiplayer as having a higher field of view can put players at a competitive advantage.
This note in itself should set alarm bells ringing, and if you’re in any doubt about using the FOV mod with GTA Online, it may be best to remove it until there is some further clarification. Better to be safe than sorry.
