Black Desert can restrict a PC, not only the Pearl Abyss account that played on it. The Operational Policy Pearl Abyss runs for Black Desert in North America and Europe, in force since April 30, 2025, names "Hardware Restriction" among its types of restriction, and says that when a specific device or IP keeps using unauthorized programs, "the IP and/or hardware will be restricted." Players who want to dispute any of it get 15 days from the notice to file an appeal.
That 15-day clock also decides what a temporary restriction turns into. Everything below comes from Pearl Abyss's own policy, terms and notices: what each restriction blocks, what puts a PC on the list, where the XIGNCODE3 anti-cheat fits, how you find out, how to appeal in time, and what a new account, a reinstall or an HWID spoofer can change.
Does Black Desert Ban Your Hardware?
Black Desert does restrict hardware, and Pearl Abyss puts it in writing. Its Black Desert Operational Policy lists its types of restriction, and two of the ones below reach past the account to the machine and the connection behind it:
| Restriction type (Pearl Abyss's term) | What it blocks |
|---|---|
| Permanent Restriction | Game login, community forum and related services, for good |
| Temporary Restriction | Game access and boards while Pearl Abyss checks a suspected violation |
| Retrieval / Withdrawal | Items or silver gained unfairly, at 3 times the value gained |
| IP Restriction | Certain IP addresses |
| Hardware Restriction | Certain hardware, from accessing the game |
| Pearl Abyss Account Restriction | The account and every Pearl Abyss service linked to it |
The account and the hardware are separate targets. A Pearl Abyss Account Restriction stops one login and everything tied to it. A Hardware Restriction stops the PC, which is the way a hardware ban follows a PC between accounts in any game that issues one: sign in with a different account on the same machine and the block is still there.
What Gets a PC Restricted in Black Desert
Black Desert restricts a PC for the same offenses that end an account. Pearl Abyss's table of restriction criteria puts "Producing and Use of Unauthorized Programs and Macros" in the group that leads to a Permanent Restriction, and adds that "IP and Hardware Restriction" may also apply depending on how severe the violation is. The category covers five acts:
- making or distributing programs, macros, devices or equipment that disable the game's protection or disrupt the service
- playing with unauthorized programs or macros
- game data showing repeated actions that match the patterns of an unauthorized program user
- Pearl Abyss's security program judging that a player used them
- the anti-cheat system catching the program
Lighter cases go to a Temporary Restriction. Attempting to use unauthorized programs, or repeating actions that look like macro use, sits in that group, and the IP and hardware measures can be added there as well. Pearl Abyss's investigations can arrive as sudden chat messages asking for a response, and the policy says a player who refuses or does not answer is "logically deemed" to be using unauthorized programs.
Bots are treated harder still: bot farms and clusters sit with account hijacking and server attacks in the group that leads to a permanent restriction of the whole Pearl Abyss account, again with IP and hardware measures possible. Other triggers reach the PC without any cheating at all. The policy allows "IP usage restrictions" and "PC usage restrictions" when abnormal access, account theft or suspected gold farming is detected from a specific IP address or PC. And it warns that if the game is severely affected, even a single offense can lead to a permanent ban of the integrated account. For a comparison from another MMO, Throne and Liberty's published penalties stop at the account and an IP block, with no hardware restriction.
How XIGNCODE3 Feeds Black Desert Restrictions
Black Desert's anti-cheat on PC is XIGNCODE3, a product of the security company Wellbia. Pearl Abyss announced the change in a Security Module Change Notice dated January 15, 2024, and the new module went live on January 17, 2024. The notice gives a reason: policy changes at "the previous security module provider" had made it hard to monitor unauthorized programs and act on them live.
Before XIGNCODE3, Black Desert ran Easy Anti-Cheat. Black Desert's Asia service switched to the Easy Anti-Cheat module Black Desert ran before 2024 during maintenance on March 17, 2021, and the NA/EU news archive carries "[EAC] Update Details" notices from May 2021 to August 2023. Lists that still name Easy Anti-Cheat as Black Desert's anti-cheat describe that period.
Pearl Abyss describes how XIGNCODE3 behaves in the same 2024 notice. It starts when Black Desert launches, works only within the permissions the game allows, runs locally, sends detection data only when it finds an unauthorized program, and shuts down together with the game. That last point matters for anyone worried about a background service: the module is not meant to keep running after Black Desert closes.
A detection starts the process rather than ending it. The restriction flow in the Operational Policy runs from a report to a GM investigation, then prior notice, the restriction, the appeal and a notification of the result, and the policy's own wording says a restriction can follow when "the Company's security program" flags a player.
How Pearl Abyss Notifies You, and How Long It Lasts
Pearl Abyss tells Black Desert players about a restriction when it is applied. The Operational Policy commits it to send the restriction details, the reason and how to appeal by email, by in-game mail or as a popup on the title screen. For some acts listed separately in the Terms of Service, the notice can come after the restriction instead.
Pearl Abyss does not publish one length for a Hardware Restriction. The policy describes Permanent and Temporary Restrictions and leaves the hardware and IP measures without a fixed term, so the notice you receive is the only statement of what was applied to you. What the public record does show is the outcome for cheating: the October 2, 2026 restriction notice for Black Desert NA/EU lists "Producing and Use of Unauthorized Programs and Macros" with a restriction duration of "Permanent", against three masked names in North America and two in Europe.
A Temporary Restriction has its own trap. Under the policy, if normal use is not justified within the appeal period, the temporary restriction stays in place, and a temporary restriction whose appeal is not deemed reasonable is converted straight to a permanent one. A hacked account can also land here: the policy asks the owner of a compromised account to accept a Temporary Restriction while Pearl Abyss investigates, and it rules out recovery support for accounts that were not using OTP or PC registration.
How to Appeal a Black Desert Restriction Within 15 Days
Black Desert appeals go through Pearl Abyss Customer Support, and the deadline is 15 days from the day you are notified. Both the Operational Policy and the Pearl Abyss Terms of Service set the same window, and Pearl Abyss's restriction notices point players who want to appeal to the Support page.
- Note the date of the email, in-game mail or title-screen popup. Count 15 days from it.
- Open a ticket through Customer Support on the Black Desert website for your region.
- Give the restriction date, region, account or Family name and the reason quoted in the notice, then explain in a few lines why the restriction is wrong.
- Wait for the result. Pearl Abyss's process ends with a notification of the outcome.
A successful appeal does more than reopen the account. The policy says Pearl Abyss removes the restriction and returns adjusted items when it finds the objection reasonable, and if an appeal moves a case into a different restriction category, the new period counts from the start date of the old one.
Mistakes have been reversed before. In March 2019, after a ban wave aimed at cheaters in Shadow Arena, Kakao told Black Desert forum players that "some players have been wrongfully banned," overturned those bans and sent compensation, according to a Massively Overpowered report quoting the statement. An appeal is the route for a restriction you did not earn; it is not a way to undo one you did.
What Clears a Black Desert Hardware Restriction, and What Does Not
A Black Desert hardware restriction is tied to the machine, so a fix that touches only the login, the game files or the connection leaves it in place.
- A new Pearl Abyss account does not help. The restriction is on the device, and the restricted account keeps losing every Pearl Abyss service linked to it.
- Reinstalling Black Desert repairs the client and the security module but changes no hardware serial.
- Reinstalling Windows resets software values only; the motherboard, disk and network adapter keep their serials, and the post on which IDs a Windows reinstall resets goes through them one by one.
- A VPN changes the IP address. An IP Restriction and a Hardware Restriction are separate measures, so a new IP leaves the hardware side untouched.
- An appeal is the right move when the restriction is a mistake, as long as it is filed within the 15 days.
An HWID spoofer is the other option, and it addresses only the hardware side by giving the PC new IDs. Saturn's Black Desert HWID Spoofer changes the hardware IDs the PC reports, among them SMBIOS and motherboard data, the CPU, RAM, GPU and TPM, disk serials, UEFI variables, the monitor's EDID, USB devices and the network card's MAC, which covers the serials an HWID spoofer replaces in general. It does nothing for the Pearl Abyss account: a restricted account stays restricted, so play continues on a different one. Picking one of Saturn's two modes comes down to the trade-off between a session spoof and a written one. In temporary mode the IDs are masked only while Saturn runs, and profiles are unlimited. Permanent mode saves new IDs to the PC once, for a single profile, so a restriction on that profile later means buying another. Saturn covers Black Desert, and the BattlEye line on Saturn's status page is the one to check before you start a session. Trying it first costs nothing for 24 hours: no card, only an email address at sign-up.
Black Desert HWID Ban FAQ
Is a Black Desert hardware restriction permanent?
Pearl Abyss does not publish a set length for it. Restrictions for producing or using unauthorized programs and macros are listed as permanent in its notices, and the IP and hardware measures can be added to them.
How can I tell whether Black Desert restricted my PC?
Read the notice. Pearl Abyss sends the restriction details and the reason by email, in-game mail or a title-screen popup, and Support is the place to ask if the notice leaves the scope unclear.
How long do I have to appeal a Black Desert ban?
Fifteen days from the notification, through Customer Support on the Black Desert website. A temporary restriction left without an appeal stays in place.
Does Black Desert still use Easy Anti-Cheat?
No. Pearl Abyss moved Black Desert to XIGNCODE3 on January 17, 2024, after running Easy Anti-Cheat from 2021.
Will an HWID spoofer lift a Black Desert account restriction?
No. Spoofing changes what your PC reports as its hardware IDs, while the restricted Pearl Abyss account stays restricted.