Because this version aggressively deletes "dead" chain anchors to fix the memory leak, it occasionally deletes active ones. This results in the infamous "Ghost Anchor"—visually, the chain looks attached, but physically, it passes through walls. Players discovered you could clip through the "Molten Core" section by exploiting this glitch. It is inconsistent, frustrating, and absolutely beloved.
The original game suffers from a fatal desync issue in late-game levels (Floors 80+), where chain tension calculations overflow, freezing all players mid-air. v1.7.3-0xdeadcode patches this by replacing the stock constraint solver with a fixed-point integer system. The result? No more floating-point rounding errors. Chains become rigid, predictable, and mathematically pure. Players report a “cold, mechanical” feel to the physics—but it never crashes.
That depends entirely on your tolerance for the unofficial, the unstable, and the ethically ambiguous. Chained Together v1.7.3-0xdeadcode
For casual players: No. The difficulty is tuned for veterans. The ghost chain mode breaks intended design. And you will be playing outside matchmaking.
For speedrunners, modders, and digital archaeologists: Yes. v1.7.3-0xdeadcode is a fascinating artifact—a parallel universe version of Chained Together where the physics are colder, the chains are crueler, and the only real anchor is the code itself. "As a dev, the name gives me anxiety
We asked the r/ChainedTogether subreddit what they think of the legendary version.
"v1.7.3 is like a beautiful car crash. It handles terribly, the warning lights are on, but god, you feel alive driving it. Modern patches are a Tesla. 0xdeadcode is a muscle car with no seatbelts." – u/ChainSawMasta DR: If you want a stable
"As a dev, the name gives me anxiety. As a player, I won't play any other version. The rubber band sound effect alone is worth the downgrade." – u/CodeWeaver
The TL;DR: If you want a stable, fair, competitive climbing experience, play the modern version. If you want physics exploits, memory-leak chaos, and the ability to launch your friend into orbit by accident, you need Chained Together v1.7.3-0xdeadcode.