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There’s an old saying, “Cheaters never prosper” and in videogames, primarilyfirst-person-shooters, that’s mostly true. At least when they’re caught that is. But unfortunately, it’s still difficult to spot who’s cheating and ruining the game for everyone else, and who’s not. Plus, even if a cheater is caught, they can just create another sock account and pop up again relatively quickly.
It’s a blight on the gaming community and all we can really do is be more vigilant in our video games in order to root out the ones that are ruining the fun for everyone else. We’ve all come across a cheater at some point in a game, whether we knew it or not, and some are easier to spot than others. To help you catch these cretins, here’s a primer on the most common video game hacks.
Aim Bots
What Does It Do?
Number one with a bullet, Aim Bots are arguablythe most common type of hackthat you’ll run into. There’s another variation called a Trigger Bot that usuallysupplements an Aim Bot. This is another hack that fires your gun automatically for you at any threats. Rather frustratingly,being able to spot it variesfrom the glaringly obvious to the much more questionable.
For the uninitiated, it’s basicallya bot that will wrench your camera automatically in the direction of threatsas it does the aiming for you, then all the hacker does is pull the trigger. The rounds then go directly tothe head or vital area that causes the most damageand you’re dead before you know what happened.
How To Spot It
Unlike other hacks that enable things likeinfinite health or no reloads, Aim Bots are a little trickier. Whilst there are some really obnoxious examples of it being used, sometimes there can be claims of an Aim Bot being used by someone, but in reality, it’s justgenuine skill.
In general, a good way to spot someone with an Aim Bot in amultiplayer FPSis if they’re pulling offsudden turns and reactive shotsthat they physically could not have accounted for. That can be things like head shottingsomeone 180 degrees behind themor sniping someone in the head that’smiles away and genuinely not visibleto anyone but the hacker.
Or someone sprinting through an area,snap-shooting everyone in the headlike they’re using the Smart Pistol from Titanfall 2.
Modern FPS games that incorporate a kill-cam make spotting hackers using Aim Bots much easier as you seetheir physical view and reactionat the moment you die.
Wall Hacks
Another of the most common cheats you can run into,primarily inFPS gameslike CSGO, is someone using Wall Hacks. This is a particularly nasty type of hack that gives quite an unfair edge, and in the competitive scene it’saggressively stamped outwhen it’s encountered.
Wall Hacks give a cheater the ability to see objects, targets, and other hidden detailsthrough walls. So for example; In an FPS like COD or Tarkov, the Hacker would seea large square or other markeraround something like anearby player, point of interest,and so on. Thispseudo-x-ray visionthen allows them to either sneak up and ambush someone or react to an attack they’re about to walk into.
It’s horribly unfair andtakes away a lot of the fun and suspensefrom a game.
There’s another visual cheat that’s paired with this calleda Camera Hackor FOV Hack. This substantiallywidens your FOVpast what the developers intended.
When it comes to spotting someone using Wall Hacks, you’re going to have totrust in the Killcam, or use your gut. For example, if their Killcam seems totrack you through a wall,or if they suddenly behave as ifthey were waiting for youto come around a corner.
Some other tells can be subtler. Like if they’resuspiciously playing passive, or if they seem to know what’s going on. Or if you’re able to never seem tokill them head-onin a fight. Finally, if they’re using a weapon that’s not suited for the particular arena. Such as aone-shot-kill Sniper Rifleon a very tight and small map.
A quick and simple way to tell if someone is using Wall Hacks is if the game you’re playingallows for peeking. If they fire exactly at you right before you peek,this means they can see youthrough the wall.
Lag Switching
This hack is particularly nasty as it canmassively impact a gameand it’s very difficult to spot as it caneasily hide itselfas a legitimate connection issue. Lag Switching hacks basicallyinterfere with the connection to a gameallowing a cheater to delay someone’s actions and allow them to gain an advantage.
For example,lagging someone out in a fighting gameso you can land more hits. Or spiking the ping of another player so they either getstuck in rubber band hell. Or the hacker uses it tozip around the areakilling everyone quicker than they can physically react because of lag.
DDoS and Drop Hacks also fall into this category. They function the same as they can eitherdisconnect the cheater from the gameto protect their win streaks or the other player if the cheater is about to lose.
As we previously mentioned, Lag Switching is a massive pain to deal with as it cancamouflage itself as a normal connection problem. Finding yourself suddenly rubberbanding, or another player having amassive ping spikeis a common occurrence, and false reports are easily done.
However,it’s not completely untraceableas there are telltale signs to look out for. For example, the most obvious one is if someone has a low ping all game and then suddenly out of the blue itspikes all the way to the max, it could be Lag Switching. Especially if it’s in moments that arehighly convenient for the potential hacker, like being cornered by a group,or just as they’re about to lose.
Another sign is if they’ve been playing normally for a little while, but thensuddenly start to act strangelyas if they were expecting the lag to spike. If thisforms a regular pattern, then you’ve got someone using Lag Switching.
Just because someone has ahigh ping in a game, it doesn’t mean they’re hacking. Observe their behavior first as it could belegitimate connection issues. Remember, ISPs aren’t always reliable.
ESP
Normally in games, alack of informationis what makes things exciting. Not knowing where the other players are,adrenaline spiking constantlyat any sign of an ambush, the thrill of a good kill or just barely surviving. It’s what makes games, primarily first-person shooters, great.
ESP takes all of that away.
The ESP Hack gives someoneevery possible bit of information availablein the game space as if they were Clairvoyant. From playernames and their health, to their locations, ammo count,and where they’re looking. It also shows the distance to players and vehicles, the area of thrown or dropped explosives, loot locations, and generallyevery single possible statyou can think of.
Completelyannihilating any suspensewhatsoever. Providing a hacker with anegregious amount of informationand an unfair advantage, whilst also ruining the experience for the other players.
Unfortunately, when it comes to trying to spot ESP users,you can’t. Just like Lag Switching, it’s one of those hacks that’s very good at hiding. Users of ESPwon’t usually give themselves awayas easily as those who are using something like an Aim or Trigger Bot for example, so you need to be a bit proactive.
For example, if you’re an admin of a server on something like Tarkov, Rust or DayZ, or any other FPS survival game. What you can do isbury a few caches ofhigh stat itemsin impossible-to-find spotswith no clues, then observe who goes to them. If someone somehow knows, they’re probably using ESP.
Another way to set a trap is to use the oldsneaky peek trick for finding Wall Hack usersor actively observing someone’s behavior. It’s easier if you’re an admin in spectator mode, but if they suddenlywhip around and kill someone, or land a hit in a spot where it’s impossible to see where the other player was, then they may have ESP.
Radar
The Radar Hack is avery niche cheatthat is in the same vein as ESP, but a bit more simplified as it provides a map. This little overlay usesdata that’s been read from the game’s memoryand it translates it through the map. This is then used toshow the location of things; Like other players, key or powerful items, power-ups, and the contents of containers or other boxes.
Which in a game like say Tarkov or Rust, where it takes afew minutes to hunt through a ton oflootable items, knowing where the best item is at a glance is a very unfair advantage to have. Plus, add on top the fact thatthe hacker is the only one that knows where everyone isin real-time and you can see how it can be frustrating to deal with.
Unfortunately, just like ESP,Radar hacks are extremely difficult to spotand in general you’ll need to rely on your ability to judge another player’s behavior as there are no obvious signs. So for example, if you’re hidden in a spot somewhere andsomeone sprints exactly to your locationand begins attacking before you can see them, Radar may be involved.
The same goes for if another player seems to havea level of awareness that they really shouldn’t have. Such as knowing where you are, when you’re out of ammo, orthey go exactly to the spotwhere the best gear is, strip it out in seconds, and then vanish. In general, if it seems likethey know something they shouldn’t, then take a closer look.
Currency Padding
As we start to wind things down we’ve got a fairly straightforward hack. Currency Padding or Currency Manipulation as it’s more formally known is a method in whicha Hacker manipulates a game’s currency, whether premium or not, to pad their accounts with cash.
This can be anything fromgaining gold in an MMO, premium cash in an Extraction Shooter, cash for high-priced skins, and so on. Whilst it may not sound too problematic, where the issues crop up is that it can undermine a game’s economy through market manipulation, break balancing through pay-to-win mechanics, and generally make it a miserable time for everyone else. This includes those that spent real cash for in-game currency.
Currency Padding is a tricky one to spot, but it is possible if you know where to look. The best place to start is if the game you’re playing allows for someone toinspect other players' accounts. If they have anastronomical amount of currency, especially premium, then it could be fishy.
That’snot to say everyone with a ton of currency is a hacker, some of us like to save, others enjoy supporting games, or are justcomplete Whalesfor a franchise. So you need to use your best judgment. It’s easier for admins as they canwatch player currency gainin real-time.
So for example, if a new player with an empty inventorysuddenly is flush with cashor is able to buy endgame expensive stuff, then there’s probably something going on. In general, a lot of Currency Padding hacks getfiltered out by anti-cheat and moderators, but you’ll still occasionally run into one or two. Especially insmaller MMORPGs, or games with very weak or non-existent moderation and admin presence.
Scripting
Scripting is a little less heinous of a hack, but it still can be pretty nasty depending on where and how its used. Scripting involves settinga series of complex tasks to a simple inputor keybinding. Essentially, hitting a button and thenletting the machine do the restfor a bit.
It’s primarilyused in a number ofsmall and big MMOsby bot farmersthat set sock accounts to do tedious tasks like mining or farming certain drops for literal weeks on end. But the more nastier variants pop up in places you wouldn’t expect,like fighting games. Occasionally,very rarely but it happens, you’ll run into someone using Scripting.
When it happens it turns your match intoa one-sided affairagainst an opponent that reacts or performs moves at an inhuman level. Which can absolutelydecimate your win/lose ratiosor ruin competitions if you encounter one.
Scripting is one of those hacks that’sa mix between subtle and obviousdepending on what you’re looking for. In general, you’ll need to rely on yourobservation and judgment skills, but the signs you’re looking out for are usually anything that might hint thata machine took overfor a minute.
This can be someone reacting to your moves or attacks ata level they physically shouldn’t be able to, or them rattling out a combo chain or series of reactions that look suspicious or a little too sudden andinhumanely accurate. Or in the case of bot farmers, just look at anyone with a nonsense name that’s low-level, wearing no armor, and has beenrobotically mining the same spotsfor days on end.
