CS2 Cheating Problem: An In-Depth Look

The Blix team has prepared an article on a painful topic among players that has been dragging on for so many years that everyone has already adapted and gotten a bit used to it. What will be discussed? - Cheaters in CS2. We have collected all the relevant information on this topic so that you will be as prepared as possible to meet a cheater and not leave him unpunished.

Highlights

Consideration of all aspects of cheats
Tips on how to fight cheaters
Types of cheats
What Valve thinks about cheating in CS2

Cheating Problem in CS2

Around 1.4 million online users are playing CS2 today, as per Steam Charts. Unfortunately, many players are cheating by using third-party software to gain an unfair advantage in the game. These cheaters often create multiple accounts to avoid detection and play a minimal number of matches from each account to reduce the number of reports against them and keep their accounts active for longer.

There are two types of cheaters in CS2. The first type cheats just for fun, to feel satisfied from dominating their opponents unfairly. The second type of cheater tries to boost their account to a high ranking, with the ultimate goal of selling it for real money in the future. If you look at the leaderboard of top players, you might notice that some accounts are not listed because they have a 100% win rate and have been flagged by Valve as potential cheaters.

xplay.gg: which CS version has more cheaters?

xplay.gg: how often are cheaters met in Premier?

The Xplay team conducted a poll among users to determine which game has more cheaters: CS:GO or CS2. The poll results are shown in the screenshots above.

Community Reaction, What Do They Say?

You can find many posts on forums such as Steam Community or Reddit, where players frequently report encountering cheaters. These cheaters use different hacks, such as wallhacks, which allow them to see through walls, or aim hacks, which instantly kill the opponent upon hitting the screen.

The Blix team has collected several examples of posts from users who have fallen victim to cheaters in CS2 matches:

The Frustration Among Loyal Players

Encountering a cheater on the opposing team can ruin the game experience for a player and result in wasted time. As the cheater's team is likely to win the match, it spoils the game's vibe and leaves players with negative emotions. For many players who can only afford to play 1-2 games daily, encountering a cheater is not desirable.

However, the information that a cheater is playing against you is only sometimes entirely reliable. You may also encounter a player called a "smurf," who is much more skilled and can easily defeat you without using any cheats. Generally, these players have primary accounts with a very high rating, and they may use a secondary account for fun or practice purposes when playing against you.

The Faceit platform has a much lower chance of encountering cheaters. If you come across one and report it, the ticket will be dealt with quickly, and the cheater will be permanently banned. However, in Premier and Competitive matches, Valve takes some time to ban players rather than instantly banning them. Therefore, the procedure to ban cheaters in these matches takes longer.

The Most Known Problems with Cheats at the Moment

Cheating is a problem that can occur at any rating or rank in games. It's important to note that having an old account with a large inventory does NOT automatically disqualify a player from being a cheater. It is worth checking the ban wave statistics, as you can see quite a few high-level Steam profiles being banned by VAC.

Have you ever played a game and found that a player doing poorly for most of the game suddenly starts dominating you? Unfortunately, 5-stack teams are more common than you might think, although only a few use cheats. In one scenario, cheaters who are dead can still report your location to the remaining group members.

The absence of Overwatch may have decreased the number of bans that can be enforced on players manually. Given Valve's dedication to enhancing the gaming experience by introducing new and improved features, it's reasonable to expect the upcoming game version to include a revised or updated version of Overwatch.

How to Deal With Cheaters?

Dealing with cheaters can be challenging, depending on their cheat type. For instance, if the cheater has activated the "RAGE" mode, which enables them to instantly eliminate the entire enemy team as soon as they appear on their screen, the chances of defeating them become almost non-existent.

If the opponent uses wallhack, your chances of successfully eliminating them increase significantly. In such a scenario, you can directly shoot better than them and avoid holding the SHIFT key, as they already have an advantage of knowing your whereabouts. In addition, you can peek with the prefire and try to take them down instantly with one tap.

Dealing with a cheater using Aim Hack can be challenging to defeat. It's similar to the "RAGE" mode but to a lesser degree. In such situations, players should work together to take down the cheater by attacking them with 2-3 people and then eliminate the entire enemy team.

You should always strive to win and never give up, even if a cheater is against you.

How to Find Cheaters in CS2?

If you notice an opponent player or team is acting suspiciously against you, like always knowing your position even when you change it frequently or killing you with inhuman speed, it could be a sign of cheating. Cheaters who use "RAGE" mode are particularly easy to spot, as they can wipe out your entire team in seconds.

Highlighting Effective Anti-Cheat Measures

If you suspect a player on your team or the opposing team is cheating, you should report them to Valve. This will allow Valve to review your request and determine whether the player used third-party software. If they did, they would receive a VAC ban. You can read our article to learn more about how the VAC anti-cheat system works: VAC-Ban: How It Works And How To Avoid.

To report a player, take the following steps:

1. Open Scoreboard (Tab)

2. Use right-click

3. Move the cursor over the player you want to report

4. Left-click on the player and select "Report".

5. In the list of menus, select the cheat used by the player

6. Submit the request for review by clicking "Submit."

Is Valve Working On Solving The Problem? Latest Anti-Cheat Updates And Future Plans

We can only give an approximate answer to this question because only Valve developers know the answer. Of course, Valve is constantly improving its anti-cheat, but it can't completely eradicate the problem. Sometimes, this problem goes beyond the limits, and we have to wait for a ban wave so that players can play CS2 normally without cheaters. Let's hope this will become a reality someday, and everyone can play clean Counter-Strike.

Valve, a gaming company, has developed an anti-cheat software named Akros to detect cheating activities during open qualifying tournaments. Recently, the open qualifiers for the RMR to PGL Major Copenhagen 2024 were held in eight different regions from January 8th to 17th. It has been reported that over 30 players were caught using third-party software during these qualifiers. Akros tweeted on X (Twitter) but later deleted the tweet: "Our experience during this event has taught us one very important thing: Cheating in CS2 is utterly and completely out of control". However, the tweet was later deleted as the debate grew more contentious.

FAQ

What makes CS2 vulnerable to cheaters?

CS2 is vulnerable to cheaters because of the difficulty of detecting cheats in the first place. In the second, players purchase third-party programs to win some ratings easily, as CS2 is a competitive game. Cheating tools are easily accessible and can be downloaded effortlessly. Once downloaded, they can be operated without any difficulty.

How can players protect themselves from cheaters in CS2?

Try to kill the cheater with the whole team, not die one by one, so you will reduce his chances of winning. Also, remember to report the cheater during or at the end of the game.

What actions are developers taking to fight CS2 cheating?

Valve uses the VAC anti-cheat system, and each player has a behavioral rating system. Also, Valve requires each player to have a cell phone number to verify their identity, reducing the chances of duplicate accounts and cheating. Valve releases constant updates and patches, implementing various bug fixes to improve the game experience.