The gaming industry has always had cheat codes for their games, but the online versions of games prohibit such behavior and they do not allow it. However, hackers have found a way to exploit the system of an online game and hack it to have cheats that give them an advantage in the game. These are quite common in several online games.
Read on to learn about some of these hacks that are used on some of the most popular online games.
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Botting
One of the most popular and common methods of hacking the game system and cheating is botting. This type of prohibited software program bypasses the game’s security systems and allows the player to have the game running with their character performing specific tasks by itself. Botting has been around for years, but it’s on the rise significantly because of the Covid-19 pandemic. More people are staying home, meaning more people are trying to deploy bots and have advantages that ruin the game experience. Botting is common in almost every online game, especially World of Warcraft, PUBG, and RuneScape. This type of software program that allows some players to cheat can ruin the game’s economy and the gameplay of most legitimate players.
Hacking
When a player hacks a game, they mess with the code of the game they’re playing and that gives their character a competitive advantage against other players. This is cheating and it ruins the experience of other players tremendously. One of the common hacks is the aimbot method. This is when a player in PUBG, CS: GO, Call of Duty, Fortnite, and Apex Legends cheats by having an automatic aim-and-shoot hack. This means that players don’t have to manually target the character, aim at the right target, and shoot because it happens instantly by itself. Another method of hacking is a speed boost, allowing the character to move extremely fast and that isn’t fair to the other players. And the most annoying hack of all is the wallhack where you can see other players behind walls and objects. This gives them another advantage that isn’t allowed in the game.
Win-Trading
Another method of cheating is by win-trading with another player. This isn’t a hack, but it’s still cheating. This is when two or three players come together and make a deal to take turns to make each other win. This exploit or cheat happens in several games, including Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and League of Legends. This is extremely bad for the legitimacy of the player’s capabilities and the competitiveness of the game. If you are playing ranked matches, arenas, or battlegrounds, you shouldn’t make deals with people for win-trading. Some game developers can ban, take away your earnings, and revoke any type of achievement if they discovered that you were win-trading.
Exploits
An exploit is another form of cheating where players find a bug in the game, but this bug can give them an advantage. If a player accidentally finds a bug and gets the advantage once or twice, then they will be fine. But if people continue doing the bug for their advantage several times in a row, then this is exploiting the game. It’s not allowed and it’s not fair to the players that didn’t take advantage of a bug to work in their favor. One of the most popular examples of an exploit is when a guild finds a bug that makes the last boss fight very trivial and easy, skipping key mechanics in the fight. This is completely unfair and that guild might get banned.
Duplicates
The duplicate hack used to be extremely common years ago, but things have changed and they’re not as many as before. The duplicate hack is when you hack the game’s system and duplicate a specific item, weapon, gear, or mount. This is bad for the game’s economy because cheaters can duplicate an item 100 times, selling every item and ruining the prices. It might be difficult to track hackers if they duplicate items randomly and not all at the same time. Imagine if you played a game like RuneScape or World of Warcraft and you noticed that the same rare item is on the auction house or grand exchange 20 or 30 times. This will make the item not rare, decrease its price, and it might get removed by the game developers.
Scripting
Scripting is when a player uses a software program to automate specific tasks, making you press a button and that task will be done instantly. This isn’t allowed in the game because it gives the player fast progression and competitive advantages that are prohibited. The script could make you attack quickly, using all your spells at once. Or automate your mission table with daily tasks that aren’t designed to be finished in one click. Keep in mind that not all scripts are cheating methods. It just depends on the behavior of the script used.
Removing Elements of the Game
This is another annoying hack where the player removes specific elements of the game for a competitive advantage. This is when you see players turn off gravity in the game for them, making them fly and farm materials in areas that aren’t allowing any flying. They can remove their global cooldowns and this makes their spells happen instantly. Also, they might access specific parts in the game that weren’t supposed to be available to players. You could push a player very far, making them fly and jump to their deaths. Moreover, you can remove specific elements in a boss fight, making you survive longer and then kill the boss quite easily.
The developers of all these games do their best to track down cheaters and ban them from the game. The idea of cheating in a video game was normal in the past, but things have changed when games become online and competitive. Players cannot have an advantage over other players unless it is within the rules, meaning progression, gear, and character power. Hacks, bots, and duplicates that give people prohibited advantages are against the rules and it would be a bannable offense.