Hax!...Lag...or Skill? (A Guide)

[SuckMyVox]

I posted this on another forum and figured it might be beneficial on this one too.

Sometimes it's hard for players to tell the difference between Haxxors! ZOMG!, legit players and just plain ole' lag.

So far I have yet to see invincibility hacks, teleport hacks, flying hacks or speed hacks but I often see players claiming people have such hacks. Heck, I've seen players who will claim pretty much anything possible is a hack, even if you're standing 2 inches away from them and spade them in the face.

LAG:
Players don't appear to be moving
Players don't appear affected by being hit or shot and may seem "invincible", multiple shots that should have killed them...don't.
You can't move
Other players appear to be sliding, "teleporting" or moving extremely fast

These are all symptoms of lag. If your ping on the server list is more than 100ms you may want to find a server that is 100ms or less. This will cut down on all those "other" players lagging you.

Even if you have great ping, sometimes servers will have lag spikes (a whole bunch of lag at once) and you may sporadically from time to time, find bullets not hitting, players not moving, guns not reloading, etc.

Note: Some admins may have teleport powers on certain servers. While most are responsible with such powers, some seedy kids have been known to go rogue before. I haven't seen this on Aloha.PK servers yet though.

ZOMG! HAX!
AoS implements some basic anti-hack features. The server does a line of sight check for every shot. So even if someone has an aimbot, they can't kill you through solid blocks and they can't shoot bullets that go backwards if they're facing forwards.

Someone who racks up a large number of kills quickly is most often not a hacker but someone camping or hiding in a spot with a good vantage on an objective or the enemy spawn. Babel, Intel RPG, 1FlagCTF, Tug of War are all games with mostly static objectives that are easy for snipers to quickly rack up kills on.

Players using aimbots often have very jerky movements, will spin around immediately and will quickly rack up kills on players in a variety of locations. For example, one aimbotter I was watching during a game, ran straight towards the enemy base on open ground and killed 6 players, "snapping" from one to another at extreme angles and headshotting every single one, with nearly no pause.

Sometimes jerky movement is just lag though. If everyone is moving in a jerky fashion then it's lag...or everyone but you is hacking. (Lag is more likely) Also, as has been pointed out to me by another player some of the AoS aimbots have had their "snap" toned down in an attempt to disguise their cheating. Many hackers will also make a conscious effort to be inconspicuous about their cheating.

There is also a model exploit in the game that allows players to basically see other players' guns sticking through walls, also referred to as "laser sights" i.e., a long red line that sticks out of the player's guns. Players like this are a little harder to catch. Usually, a spectator can catch them as these Players often "see" enemy players before they can actually be seen because they see these sights sticking out of walls. While not an actual hack, this is an exploit and the AoS Devs have said this is considered cheating.

There is also a glitch (aka the ZIndex error) that allows any player to see players that are tunneling a few or less blocks under them and to see players, tents and intel straight up or straight down through any number of blocks.

This means if someone hears you digging, gets close to the sound then looks down they will see you through the blocks. Then they're likely to dig down and drop a grenade, some bullets or their spade on your head.

Also weapons sometimes have a tendency to stick through walls. This has currently been acknowledged by the devs but hasn't been fixed yet. So...it's a glitch, not HAX or exploits!

Some game modes such as Intel RPG grant players certain special powers. Make sure you understand the game mode before you claim everyone is haxxoring.

If you keep getting repeatedly killed at/near the same spot or near an objective...it's probably not hacks.

If you're running, digging, in water, walking remember you make Noises! If the enemy is nearby and hears you, don't be surprised if they quickly find you or pop out of a corner.

Speaking of corners, they're a great spot to camp in especially overlooking a doorway. If your entire team on Last Man gets mowed down as they all run through a doorway it's probably not hacks.

If you're getting killed repeatedly before you cry, rage, yell "HAX!" and start votekicks check:
1. Behind you
2. Above you
3. Below you
4. In your spawn
5. Nearby buildings or terrain features, hills, mountains, treetop snipers, dark places, etc.
6. Your "flanks" or sides
7. The water

8. The fogline (players will often camp just outside of fog distance, move forward get some kills then creep back into the fog out of your range and when you go after them, they're likely to see you first)

9. The Mini-Map: The Mini-Map will show where enemy bullets are coming from. Try to spot where enemy fire is coming from before you rush in head-first again. Stop running back to the same spot and being surprised when you get killed.

10. Their Ratio. (i.e. /ratio PlayerName) This tells you how many kills they get for every death. a KDR of 1 means they get 1 kill for every 1 death. The higher the better. An extremely high ratio might indicate they're extremely good, extremely camping or extremely hacking. It's hard to tell. Admins on servers can also check players' weapon accuracy. Careless hackers will often have incredibly high accuracy however some may intentionally miss shots or shoot blocks to gimp their own accuracy.

About 1 in 10 votekicks I see for "HAX!" is someone who is actually aimbotting, wallhacking or using a model exploit and being ridiculously obvious about it.

If you honestly suspect someone is hacking, try joining the spectator mode. Follow them in spectator mode. If they exhibit "snapping" behavior or know where enemies are before they're actually in sight then you can probably rack that up as an actual hacker.

If it's not Lag and probably not Hax then what you're left with is...

SKILL

Deal with it.

Try brushing up on your hand-eye coordination with some Missile Command or Space Invaders or try spectating some good players and watch how they play.

[bman7]

I'll also add that anybody who kills more than 5 people in 5 seconds with headshots is likely an aimbotter. Or the other team's players are dumb and all stood in a single file line.

[MrHaaaaaaxFF]

Why there's my name all over the post O_O
JK, it's a very nice guide. Should help alot c:

[IrishElf]

I'll also add that anybody who kills more than 5 people in 5 seconds with headshots is likely an aimbotter. Or the other team's players are dumb and all stood in a single file line.

Tell that to the twits who votekick when their little column of six deuces gets turned into swiss cheese by my SMG

[Varun]

I'll also add that anybody who kills more than 5 people in 5 seconds with headshots is likely an aimbotter. Or the other team's players are dumb and all stood in a single file line.

Or, they are really good. I've done it a couple of times, not saying I'm really good, cos I'm not, but if I can do it, better players probably can. It's theoretically possible to kill 10 people in 5 seconds, if the rifle has a RoF of 1 shot per 0.5 seconds (i could be wrong on that, since i heard it from another person), but i doubt any non hacker has done it.

If I'm wrong about the RoF thing, then my argument is invalid, but it's possible to get more that five kills in five seconds. Usually this is due to a combination of skill and fortuitous circumstances.

[SuckMyVox]

Yeah, a quick succession of kills doesn't normally mean aimbot. It usually means someone has found an excellent vantage point from which to kill and/or spawnkill the other team.

On games like Tower of Babel, 1CTF, Pinpoint, etc. with objectives that remain static it's also easy to rack up kills quickly and easily.