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Cheating in BF4 - An Overview

OKNewPlan

OKNewPlan

Recent research is reporting that roughly 30% of players in all online FPS games are cheating.

Over the past few months I have been taking a deep dive into the technological builds of cheating in FPS games. This post is solely meant to shed some light on the cheating topic, knowledge is power. DISCLAIMER: this has been purely research from my side and I have never cheated in any FPS game.

Short summary: The current cheating technology is so much more advanced than the anti-cheating technology in use today and the only players that get caught for cheats are simply amateurs.

The thing is: there's no way to catch this in it's current form except for manually reviewed slip-ups. Punkbuster and Fairfight are practically useless in this fight.

Why isn't this talked about more?
The 2 main reasons: Money and Naïvety.

Money​
EA has problems but they're not stupid on the fact that cheaters means more unit sales for their games as one cheater will likely own several copies of each game. Cheating = Revenue.​

Naïvety​
I am finding that even skilled, veteran players do not know the technology available on this topic and instead think that this topic is 99.9% of the time a "skill issue." To be clear I do not think there is any malice here, I just think most players are simply unaware of the situation.​

How does it work exactly?
Nowadays, cheaters are using streaming-powered remote input software capable of running any scripts or third-party software you want. This gives the appearance of a clean system.

Where do people get these cheats?
I obviously won't be linking the sources. There are plenty of well maintained forums but there are also pay-to-play companies that offer these solutions to with "Punkbuster and Fairfight guarantees" for BF4. One of the biggest companies will consistently have "Free weekends" where their software will be free of charge. So if you ever feel like some weekends a large part of players must be cheating, well, they might be doing just that.

capture-png.10256


What exactly is out there?
Let's break it down:

ESP​
This is the most commonly used cheat as it is almost impossible to catch in it's current form. Player hit boxes shown on the screen that show where every enemy in the match is located. For skilled players this is all that is needed to dominate, no need for aimbots.​

Animation.gif

Aimbots​
Today there are AI powered adjustable aimbots that will give you a slider of how much aim correction to ad. At the right settings these are impossible to catch both by the human eye and by anti-cheat software.​

Animation2.gif

Damage mods​
I think this is something that needs to be eliminated from the vocabulary in the BF4 community as server side anti-cheating software can catch this fairly easily. Even I have been accused of this cheat numerous times.​

Full list of goodies​
  • HWID Spoofer (Prevents Origin and FairFight from getting your real HWID)

ESP​

  • Name ESP
  • Vehicle Name ESP
  • Box ESP (2D / 3D)
  • Bone ESP
  • Display Friends
  • Display Enemies
  • Line ESP
  • Distance ESP
  • Health ESP
  • Supplybox ESP
  • Explosive ESP
  • Gadget ESP
  • Pickups ESP
  • View ESP (Shows where the player barrel is targeting at)
  • Soldier Hitbox ESP
  • Weapon ESP
  • Enemy Only
  • 2D Radar

Removals​

  • No Minimap (Enables the Minimap in Hardcore Mode)
  • No Hud (Enables the HUD in Hardcore Mode)
  • No Mini-Map Spotting (Enables the Minimap Spotting in Hardcore Mode)
  • No 3D Spotting (Enables the 3D Spotting in Hardcore Mode)
  • No NameTags (Enables the Friendly / Enemy NameTags in Hardcore Mode)
  • No Hit Indicators (Enables the Hit Indicators in Hardcore Mode)

Aimbot​

  • AutoAim
  • Auto-Shoot
  • Aim FOV
  • Smooth Aim
  • Stick on target
  • Aim bone
  • Aim Bone Scan
  • Auto Pre-Aim (Prediction)
  • AutoWall
  • Priority aim at Enemylist
  • Don't aim at Friendlist
  • Aim Style
  • Perfect NoSpread
  • Visibility Checks
  • Don't Aim while Reloading
  • Vehicle Aimbot
  • Aim at Vehicles (Choose whether to ignore aiming at Tanks/Ground Vehicles/Jets)
  • No Rotation (Disables the modification of the roll angle in jets)

Gun Mods​

  • Visual No-Spread
  • No-Recoil (Visual Only or Perfect - Removes the recoil)
  • No-Breath (Disable soldier breathing)
  • Magic Bullet (Kill through walls, and with 1 bullet)
  • Custom Weapon Kills
  • Vehicle Magic Bullet
  • Magic Bullet headshot

Misc​

  • Enable Minimap
  • Spectator Warning
  • Auto-Revive ( revives everyone around instantly when holding a defibrillator )
  • AutoSpot
  • Draw Healthbar
  • Invisibility (No one can see you only your weapon is visible)
  • Crosshair
  • Jet Speed Control (Fly at the correct speed for perfect turning)
  • Warn on PBSS (Warns you if PunkBuster makes a screenshot)
  • Save PB Screenshots (Will save all screenshots from PunkBuster)
  • Edit Enemy / Friend list
  • Edit Adminchat Text
  • Edit ESP Colors
  • Force Unlocks (Unlocks all weapon attachments/skins)
  • Spawn Battle Pickups
  • Unlock All Vehicle Equipment Everywhere
  • Auto Heal / ''GodMode''
  • Ping Spoofer
  • Auto-Vote kick random player
  • Equipment Editor
  • Fly mode

This is great and all but is there any examples of this "cheating" that is rampant in bZ servers?
Sure. The bZ forums has a great and recent example posted by @Temporary2Temp located here:

Complaint Handled - Complaint from Temporary2Temp about player 326xdk

Who are you reporting? 326xdk Date of incident May 5, 2023 Which server were you on? BZ6 Describe the incident I tried to get as much footage as I could but he left at the end of this round. He seems to be using a wall-hack/spot-hack and aim-assist because he locks onto mines and...
banzore.com
I recommend you check out the whole video. Let's breakdown a couple of these moments though:

Here is a prime example of ESP being used. The player is obviously experienced but yet runs right into the D flag without checking his corners because he/she knows no one is there. Instead they run straight for where he/she knows the enemies are:​

Here was the response on BF4DB for this case:​
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picard-facepalm.jpg


What can be done?
Report. Report. Report. If something feels off it just might be the case, it doesn't matter if it's a new player or a veteran player, everyone should be suspect to review.

Extras
For more info this video is quite on-the-ball for the cheating situation. The Youtuber himself is quite annoying but the information is sound overall:
 

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xBlastFTPastx

xBlastFTPastx

The entire video-game industry needs a whole new rewrite top to bottom when it comes to cheating in online games. If you wanted to cheat there is almost nothing stopping you at this point, in fact it might almost be required to keep up with things the way they are developing (play on a Russian server and you will see what I mean). The only thing that has really changed from the old days of BF/COD/CS are 1.) what is considered a 'cheat' and 2.) people have learned to be more subtle with it and integrated it into their play-styles.

Back in the day using key macros was considered cheating; in BF2 you could be banned for using a macro that switched you from the pilot seat of a chopper to the gunner and auto-fired a TV missile. In BF4 I see -certain unnamed players- doing it all the time. I've spectated jet pilots in BF4 who are able to keep their speed at EXACTLY 313 to maximize turning/manoeuvrability, something that is not possible without some sort of key macro. Is using a mouse sensitivity changer considered cheating (you know who you are)? What about having someone spectate and communicate enemy locations to you? What about being on Discord and giving your friends enemy positions after you get killed? Doesn't seem to be as black and white as it used to be...

I fire up old BF games every once and a while and almost EVERY TIME I catch someone straight up hacking. Some recent examples:

BF3:

BF1:

All those players were banned by BFA/servers/EA after I submitted all this so it's not just in my head. That one dude was part of the ELiTE BF3 clan which everyone suspected of cheating back in the day and yep looks like they always were... These are some of just a few really blatant examples but imagine how much more DON'T get caught. Even caught a guy on 2142 using a wall-hack and a few days later received this from EA:

EA.png

So yeah, recording and reporting definitely helps. IMO if you're caught cheating in an online game you should lose access to your EA account (or whatever service is providing the game) although of course there is no way that is ever going to happen (back to the whole $$ thing @OKNewPlan was talking about). Even 2042 had DAY ONE cheats that you can still find online, there is literally no stopping these people it seems.

I also would like to say that I think we BF4 enjoyers really take BFAgency and the BZ mods for granted, we have our hacker problems for sure but it would for sure be WAY worse without their diligent work (throw some $$ towards BFA if you are a donater here as well they deserve it!).

TL;DR: STOP HACKING ME BRO I AM JUST TRYING TO HAVE SOME FUN HERE

/rant
 
UnoDosi

UnoDosi

Cool write up and sharing!

As far as game devs getting more serious about cheating - I fear the 1. the incentive to NOT get more serious is greater than the incentive to reduce cheating. Unless the game somehow gains a reoccurring payment what do they care? they already have your money. (Even with subscriptions its questionable.... looking at you Runescape/Jagex lol ) and 2. I kind think that in order to be more thorough in cheat preventing the game dev's would have to require more intrusive software. This isn't necessarily a bad thing but what was it.. overwatch or valorant than had a kernel level cheat protection? People, including myself felt iffy about allowing a game go that deep into my PC. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (This could also be due to the questionable honesty/origin of the game dev's themselves and ensuring no misuse of the software/permissions. )

In a perfect world there are no Macro's and no cheats but... we aren't in a perfect world. Thank you Banzore folks for running good servers and doing the best that can be done.
 
smokerob

smokerob

wall hacks are EZ to spot....most of these guys are running crazy hit numbers like having 20% or better head shot ratios with EVERY gun.....also find it funny that every time you go to spectate someone they pause for a minute like no one can tell they are turning off the hacks...come over to BZ12 i can show a few
 
smokerob

smokerob

HOLLY SHIT.....after watching the waldo video i am creaming my fucking PANTIES....PERMANENT BANS based on player style, AI detection that has a answer in less then 4 hours of game play, 99% detection rate and already being used in 1 game with massive bans for said game.....

on a real note not joking can we see about getting this up and running on the BZ servers to help them build player profiles???

i want this so bad as you can tell when the hackers are on most nights when matches in BZ12 rush last about 20 minutes VS knuckle busters lasting 90 minutes less the hackers....(cough cough if you wanted a real clue you could look at round length in BZ12 and see who is there in the 20 minute rounds VS who is not there in 90 minute plus rounds....COUGH COUGH)......never mind the fuckers with high center mass hit ratios and no head shots.....


 
The0bamessiah

The0bamessiah

-bZ-LongTrang1 said:
Aside from the money and the chicks I don't understand why people cheat in these games. You don't get anything from it and you don't improve your game.
Click to expand...
From having spoken to some of them in the past on unmoderated or poorly moderated servers most of them said they did it because they wanted to see if they could get away with it. The thrill of doing something "bad" was what drove them. Others just did it for "teh lulz".

I remember one time I was playing BFBC2 Vietnam and there was this guy just blatantly hacking. He was called out by most of the server and he openly admitted that he was hacking. I asked him why he did it and his answer was just that he got bored of the game ( this was kind of late in its life at this point I think ) and decided to try these hacks to see if they would work. The stats were incidental to him and when he did get killed by the whole server ( even his own team IIRC ) ganging up on him he just laughed and shrugged it off. He didn't even always just go around shooting people either. Sometimes he'd just whizz around and shit while taunting the server and advertising where he got the hacks.

Another time was on a BF3 Metro server and the guy just laughed at the reactions of people in the game. The more people raged at him the more entertainment he seemed to get.

These were only the blatant hackers of course. Others who are more subtle about their hacking - those with only ESP hacks and other less-obvious ones - I presume do it for the "flex" of the stats. The position on the leaderboard is what drives them, not the enjoyment of playing the game itself. They want to be the top dog and they don't care how they get there.
 
The0bamessiah

The0bamessiah

I do personally think that people massively over-estimate the number of hackers though. A lot of people struggle to come to terms with the possibility that people can just plain be better than them at something. I am directing this at anyone personally. In fact I am guilty of it myself at times. Frustration and anger have a habit of clouding the judgement of even the most level-headed person ; something I most certainly am not.
 
UnoDosi

UnoDosi

Don't you know? If they are better than you: They are a hacker. If they are worse than you: They should uninstall the game.

On one side I would like to think it is over-estimated but then you see how bad it truly is on games like Tarkov and... sheesh. But maybe that game and it's gameplay style creates a heightened pressure that would lead some to be more tempted compared to a normal shooter.
 
smokerob

smokerob

@UnoDosi what if you know as every time the sus player is spectated he cant match his "normal" kill ratio??? is that a get GUD situation?? 1 guy is good for almost a 4 to 1 ratio most days but spectated can match a 1 to 1 ratio?????

@The0bamessiah i think they under estimate the number in some games as they are seen as safe to hack in VS others games popping people more.....like OP i have looked around a fuck ton of sites and found tons of crazy shit....but one of the biggest things i have found is lots of hacker groups that dont run monthly pay services have not been updated in a couple of years for BF4......people stopped detecting the shit in BF4 cause its a old game no one cares about....BUT a game like RUST that has a massive group to bust hackers, are doing crazy shit to them for the fucking fun of it, they are popping people everyday.....

on a side note thinking about it, hardware lock out should be taken a step farther....if MS is requiring people to have a log on for all OS's going forward like MAC has done for over 15 years now and all smart phones have always done, ban at this account level for LIFE could be a real option....
 
-bZ-LongTrang1

-bZ-LongTrang1

-bZ- Member
Donator
smokerob said:
HOLLY SHIT.....after watching the waldo video i am creaming my fucking PANTIES....PERMANENT BANS based on player style, AI detection that has a answer in less then 4 hours of game play, 99% detection rate and already being used in 1 game with massive bans for said game.....

on a real note not joking can we see about getting this up and running on the BZ servers to help them build player profiles???

i want this so bad as you can tell when the hackers are on most nights when matches in BZ12 rush last about 20 minutes VS knuckle busters lasting 90 minutes less the hackers....(cough cough if you wanted a real clue you could look at round length in BZ12 and see who is there in the 20 minute rounds VS who is not there in 90 minute plus rounds....COUGH COUGH)......never mind the fuckers with high center mass hit ratios and no head shots.....


Click to expand...

I'll end up getting banned every time I play sober and my scores suddenly go up.
 
FluffMuffin94

FluffMuffin94

-bZ- Member
Donator
Blivot3 said:
Wow. Why am I just seeing this post now. Good work OKNewPlan.

You must be some sort of master Data Analyst that can decipher most complicated business systems.
Click to expand...
He's paraphrasing and using content from a single YouTube video. Not really impressive. At best it's speculation.
 
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