Is CS2 Anti-Cheat Better Than CS:GO

It is no secret that cheating has been a massive problem since the Global Offensive days. However, the cheating issue has somehow gotten even worse in Counter-Strike 2.

CS2 is in a terrible state at the moment, as there is at least one cheater in every five games. It gets worse in higher elo matches, where there is one cheater every two games. High-ranked players have even reported that most of their games are hacker vs. hacker games, where there are two hackers on each team going at it against each other.

The frequency of meeting hackers in CS2 is simply unnatural and unacceptable. The new Premier matchmaking mode has implemented a new leaderboard system where players are ranked based on their ratings.

Though the leaderboard is supposed to be filled with extremely skilled players, the reality is that almost 80% of the Top 1000 players in the world are cheaters, or players who are boosted by cheaters. With so many cheaters in the game, the rating system has pretty much become useless.

Legitimate players are extremely frustrated that such an issue exists, and many players have already quit the game, which is completely understandable. Playing against cheaters is almost a guaranteed loss and a total waste of time.

Unfortunately, we must say that the answer is no. The Anti-Cheat did not improve in CS2.  Despite adding changes to game mechanics and graphics, it seems like Valve completely ignored giving advancements to the CS2 Anti-Cheat system. They are still using the same Anti-Cheat system as they did in CSGO, the Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC).

The cheating issue was a big deal in CSGO, which is why many players stopped playing the game. However, Valve has managed to ignore such a problem and still uses the same Anti-Cheat system with almost no modifications or upgrades. As a result, the cheating issue continues and remains unsolved.

Valve has promised that solving the cheating issue is their first priority, and they have indeed taken some action. However, these actions are pretty underwhelming, to say the least.

Unfortunately, we do not know if Valve is trying to improve their CS2 Anti-Cheat system, as no promises are made. We don’t think relying on small ban waves will solve the issue in the next few years, so upgrading their Anti-Cheat system sounds like the best option to combat cheating in the short and long term.

Valve has been issuing ban waves every now and then, doing it once every few weeks or so. However, they are usually banning around 1,000 to 2,000 accounts at a time. This might sound like a lot of accounts, but it actually isn’t.

Players would meet a hacker once every five games, and there are at least 1,000,000 queuing for ranked matches every day. So, banning 2,000 cheaters every 2 weeks helps, but it doesn’t have as much impact as everyone is expecting, considering these cheaters can make new accounts and just ruin games again. 

Valve needs to improve their Anti-Cheat system to immediately ban players on the spot to weed out all the cheaters faster. It is truly surprising that a billion-dollar company fails to develop their Anti-Cheat system and make their most popular game playable and enjoyable.

Since Valve isn’t taking too much action, legitimate players must work together to combat the cheating problem. As a player, you are also responsible for taking care of cheaters, and your contribution isn’t as difficult as you think it is.

The least you can do is to report suspicious players for cheating using the in-game reporting feature. Sometimes, cheaters use their hacks very blatantly, so there should be no issues spotting the obvious ones. Generally, cheaters will have low playtime hours and almost zero medals and badges.

You should also do the right thing and report cheaters if they are on your team. Sure, getting a cheater on your team might feel nice since you’re going to get a free win, but you must still report them to Valve. There is a chance you might get that cheater on the opposing team in your next match, then you won’t be having a good time.

Most players are very serious about teaching cheaters a lesson that they would kick the cheater on their team even if they were going to get a free win. This integrity should be practiced in the Counter-Strike community.

Another way you can contribute to reducing the number of cheaters in the game is to actively take Overwatch cases. Players with the required rank and play time will have access to the Overwatch feature, where you will watch the replay of a suspicious player.

When watching the replay, check to see if the suspect is using cheats or is griefing the team. After seeing enough evidence, you will make your final verdict and determine whether the person is cheating or not.

If multiple players doing the same Overwatch case vote on the suspect being guilty, they will receive a VAC ban on their account and will no longer be able to play on Valve servers.