[s_m_t]

I don't think it is really the cheaters that degrade the experience, it is the knowledge (right or wrong) that cheaters exist that reduces trust that makes for not fun experiences.

I've played online games for many thousands of hours over the past two decades and I can count the number of times I encountered a blatant cheater on my hands. Every time it actually happened people had a good laugh about it and either hopped servers or banned the person cheating. Sure I have probably unknowingly encountered a bunch of map and wall hackers but I didn't know so it didn't degrade my experience. For all I knew those players were just better than me, plenty of those around. Having played with some extremely high level players in various games, it actually feels like the good players are using map/wallhacks more than the actual hackers because they have such good gamesense.

On the other hand, I have been accused of cheating more times than I have actually for sure encountered real cheaters. It isn't fun when a server turns sour because everyone is accusing each other of cheating and getting salty over nothing.

Of course, if cheaters are allowed to completely run rampant this isn't the case. But any game with a modicum of community power to enforce rules won't have that problem. The major places you reliably encounter cheaters are non-private servers and matchmaking services that have essentially been abandoned by the developers.

[jstarfish]

Borderlands was fun until the cheaters showed up, and this even as a cooperative game.

People with hacked 999999999-damage guns warp in, splat everything and even if they dont steal all the loot, they make the entire game pointless.

You couldnt do anything about it but leave. There was no ban system users could appeal to.

Though some fun memories were had with cheaters in other competitive games, like coordinating to try to take down or hide from literally invincible opponents.

[bastawhiz]

Counterpoint: Pokemon Go is incredibly infuriating to play as a new player because of cheaters. People spoofing their location fill up gyms, making it extremely difficult to earn in-game currency. They can also prevent you from effectively raiding with members of your own team, if spoofers from another team vastly outnumber you (reducing the reward from the raid).

Not only is it not fun, it's discouraging. And it's one of the big things that led to me quitting the game.

[ehnto]

What games do you play? Because it's at least once a play session for me. Perhaps we are playing different games or different regions have more cheaters than others.

I have also often wondered if cheaters choose other regions than their own to exploit in, hence why little ol' Australia gets so many of them.

[m3rc]

Wait, what? Why would allowing cheaters to run rampant mean people accused others of cheating LESS?

[s_m_t]

Sorry, in "if cheaters are allowed to completely run rampant this isn't the case." I meant "the case" as something like "the perception of cheating is more damaging than the actual cheating". Poorly written on my part.