[chrisfosterelli]

Well it is a professional sport -- there's tournaments worth tens of millions of dollars. But honestly it is probably easier to catch cheaters in that environment. The real issue is that cheaters suck the fun out of the game, and matchmaking doesn't fix this because cheaters just cheat the matchmaking (smurf accounts, etc) until they're stomping regular players again. I don't think throwing our hands up and letting the cheaters go on is a real solution.

[bee_rider]

Smurf accounts are a real problem, but they are a real problem whether the person stomping beginners is using cheats or is just experienced. The target should be preventing smurfing in the first place.

[chrisfosterelli]

That's a good point.

[drdaeman]

> The real issue is that cheaters suck the fun out of the game

Unpopular opinion: cheaters don’t, griefers do.

“Cheater” is a pejorative for someone who sidesteps the rules and uses technology instead of, uh, pardon a potentially word choice, innate skills. They don’t inherently want to see others suffer as they stomp - it’s a matchmaking bug they’re put where they don’t belong. They just want to do things they cannot do on their own, but what are technically possible. A more positive term for that is a “hacker”.

Griefers are a different breed, they don’t just enjoy own success but get entertained by others’ suffering. Not a cheating issue TBH (cheats merely enable more opportunities), more like “don’t match us anymore, we don’t share the same ideas of fun” thing. “Black hat” is close enough term I guess.

YMMV, but if someone performs adequately for my skill levels (that is, they also don’t play well) then they don’t deprive me of any fun irrespective of how they’re playing.

[Marazan]

> They don’t inherently want to see others suffer as they stomp

Cheaters want to dominate other players, feel like they deserve to dominate other players and are perfectly happy for other players to suffer as long as they feel good.

[drdaeman]

That’s provably not universally true, although I have no idea about the exact demographics.

Best I’ve ever seen was some online discussions about motives, but I never compiled any statistics out of random anecdotes (that must be biased and probably not representative).

[Marazan]

If they weren't motivated by a toxic sense of self regard and a desire to humiliate others they wouldn't cheat. This is axiomatic.

[jasomill]

That's a gross exaggeration. Some people just want to play the game, but lack motor skills commensurate with their other abilities.

Are players who take advantage of developer-supplied aim assist and other assistive technologies "motivated by a toxic sense of self regard and a desire to humiliate others"?

[Marazan]

Are people who play the game as the developers intended using the tools the developer supplied cheaters? Wow, deep philosophical questions there.

Gonna have to ponder if people who aren't cheating are cheaters.

[Fizz43]

Yeah thats a really unpopular opinion. Cheaters dont want to play the game. There is no matchmaking for them that makes sense.

They have inhuman skills usually paired with terrible game IQ and generally awful toxicity. They get boosted up to play with intelligent players purely because they can hold a button to outplay. It gets to the point where you have a player on your team who has no idea how to play but is mechanically good and it breaks the entire competitiveness of the game.