GCSAnti-Cheat Guides
In plain EnglishThese are simple guides to the anti-cheat systems that protect popular games - what each one does and how hard it is to get past. The answers below cover the most common questions, and you can pick a game to read its full guide. Every game is defended differently. The anti-cheat decides which kind of cheat can survive there, and how a ban behaves. These guides are plain-English, per-game deep dives. Each one covers what the anti-cheat actually does, whether a ban sticks to your hardware, how aggressive detection is, and what kind of build lasts. For a one-line lookup across all 51 games we track, use the anti-cheat database.
Straight answers
Which of these games run a kernel-level anti-cheat?
10 of the 12 games we guide load a kernel-level driver, which sees far more of your PC than a user-mode scanner and generally calls for a driver-level or DMA build. The remaining 2 stay in user mode, where an ordinary external is the sensible choice.
Which bans follow your hardware, not just your account?
6 of these titles issue a hardware (HWID) ban alongside the account ban, so a fresh account on the same PC stays locked out until the fingerprint is reset. Everywhere else the ban stops at the account.
Which anti-cheat is hardest to get past?
We rate detection strength Low to Very High from how aggressively each system catches a well-maintained build in practice. 4 of these games sit at High or above - treat those as the ones where build quality and restraint matter most.
Where is cheating lowest-risk?
4 of these games sit at the Low end of the detection scale. That is not the same as safe: bans there are usually driven by reports and demo review rather than by the anti-cheat spotting the software.
VAC2 games
- Counter-Strike 2Valve Anti-CheatBanVAC (account)A user-mode system that is lenient on paper but increasingly backed by server-side VACnet and VAC Live - which is exactly why build quality matters more than ever in CS2.
- DeadlockValve Anti-CheatBanVAC (account)Valve’s user-mode VAC plus custom checks on an invite-era MOBA-shooter - low client-detection risk, with behaviour and reports the main danger.
Vanguard1 game
Easy Anti-Cheat5 games
- FortniteEasy Anti-CheatBanHWID + accountA kernel anti-cheat (EAC, with BattlEye as a second option) that issues HWID bans - but detection lands in waves, so build hygiene beats luck.
- Apex LegendsEasy Anti-CheatBanHWID + accountKernel-level EAC with HWID bans and a reputation for big, periodic ban waves - private builds and a legit playstyle are what last.
- RustEasy Anti-CheatBanGame banKernel EAC with game bans (not HWID) plus Facepunch’s famously brutal, no-warning ban waves - the cheat can be fine and you still get swept.
- Dead by DaylightEasy Anti-CheatBanAccountKernel EAC but with account bans and a forgiving track record - one of the lower-risk asymmetric games to cheat in, if you avoid the obvious.
- The FinalsEasy Anti-CheatBanAccountKernel EAC with account bans on a fast, destructible arena shooter - medium risk where a private build and a legit playstyle go a long way.
BattlEye2 games
- Escape from TarkovBattlEyeBanHWID + accountKernel BattlEye with HWID bans, in a high-stakes extraction game where loot and radar cheats are the meta - and where bans hit hardware.
- DayZBattlEyeBanGame banKernel BattlEye but with game bans rather than HWID, on a survival game where server admins do as much policing as the anti-cheat.
Ricochet1 game
Anti-Cheat Expert1 game
Pick a game, then check the build
First, find out what a title runs. It may be a user-mode system like VAC, or a kernel anti-cheat like Vanguard, Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye or Ricochet. Then match it to the right kind of cheat. Use the cheat finder to get a shortlist, compare options side by side, and read the glossary if any term is unfamiliar. Already banned? An HWID spoofer resets the hardware fingerprint the kernel systems record.
How we rate detection strength
The Low to Very High scale on every card is our own editorial assessment of how aggressively a system catches a well-maintained build in practice, not a vendor claim. It weighs the driver depth, whether bans reach hardware, and the track record we describe in each guide. The reasoning is set out in our editorial policy, and the underlying facts for all 51 games we track are in the anti-cheat database. Anti-cheats change constantly, so treat every rating as a moving target.