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Anti-cheat FAQ

   exa   - 11/9/2022
I think that someone is cheating, what should I do?

First of all, you should try to collect some evidence against the person. You can view the other questions below to know what is considered good and bad evidence.

Once that is done, you should head to our report form, and complete it making sure to respect all the instructions stated on said form:

https://rgl.gg/Players/Reporting/Cheaters.aspx


When submitting my report, are there any rules I should follow? (Do’s and Don'ts')

The Dos and Don’ts of AC Reporting

  • Do: Provide multiple ticks for the demo files you have provided
  • Do: Give AC time to go over the cases you have reported
  • Do: Continue to provide new demos and ticks of the player you reported
  • Do: Avoid tampering with AC’s ability to gather more evidence after the report evidence
  • Do: Review gathered evidence a few times to double-check findings by yourself or in a private setting with trustworthy friends

  • Don’t: Witch hunt players on public forums with the evidence you have compiled.
  • Don’t: Share your evidence or warn player(s)/team(s) in the division(s)
  • Don’t: Have you and your friends spam the report form with the same three clips or pieces of evidence.
  • Don’t: Harass the player you reported and their team
  • Don’t: Impersonate others or use alt accounts to try and get POV demos from a player
  • Don’t: Report a scrim or match because you thought something was suspicious without evidence

Violation of the “Don’ts” may lead to a warning or a suspension.


How specific should I be with my evidence? (For example: do I need to submit specific ticks on a demo?)

Many reports received are just a demo link with no ticks or context provided, which means AC needs to go through the demo in its entirety just to find specific instances of suspected cheating that may or may not exist.

With the massive volume of incoming reports, this is an incredibly inefficient way to deal with cases and is mentally taxing on those reviewing every second of these demos in slow motion.

If you provide ticks and explanations to what you found in the demo file, it speeds up the process immensely. A report is meant to be a tip that may lead to a potential case for AC to pick up -- a link to a demo without any specifics is not an effective tip for AC to pick up on.

Please do not submit the same piece of evidence multiple times(copy-pastes), doing so will result in punitive actions.

Ticks should be about 500-1000 ticks before the incident and should be formatted as such "tick - description".
For example:
3500 - walling on the sniper
10000 - aimlock on the medic


After I’ve reported someone, what should I do?

If you have any more evidence to submit, you may submit it. If you don’t, we ask that you do not disclose anything about the case as it makes it hard for the AC team to collect more data about the suspect if they think they are currently being investigated for cheating.

For example, if you think user X is cheating, and instead of reporting them, you create a forum post, they might stop cheating on their future demos or find ways to hide it better to not get caught.


Should I try to get more evidence after I’ve submitted my report?

Yes - but make sure you include more ticks, not just links to demos or a quick description.


Who is going to watch the evidence?

Only Anti-Cheat staff members are able to view on, weigh on and decide on Anti-Cheat cases.

You can view the current list of our staff here: https://rgl.gg/?a=1461

For AC investigations, many of our staff have chosen to remain anonymous.


How long will it take for the person to get banned or not?

A case will take as long as needed until a decision by the AC team is reached.


Can staff provide me with POV demos of the suspect?

No, unless the suspect makes their POV demos public with their own free will, neither RGL Staff nor AC Staff, will request POV demos on your behalf so that you may review them for report submission. You may instead review STVs and submit evidence gathered to the best of your abilities. The AC team will request POV demos as needed and will use said demos to conduct an internal investigation.


Will you tell me what cheats the other person was using?

First, we recommend you read this article:
https://rgl.gg/?a=1370

Revealing our techniques and evidence, this subsequently allows other individuals to better hide the possible use of assistance. This makes the techniques for anti-cheat detection harder and allows for cheaters to gain insight to circumvent detection. Historically, no TF2 league in any region has provided direct evidence to players to prevent current or future cheaters from avoiding detection. It is also worth mentioning that the world's largest eSports league, ESL, the parent company of ESEA, will also not provide evidence (see ESL Anticheat summary). With any case that is reported and sent to the team, we take many measures to ensure that each case is looked at, with evidence to support the opinions of the investigation. Here is what you should know:

  • A majority opinion with a high level of confidence must be had prior to issuing a cheating ban

Ensuring that the material being presented is conclusive is instrumental. Otherwise, there can be many interpretations that leads to uncertainty. The reason why anti-cheat cases are left to the team is limit the possible influence of public opinions that may lead to rumors, false accusations, and rash decisions.

  • Personal Involvement

Anti-cheat staff that are on the same team or friends with the individuals involved must stay out of that case. This goes with anyone on the administration team.