Need Evidence Esah - Hacking

[randyw]

Name Esah

Summary Hacking

SteamID
[U:1:1574755377]
https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/[U:1:1574755377]
https://stats.skial.com/#summary/player/SteamID/All/[U:1:1574755377]
https://www.skial.com/sourcebans/index.php?p=banlist&advType=steamid&advSearch=[U:1:1574755377]
https://www.skial.com/sourcebans/index.php?p=commslist&advType=steamid&advSearch=[U:1:1574755377]

When did this happen? Just Now

Which server did this happen on? CASUAL | NY 1

Any other information
Suspected triggerbot, low fov silent aim, and maybe walls. Account less than a year old. Our friend Esah has very poor movement, map knowledge, and crosshair placement that does not match his aim at all. He looks confused while maneuvering around the map, often times bumping into walls and props. His aim has a slight stutter and in the first demo in particular seems to hit a lot of max range meatshots, sometimes while not even directly looking at his target.



Here are two small demo files:
https://file.io/Dow8nzVp3pqK

 

[KalashnikovA]

This is a large demo. Can you tell us a few specific tics that you believe are enough to clearly show cheating?

 

[randyw]

Wow, my mistake, I thought I stopped the recordings - looks like they ran through the map/round timer? I went through them in their entirety for you.

First demo:
8000-9000 tick range.

11000-11775 tick range. Pretty obviously locks onto the sentry, plus his aim on the soldier is jittery.

Tick 14000. A common theme in his aiming, he does these massive sweeping "drag" shots where he flicks past his target but ALWAYS shoots when the crosshair is directly over center mass. I personally think he's trigger botting.

Second demo (big one):
Tick 20000

Tick 22000

Tick 34000 - possibly a reach here, but he arcs a mad milk at an enemy outside so high that it hits the ceiling (shitty projectile aimbot? idk)

Tick 37000 - always two shots medics when he needs to.

Tick 47000 - weird lock on to the scout.

I have a background in competitive TF2 and 8k hours in the game, I know what it feels like to play against good scouts. As I mentioned earlier, his meatshots are just way too crispy for someone with movement that derpy. Aim and movement are tied together, yet he barely uses his movement to make shots easier... he just hits low percentage hero shots repeatedly.

 

[KalashnikovA]

Alright I reviewed both demos and the ticks. I'm not seeing enough to convince me that it is an aimbot and not demo-lag. TF2 demo recording sucks and can make someone look like they are hacking, when they really aren't using cheats. Sometimes it is obvious, and others it is hard to tell. I will leave it open for other admins to review - they might have a different perspective.

Also, they player has been reported in the past and we've gone through lengthy demo reviews. Inconclusive IMO.

https://www.skial.com/threads/esah-cheating.111177/

 

[Highway]

Not a Skial TF2 Admin, but have made reports before that resulted in bans. Former anti-cheat team (not for skial), high level competitive tf2 player and professional OW player (also anti-cheat in OW.).

My outside opinion based on these demos and on the ones in the previous post, there is clear evidence of silent aim, and I suspect projectile aimbot based on a few of the mad milk throws. Wallhacks are inconclusive. The small account history is an added red flag. Highly recommend more of the staff take a look and give their thoughts.

No disrespect to Kalashnikov or his capability to spot cheaters of course, but I think having a second opinion on this would be good, since both post reviews have been done by Kalashnikov and a fresh set of eyes is always good to have.

For transparency, I am steam friends with OP, but that played no factor in my review on Esah.

 

[gus___]

Hi there,

Chiming in because I have spectated Esah in games because I felt that there was something up. I would like to preface that I mean no disrespect to KalashnikovA or any of your anti-cheat staff.

Some background on me, I have played TF2 at a high level for the past 8 or so years on and off. Both UGC Platinum and RGL Invite. I've put about 8500 hours into this game and have worked with some smaller anti-cheat teams on servers that I have been on staff for in the past.

Triggerbot and/or silent aim seem to be the culprit here. What you typically see with a player with aim of that caliber is that the movement of said player generally adapts and improves at a similar level. I do not see that in these demos, or while spectating him. Esah routinely chooses to pursue disadvantageous fights, and has a long, sweeping style of aim which is not consistent of high caliber scout players. He often walks into walls, and has limited to no knowledge of air strafing, which is a core movement mechanic in this game.

Typically with players that transition from other games to TF2 and retain their core aiming skills, you will see precise mouse movement and a soft understanding of what to do during fights. I do not see Esah jumping while fighting against explosive classes, strafing during engagements with hitscan classes, or any of what would suggest an understanding of the games mechanics.

Something that I also noticed while doing some research on Esah here was that his steam account is very new. The creation date was August 13, 2023. Not to say that is incriminating to him, as many professional caliber players play on multiple accounts of varying ages. However, in my opinion, Esah does not have the gamesense, movement, or any other qualifying factors that correlate whatsoever with his aim. The Mad Milk instance was also very weird, and seems to show evidence of some kind of projectile hack without any inference of map knowledge.

His ping in games is routinely around the 40-60 range, and from what I have learned during my time as an anti-cheat admin, you will typically not see much more than a 10-20 degree change in crosshair to bullet exit point. I saw multiple instances between 50 degrees to even as egregious as 70-80 degrees of displacement.

I am not trying to make the decision for you, but as Highway stated above me, it might be worth it for a second opinion on this. Detecting triggerbot and/or silent aim has become more difficult over the years as the software and methods of implementation have changed.

Best wishes,
Gus

 

[StanleYBH]

I am not seeing it, but will keep an eye out