The art of cheating

[Tony]

I cheat. I love to cheat in games. If I can’t figure out how to cheat, I won’t even play the game. Only Bard’s Tale IV comes to mind, but there’s been quite a few games I won’t play because I can’t cheat.

But it can only be to a point. Anymore and it ruins the game for me. For instance, my last go at Wrath of the Righteous I had a mod that added one feat per level for everyone and a way to completely respect companions. I also increase the attribute points so I can have 18, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10. I do that for all DnD games.

After the last DLC that added the shaper class and companion, it broke the one feat per level mod. So, I installed the toybox mod. It completely ruins the game for me. I cheat way too much with it. If I fight is giving me trouble, I do the ‘rest-all’ thing until I win. I quickly lost all interest in the game with toybox installed. I don’t have the willpower to not use it when it’s there, but I need it since the one feat per level mod is broken.

Am I alone on this? Any other cheating artists out there that need to cheat to enjoy a game but can’t have easy access to too much cheating or they’ll abuse it and ruin the game in that way?

 

[Couchpotato]

High five as another avid cheater for over 30 years now. Started with the game genie on consoles. Hated when consoles blocked cheating, but still use trainers and mods on PC.

Now as for you question nah never cheated and felt like I ruined the game playing. Sure it sometimes makes games to easy but like I said before I'm playing RPGs for the story.

Combat and game mechanics/rules never get my engine revving like others.

 

[JFarrell71]

No judgment on what you guys enjoy, but I can't wrap my head around the appeal. I never use any cheats and never would. Totally defeats the point of playing the game, to me.

 

[Tony]

No judgment on what you guys enjoy, but I can't wrap my head around the appeal. I never use any cheats and never would. Totally defeats the point of playing the game, to me.

My son thinks the same way. It really bothers him that I cheat. They way I see it is if I'm a special person saving the world, my attributes and feats should reflect that. Deciding how exactly I'm going to cheat is a complicated process with a lot of rules and I scale how much I can cheat with difficulty level chosen and other factors. One feat every level in the Pathfinder games just make the games a lot more fun. 18s in all attributes would be too much. 18, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10 is perfect for still having tough choices in how to build.

 

[Couchpotato]

Yep dealt with my fair share of criticism online because someone always has a problem with it. Look it's my game I bought, I'll play it anyway I want for my own enjoyment.

I've seen a few developers and publishers lately who hate cheaters as well.

I'll never cheat in MP or any type of online game though as that's different from SP.

 

[Shagnak]

I cheat in a few situations:
1) If I've finished with a game and just want to see some stuff. This could also mean an end boss that I can't beat, so I cheat to see the ending.
2) Some sort of block that stops progress in a game for me/us - mainly in co-op when we've got limited time and are sick of smashing up against the same brick wall.
3) A game breaking bug requires me to cheat as a workaround (this happened most recently to me in Pathfinder: Kingmaker).

If I felt I had to cheat as a matter of course to enjoy a game, I don't think I'd play the game.

As for other people cheating, @Couchpotato is right - you paid the moneys you do what you want. I don't know why there'd be "haters". I think it's a bit weird, sure, but there's no hate involved.

 

[bjon045]

The BG1/2 and the old gold box games did it well. You could either roll your stats or modify them to you hearts content. Combined with difficulty settings it meant you could make the game a cakewalk if you wanted to.

 

[pibbuR]

Shagnak said it!

pibbuR who this way cheated to avoid having to write a post himself.

PS. I don't have a problem with people who never cheat either. DS.

 

[Arkadia7]

I can go on and on for this particular subject, heh, so read on, if you want to read a mini-essay on this aspect of gaming.

No, I can control myself when it comes to cheating in a game. There are certain things I dislike in gaming, and so I "cheat" for certain aspects of gaming that I dislike, and have done so for a long time now. Whether it be using mods or cheat trainers. For example, in rpgs I will often cheat in gold, so then I don't have to scrounge around in the game world picking up items or monster hides, or whatever is supposed to make money by gathering it in the game world, trying to make money in the game to buy that shiny new magical sword I may have my eye on.

It doesn't ruin the game at all for me, it just stops me from the drudgery and time of gathering the money in the game world, lol, this isn't supposed to be real life. I like gaming as a fantasy simulation, and not a reminder of the real world (i.e. - how hard it can be to make money)

Other cheats I do, this time in both shooter rpgs and fantasy rpgs, is cheat in weight mods, as I'm a pack-rat (and enjoy it) in these games, and want to carry as much stuff as possible, whether that be weapons and guns in the shooter rpgs, or treasure and magic items and armor pieces in the fantasy rpgs... I hate weight limits in these games.

But that said, I don't go overboard and cheat too much in that it ruins the gaming experience of the game. I can restrain myself.

Another form of cheating I will do when it comes to first person shooters, ok, to make this more understandable - I was never that good in first person shooters. I would get destroyed in any real world matches player vs player in these types of games. That said, it doesn't mean I don't love playing them!

And recently I picked up and have been having a blast playing Doom Eternal...Holy Moly, talk about difficulty! Hardest first person shooter I have played in ages! I am using the standard difficulty, 'Hurt Me Plenty' which is supposed to be "normal difficulty". Well, at first it was ok, and I was doing not too bad.

But in later levels, holy smokes, I started getting my butt kicked by this game! They have places where you are locked in arenas with what seems like about a bazillion monsters to fight, all at once, and many times there will also be high level tougher-type mini-boss monsters (and often, two or three of the different mini-boss types at the same time, and a variety of them too, all at once!) as well as the cannon fodder, and they will corner you and all attack you at once! It is insane. I honestly don't think I would be able to even get through this game without using God-mode. The last level I basically played the last third of the level on God-mode, because the difficulty was so high.

I get frustrated maybe too quickly (I don't have patience to play the same level over and over and over most of the time) and I don't like playing levels in shooter games over and over...I know others see this as a "challenge" but to me it just becomes a source of un-fun frustration, and makes me want to give up the game. So yea, I tend to resort to God-mode maybe too quickly at times in this game, but to me it just means I want to continue playing the game - its a very fun game! A fantastic shooter, in fact! - and not feel turned off by the level and game progress being blocked by the game difficulty. How can I have fun when I am invulnerable and in God-mode? Easy, I love killing the monsters and demons, lol, and just the combat in general.

And then in the next level, I always start off in "normal" (non-cheating) mode, and see how far I can get without dying (too much! I mean) or cheating, and will keep playing the "normal" way, until I start getting frustrated by the difficulty, before I will flip on God-mode.

Anyway, if I did cheat to the point where the game had no challenge, and was trivial, then yea, that would get boring very quickly. So I know how to avoid that, and cheat a bit here and there, but most of the time I keep the games challenge intact.

 

[Redglyph]

When I'm cheating, it's for the same reasons as @Shagnak. Sometimes, I'm also reading or watching guides to point me in the right direction when something becomes too frustrating, or after visiting a location, in case I missed something (especially in a long game I won't replay). When playing Elden Ring, I occasionally prepare my next journey when I expect it to be difficult, while trying not to see major spoilers - many quests are interleaved and it's easy to accidentally close an entire line.

I don't judge others for cheating for different reasons; to each their own (but I'll ignore their claim of completing the game faster or more successfully).

Some people say that there shouldn't be a difficulty settings in games. I disagree: we each have different abilities, and the whole point of a game is to enjoy it, so I don't see why some people should be more frustrated by the combat than others, for example. So, if a game doesn't offer a convenient difficulty level, cheating is an appropriate compensation.

 

[Tony]

I'll never cheat in MP or any type of online game though as that's different from SP.

I wouldn't even know how to cheat in an MMO. The only MP games I play now are PWs for Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 and they don't allow cheating. They'd definitely be more fun if they made an exception for me though.

So I know how to avoid that, and cheat a bit here and there, but most of the time I keep the games challenge intact.

I hear you. What about mods? Do people see mods as cheating? Mods that add extra content? Such as more classes and PrCs in Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 and the Pathfinder games? Or overhauls for Fallout 4 or Skyrim? I never once played Skyrim without adding extra perk points. I think I only played it vanilla when it was first released. If there's an overhaul mod that I think improves a game I always install it.

For instance, I didn't hate Starfield. I thought it was pretty great and had a ton of potential. I do hate scanning. I think scanning is dumb and just slows down an already bad part of these games and makes it more tedious. But besides scanning, when I have a PC that can run the game well and there's plenty of mods improving the game, I know I'm going to put endless hours into it.

 

[Carnifex]

I try not to get spoiled on a new game so I tend not to even read many reviews, let alone break-downs on the game itself. After I win the game, on a replay I'll likely find a walk-thru just to make certain I didn't miss anything. As I tend to be an avid explorer, usually I don't miss much.

As for actually cheating, I don't do it. No problem with those that feel otherwise, you paid your coin, so do as you will.

 

[Shattermind]

Case-by-case basis. Sometimes cheating will make me enjoy a game more, other times it will just ruin it for me. I don't like min/maxing and I play RPGs as power-fantasies, so if I don't like the power-progression curve, I'll do something about it. I honestly don't like it when I have limited skill/attribute points, and I'm not a fan of xp caps. Personally, if I didn't make an optimal build, I'd prefer to grind out a few levels to fix my mistakes (as opposed to respeccing or going online for a build guide).

I'm not too concerned with challenge (to be honest, I'm mediocre at games), but I do like at least some attrition from playing the game. I'd honestly prefer to earn my power as opposed to using an outside program, so I'm perfectly ok with grinding a maximized character, or using in-game exploits to do so. I guess as long as it doesn't make things too easy. I have good sense on where to draw the line. I'll also sometimes set arbitrary boundaries such as: I'll only edit the main character, only stats not skills/items, etc. If I can get my power in-game, I'll do things that way. But give an inch, I'll take a mile (eg, gold box/darksun item dupe, MM6-8 corpse multiloot/savescum, etc). Using character editors on Fallout and the infinity engine games did not ruin my enjoyment of those games (esp. since I didn't like companions in Fallout and BG you're supposed to have divine blood, so straight 25 stats works fine for me lol).

Usually, I will try to play through a game once without cheats/mods (unless I get frustrated/bored). Any Diablo-type game I avoid cheating, because that would absolutely ruin those type of games for me (only exception is alt-f4-ing in crafting in Grim Dawn). Stuff like Pathfinder it would probably aid in my enjoyment (unless I gave my character 1000 in all stats or something, but 30 to 50-ish each would be ok), but I'd leave my companions unaltered. I like roleplaying as a demigod, so that... aids immersion. Not an RPG, but games like Galactic Civilizations I like to mod to bend the rules to where its more favorable to me. So I'll play with a god race vs higher difficulty opponents.

 

[sakichop]

I don’t think I cheat. I mean I would never download a trainer or anything like that, but I will min max and take advantage of any exploits that are in the game natively. Also if the game allows me to roll stats I will roll for hours to get the best possible outcome that the game will give me. Not sure if some would consider that cheating, but don’t much care. It’s my game.

 

[JFarrell71]

There's one cheat I would consider using, and have for years. You might even say I'm strange for not having cheated in this way already.

I've been playing Morrowind off and on since release, 20 plus years ago. I revisit it mostly because of Tamriel Rebuilt and its updates. The walking speed is painfully slow in Morrowind, and when you run, your stamina depletes very quickly. Every time I play it I think I should up my speed with a console command, or make it so running doesn't deplete stamina. But I never do it. I think at this point I'm reaching the point where it hinders me from actually playing the game anymore, so I should probably get over it and cheat it up.

 

[fragonard]

The walking speed is painfully slow in Morrowind, and when you run, your stamina depletes very quickly.

Just make an item with CE restore fatigue 3 points. You should be able to run as much as you want.

I used to cheat when I first started playing Morrowind but after a few years it began to bother me that I couldn't play the game as is so I now play vanilla (even leveling), eye candy is OK but no game play mods or cheats. I do use what I consider to be reasonable levels of Alchemy though.

 

[Philistine]

I'm with @Shagnak et. al. Games are for entertainment and if you need to use some kind if cheat to get that, then I don't see the problem. Obviously multiplayer games are a different story, but I almost never play those.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I used to cheat only when I hit a wall and couldn't understand what I did wrong - why I couldn't get past (of) it.
"Cheating" includes for me "clue books" as well.
The very first time I noticed that a game experience can be so much richer with "official game guides" was with Drakensang 1 & 2, where I had those "official books". I could, then, with this "official help" solve riddles I would have never been able to seöolve in 100 years, because they were far to difficult for me.
Since then, I've grown to despise too dificult riddles. - Especially math based riddles, because of my slight Dyscalculia.
Even although I acknowledge the effort from the developers to make them.
But I just/simply hate it when the developer's logic is not the same as my logic.
I've come, therefore, to suspect that different people have different kinds of "logic patterns". I ... seem to see this by developers applying logic rules to solve a riddle which I would never have been able to come up with ...

 

[purpleblob]

I tend to not cheat - I prefer experiencing the game as it is, especially in my 1st playthrough. I'm pretty black and white when it comes to gaming - I either love or hate the game, and generally learn to accept the "lesser good" things about the game once I fall in love with it.

In saying though, I plan on using ToyBox for Rogue Trader just to experience the story - after sinking in more than 100 hours into the beta, I'm still struggling with combat and would prefer experiencing the story without repeating the same encounter several times.

I also don't look down those who "cheats" in single player game - they paid money, so should enjoy the game however they like it.

 

[JDR13]

If it enhances your enjoyment, and as long as we're talking about single-player only, cheat to your hearts content.

I don't do it myself, but I'm glad it exist in gaming for various reasons like the examples @Shagnak gave.