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If you hear about someone hacking in Overwatch, your first thought is probably an aimbot. Aimbots are the most well-known cheating script in any first-person shooter environment. Everyone knows that hitscan heroes use aimbot and that Widowmaker that got the better of you is hacking.
There’s more to cheating than aimbots, though, as the Overwatch Police Department shows. Seemingly innocent heroes and abilities have subtle scripts designed to maximize their effect while looking natural. Mei is one such hero.
The Overwatch Police Department, a high ranking group dedicated to finding and exposing cheating players throughout the ladder, shared a video of a Mei wall script that corrects the wall placement for players. In the initial video, the script fixes the wall placement to block the bot from entering the room.
In a follow-up tweet, the Overwatch Police Department showed what the script looks like when the player attempts a 180-degree turn.
The videos follow an accusation from Overwatch player and professional streamer, Brian “Kephrii” St. Pierre. The streamer made a cheating accusation toward a fellow player who goes by the gamertag “CYY.” Kephrii isn’t the biggest streamer, but he’s known for his top-level Widowmaker play and status as the No. 1 North American Widowmaker.
Kephrii accused CYY of cheating during a tournament based on the footage in-game. The footage shows CYY, playing Mei at the time, spinning to wall a hero behind him. Kephrii asserts the reaction is too fast for normal human reaction time. The Overwatch Police Department’s video shows that scripts for Mei’s Ice Wall ability exists, but that doesn’t necessarily support Kephrii’s claim.
The Overwatch Police Department added that there’s more to look for when accusing players of cheating, including fps drops and recording failures. They concluded that consistent behavior is key.
