Many cheats are stopped before a match starts: the FACEIT anti-cheat blocks them from running at all. Others may need investigation before we act, and those bans are rarely instant. We take the time to be confident in the evidence, to remove more accounts using the same cheat at once, and to avoid showing cheat developers how they were detected.
Why isn't a cheater banned on FACEIT as soon as they are impacting players?
- We ban players using the same cheat in waves. When we find a cheat, we often temporarily hold back until we can identify multiple accounts using it, then remove them together in a ban wave. If we banned the first account as soon as we detected the cheat, it would warn everyone else using the same method to stop until the cheat developer can test and confirm they are undetected again.
- We need to be correct. A ban is based on data from the account's matches on FACEIT, not any other platform that does not use the FACEIT Anti-Cheat. Banning before concrete evidence we can verify risks removing a legitimate player, and due to FACEIT’s role in the ecosystem, a wrongful ban would destroy a legitimate player’s reputation and career. Every star player was accused on their path to the professional circuit, and we want to be certain we are not ending a legitimate player’s path. Bans on external platforms can be the result of false positives, admin abuse, or other, nuanced scenarios.
- Instant bans help cheat developers. A ban immediately after a match tells the developer exactly when and how they were caught, so they can update their cheat and test again to see if they get banned. They can keep repeating this process until they are not banned immediately after the match, and then tell their cheat community that it is safe to cheat again. Once someone gets immediately banned, they can flag it to the developer, and they repeat the process with only one ban at a time.
But the clip is obvious, and everyone has seen it. Why can’t FACEIT detect them?
Viral clips cannot decide when a ban should go out.
Sometimes the account is cheating, but the ban is intentionally being held back for the reasons above. It is frustrating to see an account that you believe is cheating not being addressed. However, we cannot comment on individual cases without unintentionally providing more information to cheat developers. For example, a cheat developer could self-report their own account on social media to see if they are detected or not.
- If we publish “they’re clean” then they can pass that on to their community.
- If we confirm “yes, they are cheating” then we may prematurely end a ban wave before it hits players in League, qualifiers, or other high-tier competition.
Sometimes they may also not be cheating. A clip often shows a few seconds of one match, often without calls, history, or other context. Every account is judged with the same process, and if they are cheating, they will be banned and appear on our ban list.
What happens when a FACEIT account is banned?
When an account is banned, we return any Elo lost against that account in the last 50 matches. We also overturn any ESEA League official matches and, depending on the schedule, will attempt to replay an affected portion of a competition bracket.
How long does a ban take?
It depends on the case. Some accounts are banned on the same day, while others are held so they can be removed in a ban wave with multiple other accounts using the same cheat.
Does reporting make a difference?
Yes. A single report does not ban anyone on its own. However, they help us decide where to look. Reports help us prioritise which accounts to investigate, and details about what you saw and feel is suspicious help our team in an investigation. At the end of the day, the decision to ban itself always comes from our own evidence, never from the report alone.
Why won't you tell me if a player is being investigated by FACEIT?
Confirming an investigation is in place warns the player, and anyone using the same cheat, to stop before we can act, and to wait for the results before continuing.
Do pros and streamers get treated differently?
No. Every account is judged by the same systems and the same rules, whatever its level or following. We also review the highest-ranked accounts, ESEA League, ladders, and other competitions with rewards at stake with the same process we use to protect matchmaking.