This comes up a lot on this forum. People suspect others of cheating because they flew a lot of passengers very quickly, because they got a lot of event currency very quickly, because they have lots of unfilled space, because they flew lots of passengers without lots of passenger buildings, because they seem to have fewer resources than you but are doing better.
If you are relatively new to the game, some things that are quite common for seasoned players at a higher level may seem extravagant to you - maybe even like cheating. But you probably can't tell when people are cheating. You simply haven't explored enough of what is possible in the game to tell the difference between cheating and experience.
The very easy answer is that it is probably NOT cheating.
I played AC from 2012-2016 then quit and started a new game early in 2020 so I've been around the block before. When I started this new game, it was a struggle to earn 10,000 coins in a few days. Now I can make 1m coins in a day if I try hard. When I restarted the new game, I was flying a few thousand passengers a week. Now I fly 150,000 passengers every week without breaking a sweat and I don't have the greatest fleet yet. When I restarted this game, I was not able to finish all the events. Now I can finish them in a few days.
Some common occurrences that may solicit accusations of cheating:
There is a plausible explanation for almost everything.
There are lots of people on this forum who can answer these questions. We are here to help.
Sometimes, the reaction to these scenarios is to suggest it's cheating. Unfortunately, often the people accused of cheating are just long time, seasoned players. There are people on this game who have been playing (and paying) for 8 years. That gives them an advantage ... but not an unfair advantage.
G! has implemented measures in the game to try to reduce the advantage long time players have over new players but they couldn't make a completely level playing field without taking away a lot of things these players worked for years to accumulate. And in fact, there never will be a completely level playing field. Some people spend lots more time in the game. Some spend lots more money. Some spend time on strategies and calculations to make the most of the resources. And some have been just building up resources for a long, long, long time.
And their monumental accomplishments can look like magic ... or cheating ... to someone who doesn't know the game at the same level.
Of course there are cheaters in the game and we all want to see cheaters dealt with. But we also need to be careful before accusing anybody of being a cheater - especially before reporting to G!. G! may end up banning somebody for perfectly legitimate play. If you are interested in how somebody accomplished something that seems like magic, just ask them how they did it. Most people on this forum will help you.
But be especially careful with the people who have been on this game for years. They came by their resources through years of play and dedication to this game. They are the ones with all the QLs who help you get through launches for events. They are the ones with event buildings that pull them out even before the event starts so you have buildings to visit once the event starts. They are the ones with the rare buildings like planetariums and training centers to help you accumulate launch preps and rocket fuel. They are the ones that came up with the idea of a magic square so you can combine bonus buildings and ultimately fly 50k pax in an hour. They are the ones giving you guidance on how to make the most of the game. They are the ones who create and maintain top 100 alliances that they specifically recruit new flyers into so they can help them along. They are the ones who have shared their knowledge to create this forum and wiki.
They are the ones whose knowledge, guidance and generosity you came to this forum for.
If you are relatively new to the game, some things that are quite common for seasoned players at a higher level may seem extravagant to you - maybe even like cheating. But you probably can't tell when people are cheating. You simply haven't explored enough of what is possible in the game to tell the difference between cheating and experience.
The very easy answer is that it is probably NOT cheating.
I played AC from 2012-2016 then quit and started a new game early in 2020 so I've been around the block before. When I started this new game, it was a struggle to earn 10,000 coins in a few days. Now I can make 1m coins in a day if I try hard. When I restarted the new game, I was flying a few thousand passengers a week. Now I fly 150,000 passengers every week without breaking a sweat and I don't have the greatest fleet yet. When I restarted this game, I was not able to finish all the events. Now I can finish them in a few days.
Some common occurrences that may solicit accusations of cheating:
- How did that person fly 200,000 passengers in a week without a lot of passenger buildings?
They probably have lots of buildings that increase the amount a passengers a buildings produces and may even have a visa center to store passengers.
- How did they get the fuel to fly 1M passengers?
They have probably been saving a while to get lots of fuel in the warehouse and in saved gifts to be able to do those flights.
- How did that person fly 400 flights in an hour?
They may have flown 400 flights in an hour. But they may have also played for an entire week during vacation without wifi and finally got connected and so their activity is uploaded all at once rather than a bit at a time.
- Why does that person have 10,000 fuel on the fuel bar?
They probably loaded all their fuel gifts and fuel from inventory all at once so they didn't have to stop flying to reload fuel.
- Why does that low level person with so few buildings have so much land?
That person may have had an unrecoverable game that G! compensated them for with land and greenies.
- How did that person get so much event currency so quickly?
They probably used lots of saved fuel and passengers along with doubling bonuses to earn lots of event currency really quickly. They studied the details and made smart decisions about where to fly and what buildings to collect from. They may also play for many more hours a day than most people
There is a plausible explanation for almost everything.
There are lots of people on this forum who can answer these questions. We are here to help.
Sometimes, the reaction to these scenarios is to suggest it's cheating. Unfortunately, often the people accused of cheating are just long time, seasoned players. There are people on this game who have been playing (and paying) for 8 years. That gives them an advantage ... but not an unfair advantage.
G! has implemented measures in the game to try to reduce the advantage long time players have over new players but they couldn't make a completely level playing field without taking away a lot of things these players worked for years to accumulate. And in fact, there never will be a completely level playing field. Some people spend lots more time in the game. Some spend lots more money. Some spend time on strategies and calculations to make the most of the resources. And some have been just building up resources for a long, long, long time.
And their monumental accomplishments can look like magic ... or cheating ... to someone who doesn't know the game at the same level.
Of course there are cheaters in the game and we all want to see cheaters dealt with. But we also need to be careful before accusing anybody of being a cheater - especially before reporting to G!. G! may end up banning somebody for perfectly legitimate play. If you are interested in how somebody accomplished something that seems like magic, just ask them how they did it. Most people on this forum will help you.
But be especially careful with the people who have been on this game for years. They came by their resources through years of play and dedication to this game. They are the ones with all the QLs who help you get through launches for events. They are the ones with event buildings that pull them out even before the event starts so you have buildings to visit once the event starts. They are the ones with the rare buildings like planetariums and training centers to help you accumulate launch preps and rocket fuel. They are the ones that came up with the idea of a magic square so you can combine bonus buildings and ultimately fly 50k pax in an hour. They are the ones giving you guidance on how to make the most of the game. They are the ones who create and maintain top 100 alliances that they specifically recruit new flyers into so they can help them along. They are the ones who have shared their knowledge to create this forum and wiki.
They are the ones whose knowledge, guidance and generosity you came to this forum for.
Last edited:
jpm-wv
pete blake
Nayeon
