Aimbots are software programs that give players an unfair advantage in games by automatically aiming at opponents and often shooting automatically. Their use is often against the terms of service and can result in penalties or bans from gaming platforms. Downloading such tools can be difficult, as there are many fakes out there.
What is an Aimbot?
‘Aimbot’ is the term used to describe any cheating software or game hack that allows a user to automatically aim and in some cases auto shoot in shooter games. – Because of its extreme efficiency at racking up tons of kills in online multiplayer shooters, where it is most commonly used, it is one of the most controversial game hacking methods out there. However, it is also one of the few cheating methods that are easiest to detect and ban in existence.
The auto aiming bot is both a game hack and a bot, requiring reading game memory to detect target positions and automated actions (bot) to automatically lock onto targets, track them and shoot them to get kills. AI aiming mods are an exception, as they use visual recognition to detect targets and they do not need to interact with the game process beside generating user inputs, making them pure bots.
How do Aimbots work?
A real full-fledged auto aiming tool is an extremely advanced cheating program that uses both game hacking techniques and automation or ‘bot’ software in order to find enemies/targets by reading the game memory and finding certain objects in the game world, then locks a player’s aim onto the target using user input, finally shooting the target. – It is in essence a combination of a wallhack / ESP and a game bot all combined in one.
While the aiming automation is pretty straight forward, the way an aiming tool finds targets to shoot is not as simple: Since a part of any online game, namely the game world around you, has to be processed on your gaming device in order to display the game to you, this graphic memory can be scanned for certain objects, even if they are hidden behind walls, which allows the aimbot to acquire targets outside of the field of view and shoot them the frame they become hittable/visible. This will stay possible until games start processing graphics server-side, which would be extremely expensive and would come with lots of lag / latency. In fact the latency issue is a fatal one in this regard as latency is absolutely vital in competitive shooters and the speed of light cannot be surpassed. So auto aim is here to stay.
What Features do Aimbots include?
There are a lot of features that some aiming apps will include. The amount of features, especially masking features will usually be a good indicator of the quality of a product. Here are some of the commonly included features, all of them are usually togglable and configurable:
- Triggerbot (auto shooting on or off, allowing you to just lock onto targets and shooting yourself if needed.)
- Silent Aim (masks the aiming movement, gun fires in the ‘wrong direction’ but still hits, you don’t need to aim, but will hit the target)
- Limiters for aiming angle, aiming speed, delay before shooting, aiming smoothness ect (this is to mask the auto aimuse and make it less easily detectable by people watching you, make the aiming process seem more natural, human and insuspicious)
- Only headshot, body shot, any shot, limb shot ect. For aiming at only certain body parts.
- Firing / aiming through walls.
- Predictive aiming considering projectile speed, target speed and direction, bullet drop ect.(This of course only works if the target does not change direction or velocity.)
- Configurable buttons / keys for aiming and aim + trigger function
- In game mod menu for configuring the tool, activating and deactivating individual options and limiters.
How do I set up an Aimbot?
In short it depends on your OS: In my personal experience using automated aiming software is easiest on PC, as all you have to do is run or install the .EXE file downloaded. However, be careful and only download from trusted providers to avoid malware! The same goes for AI auto aiming tools.
On Android and iOS mobile auto aim and aim assist usually come as features in APK mods, iOS mods and mod menus. These are often pretty hard to install, as they require a device with admin access enabled. I personally recommend using an emulator instead of tooling around with your mobile device, which can be risky.
As for consoles: It is almost impossible to set up automated aim on any Xbox, PlayStation or Nintendo consoles, as you need a modified console that is able to run unsigned code and a software that enables aiming features in a specific game. Overall, it is far easier to just buy a Windows PC or Android device.
How to tell if someone is using an Aimbot
Here is a list of dead giveaways and clear signs that a player in any FPS or shooter is using an aiming bot that can be observed from the outside or in killcams:
- Crosshair snaps or ‘aimlock’ to target instantly. (Dead giveaway.) This is called an aim lock.
- Unnatural aiming movements: too direct, too straight, too stable, snappy, never overshooting target, insane recoil control)
- Only headshots. (Dead giveaway.)
- Instantly shoots as soon as an enemy is visible. (Because the bot snaps on instantly and the triggerbot shoots.)
- Weird gun movement as if snapping from target to target. (Because they are.)
- Average player suddenly develops god-like pro player aiming skills within a day. (Because they bought an aiming mod.)
- Instantly shoots after crosshair reaches target. (Triggerbot with no delay.)
- Crosshairs are locked onto target and are following a point on target perfectly and instantly. (tool is locked on and trigger is not pulled.)
- Any of the features of wallhacks, because they usually go hand in hand. Almost always in fact.
- Any of the aimbot features can be observed to differing degrees depending on the presence and configuration of anti-detection features such as aim slow, human-like movements, shooting delay ect.
Consequences Legality and Bans
Is it illegal to use an aiming mods? In most countries, using such software isn't illegal. Exceptions include places like South Korea with strict anti-cheating laws. However, game cheats often violate online game terms of service, leading to permanent bans. Personally, I avoid cheating software unless it's undetectable and tested on another account first. If you must use auto-aim tools, do so discreetly to avoid reports and respect other players. Do people get banned for Aimbotting? Yes, cheaters face swift consequences. While skilled users blend in with good players, obvious abusers are quickly reported and banned. This results in lost accounts and wasted money on new games. Despite their power, aimbots are balanced by effective detection systems that analyze play statistics to catch offenders fast.
How and Where do you Download an Aimbot?
Finding and downloading working game cheating software downloads can be extremely difficult at times, as there are many shady websites out there that do not at all care about their customers. Especially when looking for free aim bot downloads, as they are by far the most rare kind, people new to game cheating will struggle. Most downloads advertised online are 100% fake or worse.
Sources / References
[1] https://hackerbot.net/wiki/11-game-hack
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheating_in_online_games
[3] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Aimbot
[4] https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aimbot
[5] https://www.definitions.net/definition/aimbot
