Will CS2 VAC ban you for having a high DPI? Players claim it can

After a recent ban wave targeted several allegedly innocent accounts, Counter-Strike 2 players are turning their heads toward another issue plaguing Valve’s proprietary anti-cheat software. Ever since CS2's official launch, fans have claimed to receive unjust VAC bans issued as a result of using particularly high DPI settings. However, is this just a case of cheaters trying to get their skins back?

On Oct. 15, 2023, a player called Jigg1ypuff posted on the official Steam forum claiming that his VAC ban was caused by moving his mouse too quickly in-game. The player also claims that he is far from the first to get a false ban, though he certainly isn’t the last. Players on HLTV, Steam, and Reddit have also reported similar situations. The community has been doubtful about such claims, often accusing the players of using high DPI to cover up actual cheating. However, just a few days later, a CS2 content creator claims to have replicated the bug in-game.

In the above video, CS2 YouTuber TabbyN maxed out his mouse DPI using official Logitech software and spun around shooting in a casual lobby to test the ban bug. Just minutes after beginning the experiment, the game issued a VAC ban and unceremoniously kicked him from the lobby. The above example is not a guarantee that something is wrong, but we’re quite hesitant to test it ourselves.

The issue likely stems from VAC’s updates for CS2. Valve claims that the anti-cheat now uses an AI-powered algorithm to detect cheating. It uses confirmed cases as a clue to find future cheaters. Spinbotting is one of the most notorious forms of cheating, so the gameplay shown in the video could trick the AI into thinking they are hacking.

Affected players’ only option is to wait for Valve to notice the problem and revert the bans. As for anyone else, just make sure to play like a normal person and don’t cosplay as a spinbot in matchmaking.

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