We're really used to thinking of cheaters as being effectively gods within their games, and that playing with them is no fun whatsoever. But if the anti-cheat

We're really used to thinking of cheaters as being effectively gods within their games, and that playing with them is no fun whatsoever. But if the anti-cheat is able to advance to the point that a cheater can merely rise up the ranks by 10%, then, if you think about it... in a lot of ways the problem is solved. When I'm playing in a match, and one of the players is in the 80th percentile by their own merits, and another is "naturally" a 60th percentile player but is cheating their way up to an 80th percentile player somehow... and if they can't see through walls or insta-headshot across the map or do anything other blatently violating the rules, they just play a little better... what's the actual difference? There is some. It's not zero. If you can't get those cheaters under control in tournament play the situation will normalize to everyone using a cheat just to keep up in a Red Queen's race, and that's still bad for other reasons. But it isn't the same impact as playing with Sir Snipes-A-Lot who headshots you through three walls the instant your spawn invulnerability wears off, either.