[Active Anticheat] When Promises Fall Short

[ERROR501]

Hello everyone! 
I’d like to share an experience that might serve as a lesson for anyone planning to work with third-party protection services—specifically, Active Anticheat.

I know this might sound like a strange job request, but  our player base mostly consists of veteran of Lineage 2 players who are used to using bots as part of their gameplay experience. As server administrators, we decided to adapt to our users.

That’s why we approached Active Anticheat with a proposal:
Allow bot usage under certain conditions.
We explained everything in detail, and they agreed.
 

February – A Promising Start

On February 16th, we contacted Active Anticheat to request a custom antibot system. The idea was to kick players using bots during specific times (like sieges), but allow them to log back in without bots afterward.

After a few discussions, both sides agreed on the following solution:

• Bots allowed during regular days.

• During siege events, anyone using a bot would be automatically kicked.

• Kicked players could log back in without using bots.

The deal was priced at $5,000, which we already paid on March 31st, 2025. Active Anticheat promised delivery by the end of April, or at the latest, by May.
Screenshot:  Deal 1 Deal 2
 

May – The Delays Begin

We followed up multiple times in May, only to finally hear back on May 26th:
“It won’t be ready this month. But we’re working on a big update coming in June.”

That update? Still nowhere to be seen, even as I’m writing this post.
Screenshot:  Delayed
 

Plan B – L2Walker Rejected, Adrenaline Offered

With our server launch schedule getting tighter, we needed an alternative.
At the end of June, we asked Active Anticheat:
“Can you at least allow L2Walker access to the server?”

Their response on June 28th:
“L2Walker can’t be allowed. But we can allow Adrenaline (free & paid version) and L2Helper for $2,000 + $300 (for a new license).”

We agreed, hoping it would be a temporary fix while waiting for the promised “big update” (which we had already paid $5,000 for, remember?).
Screenshot:  New Offer 1 New Offer 2 New Offer 3
 

AA Failed

Their setup took about a week.
We ran 2–3 rounds of testing using clean clients. The result?

Adrenaline (both free and paid) couldn’t connect to our server.

It couldn’t detect the Lineage 2 client, because the custom Active Anticheat protection was blocking it.
We reached out to Active Anticheat for support, and their response?
“You should contact Adrenaline support to enable free Adrenaline for your server. Adrenaline blocks it by default when Active Anticheat is detected.”

Then we tested Premium Adrenaline. And it still didn’t work.
Active Anticheat stood firm:
“It’s not our fault. Adrenaline blocked us—not the other way around.”
Screenshot: Failed 1 Failed 2
 

The Bitter Reality

Today, we’re still waiting for answers.
No reply.
No fix.
No update.
No refund.

We’ve spent a total of $7,300 and received nothing functional in return.
And this, despite their full agreement with our initial plan.
 

[fAkeN]

=]

[Trance]

@ERROR501, I’ve been waiting for the “big update” since last October, and at this point, it’s starting to feel like an empty promise.

You’re better off implementing your own minimum detection server-side instead of relying on AAC to fix their issues; despite what their website claims about blocking everything, it clearly falls short.

[eMommy]

this by far takes the prize for one of the dumbest max cheaters posts in history but thanks for the good laugh once agen proving "people" who use crypto have moar coins than brain LOL

[Nightw0lf]

I mean you joined: 11/07/2016 its not that you are unaware or l2 market value or scam levels you went to pay upfront 5k i understand your fustration but 

 

bro can you lend me some money so i can buy a house near the sea?

i will return them in future!

it seems you dont need the money and i really need some good vacations!

 

 

 

 

[`Sanctus]

mxc sold yet?

[mjst]

AA is currently too busy investing your money in cocktails, sunsets, and maybe a tan.
as for the feature you paid for? hmm… yeah, that's probably on a beach somewhere too. 

please send your message again at the end of September. maybe by then AA will be sober enough to code.

 

btw

looks like the l2 community has no choice but to make its own open-source anti-bot because certain devs prefer spending your cash on beach bars instead of actual coding.

[Nightw0lf]

4 hours ago, mjst said:

looks like the l2 community has no choice but to make its own open-source anti-bot because certain devs prefer spending your cash on beach bars instead of actual coding.

i had the same thought back in 2013, if its public it will be bypassed because the attacker will know what is what

11 hours ago, `Sanctus said:

mxc sold yet?

well its half price of what was a year ago so we are there just not yet

[mjst]

a good idea might be to let only the heads have access to the main core, while the rest of the community helps by reporting and improving a shared system that supports the core without revealing how it works. the rest of the community can use it for free, without having access to the private parts.

[InTheEndॐ]

Consistency on Lineage II deals never dissapoints,it's still sad people investing that kind of money on something that's gone years now.

[Splicho]

7,300$ for some compiled shit anti cheat is crazy work. 

Edited July 13 by Splicho

[Victory]

Imagine paying 7300 for just HWID.

[ratchet]

lol 7k for an ac that even my dead grandma could bypass?

[Celestine]

I don’t understand why anyone would pay so much for an anticheat that’s basically garbage. Their HWID protection is easy to bypass, and any skilled reverser could analyze their code and create the same if not a better anticheat. These days, serious developers focus on kernel level protection, yet they’re still stuck with weak methods. I would never spend $7,000 on an anticheat that doesn’t even work properly. On top of that, their support is terrible they only respond when you're trying to buy something. If you need help with actual issues, forget it.

[leonardoll174]

58 minutes ago, Celestine said:

I don’t understand why anyone would pay so much for an anticheat that’s basically garbage. Their HWID protection is easy to bypass, and any skilled reverser could analyze their code and create the same if not a better anticheat. These days, serious developers focus on kernel level protection, yet they’re still stuck with weak methods. I would never spend $7,000 on an anticheat that doesn’t even work properly. On top of that, their support is terrible they only respond when you're trying to buy something. If you need help with actual issues, forget it.

What we read most often is this: Their HWID Protection is garbage, but no one makes a tool to bypass it and sell it. Imagine, if back when the foreigner was bypassing SGaurd, I knew over 100 people on the server I played on who bought it, that was already about $1,500. Imagine for AAC? Whoever does that easily makes $50,000 a month,
but then we get to that famous topic: It's easy, but no one makes it, no one sells it, no one proves it. Incredible.