How does vac work? Vac and other store?(epic games...)

[Sparks]

Hi there I have some questions... I know that I can be vac banned If I use a cheat engine or trainer or mods etc.. in a vac secured server online but what happen If I use a trainer (or something else) to gain xp offline and then play online without any cheat engines or programs running? will I get vac banned? and what happen If I do it with an epic games' game (there are reference to steam for bans on epic games)? I'm thinking about Killing floors 2 for examples (I have it on epic games but not on steam)... after 8 years on steam I'm now getting in the world of mods trying to have fun in a different ways in coop or solo games but I'm scared to ruin everything. I don't want to ruin other player experience of course, I think cheating in online games is one of the worst thing that can be done in a game, but I would like to know if I can try some new things in solo and then going online to play with friends without being banned. I think that after many years on the same game for example mods are a good way to change your experience in a better way to try something new for another time, but what happen if a day I decide to go online to play with a friend and in the past I modified my pg?
p.s. sorry for my bad english

[Silicon Vampire]

You need to start by reading the pinned threads here and all the information they contain.

[Wolf Knight]

if the game uses vac, there is no "Offline". all game sessions are vac secured by default.
if you are planning on using mods for a game, ask about it in that games forum. some games do not allow any mods, some have limits on what you can change.

as far as vac is concerned, anything that tampers with protected game files is a cheat regardless of it giving an advantage or not. and you dont have to be actively using the cheat to get the ban. the cheat only has to be detected by the vac system while you are connected to a vac server.

[The Giving One]

Cheat Engine causes VAC errors, not bans, unless you actually inject into the game's process with Cheat Engine with the intent to cheat.

Simply left open and running in the background, it will case a VAC error. It's just a commonly used excuse that cheaters love to use, that is nonsense.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=2117-ilzv-2837#software

What typically causes this error?

There are a number of common software conflicts that can cause this error. If you are running any of the following software, please disable it while playing:

CCleaner
Powershell
Sandboxie
Cheat Engine <----------------------------------------------
IObit Start Menu 8
Process Hacker
DLL Injectors
Hypervisors
Steam Idlers

So if only left running in the background, Cheat Engine is more likely to cause a disconnected error.

[Sparks]

Originally posted by Wolf Knight:

if the game uses vac, there is no "Offline". all game sessions are vac secured by default.
if you are planning on using mods for a game, ask about it in that games forum. some games do not allow any mods, some have limits on what you can change.

as far as vac is concerned, anything that tampers with protected game files is a cheat regardless of it giving an advantage or not. and you dont have to be actively using the cheat to get the ban. the cheat only has to be detected by the vac system while you are connected to a vac server.

well dying light for example let people play offline in single player mode so actually I think that is not exactly as you are saying, that's the problem

[Sparks]

Originally posted by Silicon Vampire:

You need to start by reading the pinned threads here and all the information they contain.

main threads and instructions about vac ban do not refer about what I am asking and the fact of changing stats for example without being in a vac protected server but still in a vac protected game and then going into those server without anything running in background

[The Giving One]

Originally posted by Sparks:

well dying light for example let people play offline in single player mode so actually I think that is not exactly as you are saying, that's the problem

"VAC secured by default".

Some games might offer nonsecure servers. That is linked from the pinned thread which was suggested to read.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7849-RADZ-6869&l=english#insecure

"If I'm VAC banned can I play on insecure servers?"

Yes, if the game offers insecure servers.

Some VAC protected games allow servers that are not protected by VAC. Users that are VAC banned are still able to play on insecure servers for the game they are VAC banned in. Please note that not all games have insecure servers.

[The Giving One]

Want to make sure you do not get your account VAC banned ?

Download the games and play them and do not mess about in the files, make changes or additions or "modifications", or do anything but just play the games that you downloaded on Steam.

Do not share your phone number with anyone.

Do not share your Steam library with anyone.

And above all, never let anyone else use your Steam account.

No one can tell you for sure if a "modification" is safe to use, or if the download location is safe for sure where you get such a "modification".

"How can I ensure I don't get VAC banned?"

Use caution when installing any game modifications like scripts or custom skins, and only download custom content from trusted sources. Hackers may maliciously disguise their cheats to cause others to get banned.

https://support.steampowered.com/kb_article.php?ref=7849-RADZ-6869&l=english#avoidvac

Just because a "modification" tells you that all it does is make your screen brighter, that does not mean that is all it will do :

CS: GO player releases fake hack and purposely gets 3,000+ cheaters VAC banned

https://www.pcgamesn.com/counter-strike-global-offensive/cs-go-player-releases-fake-hack-and-purposely-gets-3000-cheaters-vac-banned

For COD games, ANY modifications whatsoever to the game will result in a VAC ban. Hey, you don't have to take our word for it. Use the forum search and see for yourself. There is literally years worth of threads around here where users thought they could play against bots only, or in single play otherwise, and ended up with a VAC ban.

The SSA explains this. It says "may give an advantage when playing multiplayer", so even if only used in single player, those modifications "may still give an unfair advantage" if the user does use them in multiplayer.

https://store.steampowered.com/subscriber_agreement/#4

4. ONLINE CONDUCT, CHEATING AND PROCESS TAMPERING ⏶

Steam and the Content and Services may include functionality designed to identify software or hardware processes or functionality that may give a player an unfair competitive advantage when playing multiplayer versions of any Content and Services or modifications of Content and Services ("Cheats"). You agree that you will not create Cheats or assist third parties in any way to create or use Cheats. You agree that you will not directly or indirectly disable, circumvent, or otherwise interfere with the operation of software designed to prevent or report the use of Cheats.

[Sparks]

Alright I understand with what you are saying and I agree with it, but this is not what I asked for, and the question that I did (maybe is not clear) is not explained in the thread. Of course if I don't want any risk I can play a game normally as I did for 8 years for example but you know what ?sometimes you get tired of "normal" and you want to try something new on a special game you have always loved... and this is why I asked my question. Hope you understand

[The Giving One]

You asked about trainers and if gaining XP will later cause a VAC ban, if you only trained while not online, if I understood what you are asking.

Since there is no way we can be sure where you will download such trainer would be a safe location to download it from, and we can't be sure that all it does is "train" you for added XP, then there is no way anyone can guarantee that will not cause a VAC ban.

As you can see from the support pages, some modifications or things you download can come with cheats hidden in the download. We can't know these things for sure.

Unless you wrote the code for the trainer yourself, then you can't be sure either.

Doesn't EPIC use it's own anticheat and not VAC ? This is all about VAC as VAC is Valve Anticheat, so not really sure what that has to do with EPIC and any games you play there.

Sorry if I misunderstand what you are asking. Maybe just ask here again what you are trying to find out to clarify, please.

But in the end, you use any modifications on your PC at your own risk, as you seem to understand. Maybe the modification will fine to use, but where you download it from may not be a trusted source for modifications.

[Sparks]

Thank you, I appreciate the help and the kindness. In the end I think I will just give up on "risky" games as you suggested... I don't know if I can write down on comments such things but for information I usually download mods from nexus mod and recently a friend suggested me to try out "wemod" for trainers. If needed I will delete the message to avoid any reference to
external sites

[Zekiran]

Nexus mods come with their own risks and rewards. I'd suggest reading all the comments and threads on the individual mod, to see if anyone is experiencing anything untoward.