Ive been playing password protected games for a very long time and have only really recently started playing public games again.  Cheating doesnt bother me per se, but when you are cheating and you join my "Legits only" game knowing full well that you are hacked 6 ways from Sunday and it will piss me off or upset the game for everyone but you, then that is so incredibly rude and inappropriate I dont even know where to start.  Not all cheaters do this of course, but there are many that do. Awhile back I started what I called a "Responsible Cheaters Campaign" and I think its time to resurrect it again.

HOW TO CHEAT RESPONSIBLY

Play single player

If you must cheat outside of single player, consider playing direct cable connection or modem option under multiplayer.

If you dont want to do that and you wish to play public games on Battle.net, create your own game and label it appropriately so that legits will not join and cheaters will.  Its extremely rude to join legit games knowing full well that you were specifically asked not to.

By creating your very own game, you get to make the rules. Think about it.

If you are cheating and you are scanned, dont lie about being a cheater.  Nobody is that stupid as to believe that the scanner is wrong and this total stranger is telling me the truth about his Godly Plate of the Whale.

If you arent willing to create your own game, then DO NOT join games listed as "legit only" or named in such a way that would indicate that you, the cheater, are not welcome.

If you ignore the wishes of the person that created the game, and you are cheating, and are discovered, you should leave immediately. (You shouldnt have joined in the first place, see the previous statement)

If you dont know whether or not what you are doing is considered cheating, ASK those in the game with you and see if they feel it is.   If they feel it is cheating, then you should either leave or correct the problem.

If you are asked to leave, do so.  You have no right disrupting others by being inconsiderate.

Use common sense.  Consider the other people you are affecting (and you ARE affecting them). Battle.net is a big place and there is no reason to disrespect legits by entering their games and screwing it up for them.   Would you want some undesirables walking into your house and changing channels on your TV while youre watching it?  No, I didnt think so.

Some facts about hacked equipment

Godly Plate of the Whale (full) does not exist in Diablo.  While Wirt is capable of generating the item, the price cap prevents it. This is one of the first things that marks you as a cheater to others that know the game. See my Diablo Myths page.

Lightforge Helm, rings, amulets and armor are also hacks.  Lightforge isnt even a real item. It was a concept item for Diablo ver. 1.00 and was also a single player only item. See my Diablo Myths page.

Demonspike is an armor. It is not a ring, amulet, helm or weapon. This is an easy hack to spot.

If you trade items with strangers or accept "gifts" from strangers, you will almost certainly recieve hacks or dupes.

The DiabloSight scanner was specifically designed to spot hacked items and dupes at item generation code level. MOE SaintEverGreen, the creator of Diablo Sight spent considerable time in public games recording item generation numbers and he used his information as a built-in database for Diablo Sight. His extensive knowledge of the game and how the code works has allowed him to create a very reliable program. Assisted by Paladijn, the two players combined information to allow Diablo Sight the ability to spot what are considered  "Common Dupes" which are items that have been duped more than 10 times. This is a very reasonable number given the fact that most players dupe good items for giveaway or trade.  Other information includes character hacks, spell hacks, out of range data and ears. Trainers can also be used as a small version of a scanner. By choosing to view other characters, you can see their equipment. This method requires more in-depth knowldege of the game since recognition of dupes and hacks is more difficult.

99.99999% of all legits know a hack when they see one and can spot cheaters a mile away.

By running external programs such as trainers and Diablo Hack, .dat files and other enhancements, you increase your lag on Battle.net as well as the lag of those in the game with you.

Diablo 2 will have several different types of character options available to you. Closed characters are characters that you create that will reside on the Battle.net servers (also known as server-side characters) and will not be hackable nor will you be able to (in theory) run .dat files to alter them.  Open characters are characters that once created, reside on your computer just like they do now.  Open and Closed characters will not be allowed to play in games together in Diablo 2.  This was Battle.nets answer to the cheating issue. Finally, legits and cheaters will not be playing together.

That really cool Arch-Angels Staff of Apocalypse (or Nova) that has 255 charges is a hack. Basic Apocalypse staffs have between 8-12 charges. Bountiful Staff of Apocalypse is the best that you can hope for (as far as more than a few charges goes) and the maximum amount of charges possible is 24-36. See Jarulfs Guide for more information.

The much sought after Kings Sword of Haste is also *usually* a duped and even hacked item.  While it is findable in Diablo, its very, very, very rare and there are only a few folks that have found one and they usually arent the perfect Bastard Sword version that you will find in most dupe/cheat games. You are far more likely to be offered a short sword, claymore or other variation of the Kings Sword of Haste.  I was given a Kings Blade of Haste by a good friend and it is NOT a dupe or a hack...they are out there, you just may never find one. :-)

The Apocalypse spell is availabe ONLY on scrolls or staffs. There is no Book of Apocalypse in Diablo. It is learnable in Hellfire.

Dreamflange is NOT a hacked item. You can find them in Hell on any difficulty.