Guides & User Experiences
Real-world tips and solutions from the Cheat Engine community. Use these to avoid common pitfalls and get better results.
Guide 1: First-Time Setup & the Built-in Tutorial
Many users report that jumping straight into a game without doing the tutorial leads to confusion. It is recommended to run the built-in Cheat Engine tutorial (from the Start Menu; see our Tutorials page for more links) and complete at least Steps 1–5. That teaches you: selecting a process, choosing value type, first scan, next scan, and changing a value. After that, trying the same steps on a simple single-player game (e.g. an old game with health or gold) makes everything click. Forum and wiki guides assume you know these basics.
Takeaway: Do the built-in tutorial first; it saves hours of frustration later.
Guide 2: When the Value Keeps Changing Address (Pointers)
A common experience: you find health or money, change it, and it works. After you restart the game or load another level, the address is different and your cheat no longer works. That usually means the game stores the value in dynamic memory (e.g. allocated each run). The solution is to find a pointer — an address that always points to the current data. Use Cheat Engine’s “Pointer scan” (after finding the value at least once). The wiki has tutorials on pointers and pointer scanning; expect to filter results and re-scan after a game restart to narrow down the right pointer.
Takeaway: For values that change address on restart, learn pointer scanning and use the pointer scan feature.
Guide 3: Antivirus Blocking or Deleting Cheat Engine
Users often ask: “Is Cheat Engine a virus?” Officially, no — it’s a legitimate tool that can modify other processes and run scripts, so antivirus software often flags it as a hacktool. Community solutions: (1) Add an exclusion for the Cheat Engine folder in your antivirus. (2) If the installer is blocked, temporarily disable real-time protection, install Cheat Engine, then re-enable and add the folder to exclusions. (3) Download only from our Downloads page. Never run Cheat Engine or unknown .CT files from untrusted sites. .CT files are plain XML — you can open them in Notepad and check for suspicious scripts.
Takeaway: Use a trusted source only; add AV exclusion or temporary disable for install; check .CT files if from third parties.
Guide 4: Installation or “Won’t Start” Issues (Windows)
If Cheat Engine fails to install or won’t run, the community and developer often check our FAQ and Guides. Try: run the installer as administrator, make sure Visual C++ runtimes are installed, and exclude Cheat Engine from antivirus. If you compiled from source, ensure you have the right dependencies.
Takeaway: Run as admin, fix runtimes, exclude from AV.
Guide 5: “I Changed Money in an Online Game and It Reverted”
This is one of the most repeated experiences. The user edits a value they think is “money,” the number on screen updates, but after a purchase or refresh it snaps back. Explanation: you only changed a client-side display value. The real balance is on the server. Cheat Engine cannot change server data. The same applies to speedhack on web games — speeding up time locally doesn’t make the server give you more resources; on reconnect the server state is what counts. Cheat Engine is for single-player and local use only. Don’t expect it to work on MMOs, browser games with servers, or any game where critical data is validated server-side.
Takeaway: Cheat Engine cannot alter server-side data. Use it only for single-player or locally stored values.
Guide 6: Too Many Results After First Scan
New users often scan for a value (e.g. 100 for health) and get thousands of addresses. The way to narrow it down: change the value in the game (take damage, spend gold, etc.), then do a “Next Scan” with the new value. Repeat a few times. You can also try “Unknown initial value” and then “Changed value” / “Unchanged value” if you don’t know the number. Choosing the correct value type (4 bytes, float, double, etc.) also reduces results. The tutorial walks through this; the wiki has guides on value types and scanning strategies.
Takeaway: Use Next Scan after changing the value in the game; pick the right value type; use changed/unchanged for unknown values.
Guide 7: Game Updates Break My Cheat (AOB and Code Injection)
If you used a code injection or script that writes to a fixed address, a game update can move the code and break the cheat. More robust approach: use AOB (Array of Bytes) to find the code by a unique byte pattern instead of a fixed address. When the game updates, the pattern might still match and your script can find the new address automatically. The wiki has tutorials on AOB and Auto Assembler. Updating the method (AOB, pointer, etc.) is your responsibility; a new Cheat Engine version won’t magically fix game-specific changes.
Takeaway: Use AOB for code injection when possible so cheats survive updates; update your table when the game patches.
More Help
Check the FAQ for answers to common questions.