FAQ

Cheat Engine is a free, source-available memory scanner and debugger for Windows. It attaches to a running program, searches its memory for values you describe (your health, your money, a cooldown), and lets you inspect or change them.

It is a general-purpose tool, not a cheat by itself. It ships with no game knowledge at all — everything it does depends on what you, or a Cheat Table, tell it to look for.

Get it from the official project at cheatengine.org (opens in new tab) — that is where releases are published, and where I get mine.

A Cheat Table is a .CT file: a saved Cheat Engine project for one specific game. Instead of scanning for values yourself, you open the table and get a ready-made list of options someone else already located.

A table typically contains:

• Addresses and pointers that survive a game restart, so the same option keeps working tomorrow.
• Assembly scripts that patch game code — for example, so that damage is calculated but never subtracted.
• Lua code for hotkeys, safety checks and the interface you see when the table loads.

That is also why a table is tied to a game version: it points at specific places inside a specific build. When the game updates, those places move.

No. Open the table, tick the options you want, play. Where a game needs extra files or a specific setup order, the table page spells it out.

Knowing a little about how memory, pointers or assembly work makes troubleshooting easier and is genuinely interesting, but it is not a requirement. If you are curious, the blog has beginner guides for Lua and x86 assembly.

Because Cheat Engine does exactly what antivirus software is built to notice: it attaches a debugger to another process, reads its memory and writes into it. That behaviour is indistinguishable from what malicious software does, so heuristic scanners flag it.

The important part is where you get it from. Download Cheat Engine only from the official site. Reuploads on random download portals are a well-known vector for bundled adware and worse.

My tables themselves are plain text project files. You can open any .CT in a text editor and read every script inside it.

Single-player games I actually play, on PC, mostly on Steam. The complete, current list is the table catalogue — it is generated from the same data as everything else on this site, so it always reflects what is actually published here.

What I do not touch: multiplayer games, online-only games, and anything with kernel-level anti-cheat. See Safety & Multiplayer for why.

Some are, some are part of my Patreon. Free and Patreon tables are marked in the table list, and the access level is spelled out at the top of each table page, before any download.

The reasoning behind that split is explained under Free & Patreon.

Free tables download directly from their page in the table catalogue. The download button names the table version it serves.

Patreon tables are not downloaded from this site. Their table page links to the Patreon membership; once your pledge is active and your Discord account is linked, the files are in the #downloader channel on Discord. See Supporter Access for the role setup.

Cheat Engine 7.5. That is the version I develop and test against, so it is the version a table is known to have worked on at release.

Newer releases will usually load a table fine, but differences between versions can affect scripts, Lua integrations, custom types and interfaces. If something behaves oddly on a different version, reproducing it on 7.5 is the first useful troubleshooting step.

Older versions are more likely to fail outright, because they may not know instructions or features a newer table uses.

The short version:

1. Complete any setup steps listed on that table page first — some games need extra files before the table can work at all.
2. Start the game and load into your save, not just the main menu.
3. Open Cheat Engine, click the process selector (the small computer icon, top left) and pick the game.
4. Open the .CT file through File → Open, or drag it into the Cheat Engine window.
5. Enable the main script first if the table has one, then tick the options you want.

Order matters more than people expect: attach to the running game before loading the table, and let the game reach actual gameplay before enabling scripts. Many "the table does not work" reports come down to one of those two steps.

Because certain companies are notoriously hostile to Cheats. Capcom for example deploys a broad range of integrity checks and alike to make debugging their games harder.

The REFramework patches these integrity checks, allowing me and others to mess with the game without it crashing or locking up. It is a requirement for some tables, and the table page will always tell you if it is.

Yes. Always, and not only for my tables.

Modifying values a game did not expect to change can produce states the game never planned for. That is rarely destructive, but "rarely" is not "never", and a save backup costs you ten seconds.

Copy the save folder somewhere outside the game directory before your first session with any new table.

Usually yes. Attaching a debugger to a process started by another user context — which is what happens with many launchers — requires elevated rights. If the game does not appear in the process list, or attaching fails silently, that is the first thing to try.

Beyond that, if the game launcher runs elevated, Cheat Engine has to as well.

Because they cost different amounts to make and to keep alive.

A small table for a stable game might take an evening and then never need attention again. That is a good candidate to simply give away. A large table for a game that patches every two weeks is a different project entirely: every patch invalidates addresses, breaks scripts and means another round of scanning, testing and re-releasing. That work does not end at release, it starts there.

There are also real costs behind it:

• The games. I buy every game I make a table for, at full price, and often the edition with the extra content people ask about.
• Hardware. A machine that can run a modern title at playable speed while a debugger is attached, single-stepping code and holding scan results in memory. Large scans produce result sets measured in gigabytes, and keeping several game versions installed side by side to compare builds costs storage on its own. That machine is a recurring cost, not a one-time purchase.
• Time. By far the largest cost. Understanding a game, its mechanics and architecture, is a complex task that takes considerable time and effort, often more than writing the entire rest of the table.

Patreon lets the demanding projects fund themselves, which is what makes it possible to keep the free ones free and to keep maintaining both. It is not a paywall around a finished product — it is what pays for the maintenance the product needs.

A supporter pledge pays for ongoing work: the table being kept current when the game updates, new options being added, and the next table getting built at all.

You are not buying the game, and you are not buying Cheat Engine — both of those you get elsewhere, and Cheat Engine is free.

No. Free tables are built and tested to the same standard, and they get updated when the game changes.

Some tables do contain individual options reserved for supporters. Where that is the case, those options are marked with a Patreon icon in the option list on the table page, so you can see the split before downloading anything.

No. Everything runs through the Patreon membership, and one active month gives you access to every Patreon table at once — not just one.

If you only need a table for one game, subscribing for a single month is a perfectly reasonable way to use that.

Sometimes. When a game stops receiving updates and the table stops needing maintenance, the argument for keeping it behind Patreon disappears with it.

There is no fixed schedule for that, and no commitment attached. When it happens, it appears in the changelog like any other change.

Please do not. Patreon content is for supporters, and redistributing it undercuts the only thing that funds the maintenance.

It also creates a support problem: shared copies get outdated, land in the wrong hands, and generate bug reports for versions I cannot identify or fix.

First, make sure your Discord account is linked to Patreon. Patreon handles the role sync, so Discord has to know which account belongs to your pledge.

If it is already linked and the role still does not appear, unlink and re-link Discord in your Patreon settings. That re-link is usually enough to force the sync back into place.

In my Discord server (opens in new tab), mainly in the #downloader channel.

Once your Patreon role is active, the relevant content becomes available automatically. If they do not, check the role sync before assuming something is broken.

This usually means Patreon and Discord stopped syncing, your pledge changed, or Discord was unlinked somewhere along the way.

Check your Patreon membership first, then re-link Discord in your Patreon settings. If everything looks correct and the role is still gone, ask in Discord or contact me through Patreon with your Discord username.

No. Supporter downloads and all support — including bug reports for the free tables — run through the Discord server only. If you will not use Discord, I have no other channel for either.

I know that does not suit everyone, but Discord keeps downloads, updates, access roles and support in one place. Splitting that across multiple systems would be worse for everyone, starting with how quickly updates reach you.

In principle, yes. Parts of that flow sit with Patreon rather than with me, so I cannot promise every case will be instant or perfectly clean.

Reach out through Patreon and explain the situation. If it is fair and understandable, I will try to work it out with you.

Work through this list in order. It resolves the large majority of reports:

1. Table version. Are you on the latest one? Compare against the version shown on the table page.
2. Game version. Did the game update recently? A patch is the single most common cause.
3. Cheat Engine version. Are you on 7.5?
4. Setup steps. Did you complete any requirements listed on the table page — extra files, correct folder, correct order?
5. Attachment. Is Cheat Engine attached to the game process, and is Cheat Engine running as administrator?
6. Game state. Are you actually in gameplay? Many scripts need the game to have loaded a save before the code they patch even exists.
7. Interference. Any mods, other trainers, overlays or injectors running? See the next question.
8. A legitimate copy. Tables are built and tested against retail builds only. Cracked copies are not supported — see Rules & Support.

If all eight check out and it still fails, that is a genuine bug report — and a very useful one, because you have already ruled out everything else.

Reproduce it in the cleanest state you can build, then add things back one at a time:

• Mods. Disable all of them. Mods change game code and memory layout, which is exactly what a table depends on. Script extenders and framework mods are the most likely to collide.
• Other trainers and tools. Run only one at a time. Two tools patching the same instruction will fight each other, and the loser is usually whichever attached second. This includes other Cheat Engine tables.
• Overlays and injectors. Steam overlay, Discord overlay, RivaTuner, ReShade, recording software — anything that injects into the game can interfere with attaching or with hooks.
• Game file integrity. Verify the game files through your launcher. It catches broken or partially updated installs.
• A fresh save. If an option misbehaves only in one playthrough, try a new save to see whether it is the save or the table.

If it works clean and breaks with a specific mod or tool, that is worth knowing — and worth mentioning in a report, because a collision is not a table bug and needs a different answer.

You are welcome to use both, but modded setups are out of scope for support. Mods change the code and memory a table depends on, so a table can work perfectly, partially, or not at all depending on what the mod touches.

Reproduce the problem with the mods disabled before reporting it, and say so if it only appears with them active.

You can, but you should not expect it to work. Trainers, tables and mod frameworks all modify the same running process, often the very same instructions. When two of them patch the same code, the result is undefined at best and a crash at worst.

If you use multiple tools, test them individually before combining them, and do not report the combination as a table bug until you have.

Every table page shows the table version, when it was last updated, and — once the tracker has a build on record — its tracker status. The Steam Tracker compares the table version date against the last time Steam changed the game build, so a table whose game has moved on since the last release is visible without you having to guess.

The changelog shows the full release history if you want to see exactly what changed and when.

Expected, and not a defect. A game update moves code and data around; a table points at specific locations in a specific build. When the build changes, the table has to be re-pointed.

Use the Request update button on that table page. It sends me a notification with the table, its version and its tracker status, plus anything you add. If the tracker still shows the table as up to date, the button stays disabled — say so on Discord instead.

Do not downgrade the game to keep a table working unless you know what you are doing — on some titles that breaks more than it fixes.

Bug reports go to Discord (opens in new tab). A good report answers the questions I would otherwise have to ask. Include:

• Game and platform — including the exact game version or build number if you can find it.
• Table version — shown on the table page and inside the table itself.
• Cheat Engine version.
• Which option misbehaves, and what you expected instead.
• What happens — nothing at all, an error message, a crash, or a wrong value. The exact wording of any error matters.
• What you already ruled out — mods, other tools, a clean reproduction.

"It does not work" is not a report I can act on. Everything above turns a guess into a fix. Reports involving pirated copies are closed without further discussion.

Because your setup is not my setup. Different game version, different edition or storefront, different DLC, different mods, different hardware, different save state — any of those can change whether a specific hook lands.

That is not me doubting you. It is the reason a report needs the details listed above: without them, I cannot reproduce the one difference that matters.

No. My tables are built and tested for single-player and offline use only. That is stated on every table page, and it is not a formality.

Using them online risks your account, ruins the game for other players, and is the one thing I will not help with under any circumstances.

No, and requests for online-only or multiplayer-focused games are not processed at all — they are simply closed.

That includes games with a single-player mode that shares progression, servers or anti-cheat with the online mode. If disabling the network is not enough to make it a genuinely offline experience, it is out of scope.

In a genuinely offline single-player session, there is normally nothing watching. That is the situation these tables are made for.

But "normally" is the honest word. Some games run anti-cheat even in single-player. Some sync statistics, achievements or save data to a server. Some publishers change their policy after release. None of that is under my control.

If a game gives you any way to disable network features or play offline, use it. Beyond that: using these tables is entirely at your own risk, with no warranty of any kind — not for account safety, not for save integrity, not for anything else. If that is not acceptable to you, do not use them. That is a completely reasonable decision.

No, and I will not intervene with a publisher on your behalf.

I provide these tables for offline single-player use, at your own risk and with no warranty of any kind. Bans, revoked licences, lost progress or any other consequence of using them are yours alone.

It can, in the sense that any value you change is written into your save the next time the game saves. Set something to a value the game considers impossible and it may behave strangely, or refuse to load.

The tables avoid obviously destructive edits, but they cannot know what every game validates. Back up your saves — see Downloads & Setup.

Online-only and multiplayer-focused games are out of scope, and those requests are closed unread — see Safety & Multiplayer. For everything else, you can ask on Discord (opens in new tab). Whether it happens depends on whether the game interests me and whether it is realistic to maintain alongside everything already on the list.

Requests are not a queue I work through in order, and a request is never a commitment. Games I am actually playing have a much better chance than games I would have to buy and learn from scratch.

Yes, and these are the most likely requests to get built. Describe what the option should do rather than how you imagine it working internally — the implementation is my problem, and there is often a better approach than the obvious one.

Some things are simply not feasible in a given game, and I would rather say so than build something unreliable.

Use the Request update button on that table page — see Troubleshooting for what it does and when it is available.

One request per day is enough. Repeats from the same connection on the same day are ignored, so sending it once is all it takes.

It depends on the game and on how much a patch moved. A small update can be a same-day fix. A major patch that rearranges the engine can mean rebuilding large parts of a table from scratch.

I do not give turnaround times. Every release lands in the changelog when I publish it, so you never have to guess whether something is being worked on.

No. Supporting on Patreon funds the project as a whole, and I am grateful for it, but it does not buy a place at the front of a queue or a commission slot.

I build tables for games I want to play. That is what keeps the quality up, and it stops being true the moment it turns into contract work.

No. This is a zero-tolerance rule, and the one I am least flexible about.

I do not build for, test against, or troubleshoot pirated copies. Reports that mention one are closed without further discussion, and asking about it in Discord is a fast way to lose access to it.

Beyond the principle: cracked builds are modified. They differ internally, lag behind on patches, and carry changes I cannot see. Even if I wanted to help, I would be debugging a binary that is not the one I built the table for.

No. Do not reupload them to other sites, do not bundle them into packs, and absolutely do not sell them.

Beyond the obvious, reuploads are actively harmful: they go stale, they get modified, and they generate support requests for versions I did not publish and cannot verify.

Link to the table page instead. It always serves the current version.

Yes. Open it, read the scripts, change them, learn from them — that is one of the best ways to pick up this whole field, and it is how I started.

Keep it personal, though. Editing for yourself is fine; publishing your edit as your own work is not.

No. Support happens publicly in Discord (opens in new tab), where the answer helps the next person with the same problem too.

Please do not send direct messages for setup help — I will point you back to the channels anyway. Ask there and someone else may well answer before I do.

No, and nobody honestly can. A table is tied to a game build. Games keep updating, engines get replaced, storefronts change, and some titles eventually stop being worth maintaining.

What I do commit to: while a table is maintained, its page tells you the truth about its state — current version, last update, and tracker status where the tracker has a build on record.