It’s a question we get quite a bit here at Airdrop Gaming: “Is using the HipShotDot red dot aim assist cheating?” Sometimes we say “absolutely not” and other times we’ll just wink and say “not really,” depending on what we think the person asking the question wants to hear.

It’s easy to understand why the question comes up, though. After all, it’s definitely a way to get better at FPS and third-person shooter online games. It gives an incredible advantage to anyone who uses it, and it can get someone better at the games in record time. But is it actually cheating? We say no way. Here’s why.

It’s Not a Mod

Look, we hate it when people cheat. There are those games you’re in where people are jumping hundreds of feet across the board, absorb rocket damage like it was a gentle wind, or their sniper locks on and fires as fast as a machine gun. Those are cheaters. Those are the gamers who, for one reason or another (either to prove that they can or because they weren’t very good at the game in the first place), choose to mod their machines in order to have an advantage. Thankfully they get banned most of the time.

Obviously, being a piece of hardware, our red dot aim assist is not a mod. It’s just a way to draw your eyes to the screen and let you keep the center of your television front and...well, center.

Anyone Can Use It

If the HipShot red dot cost $2000, we could understand if someone complained that using it was considered cheating. We’d understand it, even if we didn’t agree with it. If our red dot sight for gaming was only available to the ultra-rich, we could understand that people would be calling “sour grapes” on such a device.

But our red dot aim assist is reasonably priced. As in, really cheap. At most you’re going to be paying $24.99, and a lot of times we’re having a sale so you’re not even going to be paying that. Anyone who has a gaming system and pays for internet can own a HipShot red dot for less than half the cost of a brand new game. There’s really no barrier to entry, and if everyone can use it then it’s certainly not cheating

And while we’re speaking of unfair advantages...

Are These Other Advantages Cheating?

Think about most Olympic sports. Yes, the athletes are incredible, but many times it’s the people behind the scenes that are breaking the records. We’re talking about the engineers who make the bobsleds, design new running shoes, and develop lighter bikes.

Here’s something to remember: the playing field is never going to be completely equal unless you’re at an esports gaming event (even then, people are allowed to choose their own mouse/keyboards). Someone is always going to have an advantage when it comes to online gaming, and these advantages are never considered cheating. We’re talking about stuff like:

• Faster Internet Connection - Someone in a big city will almost always have a better connection than someone in a rural setting.
• Larger Television - Larger televisions allow someone to see enemies from farther off and pick them off easier.
• More Free Time - Some people are going to be better simply because they have more free time.
• Newer Consoles - Newer iterations of consoles can run faster than those that came out at the console’s launch.
• Equipment - More expensive mouse/keyboard combos can give “unfair” advantages.

Are any of these advantages considered cheating? No. If our red dot aim assist helps even you up with the person who spent $4000 on their television and is paying $200 a month on their internet connection for a higher ping, then we really don’t feel so bad when you pwn them.

So, One Last Time...

Using our HipShot red dot is not cheating. So why do people feel like they’re cheating when they use it? Here’s the most common reason: their opponents don’t know that they have it hooked up. Because the HipShotDot is completely hidden, people feel like they’re hiding something from everyone else. But like we said, it’s not really that much different from the other technological advantages that someone else might have. So go ahead and buy our red dot aim assist, and feel good about it.