Minecraft anticheat guide
Criticals and KeepSprint Combat Cheats in Minecraft Explained
How Criticals and KeepSprint cheats appear in Minecraft combat logs, what vanilla rules they break, and the staff review steps they require.
What is a critical hit, and how does the cheat fake it?
In vanilla Minecraft, a critical hit needs the attacker to be falling, not on the ground, and not sprinting. A criticals cheat sends the attack as if those conditions were met, usually with a false ground state or a small upward hop, so every hit looks critical.
The server sees the attack, the fall distance it tracks, and the ground state the client reports in movement packets. The cheat usually leaves a gap between the claimed result and the physics that should have produced it. Vanilla also has exceptions, such as water and climbing, so confirm the conditions on your version before you compare. A reviewer should judge the claim from movement data, not from how much damage the hit dealt.
What does a criticals spoof look like in logs?
A spoof leaves a mismatch between what the attack claims and what the movement shows. The table below lists the mismatch to look for in each signal. Read it with the player's ping and terrain in mind.
| Signal | Legitimate falling hit | Possible spoof |
|---|---|---|
| Critical hit result | Fall distance is above zero before the hit | Critical result with no fall distance before the attack |
| Ground state | Player is off the ground while falling | Player reports airborne while standing on a block |
| Vertical motion | Vertical position follows gravity between ticks | Short upward steps repeat before each hit |
| Sprint state | Sprint ends on a critical hit under vanilla rules | Sprint continues through a hit that should end it |
What does KeepSprint change in combat?
KeepSprint keeps a player sprinting through hits, so movement speed stays high during an exchange. A normal exchange slows a player after a hit, and that slowdown limits chaining. A KeepSprint cheat removes it.
The signal is continuity. Staff look for sprint state that stays on across several consecutive hits, with movement speed that does not drop as the same player's ping and terrain would predict.
A single hit with sprint continuity is weak evidence. Several consecutive hits with the same pattern are a stronger reason to review.
How should staff review criticals and KeepSprint alerts?
Review the movement before the hit, not only the hit itself. The steps below keep the evidence in order and separate cheat signals from lag. Stop once the evidence settles the question.
Where does FairPlay fit in criticals review?
FairPlay's documented check families include Criticals and Timer, and the source-backed reference describes utility checks such as CriticalsSpoof. The exact wording from that reference is: FairPlay includes utility and combat-adjacent checks such as BadPacketsRepeatedSlot, CriticalsSpoof, SwingTimer, MacroDupeDamage, and InvalidPlace.
The reference does not name a KeepSprint check in the places we reviewed, so do not assume a KeepSprint signal exists in FairPlay. For the review workflow, see the FairPlay BadPackets, Criticals, Timer, and Macro checks article.
What should a criticals case file contain?
Store the alert, the movement timeline for the flagged hit, the sprint transitions across the fight, and the ping record. Add the server version and enabled check settings, because vanilla rules and server modifications decide what a valid critical looks like.
State the decision and its reason in plain language, such as whether the result matched the fall distance. A reviewer reading the case later should see why staff acted without rerunning the fight.
What we have not verified
This explainer makes no claim about how accurately any anticheat detects criticals or KeepSprint, and it gives no false positive rates. Vanilla rules and server modifications change over versions, so confirm the exact conditions on your server version in staging before you rely on a signal.
FAQ
Is every critical hit a cheat?
No. Falling hits are normal gameplay, and a critical result on its own is not evidence. Check whether the fall distance and ground state support the result before deciding.
Can ping make a criticals spoof look real?
Yes. Late movement packets can make the ground state and fall distance look out of step with the attack. Review the same fight with the player's latency data before you act.
What should an appeal show for a criticals case?
The movement timeline for each flagged hit, the sprint and ground-state record across the fight, the ping data for the same window, and a staff note stating whether the result matched the fall distance.
Is KeepSprint the same as a sprint cheat?
Not exactly. A general sprint cheat changes movement speed directly, while KeepSprint keeps the sprint state through hits. The review asks whether sprint continues through hits that should end it.
Which alert should staff open first for a criticals case?
Open the alert with the movement timeline for the seconds before the hit. The alert tells you where to look, but the movement shows whether the claim holds.