How to Use a Cheat Table (.CT File) in Cheat Engine

A cheat table is a file with the .CT extension that stores a ready-made list of Cheat Engine entries: values, pointers, scripts and the hotkeys that control them. Someone else has done the searching and testing; you load the file, attach to the game and switch on what you want. This guide covers how to do that, how the parts of a table work, why tables stop working after game updates, and what to check when something goes wrong.

Cheat tables are for single-player and offline games only. Do not use them online or in multiplayer. Back up your save files before you enable anything, because changes can be saved into your game and are not always easy to undo.

Before you load a table

You need Cheat Engine installed from the official site, cheatengine.org. Then pick a table from the cheat table list and check a few details on its page before you download it:

• The game version it targets. Tables are built and tested against a specific build of a game. More on this below.
• The store or edition. Steam, GOG, Epic and Microsoft Store releases of the same game can use different executables, and a table made for one may not work on another.
• The Cheat Engine version. Some tables use features from recent Cheat Engine releases. If the page lists a minimum version, use that version or newer.

It is also worth looking inside the file before you open it in Cheat Engine. A table can contain scripts, including Lua scripts that run with the same permissions as Cheat Engine itself. Our online CT viewer lists a table's entries and flags risky script functions directly in your browser, and the guide Is a cheat table safe? explains what to look for.

What "the game version this table targets" means

A cheat table does not understand the game in any general sense. It contains precise instructions: a value lives at this pointer path, or a script should patch the code that matches this exact sequence of bytes. Those details are true for the build of the game the author had installed. When the developer releases a patch, the game is recompiled, and code and data can move.

So when a table page says it targets, for example, version 1.4.2, it means the author tested it against 1.4.2. It may still work on 1.4.3 if the patch did not touch the relevant code, or it may fail completely. You can usually find your game version in the main menu, the launcher, the store's properties page for the game, or the properties of the game's executable in Windows Explorer.

Opening a table

1. Start the game and load into a save.
2. Start Cheat Engine.
3. Open the table. Use the File menu and choose the option to open or load a file, then select the .CT file. If .CT files are associated with Cheat Engine on your system, double-clicking the file in Windows Explorer opens it directly.
4. If the table contains a Lua script, Cheat Engine asks whether you want to run it. Only agree if you have read the script or trust its source.
5. Attach to the game: click the computer icon at the top left and select the game's process.

If Cheat Engine asks whether to keep the current address list when you open the process, answer yes so the entries you just loaded stay in place. Many authors also leave notes inside the table; open them with the Table Extras button at the bottom right of the main window. They often explain the order in which to activate things.

Activating entries

Each entry in the address list has an Active box on its left. What ticking it does depends on the kind of entry.

Value entries

A value entry points to one number or string in memory, either at a fixed address or through a pointer path. Its Value column shows the current value. Double-click the value to change it; tick Active to freeze it so the game cannot change it.

Script entries

A script entry contains an Auto Assembler script, and its Value column shows <script> instead of a number. Ticking Active runs the script's [ENABLE] section, which usually changes a small piece of the game's code, for example so health is never subtracted. Unticking runs the [DISABLE] section, which puts the original code back. If enabling fails, the box stays unticked and Cheat Engine shows an error.

Scripts are more robust than plain addresses because they find their target by searching for a pattern of bytes each time, so they keep working across game restarts. The trade-off is that they depend more strictly on the game version.

Many tables have a main script near the top that must be enabled first; other entries depend on it. Some pointer-based entries only fill in after a specific event in the game, such as taking damage once or opening the inventory. Read entry names and the table notes.

Groups

Authors organise entries into groups: a header entry with children underneath, which you expand and collapse with the small arrow beside it. A group can be a plain folder or it can be a script itself. In the entry's right-click menu, the group configuration options decide how a group behaves, for example whether activating the header also activates its children, and whether children are hidden while the header is off. That is why some entries only appear after you tick their parent.

Setting hotkeys

Hotkeys let you toggle entries without leaving the game. Right-click an entry and choose the option to set or change hotkeys. In the dialog that opens:

1. Click the key field and press the key or key combination you want.
2. Choose what the hotkey does, such as toggling the entry on and off, activating or deactivating it, setting a value, or increasing or decreasing it.
3. Add or apply the hotkey and close the dialog.

Choose keys the game does not already use; numeric keypad keys and combinations with Ctrl or Alt are common choices. Hotkeys that came with the table are listed in the same dialog. Save the table (File menu) if you want your hotkeys to be there next time.

Why a table breaks after a game update

When a patch changes the game's executable, three things commonly go wrong:

• The AOB pattern is no longer found. A script searches for a specific array of bytes (an AOB) to find the code it patches. If the patch changed that code, or even just an offset inside it, the search fails and Cheat Engine reports an error mentioning the pattern or the symbol it was meant to define. The script cannot be enabled.
• Pointers lead somewhere else. The base address or offsets of a pointer path have moved. The entry shows ?? or a nonsense value.
• Data layouts changed. A script enables without errors but writes to the wrong field, which can cause odd behaviour or crashes.

Do not try to force a broken table to work by editing patterns at random. Check for an updated version of the table, compare your game version with the targeted one, and if the game crashed, close it and restore your save backup before you continue.

Troubleshooting

• Nothing will activate, errors mention an AOB or symbol. Almost always a version mismatch. See the section above.
• Values show ??. You may not be attached, you may be attached to the wrong process, or the pointer has not been populated yet. Load a save and play for a moment.
• Wrong process. Many games use a launcher that starts the real executable. Attach to the process that has the game window. If several processes share a name, the one with the game window in the Applications tab is usually right.
• 32-bit or 64-bit. A few games ship separate 32-bit and 64-bit executables, or different builds for different graphics APIs. A table written for one will not work on the other. Cheat Engine itself handles both kinds of process.
• Should you run Cheat Engine as administrator? Only if you need to. If the game itself runs with administrator rights, Cheat Engine needs the same level to open it. Otherwise run it normally; there is no benefit in giving a table's scripts more permissions than necessary.
• The game crashes when you tick an entry. Disable the table, restart the game, restore your save backup if needed, and report the problem.

Where to report problems

If a table on Cheat-Engine.net does not work, report it on that table's page in the cheat table list. A useful report includes:

• your game version and store (Steam, GOG, Epic, other);
• your Cheat Engine version;
• which entry failed, and the exact error message;
• what you did just before it failed.

Please also report a table that contains something you did not expect, such as scripts that download files or run programs. That helps keep the list useful for everyone.