Engineering Note

Keeping Gameplay Server-Authoritative

A practical breakdown of why the client should never own gameplay outcomes, and how I structure remotes, validation, and state so exploiters have nothing to grab onto.

Server-authoritative gameplay patterns used on a 31k-player game
Security
5 min read
Updated Mar 2026

The Core Rule

The client should never decide a gameplay outcome. It can request things — open this case, accept this trade — but the server validates, decides, and persists. If you only remember one thing about exploit resistance on Roblox, it's that.

Where Exploits Come From

  • -Remotes that trust whatever the client sends
  • -Outcomes (rolls, payouts, rewards) computed on the client
  • -State the client can edit and have the server believe

How I Structure It

01Client fires a remote
->
02Server checks permission and rate limits
->
03Server validates the request against real state
->
04Server computes and applies the outcome
->
05Server replicates the result back

Every remote assumes the caller might be hostile. Inputs are validated, abuse-prone calls are rate limited, and nothing the client says is taken at face value.

Why It's Worth It

Done up front, server authority costs a little extra structure. Skipped, it costs dupes, a broken economy, and emergency patches at the worst possible time. I'd rather build the foundation once.

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