Rapid fire in GPC: how the classic macro works, and where it gets you banned

#What is a rapid-fire macro?

It is the oldest controller MOD there is. Turbo buttons on 1990s third-party pads did the same thing in hardware. The idea: while you hold the fire button, the device presses and releases it for you on a fixed timer, so a weapon that fires once per press fires as fast as the timer allows.

On the Cronus Zen this is a short GPC script. Understanding it is worthwhile even if you never use it, because the same structure underlies most MODs, and because knowing what it can and cannot do clears up a lot of forum myth.

#What does the code look like?

define HOLD = 40;
define RELEASE = 30;

main {
    if(get_val(PS5_R2)) combo_run(RapidFire);
}

combo RapidFire {
    set_val(PS5_R2, 100);
    wait(HOLD);
    set_val(PS5_R2, 0);
    wait(RELEASE);
}

That is the whole thing. While R2 is held, main asks to run the combo every cycle; combo_run only starts it when the previous run has finished, so the result is a steady press-release rhythm. HOLD and RELEASE in milliseconds set the rate: 40 + 30 = 70 ms per press, roughly 14 presses per second. The pattern is explained in combos and wait timing.

Many published versions add a toggle so the macro can be switched off with a button combination, and an OLED message showing whether it is active. Those are additions; the core is a combo under a get_val.

#Why doesn't it work in most modern games?

Because the game decides how often a weapon can fire, not the controller. Collective Minds' MODs vs Hacks page is unambiguous: if developers limit how fast a semi-automatic weapon fires, no macro bypasses that. The game receives extra presses and ignores them.

Modern shooters almost all cap fire rate per weapon. A rapid-fire macro in those games either does nothing or, worse, fires slightly slower than a skilled player because the timer is not synchronised to the weapon's actual cooldown. Where it still makes a difference is in older or less polished titles where fire rate is tied to press frequency, and in games that never anticipated a controller pressing 14 times a second.

#Is it a hack?

Collective Minds argues no, and technically that is correct. The macro:

• sends ordinary button presses the game already accepts;
• changes no game files and injects no code;
• cannot see or alter health, hitboxes, damage or positions;
• is the same mechanism as macro keys on Corsair, Razer and Logitech keyboards or the Xbox Elite controller's paddle profiles.

The official page ends with the line "No hacks. No cheats. Just macros." Whether a publisher agrees is a different matter, and Collective Minds itself adds that the Zen is for hobbyist use and not for circumventing any publisher's EULA.

#Is it allowed?

For online competitive play, generally no.

• Activision. The RICOCHET Season 02 update (February 2026) describes new detections for Cronus and XIM style devices and states that hardware bans for their use are not appealable.
• Epic Games. Epic's Restricted Hardware help page names Cronus Zen and Cronus Max as restricted devices; the documented path is a warning telling you to remove the device and restart, then a permanent ban for attempting to bypass it.
• 2K. Has a general Code of Conduct prohibiting unauthorised third-party tools rather than a device-specific rule.
• Other publishers. Most competitive titles' terms cover macros in general language. Assume it is prohibited unless the terms say otherwise.

Detection is not only signature-based. A human cannot press a button every 70 ms with zero variance for minutes at a time; the timing itself is a signal. Adding random jitter to the waits is a common suggestion and does not change the rule you are breaking.

The full picture, with source links, is in Is the Cronus Zen allowed?.

#Where is it legitimately useful?

• Single-player games, where the only person affected is you.
• Accessibility. For a player who cannot repeatedly tap a button, a macro that taps for them is the difference between playing and not. This is the use Collective Minds most often highlights.
• Retro and arcade-style games designed in an era when turbo controllers were sold in every shop.
• Testing. Learning how combos behave with a trace output in Device Monitor and no game attached.

#What should I take from this?

Rapid fire is the simplest possible combo, it teaches the get_val plus combo_run pattern well, and it is a poor choice for online play both because game caps make it ineffective and because the major publishers ban it. Learn the pattern, then build something the rules allow: a hair trigger, a remap for an injured hand, a persistent settings menu.