Riot adds optional on-demand mode for Vanguard anti-cheat
Eligible League of Legends and Valorant players can now run Vanguard only while playing, if their Windows 11 PCs meet new security requirements.
By James Whitfield · Staff Writer
2 min read
Riot Games is giving some League of Legends and Valorant players a way to run its Vanguard anti-cheat software only when they are playing. The change matters because Vanguard has drawn attention for using a kernel-level driver that previously launched with Windows and stayed active in the background.
Phillip Koskinas, Riot’s head of anti-cheat, said in a company blog post that the new feature is called Vanguard Pre-Check. Under the optional mode, Vanguard can start with a Riot game and stop running after the player exits, instead of loading at system startup.
Koskinas said the option is available to players with supported hardware who choose to use Windows security features and pre-boot protections. Players who do not enable the new mode do not need to change anything, according to Riot.
Why Riot says the change is possible
Riot said it developed the option after work with Microsoft’s Xbox OS Security Team on Windows kernel improvements. According to Koskinas, those changes are meant to block driver and memory exploits used by cheats such as wallhacks, aimbots and triggerbots.
The company is also using a Windows security feature known as the Runtime Driver Attestation Report. Koskinas said that report gives Riot a secured record of device drivers loaded since boot, helping the company check for cheat tools without requiring Vanguard to run continuously.
The minimum operating system requirement is Windows 11 25H2. Koskinas said that is partly because the driver attestation report first appeared in that version, and partly because older operating systems become easier targets for cheating as security advances.
Who can use Vanguard Pre-Check
Riot said 35 percent of players already meet the requirements for Vanguard Pre-Check. Koskinas said those players will be able to switch to on-demand mode with their next update.
The remaining 65 percent will need to make system changes if they want to use the option. Riot listed these requirements:
- Windows 11 25H2 or later, with UEFI Mode, Secure Boot and Trusted Platform Module 2.0 enabled.
- Virtualization-Based Security and Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity enabled.
- Input-Output Memory Management Unit enabled.
Koskinas said many new computers already ship with these settings turned on by default. He described the update as an optional incentive for players who want the on-demand behavior now.
Riot is not requiring players to enable Vanguard Pre-Check to keep playing its games, according to Koskinas. Players who prefer not to adjust their PC security settings can leave Vanguard working as it does now.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.