By Sagar V. Mankar Riot Games has announced plans to roll out Vanguard, their proprietary anti-cheat software, to League of Legends, starting in April 2024.
Vanguard aims to curb cheating and promote fair gameplay in Riot’s hit MOBA title.
What is Vanguard?
Vanguard is a kernel-level driver and client software developed by Riot to combat cheaters across their titles.
It runs while the game is active and monitors for unauthorized third-party software.
Vanguard was first implemented in Riot’s tactical shooter Valorant to widespread success.
Riot is now customizing Vanguard specifically to target the hacks, scripts, and bots plaguing League of Legends.
How Will Vanguard Work in League of Legends?
- Vanguard runs in the background whenever the League Client is open.
- Players must keep it active during games.
- If you try to exit Vanguard, you won’t be able to access League.
- Players cannot uninstall Vanguard and still access the game.
- Vanguard will forcibly close the League if cheating is detected, penalizing offenders.
The League of Legends version of Vanguard will differ from Valorant’s based on the types of cheating in each game.
Riot is rolling out Vanguard slowly, starting with testing on the Philippines server in March.
This regional testing lets Riot monitor impacts before a global April launch.
Will Vanguard Improve Competitive Integrity?
Riot states Vanguard will specifically target the cheaters, scripters, and bots hurting the League’s competitive integrity.
Players have increasingly complained of unfair games ruined by hacking opponents.
While privacy concerns exist around anti-cheat drivers, Riot claims adherence to regional data laws.
If Vanguard works as intended, it should alleviate frustrations around cheating in the Ranked queue.