By Sagar V. Mankar 
To combat disruptive cheating and hacking, Riot Games has announced they will implement their anti-cheat software – Vanguard – in League of Legends.
But will this kernel-level program cause the same uproar as it did in VALORANT?
Vanguard raised concerns when first launched alongside Riot’s tactical shooter VALORANT in 2020.
The intrusive kernel-level driver runs constantly when your PC is on, leading to complaints it caused conflicts with other software and peripherals.
Despite the backlash, Vanguard succeeded in minimizing cheating in VALORANT.
Now Riot plans to bring a version of Vanguard to League of Legends to tackle increasing problems like botting and scripting.
How Will Vanguard Work in League of Legends?
Like in VALORANT, Vanguard will monitor system processes to detect cheating software or scripts running alongside League of Legends.
If it flags suspicious activity, the game will instantly terminate to prevent further abuse.
For ranked games terminated due to cheaters, Vanguard will refund lost LP (ranked points) to compensate affected players.
This provides consolation when matches are ruined by hackers.
Over the past two years, Riot has supposedly improved Vanguard to reduce harmful system conflicts that sparked outrage at launch.
We’ll see if Vanguard’s integration goes smoother in League.
Existing Anti-Cheat Issues in LoL
Riot cites feedback about rampant bots, smurfs, and scripters as motivation to finally implement robust anti-cheat in League of Legends.
Cheating has been an ongoing issue plaguing the game’s community.
Chinese LoL servers already use invasive anti-cheat that has led to some false positives from overly skilled play.
But clearly more accurate prevention is needed to protect the League’s integrity as an esports.
Community Concerns About Potential Downsides
No doubt some League of Legends players will voice concerns about kernel anti-cheat based on Vanguard’s controversial reputation.
Gamers value privacy and control of their systems.
However, Riot seems committed to rolling out Vanguard despite inevitable backlash from those wary of its methods.
If it significantly reduces clear cheating problems, most of the playerbase will likely approve in the end.
Stronger anti-cheat is often a trade-off between security and intrusion.
For now, Riot is opting for bold measures in LoL to preserve competitive fairness.
But modifications may come if Vanguard proves overbearing.