Carlo Arcovio
Riot’s home-brewed anti-cheat software, Vanguard, is always running and users are sharing proof that it hinders computers. A Valorant developer responded to player complaints and revealed some of the intricacies of Vanguard’s behavior.
Strange behavior
Riot’s anti-cheat initializes on boot up and is always running. Before Valorant had a name, Riot promised players that “from day one, we have put anti-cheat at the forefront of our development.” Riot continued, saying that they will “do whatever it takes to preserve the integrity of [players’] matches.” Recently, an observant player noticed Vanguard’s strange behavior. The player shared that “the kernel anti-cheat driver [for Vanguard] (vgk.sys) starts when you turn your computer on.“ Anti-Cheat Lead for Valorant, RiotArkham, admitted that initializing Vanguard before Valorant is behavior that “is less common for anti-cheat.”
“We will do whatever it takes to preserve the integrity of your matches.”
Riot Games
Vanguard has been proven to negatively affect certain systems. Running in the background, Vanguard consumes a computer’s resources to at least a minor extent. Some users don’t notice Vanguard’s perpetual presence, while other users are severely hindered by it. A distraught Valorant player shared their experience with Vanguard, posting a video titled “Riot’s Anti-Cheat software Vanguard is causing frame drops in all my games, including Valorant making them unplayable with the software installed.”
Developer Diaries
RiotArkham revealed insights into Vanguard’s behaviour to the community in their recent post. “Yes we run a driver at system startup,” RiotArkem confirmed before elaborating that “it doesn’t scan anything (unless the game is running), it’s designed to take up as few system resources as possible and it doesn’t communicate to our servers.” In defense of Vanguard’s behavior Riotarkham revealed that “running the driver at system startup time makes [bypassing Vanguard] significantly more difficult” for cheaters. Any players upset with the driver’s presence are reminded that they “can remove it at anytime.”
The Valorant team has consistently interacted with their community throughout development. Fostering a positive relationship with soon-to-be fans, the team is active on multiple platforms. The Valorant Youtube channel regularly releases vlogs that introduce the team and reveal insights about Valorant’s development. RiotArkham’s outreach during fans’ outcry proves that the developers are committed to communication.
Has Riot lost your trust or did their developers win you over? Follow Slashshout on Twitter and let us know if you think Vanguard is invasive software or an effective anti-cheat.
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