League of Legends is one of the biggest and most popular games in the world. Millions of players enjoy this multiplayer online game every day. However, there is talk about Riot Games, the company behind League of Legends, adding a new anti-cheat system called Vanguard to the game.
Vanguard is a kernel-level anti-cheat system that is already used in another popular game called VALORANT, which is also made by Riot Games.
While Vanguard may seem like a good idea to stop cheating, there are some concerns about implementing it in League of Legends. In this article, we’ll discuss what Vanguard is and the potential downsides or cons of adding it to League of Legends.
What Is Vanguard?
Vanguard is a special anti-cheat system created by Riot Games. It runs when you play their games like VALORANT to stop cheaters and hackers from getting an unfair advantage.
Vanguard has two main parts – a client that runs while the game is open, and a driver that runs at a deeper level in your computer. Both these parts were made by Riot to keep games fair and secure, while also protecting your privacy and computer safety.
Riot has done a lot of testing and worked with security experts to make sure Vanguard is safe and follows privacy laws in different regions. They are also giving players more control over Vanguard, like an icon to show when it’s running and options to turn it on/off or uninstall it.
However, to play Riot games like VALORANT, Vanguard must be active. If there are any issues with Vanguard, it could stop you from playing the game until you restart your PC.
For League of Legends, Riot is customizing Vanguard specifically to target cheaters, bots and script users in that game. They are rolling it out slowly, starting in one region, to see how it impacts players.
The Downsides of Implementing Vanguard into LoL
One downside is that Vanguard will probably not allow any custom mods or skins for League of Legends. This means you may not be able to use popular custom skins, maps, or announcer voice packs that players currently enjoy using.
Another issue is that with Vanguard running, you’ll most likely not be able to use third-party apps and overlay programs for League like Porofessor, OP.GG, Blitz and others. These apps provide extra stats, builds and tools that many players find helpful.
Additionally, according to lol script, they claim “There is always a way around” new anti-cheat systems. They suggest that using Vanguard in League will just make cheats more expensive and profitable for cheat sellers. So while it may prevent some cheating, determined cheat makers will still find ways to bypass it.
Finally, there are concerns from many League players about having to have Vanguard constantly running on their personal computers. Some are uncomfortable with that level of deep system access granted to an anti-cheat program.
Vanguard Release Date
Riot Games won’t just add Vanguard to League of Legends all at once worldwide. Instead, they have announced plans for a gradual rollout.
First, Riot will start by releasing Vanguard in just one region or server for League of Legends. This will allow them to closely monitor how Vanguard performs and what kind of impact it has on players in that first region.
After studying the effects in the initial region, Riot can make any needed adjustments or fixes based on player feedback and data they collect.
If all goes well with this live testing phase, Riot is targeting a global release of Vanguard for all League of Legends servers in April.
Conclusion
The potential addition of Vanguard anti-cheat to League of Legends is causing quite a stir in the community. While Riot’s intention is to crack down on cheaters, scripters and bots to improve competitive integrity, many players have valid concerns.
Riot has a challenge to get the implementation right and convince one of gaming’s largest communities that Vanguard is worth it for a game they already love. Only time will tell if Vanguard enhances or diminishes League of Legends.
