Even long-time League of Legends players have chosen to move on after Riot Games rolled out Vanguard anti-cheat software across all servers.
Riot Games now officially requires all League of Legends players to run their anti-cheat software, Vanguard, on update 14.9. While many players have been longing for ways to curb scripters and cheaters in competitive play, it seems like the kernel-level software is a major turn-off for some LoL players.
Among the biggest concerns of League of Legends players regarding the new addition to the LoL experience is how invasive it is to their files and computer systems.
Even the most dedicated players, some of whom have been playing since the MOBA game’s beta test, would rather quit the game cold turkey than allow kernel-level access to their computers.
League of Legends players suggest that Riot Vanguard is tampering with files
Only a few hours after the official rollout of Vanguard on all LoL servers, some players already reported the software’s malicious “spyware” behavior. Reports of Vanguard activity range from taking screenshots to tampering with user files.
Riot Games initially announced the full implementation of their anti-cheat software at the start of the 2024 Season. The Philippines served as the “beta-test” region for League of Legends servers, as PH players have been playing the game with Vanguard for nearly a month now.
While few League of Legends players from the Philippines report malicious activity with the now-required software, many still report frequent client-side crashes with Vanguard errors.
Due to these Vanguard issues, I have personally experienced needing to restart my Riot Client after every ARAM game or two.
Among the players who experienced the most impact amid the Vanguard rollout are streamers, with some suggesting that the software is flagging their streaming programs as third-party cheats. Meanwhile, some paid coaching services have also halted due to incompatibilities with Vanguard.
Many players have hesitated and been against the Vanguard rollout since its announcement. However, Riot Games has since been adamant that having anti-cheat software is necessary for the game’s integrity, as up to 1 in 15 ranked games in higher elos are compromised.