Riot Games' Vanguard Anti-Cheat Now Launches On-Demand: How to Enable It

Vanguard, Riot Games' anti‑cheat for VALORANT and League of Legends, is receiving a significant update. Starting today, players across both titles will have the option to activate the anti‑cheat on demand.

This means that if the feature is enabled, Vanguard will only launch when the game is running and will automatically close when the game is shut down. However, the on-demand option is not available on all PCs. Your system must meet a set of modern security requirements to be eligible.

According to Riot Games, only 35% of the player base is currently eligible for Vanguard On-Demand. The remaining players must manually fulfil a few Pre-Check requirements if they wish to switch to on‑demand mode. It's worth noting that this is purely optional, so if you prefer to keep the anti‑cheat running in the background at all times, no changes are required.

Below are the steps and requirements for the Vanguard Pre‑Check. For a more in‑depth explanation and technical details, you can refer to Riot Games' official report.

How to Enable Vanguard On-Demand for VALORANT and League of Legends 

By opting into pre-boot security mechanisms and Windows’ native protection features, VALORANT and League of Legends players can enable Vanguard's on-demand mode. The following security requirements must be met:

• Windows 11 version 25H2 or newer

• Secure Boot

• TPM 2.0

• IOMMU

• Virtualization-Based Security (VBS)

• Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI)

You can use the Vanguard tool in your system tray to check whether Vanguard On-Demand is compatible with your PC. After the next update, you should be able to view the Pre‑Check requirements there and see which ones you've already met. For any remaining requirements, simply click them within Vanguard's tray application. This will redirect you to the necessary support information.

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Featured Image Credit: Riot Games