Vanguard no longer has to run at startup thanks to Riot's new On-Demand mode

I stopped playing Valorant a while back, but Riot's Vanguard anti-cheat has been running at boot ever since, whether I play or not. That is finally changing. Riot Games has announced Vanguard On-Demand, an update that stops the Vanguard driver from loading at Windows startup. With Vanguard On-Demand, the anti-cheat runs only when you launch a Riot title like Valorant or League of Legends. Once you close the game, Vanguard shuts down automatically. But there is a catch.

The catch is a security checklist Riot calls Vanguard Pre-Check. To switch to on-demand mode, your PC needs to be running at least Windows 11 25H2 with Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, Virtualization-Based Security, Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity, and IOMMU all enabled.

What makes On-Demand possible is the work Riot did with Microsoft's Xbox OS Security Team on a Windows feature called Runtime Driver Attestation Report, which keeps a record of every driver loaded since startup. From there, Vanguard can check at launch whether anything suspicious was loaded while it was inactive.

Riot anti-cheat lead Phillip Koskinas said around 35% of players already meet all the requirements out of the box. Those players will see a toggle appear with their next update. The remaining 65% will need to manually enable the required settings, most of which are BIOS options. Around 3% are on hardware too old to qualify at all.

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Koskinas was clear that Riot is not forcing anyone to change anything, and players who do nothing will have Vanguard continue to run exactly as it does today. On-Demand mode does not change whether you can play Valorant or League of Legends, no matter if you qualify or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Question #1

How do I check if my PC already meets Vanguard Pre-Check requirements so the On-Demand toggle appears automatically?

Check that your PC meets Riot’s Vanguard Pre-Check: Windows 11 25H2 plus Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, Virtualization-Based Security, Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity, and IOMMU all enabled. If your system meets all those requirements, Riot says about 35% of players will see the On-Demand toggle appear automatically with the next update; otherwise you must enable the listed settings manually (most are BIOS options).

Answered

Question #2

Which specific BIOS settings do I need to enable to satisfy the Vanguard Pre-Check (beyond Secure Boot and TPM 2.0)?

You must enable Virtualization-Based Security, Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity, and IOMMU in BIOS (in addition to Secure Boot and TPM 2.0).

Answered

Question #3

What steps should I take if enabling VBS/HVCI causes an FPS drop or breaks older device drivers after switching to On-Demand?

If enabling VBS/HVCI causes a small FPS drop or breaks older device drivers after switching to On-Demand, the article notes this is an expected side effect: VBS and HVCI run parts of the kernel in a hardware-protected area which can slightly reduce FPS, and VBS activates Microsofts vulnerable driver blocklist which may stop older drivers from working. Riot also says players who do nothing will keep Vanguard running as before, so you can leave Vanguard always-on instead of switching to On-Demand to avoid those effects.

Answered

Question #4

If my hardware is too old to qualify (the ~3% mentioned), will I still be able to launch Riot games with Vanguard running as before?

Yes. The article states Riot is not forcing anyone to change anything, and players who do nothing will have Vanguard continue to run exactly as it does today. On-Demand mode does not change whether you can play Valorant or League of Legends, no matter if you qualify or not.

Answered

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The always-on behavior has been one of the biggest frustrations with Vanguard since it launched alongside Valorant in 2020. That said, players switching to the On-Demand mode should be aware that VBS and HVCI, two required Windows security features, run parts of the system kernel in a hardware-protected area, and enabling them can cause a small drop in FPS. VBS also activates Microsoft's vulnerable driver blocklist, which may cause older device drivers to stop working.