Cheats for Valorant in 2026: The Truth About Vanguard, Ban Waves, and What Actually Happens
Cheats for Valorant (aimbots, wallhacks, triggerbots and skin changers) break Riot’s Terms and are the main target of Riot Vanguard, the kernel-level anti-cheat that has shipped with Valorant since launch in 2020. Detected players lose the account, and serious cases get a hardware ban on the PC. “Undetected” cheat sellers profit from subscriptions, not from keeping you safe.
What kinds of Valorant cheats exist?
This page explains what Valorant cheats are and why they fail against Vanguard, not where to get them. The common types are:
| Type | What it does | Why it gets caught |
|---|---|---|
| Aimbot and silent aim | Moves or redirects your aim to enemies | Reads game memory and produces inhuman aim patterns |
| Wallhack or ESP | Shows enemies through walls | Reads memory; reports and behaviour data back it up |
| Triggerbot or pixelbot | Fires automatically when the crosshair touches an enemy | Reaction times no human produces, over and over |
| Hardware-based (DMA) cheats | Read memory through extra hardware | Vanguard and Riot’s detection teams target the hardware too |
| Skin changers | Show skins you do not own | Modify the game client, which Vanguard is built to stop |
Every one of them needs to read or change the running game. That is exactly the territory Vanguard watches, and it is why “it is only a skin changer” is no defence: the method is the same as for an aimbot. Vanguard also loads with Windows, not with the game, so a cheat started before Valorant opens does not slip past it.
Why do players still look for cheats for Valorant?
Mostly frustration. A losing streak, a teammate who will not trade, an opponent who seems impossible to beat, and the idea of a shortcut starts to sound reasonable. Some players are curious after watching a ban video. Others want to “test” a cheat in unrated, as if the anti-cheat cared which queue it was.
None of those reasons change the outcome. Ranked frustration has fixes that work: fewer games in a row, a smaller agent pool, reviewing deaths. And if the frustration comes from facing people who seem to cheat, reporting them does more than joining them. Is a few weeks of fake wins worth an account and maybe a PC ban? Nobody who lost one would say yes.
How does Riot Vanguard catch cheaters?
Vanguard has a driver that loads when Windows starts, before almost every other program on the PC. Cheats cannot simply start first and hide. It looks for software and drivers that tamper with the game, blocks known cheat drivers, and reports suspicious activity to Riot. On top of the client side, Riot analyses gameplay data, reports from players and patterns across many accounts.
Detection is not always instant. Riot often collects evidence and bans in waves, so a cheat that “works” for a week usually just has not met its ban wave yet. Thing is, cheat users read that week as proof the product is safe, and then lose the account in the next wave.
Vanguard also refuses to run in virtual machines and with certain security settings off, which closes several old tricks. Since 2024 League of Legends uses Vanguard too, so the same system now protects both games.
What happens when Vanguard catches you?
You lose the account, usually for good. Skins, agents and rank on it are gone, and Riot does not refund purchases on accounts banned for cheating. For serious or repeated cheating, Riot also issues hardware bans: Riot blocks the PC itself, so a new account on the same machine goes down too. In Riot’s error list that shows up as VAN 152.
Because Vanguard protects League as well, a hardware ban can stop the same PC from playing League. Honestly, that is the part many players do not expect. A cheat bought for one game can cost access to both.
There is also the match itself. Riot can end matches when it detects cheating, and every confirmed cheater removed from ranked makes the next games fairer for everyone else. That is why reporting matters (more on that below).
Why “undetected” cheats are a scam
Every cheat seller calls their product undetected, and some keep saying it right up to the day the ban wave lands on their customers. The business model is subscriptions: weekly or monthly fees, often paid in ways that are hard to reverse, for software that stops working whenever Riot updates detection.
The risks go beyond a ban:
- Cheat software asks for the deepest access to your PC that exists. Malware and stolen logins are a common result.
- Many “free cheats” are simply malware with a game name on it.
- Payment details given to cheat shops are a gift to fraudsters.
- Your Riot account, and anything else logged in on that PC, is exposed.
Real talk: there is no version of this that ends well. The best case is wasting money; the usual case is a lost account; the worst case is a compromised computer.
How to report a cheater
Report during or after the match; both count, and both go to the same review systems. In game, open the scoreboard and use the report option next to the player, choose the cheating category and add a short note. After the match, you can report from the Valorant career page or match history, which is handy if you only noticed something in the replay.
A few tips make reports more useful. Report the specific behaviour (wallhacks, aim locking) rather than general anger. Skip the chat accusations. They change nothing in ranked and can earn you a penalty of your own. And if you are not sure, watch the round again: what looks like cheating is sometimes a good pre-aim or sound cue.
Network problems can also feel like cheating, especially desync, where enemies seem to react before they could see you. Our guide to fixing desync in Valorant covers that side.
What about cheaters in your own games?
They exist, and meeting one is infuriating. Still, a lot of “he must be cheating” moments have ordinary explanations: a player holding a common angle, a sound cue you missed, an off-angle pre-aim, or the peeker’s advantage that every online shooter has. Watching the round again from the replay or the killcam often settles it.
When it does not, report and move on. Riot publishes occasional updates on its anti-cheat work, and the pattern is consistent: cheaters get removed in waves, and the accounts that bought into “undetected” promises go with them. To be fair, that does not refund the match you lost, but it does mean the cheater is very unlikely to stay in your rank for long.
One more practical point. If you play on a shared or second-hand PC, ask whether anyone ever installed cheats on it. Hardware bans follow the machine, so a cheat used by a previous owner can cause problems for you.
Is it cheating to use crosshair codes, macros or overlays?
Crosshair codes are a built-in feature, so sharing and importing them is fine; our page of Valorant crosshair codes lists popular ones. Macros that automate inputs, such as auto-fire or recoil scripts, are a different matter, and Riot can treat them as cheating. Overlays? Those that only display information outside the game (voice apps, performance counters) are generally fine, though some can conflict with Vanguard.
For what it’s worth, a simple test works: if a tool plays any part of the game for you or shows information the game hides, do not use it.
How to climb in Valorant without cheats
The unglamorous answer is practice with a plan. Warm up in the Range and Deathmatch, learn a small agent pool, review your own deaths, and play with the same teammates when you can. Most rank problems are crosshair placement, utility usage and decisions, and none of those come out of a cheat menu.
It also helps to know where you stand. Our MMR estimator for Valorant reads your RR gains and losses, which tells you whether you are climbing slowly or stuck below your real level. A fresh ranked-ready account to practise on carries no risk to your main, unlike any cheat. One more thing: a hardware ban reaches every account on that PC, so a second account only protects you while it stays clean.
Valorant is lightweight by modern standards, see our Valorant download size guide for exact install and update sizes.
FAQ
Are there safe cheats for Valorant?
No. Every cheat breaks Riot’s Terms and Vanguard is built to detect them. Cheats that seem safe usually have not been banned yet.
What is the punishment for cheating in Valorant?
Usually a permanent account ban. Serious or repeated cases also get a hardware ban, which blocks the PC from Riot games that use Vanguard.
Can Vanguard detect cheats?
Yes. Vanguard runs at the kernel level from Windows startup, blocks known cheat drivers and reports tampering, and Riot combines that with gameplay data and player reports.
Does a ban affect League of Legends too?
An account ban applies to the account. A hardware ban applies to the PC, and since League also uses Vanguard, it can block League on that machine too.
Are skin changers allowed in Valorant?
No. Skin changers modify the game client, which breaks Riot’s Terms and can lead to a ban.
How do I report someone during a match?
Use the report option on the scoreboard during the match, or report from your match history afterwards, and choose the cheating category.
What is VAN 152?
VAN 152 is a hardware ban error. It means the PC itself has been banned, usually after cheating.
