Valorant Vanguard 2.0: DMA Cheat Blocker May 2026
Verified November 6, 2026 · Status: released
Riot Vanguard 2.0 rolled out on May 21, 2026 as Valorant’s kernel anti-cheat upgrade specifically targeting Direct Memory Access (DMA) cheat rigs — the $6,000-plus hardware setups some cheaters use to bypass software anti-cheat. The 2.0 update added IOMMU restart logic that disabled SATA and NVMe DMA cheat devices on affected PCs, effectively bricking the cheat hardware. Some users with legitimate DMA devices saw blue screens, sparking a legal debate. Verified on 6 November 2026.
Source: Riot Games via Notebookcheck — Valorant’s latest Vanguard update.
What Vanguard 2.0 does
- Targets DMA cheat hardware. DMA devices plug into a PC’s PCIe slot or Thunderbolt port and read/write memory directly, bypassing user-space anti-cheat.
- IOMMU restart. Vanguard 2.0 triggers IOMMU (Input-Output Memory Management Unit) restarts that disable rogue DMA hardware.
- Kernel-level enforcement. Vanguard runs in the Windows kernel, giving it the authority to block hardware-level cheat devices at boot.
- Effect on cheat hardware. Many $6,000+ DMA cheat rigs became “paperweights” after the 2.0 update per Riot’s own framing.
Release details
- Date: May 21, 2026.
- Platform: Vanguard runs on Windows; the 2.0 upgrade applies to all Valorant PC players.
- Required reboot: Vanguard updates typically require a system restart to activate.
- Auto-rollout: No manual action required — Riot pushed the update through the launcher.
Side effects for legitimate users
Some users reported:
- Blue Screens of Death (BSOD) after the update on PCs with specific hardware configurations.
- Some cases required OS reinstalls to recover.
- The side effects targeted DMA-capable hardware broadly — not just cheat devices.
Riot’s response acknowledged collateral impact and worked on narrowing the detection in subsequent updates. The legal debate centered on whether Riot had authority to brick user hardware without consent.
What DMA cheats actually do
DMA (Direct Memory Access) cheats are a specific class of cheat rig:
- Hardware setup. Secondary PC with a PCIe FPGA card connected to the gaming PC’s PCIe slot.
- Reads game memory. The secondary PC reads the gaming PC’s RAM to extract player positions, hitboxes, enemy info.
- Bypasses software anti-cheat. Because the FPGA card bypasses OS-level memory protection, it’s invisible to most anti-cheat.
- Cost: $6,000+ for the full rig — mostly high-end tournament cheaters.
Vanguard 2.0 specifically detects IOMMU state during boot — cheat rigs manipulate IOMMU to work, and Vanguard flags that manipulation.
Vanguard in LoL and other games
- Vanguard originally launched for Valorant only (2020).
- Expanded to League of Legends in early 2024.
- Still exclusive to Riot titles — not used by Dota 2, CS2, or other non-Riot games.
How it compares to other anti-cheats
| System | Games | Kernel-level? |
|---|---|---|
| Riot Vanguard | Valorant, LoL | Yes |
| Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) | Fortnite, many others | Yes |
| BattlEye | PUBG, R6 Siege, others | Yes |
| VAC (Valve Anti-Cheat) | Dota 2, CS2, TF2 | No (user-space) |
VAC’s user-space design means it’s less invasive than Vanguard but also less effective against sophisticated cheats like DMA.
Impact on the Valorant cheater population
Post-Vanguard 2.0, Riot and community reports described:
- Noticeable drop in competitive cheater reports in Ranked queues.
- Many high-profile DMA cheat sellers marked their products “patched” or discontinued them.
- Shift toward lower-tier (software-only) cheats that are easier to detect.
The exact cheater-population drop is in Riot’s anti-cheat retrospective posts.
FAQ
When did Vanguard 2.0 release?
May 21, 2026. Riot pushed the update through the Valorant launcher — no manual action required.
What does Vanguard 2.0 target?
Direct Memory Access (DMA) cheat hardware — $6,000+ secondary-PC rigs that plug into the gaming PC’s PCIe slot to read game memory while bypassing OS protections.
Did Vanguard 2.0 brick legitimate hardware?
Some users reported BSOD after the update, and a few needed OS reinstalls. The side effects triggered legal debate about Riot’s authority to disable user hardware. Riot narrowed detection in follow-up updates.
Is Vanguard used in Dota 2?
No. Dota 2 uses Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC), a user-space system. Vanguard is exclusive to Riot titles (Valorant and LoL).
What is a DMA cheat?
A hardware cheat rig: secondary PC with a PCIe FPGA card that reads the gaming PC’s memory to extract player positions. Bypasses software anti-cheat but is detectable at the IOMMU level — which is what Vanguard 2.0 checks.
Did Vanguard 2.0 reduce Valorant cheating?
Per Riot and community reports, noticeably yes — fewer DMA cheat reports in Ranked. Many DMA cheat sellers marked their products as patched. Exact numbers are in Riot’s retrospective.
Do I need to do anything to get Vanguard 2.0?
No — Riot auto-rolled out the update. A system restart may have been required for Vanguard to reload with new kernel hooks.
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