On any given day there will be, at Riot's scale, thousands of people experiencing technical issues.
The one well-known person mentioned in the article matches Riot's explanation at https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1civ4l7/up..., where the issues are self-inflicted by people trying to modify their systems to meet Vanguard's requirements. Vanguard itself isn't the problem.
> About ~0.7% of the playerbase bypassed Microsoft’s enforcement for TPM 2.0 when they installed Windows 11, but the rollout of Vanguard requires that those players now enable it to play the game. This requires a change to a BIOS setting, which differs based on the manufacturer. Vanguard does not and cannot make changes to the BIOS itself.
BIOS settings can be confusing, and we’ve seen two niche cases where it’s created an issue.
The first is that many manufacturers prompt a switch to UEFI mode when TPM 2.0 is enabled, but if the existing Windows 11 installation is on an MBR partition, it would become unbootable afterwards. Some OEMs support LegacyBoot mode with TPM 2.0, but to support UEFI mode, Windows 11 must be installed on a GPT partition. Microsoft has a tool that can help avoid a reformat and reinstall if you’re in this scenario.
The second was a player we spoke to that accidentally also enabled SecureBoot with a highly custom configuration. While Vanguard makes use of the SecureBoot setting on VALORANT, we elected not to use it for League, due to the older hardware that comprises its userbase. Older rigs can have compatibility issues with this setting, and that’s actually one of the primary reasons the Vanguard launch was delayed.
For example, some GPUs are known to have Option ROM that is not UEFI SecureBoot capable (especially older cards), and sometimes this can result from players having flashed it themselves to “unlock” the card. If the Option ROM isn’t signed, enabling SecureBoot would prevent your GPU from rendering anything (since it won’t boot), resulting in a black screen. There would be two ways to fix this: Connect the monitor to an integrated graphics card (if you have one) and then disable SecureBoot in BIOS. Remove your CMOS battery to reset back to default settings.
Vanguard's kernel code never even runs in these scenarios.
classic trolley dilemma. i'd do the same thing, if few % has issues, that can be fixed later, having whole industry that's creating and selling cheats, is just too big an issue to simply ignore.
in the grand schema, you'll lose few % of playerbase, in exchange you'll get much more happy customers, so in the end it will be a win.
The one well-known person mentioned in the article matches Riot's explanation at https://www.reddit.com/r/leagueoflegends/comments/1civ4l7/up..., where the issues are self-inflicted by people trying to modify their systems to meet Vanguard's requirements. Vanguard itself isn't the problem.
> About ~0.7% of the playerbase bypassed Microsoft’s enforcement for TPM 2.0 when they installed Windows 11, but the rollout of Vanguard requires that those players now enable it to play the game. This requires a change to a BIOS setting, which differs based on the manufacturer. Vanguard does not and cannot make changes to the BIOS itself.
BIOS settings can be confusing, and we’ve seen two niche cases where it’s created an issue.
The first is that many manufacturers prompt a switch to UEFI mode when TPM 2.0 is enabled, but if the existing Windows 11 installation is on an MBR partition, it would become unbootable afterwards. Some OEMs support LegacyBoot mode with TPM 2.0, but to support UEFI mode, Windows 11 must be installed on a GPT partition. Microsoft has a tool that can help avoid a reformat and reinstall if you’re in this scenario.
The second was a player we spoke to that accidentally also enabled SecureBoot with a highly custom configuration. While Vanguard makes use of the SecureBoot setting on VALORANT, we elected not to use it for League, due to the older hardware that comprises its userbase. Older rigs can have compatibility issues with this setting, and that’s actually one of the primary reasons the Vanguard launch was delayed.
For example, some GPUs are known to have Option ROM that is not UEFI SecureBoot capable (especially older cards), and sometimes this can result from players having flashed it themselves to “unlock” the card. If the Option ROM isn’t signed, enabling SecureBoot would prevent your GPU from rendering anything (since it won’t boot), resulting in a black screen. There would be two ways to fix this: Connect the monitor to an integrated graphics card (if you have one) and then disable SecureBoot in BIOS. Remove your CMOS battery to reset back to default settings.
Vanguard's kernel code never even runs in these scenarios.