Riot Vanguard report shows 91% of unbanned LoL players cheat again
In the devs’ discussion of rolling out Vanguard anti-cheat in League of Legends, Riot Games revealed that up to 91% of unbanned cheaters repeat their behavior.
Among the biggest news that shook the League of Legends playerbase in the 2024 season is the introduction of Riot Games’ anti-cheat software, Vanguard, to the 15-year-old game. Previously released only in Valorant, the game publisher now adapts the software into LoL in hopes of curbing the game’s rampant cheating issues.
While the news has certainly been divisive, with the “invasive” nature of anti-cheat software, Riot Games is firm in its decision to roll out the software in the upcoming months.
In a lengthy post detailing the decision behind Vanguard’s release of their MOBA title, the devs also released a shocking figure of the number of cheaters in the game.
1 in 15 LoL games has a cheater, says devs on Vanguard rollout
“Cheating is addictive,” says Riot Games on their Vanguard x LoL discussion post. With that in mind, cheaters rarely script on one or two games alone. Even if their accounts get banned for cheating, these players would repeatedly find ways to get back onto the game without skills but with hacks installed.
To prove that it is high time for League of Legends to have anti-cheat software finally, Riot Games reveals that up to 1 in 15 LoL games has a cheater. If you’ve been continuously grinding ranked games, you’re probably playing 2 to 3 games with a scripter per week.
Moreover, devs also share that most of the scripters lurk in Grandmaster and even Challenger elos, making the “prestige” of reaching League’s highest rank tainted with dishonesty.
Riot Games also admits that scripters are getting good at cheating the game and hiding it from the devs. A whopping 80% of punished League of Legends cheaters win their games, which is highly unfortunate for those who compete with integrity.
Moreover, when asked if the devs have resorted to other ways to stop these cheaters, Riot Games revealed that 91% of previous cheaters who were allowed back into the game also returned to their nefarious behavior six months later.
In their bid to curb and permanently punish these scripters, the LoL anti-cheat team aims to automate and streamline permanent bans and game rewards reimbursement with the Vanguard system.
League of Legends players in the Philippines will first experience the huge change in LoL’s anti-cheat system as Vanguard rolls out in the region ahead of its worldwide release.