GamesMOBALeague of LegendsAfter nearly 15 years, League of Legends finally gets the anti-cheat boost that might help solve its massive botting problemWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesMOBALeague of LegendsAfter nearly 15 years, League of Legends finally gets the anti-cheat boost that might help solve its massive botting problemWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Riot Games)
More than a decade after it launched, League of Legends has finally initiated a strict anti-cheat tool that the community has been asking for for years - full hardware bans.
Yesterday, Phillip Koskinas, head of anti-cheat at LoL and Valorant developer Riot Games, showed off a graph outlining League of Legends bans, showing a substantial uptick in punishments meted out since the start of the month. That uptick matches up with the rollout of Vanguard, a somewhat controversial anti-cheat tool that operates at ‘Kernel level’ on your machine, meaning that it can prevent disallowed software operating at the same time as the game.
Now that Vanguard has had a bit of time to roll out, we’re starting to target more cheats that we weren’t able to action on in the past.These new waves also will come with League’s first ever Hardware ID bans, increasing the action weight against cheaters. https://t.co/vvtAZ1fBpBMay 20, 2024
Now that Vanguard has had a bit of time to roll out, we’re starting to target more cheats that we weren’t able to action on in the past.These new waves also will come with League’s first ever Hardware ID bans, increasing the action weight against cheaters. https://t.co/vvtAZ1fBpBMay 20, 2024
The new software means that the League of Legends devs are now “starting to target more cheats that we weren’t able to action on in the past.” That explains the rising number of bans, but it also means that recent ban-waves “come with League’s first ever Hardware ID bans, increasing the action weight against cheaters.”
A Hardware ID ban is different to an account ban, in that it targets the identification tools of your system, effectively removing the ability to access the game from your current computer. In the past, prolific cheaters could have their accounts permanently banned, but could simply boot up new accounts, or even buy pre-levelled ones at relatively low cost. Now, their entire PC can be banned from the game, significantly increasing the price of starting over.
In this 14-year history of League of Legends, this is a step that Riot has never taken before. The most high-profile similarity was the ‘indefinite’ banning of streamer Tyler1, whose repeated disruptive behaviour at the time led to Riot arranging to ban any account that could be identified as belonging to him, before his eventual return to the game. Even then, however, Riot was unable to target the streamer’s hardware, resorting to manually banning individual accounts.
Calls for hardware bans have grown over the years, particularly as the issues of botting and account selling have become more prevalent. Whether the hardware bans fix those issues in their entirety remains to be seen, but this is still a substantial step forward in Riot’s attempts to take on cheaters.
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1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2
Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
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4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
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5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”