What Vanguard On-Demand Mode Does and Who It’s For
Vanguard on-demand mode is an optional configuration for Riot’s kernel-level anti-cheat where the Vanguard driver only runs while a Riot game is open, instead of loading at Windows startup and staying active in the background at all times. If you have ever been uneasy about always-on kernel access or annoyed by yet another tray icon, this is aimed squarely at you. The idea is simple: during your non-gaming hours, Vanguard is off; when you queue up Valorant or League of Legends, it spins up, does its job, then shuts down once you exit. This change matters most if you care about privacy, idle system resource usage, or both. It answers the long-running complaint that Riot anti-cheat had to be permanently resident in the kernel, a requirement that put many players off since Vanguard arrived with Valorant and later expanded to League. The caveat: you only get the benefit if your PC passes Riot’s Vanguard Pre-Check hardware and Windows security requirements.
Windows Security Requirements: How Vanguard Pre-Check Works
Before you enable Vanguard optional on-demand mode, your machine has to clear Vanguard Pre-Check, which is Riot’s bundle of Windows security requirements. At the operating system level, you need at least Windows 11 25H2, partly because that is when the Runtime Driver Attestation Report was added and partly because cheating becomes easier on older systems. On the firmware and hardware side, Pre-Check expects UEFI mode with Secure Boot, a Trusted Platform Module 2.0 (TPM), Virtualization-Based Security and Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity, plus an Input-Output Memory Management Unit. In plain terms, these features form a chain of trust from boot to the kernel. Secure Boot and UEFI stop bootkits, TPM 2.0 stores the cryptographic keys for driver attestation, VBS and HVCI make sure kernel code is validated before it runs, and IOMMU acts as a firewall between PCIe devices and system memory. Riot cannot toggle most of this for you, and an updated BIOS may be required, so changing these settings without checking your motherboard manual is the main gotcha.
Step-by-Step: Enabling Vanguard On-Demand Once You’re Eligible
Once your system satisfies Pre-Check, turning on Vanguard on-demand mode is less about hacking around Windows and more about flipping the new option when Vanguard offers it. According to Riot’s anti-cheat lead Phillip Koskinas, about 34–35 percent of players already meet every requirement out of the box and will see the toggle arrive with an update. Everyone else either needs to enable the missing UEFI settings or, in roughly 3 percent of cases, upgrade hardware before the feature becomes available. The key point: this is optional. If you do nothing, Vanguard behaves exactly as it does today, starting at boot and remaining always-on.
- Update Windows to at least Windows 11 25H2, then install the latest Riot client and Vanguard updates so the new anti-cheat features and Vanguard Pre-Check logic are present on your PC.
- Open a Riot game such as Valorant or League of Legends and wait for Vanguard to initialize, then look for the Vanguard Pre-Check or on-demand mode prompt that appears once your system meets all required settings.
- Review the Pre-Check results; if the client reports missing features like Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, VBS, HVCI, or IOMMU, follow your motherboard documentation to enable them in UEFI and update your BIOS if needed.
- Restart Windows so the new firmware settings take effect, run the Riot client again, and confirm that Vanguard Pre-Check now passes with all Windows security requirements marked as enabled.
- Use the new in-client option to switch Vanguard into on-demand mode so the driver runs only while Riot games are open and shuts down when you stop playing.
Be prepared for a bit of back-and-forth if your first Pre-Check run fails; each missing setting has to be enabled and re-tested. The biggest trap is changing UEFI options without understanding the labels, which vary by vendor, so keep your manual handy. If Pre-Check never passes because your device lacks TPM 2.0 or IOMMU support, that is your cue that a hardware upgrade would be required before you can enable Vanguard optional on-demand mode.
What Changes Once Vanguard Runs Only On-Demand
With Pre-Check satisfied and on-demand enabled, Vanguard no longer launches at boot or sits in your system tray full-time. Instead, the driver starts when a Riot title opens and exits when you stop playing, restoring your desktop to its pre-Vanguard state in between sessions. Phillip Koskinas jokingly described the visible effect as your taskbar “reclaiming 256 pixels,” because the Vanguard tray icon is gone unless a Riot game is running. In practical terms, this means fewer background processes during non-gaming hours and less kernel activity tied to Riot anti-cheat when you are working or browsing. Under the hood, Vanguard is still a kernel-level anti-cheat, so its depth of access during a match has not changed; only the runtime window has. The reason this model stays secure is Microsoft’s Runtime Driver Attestation Report, which records all drivers loaded since boot and allows Vanguard to verify that nothing shady slipped into the kernel before it started. That closes the old “who loads first” loophole without needing Vanguard always-on from startup.
Is Vanguard On-Demand Worth Turning On?
The short answer: if your hardware already passes Vanguard Pre-Check, there is little downside to enabling on-demand mode and several quality-of-life upsides. You get reduced system resource use when you are not gaming and a tighter boundary around when Riot anti-cheat sits in your kernel, which is good for peace of mind. It also directly addresses the main sticking point players have had since 2020: that Vanguard previously loaded the moment Windows booted and stayed resident around the clock. The trade-offs are mostly about hassle. Tuning BIOS settings carries some risk if you are unfamiliar with UEFI, and a small slice of machines simply cannot meet the requirements without hardware changes. Still, this is optional and reversible: if you ignore it, nothing changes; if you adopt it, your PC becomes a little quieter and more private between matches while Riot maintains its anti-cheat effectiveness.
