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Valorant is enforcing Windows 11’s security features

Bullet Club

Member

Valorant is enforcing Windows 11’s security features​


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There’s still a lot of confusion about Windows 11, despite it being released only a month from now, and one of the biggest issues is with the new OS’s TPM 2.0 requirement to protect against firmware attacks. While this security feature can be bypassed to run Windows 11, it seems that Riot Games and Valorant has already begun to enforce the measure – so PCs running Windows 11 without TPM 2.0 cannot run Valorant.

While Windows 11 isn’t officially available until October 5, interested users have been able to download a preview version for a few months now – and the latest build of the new OS seems to have included a nasty surprise for Valorant players who have used workarounds to avoid the TPM 2.0 security requirement.

As spotted by XDA Developers, users have begun to report that affected Windows 11 users trying to play Valorant are getting error messages that state the current build of Riot’s anti-cheat service Vanguard requires both TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot enabled – which then kicks them out of the game.

The reason Riot would enforce this is that the ‘Trusted Platform Module’ firmware system makes it far harder for players to cheat, as cheaters who get banned will not be able to immediately spoof a new hardware ID. Given how useful it is for developers, it’s also entirely possible that the TPM 2.0 requirement won’t stay isolated to Windows 11 for Valorant – since Riot is quite able to enforce it on Windows 10, too.




t also seems very likely that the restriction won’t stay limited to Valorant alone, as all of the most popular multiplayer games on PC would probably love to support any Windows 11 features that would severely hamper cheating. We’ll just have to wait and see if the likes of Fortnite will also start requiring TPM 2.0 too.

Source: PCGamesN
 

CuNi

Member
Kinda torn on this.
While it's a good thing on the Cheaters front, I fear about other ramifications of this.
For example modding. I am no expert myself so this is just possibly unwarranted mumbling, but what happens to modding in games with SP and MP or copy protection like Denuvo?
Obviously MP/MMOs etc. should not be modded but for example Halo:MCC. You start MP and SP from the same environment so the devs thankfully added a "mod" modus that you can launch into for modding, but that requires more development and I fear that many, if not even most games won't have such a launch option and will thus also kill off modding if anti-piracy software like Denuvo or others adopt TPM and lock you out whenever you change anything gamewise.
 
Does not sound to be a sensible solution. You prevent cheaters but at the same time you prevent a lot of people from playing the game (basically forcing them to upgrade to a compatible system).
 

hlm666

Member
Vanguard was already i highly heavy handed anticheat, its a bloody kernel level driver if you didn't give a stuff about vanguard before I'm not sure why it using tpm makes it worse. No other gamers are doing anticheat like that, so before you start worrying about tpm anticheat worry about all the badly written kernel level drivers that come before it.
 

asker

Member
Obviously, cheaters will just stay on Windows 10 then? I don't see them only supporting W11 anytime soon. Yet again, shortsightedness from developers causes regular users to get a worse experience (I'm thinking of the CS:GO third-party application blocking that caused OBS to not work anymore but didn't deter any cheaters)
 

elliot5

Member
Does not sound to be a sensible solution. You prevent cheaters but at the same time you prevent a lot of people from playing the game (basically forcing them to upgrade to a compatible system).

Obviously, cheaters will just stay on Windows 10 then? I don't see them only supporting W11 anytime soon. Yet again, shortsightedness from developers causes regular users to get a worse experience (I'm thinking of the CS:GO third-party application blocking that caused OBS to not work anymore but didn't deter any cheaters)
It's only limited to windows 11 so yeah if you don't have the hardware requirements for W11 just stick to W10 to play. I'm not sure how it makes regular users have a worse experience when this stuff is required to have windows 11 anyway.

If you don't have supported hardware and do the unofficial upgrade to windows 11 and then can't play, rather than sticking to 10, that's on you.
 
not really a problem. it’s for Windows 11 so if you are eligible to install that then you‘ll be able to play the game.

if they push it to Windows 10 then yeah that’s a shitty move but even then…you’re gonna need to be on a system that is 5+ years old. Vast majority systems support TPM2.0 and secure boot. The issue with Windows 11 is that you need a cpu from like the last few generations.

it’s a non issue really. people are just looking for another reason to moan.
 
So now a kernal level anti-cheat installed on your computer by a developer owned by the CCP is a good thing?
Who said it’s a good thing?

anyway I think if China was gonna spy on us all they’d put the anti cheat into League which is by far a more popular game. But nah I suppose China really wants to spy on only Valorant players lol.

also you’re free to disable it. you just need to have it enabled when you are playing the game.
 
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asker

Member
It's only limited to windows 11 so yeah if you don't have the hardware requirements for W11 just stick to W10 to play. I'm not sure how it makes regular users have a worse experience when this stuff is required to have windows 11 anyway.

If you don't have supported hardware and do the unofficial upgrade to windows 11 and then can't play, rather than sticking to 10, that's on you.
It just makes the requirement silly and redundant. This is effectively just Riot policing how people install Windows 11, and I'm not sure why Riot feel they need to make that their business. It will only affect regular people that wanted to install W11 despite arbitrary restrictions blocking their CPU.
 
Does not sound to be a sensible solution. You prevent cheaters but at the same time you prevent a lot of people from playing the game (basically forcing them to upgrade to a compatible system).
lol. you do know “a lot of people” have systems that support TPM2.0 and secure boot right?

Microsoft introduced TPM 2.0 into Windows about 6 and a half years ago back when Windows 8.1 was out. considering that most people are on Windows 10 now it’s not really a problem. You literally need to be on a system from pre 2015 with Windows 7 to start worrying about not being able to play the game.

nobody is being forced to upgrade systems either. again, if you owns PC made in the last 6 years you will be able to play the game on Windows 10. If your system supports Windows 11 then you can play the game no problem. The problem here is that MS is “forcing” people to upgrade systems if they want to use Windows 11. But they aren’t really forcing anyone. If your Pc doesn’t support Windows 11 then you can stay on Windows 10…
 

elliot5

Member
It just makes the requirement silly and redundant. This is effectively just Riot policing how people install Windows 11, and I'm not sure why Riot feel they need to make that their business. It will only affect regular people that wanted to install W11 despite arbitrary restrictions blocking their CPU.
Microsoft makes the OS and set the standard. Riot is leveraging that standard for Windows 11 users to secure their game.

If Microsoft made DX12 Ultimate a requirement for Windows 11 and then the Windows 11 build of a game says sorry you need a DX12U GPU to launch, why would I feel bad for someone that installed Windows 11 without a DX12U GPU on board
 
Yeah, theres no way I'm installing this now. I get wanting to protect your game from hackers but a kernel-level anti-cheat is way to heavy-handed of a response.
Also this wont stop hackers/cheaters they will find a way
 
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Jigsaah

Gold Member
Yeah, theres no way I'm installing this now. I get wanting to protect your game from hackers but a kernel-level anti-cheat is way to heavy hand of a respones
Bet there are some Warzone players who would tend to disagree. But then again those muscle heads probably don't know what "kernel level" even means, let alone know how to spell it.
 

asker

Member
Who do you think owns Riot?
I guess I should've said: "I don't see how the reasons Riot claim for doing this are not transparent lies, and it should be clear to everyone that the actual reasons are more malevolent"
 
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elliot5

Member
Yeah, theres no way I'm installing this now. I get wanting to protect your game from hackers but a kernel-level anti-cheat is way to heavy-handed of a response.
Also this wont stop hackers/cheaters they will find a way
I'm confused - do you think this TPM 2.0 thing is Riot's own kernel level anti-cheat? That's called Vanguard and is different and has been known for almost 2 years.
 

junguler

Banned
this game installed kernel level anti-cheat on your system and people went along with it and now they are taking it a step further, fuck, enough is enough, have some respect for yourself and your privacy and uninstall this piece of shit already please.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
Bet there are some Warzone players who would tend to disagree. But then again those muscle heads probably don't know what "kernel level" even means, let alone know how to spell it.
Warzone has kernel level anti-cheat? It didn't even ask me to install something like that.. ever.. I hope it's gone with the uninstall if that's so...
 

Jigsaah

Gold Member
I don't think any videogame company should have kernal-level access to your PC.
I don't disagree with you. Looks like Microsoft does though. Do you think this is likely to be patched out. I was going to pull the trigger on the beta, but now....hmm.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
this game installed kernel level anti-cheat on your system and people went along with it and now they are taking it a step further, fuck, enough is enough, have some respect for yourself and your privacy and uninstall this piece of shit already please.
Some people will call game companies out after they themselves pre-purchased a game they never saw running on the platform of their choice and it came broken without considering their own responsability as consumers... will also call "stealing" to charging $60 for old games as if those companies had any reason to charge less, then go buy it anyway... These people don't care about anything but their own short term enjoyment and that's it, what makes you think those installing it on their general purpose machine (i.e.: Not a gaming only machine) would care about consecuences of their actions EVER?

No, but I think they would welcome it. I was implying Warzone players would welcome any anti-cheat...fullstop.
I see, thanks for clarifying
 

hlm666

Member
Just to get everyone on the same page here, Valorant has been using a kernel level anti cheat since the day it released and that is called vanguard. Now this is just a guess but maybe windows 11 requires kernel level drivers to use tpm and that's why the windows 11 version is using it. If you have been playing valorant already, or ever had it installed you have already had this shit on your computer.
 
Good, the fewer cheaters the better. Whoever cries like a bitch about getting spied or w/e, you're already sending data and shit to the Chinese by your phone and console or anything that uses the internet so stop being a bunch of cry cunts.
 

yurinka

Member
Tencent is.
No, it isn't. Some of their members are members of CCP. In the same way many people from the board of directors or investors of top USA or EU companies are also connected to the one or two parties who rule their country.

And even considering this, from time to time Tencent gets fucked by the Chinese government/CCP.
 
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junguler

Banned
Some people will call game companies out after they themselves pre-purchased a game they never saw running on the platform of their choice and it came broken without considering their own responsability as consumers... will also call "stealing" to charging $60 for old games as if those companies had any reason to charge less, then go buy it anyway... These people don't care about anything but their own short term enjoyment and that's it, what makes you think those installing it on their general purpose machine (i.e.: Not a gaming only machine) would care about consecuences of their actions EVER?
well, i'm only responsible of what i'm doing and no-one else, what i say is what i do, if i say respect your privacy i've moved away from windows and adopted linux for that same reason among many others.
if some people decide that these things are not important to them i can't change their mind anyway, i'm just saying what i feel about the particular issue or subject. ultimately people do what they want and what we say here or elsewhere does not matter that much in the grand scheme of things.
i'm not delusional as to think anything we do here is important because it's not, we are mostly talking to ourselves and in our own circle of people and there is hardly any outside reach happening anyway.
 
As long as they don't enforce virtual based security to be enabled so I can continue to use my SSD cache software we'll be alright.
 

M1chl

Currently Gif and Meme Champion
Good, because security on Windows has long time being neglected for normal users (who does not opt for these features, which lets be honest, most people don't even know that this was in W10 too).

However 3 words for you Valorant team: Those ML cheats
 

Hendrick's

If only my penis was as big as my GamerScore!
Earlier today a friend said something wasn't very "cash money" and I think this too is not very cash money
cash money
lmao it's just saying currency twice
Money is money, but then there is Cash Money.
 

Reallink

Member
It's only limited to windows 11 so yeah if you don't have the hardware requirements for W11 just stick to W10 to play. I'm not sure how it makes regular users have a worse experience when this stuff is required to have windows 11 anyway.

If you don't have supported hardware and do the unofficial upgrade to windows 11 and then can't play, rather than sticking to 10, that's on you.

LOL, they will drop W10 support within a year or 2 assuming 11 doesn't bomb.
 

yurinka

Member
DO you even know what the CCP is? I can't believe you just made that comparison.
I assume both of us are talking about the Chinese Communist Party, the one who rules in China. Unlike in the west where the elite controls the people with a fake competition between 2 main parties in each country (that elite controls both parties, and they and the goverment control pretty much everything), the 'communist' countries like China do pretty much the same but with a single party.
 
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Optimus Lime

(L3) + (R3) | Spartan rage activated
This is coming down the pipe for everything. Riot are big enough and successful enough that they can roll it out first - but, hardware based anti-cheat/anti-piracy DRM is GOING to happen. It sucks, in some ways, but it makes sense as a business decision. Your always online legacy Windows 10 will be sunsetted in 18 months, and to play PC games, you will need a TPM module and secureboot. Screenshot this, I'm right and you know I'm right.
 

Joyful

Member
Riot is just ahead of the curve

meanwhile billion dollar games like Apex cant keep up with cheaters at all and has shit tier servers with 20hz tickrate
 

Optimus Lime

(L3) + (R3) | Spartan rage activated
Riot is just ahead of the curve

meanwhile billion dollar games like Apex cant keep up with cheaters at all and has shit tier servers with 20hz tickrate
Exactly. They are all going to do this. Ubisoft, Activision, Microsoft, EA, even Valve. They will all take advantage of this to secure their software at the least, and make the penalties for online cheating so great in the form of permanent, unavoidable hardware bans that the market will significantly collapse.

And, honestly, it is necessary. Look at Warzone. Look at Siege. People on here keep talking about how PC gaming is a growing market - and they're right in a lot of ways. But, one of the big weaknesses that has never been addressed is the ease of cheating in online games, and the massive, multi-million dollar black market for subscription-based cheating. This will, ideally, cripple all of that in one hit. The question is, I guess, what will we lose in terms of freedom and privacy in order for that to happen.

But, either way, it's happening.
 
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