Riot Games, the developer behind League of Legends, has intensified its efforts to combat cheaters by introducing hardware bans, a first for the game.
This news follows the implementation of Vanguard, an anti-cheat system that has significantly increased the number of bans in higher ranked play.
The development team commented on this step, saying, “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,” the dev team stated. “
This new wave of actions includes the first-ever Hardware ID bans in League, which will significantly enhance the anti-cheating measures.
Phillip Koskinas, Riot Games’ head of anti-cheat, provided statistics indicating that hardware bans now represent the second-largest category of bans. These hardware ID bans mean that offenders are prevented from playing the game on the same computer, forcing cheaters to replace their hardware if they want to return to the game. This is expected to deter many due to the high cost involved.
According to the data, these hardware bans started around May 15 and primarily targeted cheaters in the higher ranks, especially Masters and above. This crackdown occurred just one month after Vanguard’s introduction to League of Legends, demonstrating Riot’s commitment to tackling cheating.
However, Vanguard has had its share of problems. Originating from Riot’s tactical shooter Valorant, some League players reported that Vanguard was causing significant issues with their PCs. The developers responded by stating they found no confirmed cases of Vanguard causing such problems.
Overall, the introduction of hardware bans marks a significant and interesting development in Riot’s strategy against cheaters in League of Legends. This move is part of their broader, ongoing efforts to ensure fair play in their games.