More than 1,600 new cheaters were just banned from Valorant

Olivia Richman Published 20/05/2020

Love it or hate it, Vanguard is doing its job of catching cheaters in new first-person shooter Valorant.

Riot’s anti-cheat data engineer Philip Koskinas recently took to Twitter to celebrate that over 1,600 more cheaters have been kicked off the Valorant closed beta.

“1,600 Valorant accounts just went missing and we’re still geeked up off the ban juice,” Koskinas said.

1600 VALORANT accounts just went missing and we’re still geeked up off the ban juice
— Phillip Koskinas (@mirageopenguins) May 19, 2020

Another Riot employee complimented him on the colorful way he described the second wave of bans.

“I think I was made for this,” Koskinas replied.

I look forward to your increasingly interesting ways of describing a ban wave.
May I suggest interpretive dance next? — Riot Gene (@gchorba) May 19, 2020

Just a few days ago, Koskinas had tweeted that Vanguard was responsible for catching over 8,800 cheaters, most likely players using aim bot, wall hacks, and other cheats that give them an unfair advantage. These kind of hacks are discovered with Vanguard’s Fog of War, as well as through player reports.

People banned from Vanguard are not only removed from the game, but the computer they used will actually be banned as well. This ensures that cheaters can’t simply create another account. When someone asked if cheaters were “hardware banned,” concerned that players can easily make another acount, Koskinas reassured them that, while he can’t give up the method, “it’s nothing that easy.”

Koskinas recently joked that they are also “soul banned” as well.

located a VALORANT universe where there were 8873 less cheaters and moved us all into it, please be careful as your bones may’ve shifted during dimensional travel
— Phillip Koskinas (@mirageopenguins) May 12, 2020

Even though Vanguard has been doing an incredible job catching cheaters and hackers in Riot’s new FPS, players have been complaining about some unsatisfactory side effects of the program. One common concern is that Vanguard kills the driver processes of several CPU cooler brands, forcing players to shut down the game. Others keep getting disconnected when Vanguard is active. One pro Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player was even banned from Valorant after he plugged his phone into his computer.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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