Riot confirms release date for Vanguard, new bots in LoL

In today’s dev blog, Riot Games shared the next few updates coming to League of Legends this 2024. Vanguard, the anti-cheat system, takes center stage, promising an enhanced gaming experience for seasoned League players, while revamped AI bots will improve the learning experience for newcomers to the game. 

Last year, Riot announced its plan to add Vanguard to League, as it is looking to greatly reduce the amount of cheating while trying to ensure fair gameplay for the community. Head of League studio Andrei “Riot Meddler” van Roon made the official announcement in the preview of the 2024 LoL season, and today, he gave more information in the latest dev blog.

Vanguard, first introduced for VALORANT, is tailored to target cheaters, scripters, and bots within your games. If the system detects cheating during a game in Riot’s FPS, it will terminate the match and ensure a penalty for cheating players, while the others will return to the main menu without their rank getting affected.

Previously scheduled for release in a week with Patch 14.5 on March 6, Vanguard aims to strengthen the integrity of League’s games, starting with one region initially and then being released globally in April, according to League‘s producer Jeremy “Riot Brightmoon” Lee. After taking time to meticulously observe the anti-cheat’s impact on players before a broader rollout, Riot will now deploy to all League clients worldwide.

Together with these anti-cheat efforts, the League team unveiled a fresh look at the new intro, beginner, and intermediate-level bots soon to debut in the game this March. This development addresses a long-standing desire within the community for improved interactions, especially in player-vs-AI matches that serve as a learning ground for many newcomers to the game. 

League developer Darcy “DashiJador” Ludington had acknowledged the community’s requests for bot upgrades and hinted at a full launch of the enhanced bots in “early to mid-2024.” The new bots will hopefully provide new players with a more dynamic and educational experience in the first steps of their journey in League, aiding in the understanding of the game’s intricate mechanics beyond the basics covered in the tutorial.

As the League community continues to debate whether the addition of Vanguard will improve their experience in the game or hinder it, Riot continues to roll out critical gameplay updates, mostly catering to new players’ learning needs.