Overview
- Riot pushed an anti‑cheat change that blocks DMA‑based cheat firmware used over SATA and NVMe so those devices no longer work with its games.
- The company posted a taunting image about expensive 'paperweights' and later clarified that Vanguard does not physically brick PCs and that affected devices can be reenabled only by disabling IOMMU or reinstalling the OS.
- Players and observers report crashes, false detections, forced OS reinstalls, and temporary bans for some users who say they never used DMA cheats, keeping community concern high.
- Riot says the update enforces IOMMU protections so the Input‑Output Memory Management Unit prevents unauthorized direct memory access, and that disabling IOMMU will let the device function but will block play in Riot titles.
- The move highlights a long‑running debate over Vanguard’s kernel‑level reach, with some praising its effectiveness against hardware cheats and others warning of overreach, user risk, and potential legal challenges.