Valorant VAN 152: The Complete Vanguard Anti-Cheat Troubleshooting Guide

Context & Background

VAN 152 isn't just a "game error." It's your PC telling you that Riot Vanguard, the kernel-level anti-cheat, failed to initialize. This happens at the Windows boot level, before Valorant even launches. The most common triggers are a corrupted driver update, a conflict with another kernel driver (like from an antivirus or RGB software), or a system setting like Secure Boot being off. Think of it as your security system refusing to arm itself—the game won't start until it's green.

TL;DR: The Fast Path

If you just want to play:

1. Uninstall Riot Vanguard from Add/Remove Programs.
2. Restart your PC. (Mandatory).
3. Launch Valorant and let it reinstall Vanguard. Restart again if prompted.
4. If the error persists, open an Admin Command Prompt and run: sc delete vgc and sc delete vgk. Restart, then launch the game.
5. Still broken? Check that Secure Boot is On in your BIOS/UEFI.

Error Code Reference

Solutions by Impact

Start with the first fix. It resolves the majority of cases. Work your way down only if the problem persists.

Clean Reinstall Riot Vanguard

When to use: This is your first and most effective step for any VAN 152 error. It fixes corrupted driver installs and stale service states.

1. Press Win + R, type appwiz.cpl, and hit Enter to open Add/Remove Programs.
2. Find Riot Vanguard in the list. Click Uninstall. Do not just uninstall Valorant.
3. Restart your computer. This is critical. The uninstall removes the driver files, but the restart clears them from memory and allows a fresh load.
4. Launch Valorant. The Riot Client will automatically download and install the latest Vanguard.
5. If prompted to restart, do so. After the restart, you should see the red Vanguard shield icon in your system tray (click the ^ arrow if hidden). The game should now launch.

What to expect: A fresh Vanguard install. If the shield icon appears in your tray, the fix worked.

Manually Clean and Restart Vanguard Services

When to use: If a clean reinstall didn't work, or you get a service-specific error. This manually nukes the service entries so Windows forgets them entirely.

1. Search for Command Prompt, right-click it, and select Run as administrator.
2. Type the following commands, pressing Enter after each:

sc delete vgc

sc delete vgk

1. Restart your PC.
2. Now, attempt to launch Valorant. The client should reinstall Vanguard and its services from scratch. If it doesn't, go back and do the full Clean Reinstall steps.

What to expect: This forces a harder reset than the uninstaller sometimes achieves. Use this if the first fix left services in a "stopped" state.

Enable Secure Boot in BIOS/UEFI

When to use: If you're on Windows 11 (or a fresh Windows 10 install), or if the above fixes fail. Vanguard requires Secure Boot to be enabled for proper kernel driver integrity.

1. Open the System Information app (press Win + R, type msinfo32, hit Enter).
2. Look for the line Secure Boot State. If it says Off or Unsupported, you need to enable it in BIOS.
3. Restart your PC and enter your BIOS/UEFI setup. This usually involves pressing Delete, F2, F10, or F12 during boot (look for the prompt).
4. Navigate to the Boot or Security tab. Find the Secure Boot option and set it to Enabled. (It's often under a sub-menu like "Boot Options").
5. Save and Exit (usually F10). Your PC will reboot.
6. Once in Windows, verify Secure Boot State is now On in System Information. Then try launching Valorant.

What to expect: This is a system-level requirement. If it was off, Vanguard will not load. Enabling it will fix a persistent VAN 152 that survives reinstalls.

Deep Dive Diagnostics

Run these checks to pinpoint the exact failure point before you start guessing.

The Diagnostic Table

Identifying Driver Conflicts

Vanguard (vgk.sys) runs at the same kernel level as antivirus, VPNs, and hardware monitoring tools. A conflict here causes a silent failure.

1. Perform a clean boot:

• Press Win + R, type msconfig, hit Enter.
• Go to the Services tab, check Hide all Microsoft services, then click Disable all.
• Go to the Startup tab, click Open Task Manager, and disable every startup item.
• Click OK and restart. Try launching Valorant.
• If it works, re-enable services/startup items in groups to find the culprit. Common offenders are: MSI Afterburner/RivaTuner, Citrix VPN, Oracle VirtualBox, old antivirus remnants.

1. Check for leftover anti-cheat drivers:

• Open Device Manager (right-click Start menu).
• Click View → Show hidden devices.
• Expand System devices and look for anything related to Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), BattlEye, or other game anti-cheats. Right-click and select Uninstall device. Restart.

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows 11 Specifics

Windows 11 enforces Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) and Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity (HVCI) by default on many systems. Vanguard is compatible, but if these features are in a broken state, they can interfere.

• To check: Open System Information and look for Virtualization-based security and Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity. They should say Running.
• If they are Not enabled or have errors, the issue is likely elsewhere (like Secure Boot).
• Do not disable these for Valorant. Focus on the core fixes above.

Fresh Windows Installs

If you just installed Windows and get VAN 152:

1. Ensure all Windows Updates are installed, including optional driver updates. Reboot.
2. Install your motherboard's chipset drivers directly from the manufacturer's (AMD, Intel, or your motherboard brand) website.
3. Then install Valorant and Vanguard. A missing system driver can cause unexpected conflicts.

Escalation Path

If you've done everything above and VAN 152 still appears, you're dealing with a deep system conflict.

1. Check Windows Event Viewer for the crash:

• Press Win + R, type eventvwr.msc.
• Go to Windows Logs → System.
• Look for errors or warnings with a source of Service Control Manager or vgk/vgc around the time you tried to launch. The error code here is gold for further searching.

1. Perform a Vanguard Factory Reset via Command Line:

• Uninstall Vanguard from Add/Remove Programs.
• Open Admin Command Prompt and run the service delete commands: sc delete vgc & sc delete vgk.
• Navigate to Vanguard's residual folder: cd C:\Program Files\Riot Vanguard
• If the folder exists, rename it: ren "Riot Vanguard" "Riot Vanguard.old"
• Restart. Then install Vanguard by launching Valorant.

1. Last Resort - Contact Riot Support:

• Have your diagnostic information ready: Screenshots of your System Information screen (with Secure Boot State) and the Services window.
• Detail every step you've taken from this guide. This proves you've done the groundwork and need their backend tools to investigate.