You're curious about how much space Riot Vanguard, Riot Games' proprietary anti-cheat software, truly occupies on your system, right? It's a common question, especially for gamers who are mindful of their precious disk space. Let's dive deep into the specifics, not just about Vanguard itself, but also how it fits into the overall storage footprint of games like Valorant and League of Legends.
Understanding Riot Vanguard's Role
First off, it's crucial to understand what Riot Vanguard is. It's Riot Games' custom game security software, designed to ensure fair play and prevent cheating in their titles. It consists of two main components: a client that runs alongside the game, and a kernel-mode driver that starts with your computer. This deep integration is what makes it so effective at detecting and combating cheating.
While indispensable for maintaining competitive integrity, this level of integration often leads to questions about its resource usage, including disk space.
Step 1: Let's Demystify Riot Vanguard's Size!
Are you ready to find out the real numbers? It's often less than you might imagine for such a robust anti-cheat system. Many players mistakenly believe Vanguard consumes a vast amount of space, but the truth is quite different.
Sub-heading: The Core Vanguard Installation
The actual Riot Vanguard application itself is remarkably small. It's not a behemoth that will gobble up your entire drive.
- Typically, Riot Vanguard on its own takes up around 37 MB to 200 MB of space. This is a very small footprint for a piece of software that plays such a critical role in game security.
However, this small size doesn't tell the whole story when considering the total space needed for games like Valorant or League of Legends, as Vanguard is intrinsically linked to them.
Step 2: The Valorant Factor - Where Vanguard Lives
For most users, Riot Vanguard is installed in conjunction with Valorant. While Vanguard itself is small, it's the combined size of Valorant and Vanguard that people usually refer to when asking about "how much space Riot Vanguard takes."
Sub-heading: Valorant's Evolving Footprint
Valorant, being a live-service game, receives frequent updates with new agents, maps, cosmetic items, and game modes. This constant influx of content means its size has grown since its initial launch.
- At its release, Valorant was significantly smaller.
- As of mid-2025, the total installation size for Valorant (which includes Riot Vanguard) typically falls within the range of 30 GB to 57 GB.
- Some sources indicate around 30-32 GB for the base game.
- More recent reports suggest a full installation can reach around 57 GB.
- It's generally recommended to have at least 40 GB to 60 GB of free disk space to comfortably install Valorant and accommodate future updates.
Why the variation? The exact size can depend on the specific game version, accumulated patches, and temporary or cached data. It's also worth noting that some users have reported unusual, erroneous readings of Valorant taking up hundreds of gigabytes or even terabytes, but these are almost always display bugs and not the actual disk usage.
Step 3: League of Legends and Vanguard's New Alliance
Riot Vanguard has also been integrated into League of Legends to combat cheating more effectively. This means if you play League of Legends, Vanguard will be installed and active.
Sub-heading: League's Size with Vanguard
Similar to Valorant, Vanguard adds a minimal amount to League of Legends' overall installation size.
- League of Legends itself generally requires around 16 GB of free storage space (for both HDD and SSD).
- With Vanguard, the overall impact on League's total size is negligibly increased beyond the base game's footprint, as Vanguard is already a small program. The primary concern with Vanguard in League of Legends is its kernel-mode operation and potential for conflicts, rather than its disk space consumption.
Step 4: Managing Disk Space and Riot Vanguard
While Riot Vanguard itself isn't a storage hog, the games it protects, especially Valorant, can take up a significant chunk of your hard drive. Here's how you can manage your disk space effectively.
Sub-heading: Keeping Your Drive Tidy
- Regular Maintenance: Periodically clear temporary files and your system's cache. Windows' Disk Cleanup tool can be helpful for this.
- Monitor Updates: Stay informed about upcoming game patches. Large updates often mean a temporary increase in download size, so having a buffer of free space is always a good idea.
- Reinstallation as a Last Resort: If you suspect corrupted files or unusual disk usage for Valorant (like those rare, erroneous multi-terabyte readings), a clean reinstallation can often resolve the issue and ensure the game is taking up only its expected space. Remember that uninstalling Valorant or League of Legends will not automatically uninstall Riot Vanguard if you have other Riot Games titles that require it. Vanguard is only fully removed if all associated Riot games are uninstalled.
- Consider an SSD: While Riot doesn't explicitly state that an SSD is required for Valorant, using a Solid State Drive significantly improves loading times and overall game performance compared to a traditional Hard Disk Drive (HDD). If you're looking to optimize your gaming experience, an SSD is a worthwhile upgrade.
Step 5: Troubleshooting and Understanding Vanguard's Behavior
Riot Vanguard is designed to be unobtrusive, but sometimes users might encounter issues or have questions about its background operations.
Sub-heading: Vanguard's Presence and Operation
- System Tray Icon: When Riot Vanguard is running, you'll typically find its icon in your system tray. This allows you to see its status and, if necessary, exit it (though exiting will prevent you from playing Riot games that require it).
- On-Boot Application: Vanguard operates as an "on-boot" application. This means it starts with your computer. If you disable it, you'll need to restart your PC to re-enable it and play Vanguard-protected games.
- Security Notifications: Vanguard may provide Windows notifications if it detects vulnerabilities that could be exploited for cheating, guiding you on how to resolve them. This could include requirements like enabling TPM 2.0 or UEFI Secure Boot on Windows 11.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Here are 10 common questions about Riot Vanguard's space usage and related topics, with quick answers:
How to check how much space Valorant and Vanguard are taking on my PC?
You can check by going to "Apps & features" in Windows settings, finding "Valorant" (which includes Vanguard), and seeing the listed size. For a more accurate reading of the game folder itself, navigate to your Valorant installation directory (usually C:\Riot Games\VALORANT) and check its properties.
How to reduce the disk space Valorant takes up? Regularly clear your temporary files and game cache. Reinstalling the game can also help if you suspect corrupted files or excessive log data. There's no specific way to reduce Vanguard's small footprint.
How to tell if Riot Vanguard is running? Look for the Riot Vanguard icon in your system tray (usually in the bottom-right corner of your screen, near the clock).
How to uninstall Riot Vanguard? You can uninstall Riot Vanguard through "Apps & features" in Windows settings, similar to other programs. However, remember it will automatically reinstall if you launch a Riot game that requires it (like Valorant or League of Legends). Vanguard will only be automatically removed if you uninstall all software that requires it.
How to temporarily disable Riot Vanguard? Right-click on the Riot Vanguard icon in your system tray and select "Exit Vanguard." Be aware that you'll need to restart your computer to play Vanguard-protected games again.
How to fix "Valorant taking up too much disk space" if it's showing an absurd size (e.g., TBs)? This is almost always a display bug in Windows. The actual size is much smaller. A clean reinstallation of Valorant can sometimes fix this visual glitch.
How to ensure I have enough space for future Valorant updates? Always maintain at least 10-15 GB of free space beyond the game's current installation size to accommodate patches and new content without issues.
How to prevent Riot Vanguard from causing high disk usage in the background? While Vanguard's disk usage is generally minimal, if you experience high disk usage, ensure your Windows and graphics drivers are up to date. Sometimes, it can also be related to log file accumulation, which Riot has historically addressed with fixes.
How to install Riot Vanguard separately? You don't install Riot Vanguard separately. It automatically installs alongside the Riot Games title that requires it (like Valorant or League of Legends) during the game's installation process.
How to know the minimum recommended storage for Valorant? Riot Games recommends at least 30 GB of free space for Valorant, with more being advisable due to ongoing updates. For 2025, it's more accurate to say 57 GB for the full installation and a recommendation of 60 GB+ for comfortable play and updates.