One of the main issues in Valorant, as in any competitive game, is cheaters. However, Riot Games actively combats rule breakers. Recently, Vanguard representatives shared detailed statistics on the number of cheaters banned and the regions where prohibited software was most commonly used.

Cheater Activity Period

Last night, Phillip Koskinas from the Vanguard anti-cheat team shared interesting statistics about cheaters in Valorant and bans through his official social media. He first noted that the past few weeks have seen a peak in cheater activity, which many players noticed. This spike occurred because Riot Games took their annual holiday break, temporarily reducing game monitoring.

First of all, you were right in noticing an increased number of cheaters recently. However, we’re pleased to report that their numbers are quickly returning to optimal levels. During the holiday period, Riot pauses the release of updates, so new patches or fixes are unavailable to players. Developers of cheat software took advantage of this opportunity, and in the absence of new detection methods, even the simplest cheat programs can cause chaos in a tactical shooter like VALORANT.

Koskinas also shared a graph showing the number of cheaters banned on various days between October 2024 and January 2025. The graph revealed that the highest number of bans, reaching 12,000 in a single day, occurred in January 2025, specifically between the 5th and 19th.

Regional Activity and Problem Resolution

Koskinas also displayed a graph showing cheater activity by region. As evident from the chart, the highest number of cheaters were banned from Brazil.

There’s a simple explanation for this. Koskinas stated that cheaters in this region bypassed Vanguard’s protection using so-called “pixel bots,” which rely solely on basic computer vision.

Since Vanguard complicates the use of internal memory for cheat programs, cheaters in Brazil have focused on using ‘pixel bots.’ These are basic cheats that employ computer vision to detect enemy outlines on the screen and automatically aim. While these programs are simple, they are easy to detect, and most of them were quickly banned. We understand that this caused inconvenience for our players in Brazil, and we assure you that our team continues to fight against cheaters to ensure fair gameplay for everyone.

Finally, Koskinas acknowledged that many players suffered from cheaters but emphasized that a solution is in place. Starting with Act 2, the game will introduce a "rank rollback" system, allowing players to regain the rank points they lost due to cheater interference. More details on how this system will work will be revealed in the future.