Vanguard runs at kernel level (ring 0) from system boot. It's among the most invasive anti-cheats in gaming. Understanding how it affects performance helps you work around it.
What Vanguard does at boot
Vanguard's kernel driver (vgk.sys) loads at startup and stays resident until shutdown. It monitors system state continuously, not just when Valorant is running.
Performance impact
Vanguard itself has minimal direct CPU cost. The indirect effects:
Other kernel software: Vanguard blocks certain kernel-level tools. Some overclocking software, RGB control applications, and hardware monitoring tools get blocked or cause Vanguard to flag the system.
Driver interference: Vanguard is sensitive to unsigned drivers and certain security products. If you have monitoring software that uses a kernel driver, it may conflict.
System call overhead: Vanguard intercepts certain system calls for inspection. On systems with high system call rates (lots of background activity), this adds overhead.
What helps
Reduce background kernel activity:
- Close all hardware monitoring software before playing (HWiNFO, MSI Afterburner, etc.)
- Disable overlays (Discord, GeForce Experience, Steam overlay)
- Clean Windows services (fewer background services = fewer system calls Vanguard has to inspect)
Per-process priority for VALORANT-Win64-Shipping.exe:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Image File Execution Options\VALORANT-Win64-Shipping.exe\PerfOptions
CpuPriorityClass = 3
IoPriority = 3
GpuPriority = 8
Full Valorant optimization at https://terweb.lt/
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