League of Legends isn’t completely free of cheaters just yet, but until that happens, Riot Games has introduced the next best thing with LP refunds for LoL players.
Cheaters are inevitable in online multiplayer games, no matter how intrusive and effective the anti-cheat might be. Vanguard is one of the most invasive systems out there, yet cheating still persists in LoL. While Riot works to root out bad actors, it has introduced a new feature to soften the blow for clean players who are matched against cheaters.
A League Points (LP) refund is exactly what it sounds like. If a player faces a confirmed cheater, their lost LP gets refunded.
LP refund is triggered automatically as soon as the game’s Vanguard anti-cheat system catches a cheater.
That means players won’t get their Elo back immediately, and it won’t happen at all if cheaters aren’t caught, making it more important than ever to report seeming cheaters in LoL. LP refunds only happen once a cheater is confirmed after multiple reports. When that happens, everyone who faced them in a ranked match will get their lost LP back.
When a cheater is banned, those who lost a game against them will receive a notification informing them about the refunded LP or rank update if it applies. Riot won’t be removing LP from those who won with a cheater on their team to ensure no one suffers unduly given the presence of cheaters.
The feature was initially announced for Valorant, but with Vanguard now integrated into LoL as well, it makes sense for Riot to apply the same protocols across both games. This is quite refreshing, considering Vanguard’s addition to LoL in 2024 wasn’t met with a fully positive response. Many players were concerned about its particularly intrusive nature, with some even uninstalling the game over privacy fears.
The LP refund feature will go live on March 19, 2025, with LoL patch 25.06.
As of April 2024, LoL uses Vanguard, the same Riot Games anti-cheat used by Valorant.
Before Vanguard, LoL relied on Packman, Riot’s in-house anti-cheat system. While it provided basic protection, players had long complained about cheaters slipping through and ruining the competitive experience. By comparison, Vanguard made an immediate impact, banning 3,000 accounts within just two months of its release in 2024.
For those willing to trade some privacy for a cheat-free experience, crashes became a major issue. Many players reported FPS drops and system slowdowns after Vanguard’s introduction, adding to player frustration.
But the new upgrades that came with Vanguard have somewhat convinced lapsed players to give it another shot. With LP return, ranked matches will become more fair, and players can queue freely without the fear of de-ranking due to encountering cheaters.
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