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“Vanguard Is Required to Play” and VAN 68: What Riot Confirms

Riot documents how to uninstall and reinstall Vanguard generally, but the reviewed support page does not explain VAN 68 or confirm a code-specific fix.
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If you see “Vanguard is required to play,” Riot’s general guidance says that most games launched through the Riot Client will not start while Vanguard is disabled. But Riot’s reviewed support page does not explain the VAN 68 error or identify reinstalling Vanguard as its fix. Treat these as separate issues unless Riot publishes code-specific guidance.

What the Vanguard message means

Riot’s Uninstall and Disable Vanguard support article says most games launched through the Riot Client cannot be started while Vanguard is disabled. If the client says Vanguard is required to play, that is consistent with Vanguard being disabled or absent; the message alone does not establish why.

What Riot’s guidance says to do about Vanguard

Riot documents two ordinary ways to uninstall Vanguard. These are general Vanguard management steps, not a confirmed remedy for VAN 68.

Use Vanguard’s system-tray menu

  1. Find the Vanguard icon in the Windows system tray.
  2. Open its menu and choose the uninstall option.
  3. Follow the prompts to complete removal.

Use Windows Settings

  1. Open Windows Settings and go to the installed apps list.
  2. Select Riot Vanguard and choose Uninstall.
  3. Follow the prompts to complete removal.

If normal removal fails, Riot’s article also describes manually removing the Vanguard vgc and vgk services and remaining files. Manual service and file removal is more involved than using the standard uninstall routes, so follow Riot’s instructions carefully rather than deleting unrelated files or services.

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Reinstall Vanguard only as general troubleshooting

Riot says that launching the Riot Client or a game that depends on Vanguard can automatically reinstall Vanguard after it has been removed. Afterward, restart the client and try launching the game. This may address a missing or improperly installed Vanguard component, but Riot’s reviewed instructions do not connect this process to VAN 68 or confirm it as a code-specific fix.

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What is—and is not—known about VAN 68

The reviewed Riot support result does not define VAN 68, explain its cause, or prescribe a fix for it. The available information therefore does not establish that the code indicates a Vanguard problem. Avoid treating an error code and a separate Vanguard-required message as interchangeable diagnoses.

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Riot’s support article is reported as published May 30, 2026. For VAN 68-specific steps, use current Riot guidance that explicitly names the code; the general uninstall and reinstall procedure cannot fill that gap.

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