Without Secure Boot, a cheat could load a rootkit into the UEFI. Vanguard would look at the running system, see no anomalies, and let the cheater play. With Secure Boot on, that UEFI rootkit is stopped before it ever reaches the RAM. The backlash against the Secure Boot requirement was fierce. Players took to Reddit and Twitter with valid concerns:
Some legacy motherboard utilities or fan control software rely on unsigned drivers. Enabling Secure Boot sometimes breaks these. Players with older hardware (pre-2016) often find their RGB software or overclocking profiles stop working. valorant secure boot
Secure Boot can interfere with Linux bootloaders (like GRUB) if they aren’t properly signed. While most modern distros (Ubuntu, Fedora) support Secure Boot via Microsoft’s signature, others require you to disable it. VALORANT forces you to choose between your favorite Linux distro and the game. Without Secure Boot, a cheat could load a