How to Fix the Valorant “We Couldn’t Install a Required Dependency” Error

Valorant is one of the most popular games around, and it also has some of the most intense Anti-cheat and anti-hacker tools as well. This leads to quite a few problems, including error message “We couldn’t install a required dependency. Please try again, restart your computer, or reach out to our player support team” when attempting to launch the game. For most people, this error message will appear immediately after clicking the play button in the Riot Client and prevents Valorant from starting. 99% of the time, it indicates that Riot Vanguard, Valorant’s required anti-cheat system, has failed to install or update correctly.

How to Fix the Valorant “We Couldn’t Install a Required Dependency” Error

In most cases, the problem arises from corrupted Vanguard files. It can also occur if Vanguard services are disabled in Windows or if certain registry settings interfere with the service. Below are step-by-step solutions to fix the error. For Valorant to run, Riot Vanguard must be active. If the Vanguard service is disabled or not set to start automatically, the Riot Client will fail to launch the game. Enabling the service ensures it starts with Windows and runs in the background.

To check and enable Vanguard services:

• Press Windows and R to open the Run dialog, type services.msc, and press Enter.
• Scroll down to locate the service named vgc.
• Right-click vgc and select Properties.
• Set the Startup type to Automatic.
• Click Start under the Service status section if the service is not running.
• Press Apply, then OK.
• Restart your computer to allow Vanguard to load automatically.

Edit the Windows Registry

Before you start this step, make sure that you have made a system restore point.

A registry entry called DevOverrideEnable can sometimes prevent Vanguard from starting. This setting controls whether Windows allows certain driver overrides, which may conflict with the anti-cheat system. If its value is set to 1, it can block Vanguard from initialising. Resetting it to 0 restores the default behaviour.

To edit the registry:

• Press Windows and R, type regedit, and press Enter.
• Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\CI\Policy.
• On the right side, locate DevOverrideEnable.
• Double-click it and set the Value data to 0.
• Click OK and close the Registry Editor.
• Restart your computer to apply the changes.

Reinstall Riot Vanguard Using Command Prompt

If Vanguard is corrupted or only partially installed, Valorant will not launch. Removing Vanguard through Command Prompt and allowing the Riot Client to reinstall it ensures a clean installation and resolves most dependency errors.

To reinstall Vanguard:

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator.
• Stop Vanguard services by entering:

• Remove Vanguard by entering:

• Restart your computer to complete the removal.
• Open the Riot Client; it will automatically reinstall Vanguard.
• Restart your computer once more to ensure Vanguard runs properly.