Vanguard Archives

AppWizard

December 29, 2025

Android Central’s Best of 2025 Awards: The best phones, smartwatches, tablets, apps, and more

The OnePlus 15 was named Best Android Phone, featuring a fast chip, three-day battery life, and a 165Hz display. The Google Pixel 10 Pro won Best Camera with its Gemini-powered photo system. The Nothing's CMF Phone 2 Pro was recognized as the best budget option. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 was awarded Best Foldable Device, while the Motorola Razr Ultra 2025 was named Best Flip Phone. Samsung was recognized as the most improved brand. The Google Pixel Watch 4 won Best Smartwatch, and the Oura Ring 4 was the top smart ring. The Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 was the best smart glasses, with the Oakley Meta Vanguard for athletes and the Xreal One Pro as Best XR Glasses. Marvel's Deadpool VR won Best Single-Player VR, and Demeo x Dungeons & Dragons: Battlemarked was Best Multiplayer VR Game. The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 was the Best Chromebook, and the OnePlus Pad 3 was the best tablet. The Amazon Kindle Scribe was awarded Best E-Reader. Spotify was named Best Music Streaming Service, and Netflix was Best Video Streaming Service. The Gemini app won Best Android App, and Pokémon TCG Pocket was Best Android Game. Spigen was recognized as Best Phone Case Manufacturer, Anker was the top charging brand, Sony WH-1000XM6 won Best Wireless Headphones, and Apple AirPods Pro 3 were the best earbuds.

AppWizard

December 19, 2025

Riot Games found a motherboard security flaw that helps PC cheaters

Riot Games has identified a significant security vulnerability in recent motherboards that could be exploited by cheaters, allowing cheats to operate undetected and undermining competitive gaming integrity. Major motherboard manufacturers, including Asrock, Asus, Gigabyte, and MSI, have released BIOS updates to mitigate this issue. If unaddressed, the vulnerability would have rendered existing direct memory access (DMA) detection and prevention technologies ineffective. The vulnerability involves DMA hardware devices connecting via PCIe slots, which could bypass input-output memory management unit (IOMMU) protections. Riot's Vanguard anti-cheat software may soon require players to update their BIOS to continue playing Valorant, and other anti-cheat systems are likely to implement similar checks.

AppWizard

November 25, 2025

‘Most of the innovation in gaming has happened on PC’ says EVE Online studio boss: ‘When I love a game, it’s so deeply PC’

Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, CEO of CCP Games, stated that most gaming innovation occurs on PC, with mobile gaming primarily focused on refinement. He noted that PC gaming allows for more experimentation. CCP Games is developing EVE Frontier, while EVE Online recently launched its expansion, Catalyst, on November 18, and EVE Frontier's next update is scheduled for November 27. EVE Vanguard, a first-person shooter, is also in development.

AppWizard

November 20, 2025

“Out of all the 40k options, they picked this?”: Fans are furious about the reveal of Darktide’s new class—and they might have a point this time

The new class revealed for Darktide is 'Hive Scum,' a character archetype centered around a common criminal. The announcement was met with disappointment from the community, with many fans expressing disbelief and frustration over the choice, feeling it lacked the excitement of more unique options available in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. The Hive Scum's arsenal includes makeshift weapons like guns, shivs, and crowbars, which fans find underwhelming compared to the iconic weaponry in the setting. The decision to introduce this class may stem from practical limitations faced by the developer, Fatshark, as they may not have the resources to create entirely new character types in a short timeframe. The ongoing disconnect between community expectations and the developer's offerings has led to tension among players.

AppWizard

November 10, 2025

League of Legends 2 could finally be on the cards, and it’s about damn time my favorite game gets the love it deserves

League of Legends executive producer Paul Bellezza acknowledged the need for technological improvements in the game. A Chinese leaker claims that a sequel, referred to as League of Legends 2, may be on the horizon, with potential significant technical and gameplay enhancements expected in the latter half of next year. A now-deleted report from 'Summoner Park' suggests comprehensive upgrades, including the removal of legacy code and revamps of core game content, while preserving core gameplay. The report also hints at large-scale optimizations and balancing changes for over 170 champions. However, the timeline for these changes is tight, especially with the rework for Shyvana postponed to 2026. PCGamesN has reached out to Riot Games for clarification on the report's validity.

AppWizard

October 24, 2025

A true co-op gem, 96%-rated Steam looter shooter is free for the weekend, and cheap to keep if you love it

Gunfire Reborn is a run-based looter shooter available for free on Steam from October 24 to October 27. The game features a new expansion, Echoes from Primal Grove, which introduces two new characters, Yoyo and Cang Jue, as well as new weapons like the Drift Shard bow and Jackpot shotgun. An update adds the Twilight Grove zone, accessible after clearing the Duo Fjord five times. The base game is currently discounted by 45% until November 6, priced at .99/£8.51, while the new DLC is available for .99/£4.67 with a 10% discount until November 5. Gunfire Reborn is Steam Deck Verified.

AppWizard

October 21, 2025

Best Stella Sora team comps – best teams for every element

In Stella Sora, players can build powerful teams using an elemental system that includes Ignis, Aqua, Terra, Ventus, Umbra, and Lux. Each team consists of three characters with roles as Vanguard, Versatile, and Support. Effective team compositions are as follows: - Ignis: - Best comp: Amber (Vanguard), Chixia (Versatile), Flora (Support) - Alt comp: Amber, Kasimira, Flora - Aqua: - Best comp: Chitose, Freesia, Teresa - Alt comp: Shimiao, Iris, Teresa - Terra: - Best comp: Gerie, Nazuna, Ridge - Alt comp: Ridge, Nazuna, Ann - Ventus: - Best comp: Nonoha, Canace, Ann - Alt comp: Noya, Canace, Ann - Umbra: - Best comp: Caramel, Mistique, Cosette - Alt comp: Caramel, Coronis, Cosette - Lux: - Best comp: Laru, Minova, Tilia - Alt comp: Laru, Jinglin, Tilia Each composition is designed to maximize effectiveness in battles and challenges within the game.

AppWizard

October 20, 2025

Stella Sora tier list – best characters and reroll guide

The character tier list for Stella Sora at launch includes: - S Tier: Gerie, Ridge, Nazuna, Chitose - A Tier: Minova, Flora, Noya, Teresa, Cosette, Freesia, Chixia, Mistique, Tilia, Nonoha, Ann - B Tier: Canace, Jinglin, Caramel - C Tier: Kasimara, Coronis, Iris - F Tier: Laru, Shimiao, Amber All characters except Chitose can be obtained for free from the starting banner. The tier list focuses on four and five-star characters, excluding equippable discs. Duplicate pulls can unlock new passive abilities, allowing some four-star characters to outperform five-star ones. Players can perform a complimentary 10-pull summon after completing the prologue, with the option to reroll up to 20 times during the tutorial banner. To continue pulling from the standard banner, players must reach level 4 and complete the first page of Growth missions for additional gems. When rerolling, players should aim for one five-star damage character from the S-tier and several top-tier four-star characters, ideally from Vanguard or Support roles. A balanced team should consist of a Vanguard, Support, and Attacker. Players can replace any of the five saved pulls if desired.

AppWizard

August 13, 2025

Battlefield 6 open beta won’t run if you have Valorant installed, thanks to Riot’s anti-cheat — uninstall if you plan to joint the second open beta this weekend

EA will launch a free open beta for Battlefield 6 from August 14 to August 17, featuring the new "Empire State" map and introducing Rush and Squad deathmatch modes. Players can earn free rewards during the beta. However, players with Valorant installed may face issues launching Battlefield 6 due to a "security violation" error caused by Riot Games' anti-cheat software, Riot Vanguard, which operates at the kernel level. This integration can lead to conflicts between the two games' anti-cheat systems, prompting players to uninstall Valorant to avoid compatibility issues.

AppWizard

August 13, 2025

BIOS shock: getting past Battlefield 6’s anti-cheat error was the faffiest thing a PC game has ever required of me

PC gaming enthusiasts faced technical challenges accessing the Battlefield 6 beta due to a security error indicating that "Secure Boot is not enabled." Secure Boot is a feature in Windows 10 and 11 that ensures only safe software loads during startup, but enabling it requires navigating the BIOS menu, which can be complex and risky. EA's guidance on enabling Secure Boot led to further complications, including issues with disk partition compatibility that required converting from MBR to GPT. Additionally, EA's anti-cheat software, Javelin, necessitates Secure Boot for enhanced security against cheating, a trend also seen in other gaming companies' anti-cheat systems. EA reported blocking over 330,000 cheat attempts during the beta weekend, though concerns about the effectiveness of these measures remain.