How To Fix: We couldn’t install a required dependency, in VALORANT

The error “We couldn’t install a required dependency in VALORANT” can happen during your first installation of VALORANT, but also after an update.

This dependency error in the VALORANT installer is usually caused by one of the following issues:

1. Your Vanguard installation might be broken / incomplete.
2. You’re using Windows 7, which is supported, but you have to make sure that you have at least two specific patches installed. (Which you should have for your own safety reasons! Keep your Windows up-to-date!)
3. You try to play the game on a VM / via a service like Shadow.

How To Fix The “Required Dependency” Error If Your Vanguard Installation Is Broken / Incomplete

The most common reason seems to be a broken Vanguard (VALORANT’s anti-cheat) installation. The solution to it is to uninstall Vanguard (and make sure it’s really uninstalled), then to launch the game again und let Vanguard will install again.

Here’s how to do it step-by-step:

1. Vanguard can be uninstalled on different methods and you might have to combine them.
   1. Uninstall via Vanguard Tray Icon or “Add or remove programs” Wizard.
      If you have the Vanguard Tray icon in your task-bar, you can try an uninstall via right-click on it first and uninstall Vanguard under “More…”.
      If you don’t have the Tray icon, uninstall “Riot Vanguard” with the “Add or remove programs” wizard.
   2. Delete the potentially left Vanguard service on your PC. Open your Command Prompt and enter the following two commands:
      sc delete vgc
      sc delete vgk
   3. Last but not least we will now make sure that its files are really deleted, by deleting the “Riot Vanguard” Folder in C:\Program Files.
2. Restart your PC and start VALORANT. You can also try starting it as Administrator by right-click -> “Run as Administrator”.
3. If you’re still running into this problem, you should uninstall VALORANT, uninstall Vanguard like explained in Step 1 and install VALORANT by downloading the latest version of the VALORANT installer from beta.playvalorant.com!

How to fix it if you use Windows 7

(Keep in mind that even if you have Windows 7, you might have the required patches installed, so it still might be the Vanguard issue for you too.)

Windows 7 users need two specific Windows updates installed on their system.

The specific Windows 7 patches you need to install are KB4490628 and after that KB4474419. You can find those patches on the official Microsoft website.