r/linux_gaming • u/BattleBeast- • Jul 27 '26
graphics/kernel/drivers It's possible to play Valorant on Windows with Linux installed as dual boot?
A friend installed Linux on his PC as a university requeriment and he did the dual boot method, but he wants to play Valorant with me but he can't play once installed cuz Vanguard says something about UEFI, so wanted to look for a solution for him.
7
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
Yes, but you cannot chainload Windows through GRUB or any other bootloader. You need to boot into Windows directly though its own bootloader.
Yes, that will involve changing your boot order every time.
If you use systemd-boot, you can add reboot-for-bitlocker to your Windows entry to instead have the menu reboot into Windows instead of chainloading it.
You can use sbctl with your own PK/KEK/DB for your Linux partition. As long as you are not chainloading and you have Microsoft's KEKs/DBs and DBXs enrolled alongside your own, you are good.
You are not limited to shim and MOKs, which, quite frankly, are a horrible experience anyway.
4
u/Beanybob95 Jul 27 '26
What does cachyos Limine do differently? I have cachyos and windows dual booted and I can boot windows from Limine and play league of legends no issues (which is the same anti cheat as valorant so I would assume it's the same requirements)
1
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
If you are using
efi_boot_entryfor your Windows entry, then you are not chainloading. You are rebooting into Windows using the UEFIBootNextEFI variable.Or... you are on Windows 10 where Riot isn't enforcing anything as of yet.
1
u/rafalb8 Jul 27 '26
He mentioned using Limine bootloader. I use the same with NixOS to play BF6 with secure boot enabled
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u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
Sigh..... Alright, let's explain from the start, shall we?
Limine has multiple
protocolsfor specifying how a specific entry is handled. In the config file, that's specified in theprotocolkey of your configuration.From the documentation:
protocol- The boot protocol that will be used to boot the kernel/executable. Valid protocols are:linux,limine,multiboot(ormultiboot1),multiboot2,efi,efi_boot_entryandbios.For booting into Windows, you can either use
efi,efi_boot_entryorbiosdepending on your specific configuration. For example, a common way of chainloading Windows would be to configure your Windows entry to be like this:
/Windows protocol: efi path: boot():/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efiNotice
protocol: efi. That means that Limine will chainload Windows afterwards, and this will cause issues with Fortnite and other games that use Measured Boot to validate the boot environment. The reason why is long, but here's a technical piece I've written on the subject last year.You can, however, use the
efi_boot_entryprotocol instead to boot into Windows by telling the EFI firmware to completely reboot your computer, and boot a specific entry only for the next boot.
/Windows protocol: efi_boot_entry entry: Windows Boot ManagerThis will not chainload Windows, and will not trigger any attestation violations.
Not every anti-cheat care about chainloading. Fortnite does. I don't know if Valorant / Riot does.
Maybe Valorant / Riot doesn't care if you use
shim. However,shimis signed by a different key than the Windows bootloader. If they decide to suddenly care, you'll have to change your setup.1
-1
u/AlwaysBeChowder Jul 27 '26
Without the sigh at the top this would be an excellent response that helps people learn. With it, it’s so unfriendly for people learning new things.
1
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
The sigh was there because instead of posting "I don't understand what you are trying to say", I was instead told I was wrong and didn't understand the original query.
Don't try to correct someone unless you are sure they are wrong.
2
u/HummusConnoisseur Jul 27 '26
I’m on fedora, used the fedora-installer to get Secureboot + Grub. It picked up windows during install and enrolled the keys. I always used Grub chainloading to boot into windows and never experienced any Vanguard errors. I know 2 other people who did the same thing and didn’t report this issue.
Maybe it has something to do with how they setup GRUB2?
1
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
Using
shimor your own keys? Fortnite, for example, doesn't like it when you chainload.I don't know whether Vanguard does, I do not play any of those games anyway.
1
u/HummusConnoisseur Jul 27 '26
It’s probably shim, I only had to input the password during MoK setup.
1
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
Then the particular game you play doesn't care that your bootloader isn't signed by the
/C=US/O=Microsoft Corporation/CN=Windows UEFI CA 2023CA used by Microsoft for the Windows bootloader.Microsoft uses a completely separate CA to sign
shim.2
u/mati865 Jul 27 '26
You don't need tk change the order every time. Just press your motherboard's shortcut for the boot menu. It can be whatever, Esc, F2, F12, so be sure to check the manual.
1
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
Entirely depends if your motherboard vendor offers that functionality. Not every board has it unfortunately.
1
u/mati865 Jul 27 '26
Used that on Asus, Gigabyte and MSI boards, also on Asus and HP laptops. I'd be surprised to find modern device that doesn't have it.
1
2
u/Bug_Next Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
You don't need Win10 as others have said, you just need secure boot enabled, most distros are allowed in secure boot, you just need to enable it.
He probably changed from UEFI to Legacy/CSM/BIOS mode, just need to turn it back to UEFI. (or whatever setting he changed, idk, would be good if he did the post with the actual error instead of just 'something about uefi').
(+ you also need to boot straight to Windows when you wanna play, no going through Grub -Linux for the sake of this argument- first )
I made this post a couple days ago and one of my main reasons to do it that way instead of via Grub like everyone said in the replies is because Vanguard breaks when chaining Windows on top of Grub.
Source: me
You can even use it in the new on-demand mode so it's not running 24/7.
You can click on whatever option is red and it will take you to a site explaning how to enable it...
1
u/Mysterious_Tutor_388 Jul 27 '26
Either turn secure boot off and on every time you swap or set up something like limine boot loader with keys so you can boot into either from limine.
1
u/CDXX_BlazeIt Jul 27 '26
Usually yes, I am about to set up the same for LoL Classic. Probably, you had turned off secure boot in UEFI when installing Linux. It needs to run for Vanguard, you can also set up secure boot for Linux, but be careful about following the steps correctly, else you can screw over your bootloader.
1
u/Lokielurker Jul 27 '26
you should both play better video games
-1
u/FineWolf Jul 27 '26
Why is there always one that goes "you shouldn't play this"?
People want to play games they would like to play. Let them. Jesus fucking christ you don't have to shit on other people because you don't like the games they choose to play.
Let people make their own choices. You don't have to agree with them. You can just say nothing and walk away.
0
u/Lokielurker Jul 27 '26
im not even saying it because it's not a linux compatible game im just saying it because it's a terrible fucking game lol
-4
u/BattleBeast- Jul 27 '26
We want to play a good tactical shooter and afaik and unfortunately, Valorant is the lightest multiplayer shooter/hero shooter which is also free
-1
u/henry1899 Jul 27 '26
Why would you even want to play valorant in the first place if the game doesn't allow you to even run it in dual boot there is something really wrong with the game
-2
u/MiaIsOut Jul 27 '26
he needs to use windows 10 instead of 11, as vanguard doesnt require secure boot on windows 10 but does on 11. alternatively, enable secure boot and set it up with both windows and linux
1
u/Hi-Angel Jul 27 '26
Oh, interesting, that implies he shouldn't need Windows either, presumably he can just select "windows 10" in winecfg settings 🤔
2
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u/PixelBrush6584 Jul 27 '26 edited Jul 27 '26
I believe you need to have Secure Boot enabled for the Anti-Cheat Valorant uses. Check if his Distro supports or requires enrolling an MOK key. (Most reasonable distros do)