A German gamer was banned from Valorant after installing a used Ryzen 7 5800X3D processor, as the previous owner had been cheating. According to Riot Games, the company confirmed that the previous user had violated the game's anti-cheat policies, leading to the CPU, motherboard, and storage being added to a blacklist. This ban applies globally across all games developed by Riot Games, including League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra, and 2XKO. The penalty not only targets the player's account but also the physical components of the device. Any other account linked to the same hardware is automatically blocked as well. When attempting to launch the game, users encounter an error known as VAN 152, and reinstalling the game does not resolve the issue. Riot Games' hardware ban rules suggest that the anti-cheat system might detect a unique fingerprint based on the electrical behavior of the chip or retrieve identifiers stored in the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). On Ryzen processors, the TPM is a firmware known as fTPM, which is built into the chip itself. Riot Games requires this firmware for accounts under restriction. In 2021, it was explained that the TPM would prevent a banned Valorant cheater from using a brand new hardware identifier, which makes sense for enforcing bans effectively. If a player receives a VAN 152 error after installing used hardware, they should not try the game with another account, as it would also be banned. Instead, they should contact Riot Games directly to request a review. While the risk of encountering banned hardware is extremely rare, it is not impossible. There is no guaranteed way to know if a component has been marked unless the previous owner confirms it.