I usually save my bullets for Valve. But FACEIT’s AC posturing has been getting real bold lately, so let’s talk about what they say what they do and why it doesn’t add up. 🎬 FACEIT, DMA, and the illusion of security: FACEIT now (FINALLY) forces TPM 2.0 + Secure Boot on SUPPORTED systems. Cute. Still no global IOMMU/VT-d enforcement and they’ve been flexing “DMA detection since 2018.” Reminder: no IOMMU = no Kernel DMA Protection. • Context (with receipts): — Windows 11 launched Oct 2021 with TPM + SB as hard OS reqs. — Riot Vanguard blocked boot day one if either is missing (VAN9001/9003). — By 2025, Riot explicitly includes IOMMU + HVCI/VBS (Memory Integrity) in its trusted baseline. — FACEIT? ⤷ In Jan 2025: TPM/SB mandatory. ⤷ In Apr: “here’s how to enable IOMMU,” but still optional. ⤷ To this day: IOMMU/HVCI/VBS ONLY REQUIRED on flagged accounts. So yeah, 7 years after bragging about DMA detection, they still don’t enforce the ONLY Windows feature that actually blocks DMA. • What does Microsoft say? “Kernel DMA Protection depends on IOMMU to remap memory access from peripheral devices.” No IOMMU, no protection. That’s not my hot take, it’s Microsoft’s official documentation. 📢 FACEIT’s Feb 2025 patch notes literally say: “Does FACEIT AC detect DMA cheats? Yes.” Cool. I detect climate change when I sweat in October. Really guys? Vanguard won’t even launch if you don’t meet the full baseline. FACEIT still mixes lobbies with and without hardware isolation. If you’re serious about stopping DMA: → You enforce IOMMU. → You filter players based on baseline. → You document what “DMA detection” actually means, and how much relies on heuristics vs isolation. Until then, this is just pure marketing. And don’t give me the “but enforcing this would lock out users” excuse. Even 2016-era boards support TPM 2.0, Secure Boot and IOMMU just fine. If you’re putting Plus/Premium subs over a clean competitive baseline, just say that. But then don’t flex about DMA detection, and don’t pretend you’re in Vanguard’s league. You want to protect your numbers? Fine. Just don’t market it like you’re protecting your players. Thanks for reading.