5 Ways to Fix the “We Couldn’t Install a Required Dependency” Valorant Error

Valorant has more than its fair share of technical hiccups. Among them is the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error that arises when players try to apply updates or install the game. A player’s Reddit post described this gaming issue like this, “I downloaded the latest patch in Valorant, patch 2.05, I installed it but after it did a message showed up saying ‘We couldn’t install a required dependency.’” This is how you can fix the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error on Windows PCs.

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Set Admin Rights for the Valorant App

First, try running Valorant with administrative rights to see if that makes a difference. This isn’t an especially widely confirmed fix for the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error, but it might be worth a try. These are steps for setting admin rights for Valorant.

1. Right-click on the Valorant desktop shortcut to select Properties and then Compatibility.
2. Look for and select Run this program as an administrator.
   
   

   The Run this program as an administrator option

3. Press the Apply > OK buttons within the Compatibility tab.

Enable VGC

The VGC Vanguard service can cause the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error to occur when it’s disabled. So, check if this important VGC service is enabled and running on your PC. You can enable VGC like this.

1. To access Services, right-click Start to select Run, input services.msc, and click OK.
2. Double-click VGC within Services to view a properties window.
   
   

   The Services window

3. Change the Startup type option to the Automatic setting if the service is disabled.
4. Press Start inside the VGC Properties window.
5. Select Apply to set the new service settings.
   
   

   The vgc Properties window

6. Click OK to close the properties window for the VGC service.

In addition, check VGC is enabled via the MSConfig tool. To do that, input msconfig into Run and click OK. Select Services > Hide all Microsoft services within the System Configuration window. Find and select the VGC checkbox within the Services tab.

Reinstall Vanguard

Reinstalling the Riot Vanguard anti-cheat software is another widely confirmed way to resolve the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error. Applying this troubleshooting method usually fixes issues with Vanguard. This is how you can reinstall the Vanguard software.

1. First, open the file finder tool by clicking the taskbar search box or magnifying glass icon.
2. Enter apps & features into the search tool’s text box and click the matching Settings result.
3. Click Riot Vanguard and select Uninstall for an app. In Windows 11, you must click the three-dot menu button for the Vanguard app to select Uninstall.
   
   

   The Uninstall option for Riot Vanguard

4. Select Yes for confirmation prompts that appear.
5. Open the Valorant app, which will automatically reinstall Vanguard.
6. Exit Valorant and restart your PC.

Erase VGC and VGK Files

This is a variation of the previous potential resolution for the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error that involves manually deleting VGC and VGK files via the Command Prompt. Erasing those files forces a reinstall of Vanguard. You can erase those files like this.

1. Open the search box and input cmd there.
2. Click Run as administrator for Command Prompt within the search utility.
3. Enter sc delete vgc and press Return.
   
   

   The sc delete vgc command

4. Input sc delete vgk and hit Enter.
5. Select to restart Windows 11/10 via the Start menu.
6. Click File Explorer’s shortcut on the taskbar and go to Windows > Program Files.
7. Right-click Riot Vanguard to select the Delete option.
   
   

   The Riot Vanguard folders

8. Start and sign into the Riot Games client.
9. Click Update for the Valorant game.

Add Valorant to the Windows Firewall’s Allowed List

Adding Valorant to the Windows firewall’s allowed list has also fixed the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error for some players. You can add the Valorant game to that firewall’s exclusion list as covered on this Microsoft page. Select to add the Valorant and Valorant-Win64-Shipping files in the Live and Binaries subfolders within the Valorant directory.

The allowed apps list for Windows Defender Firewall

There aren’t that many confirmed resolutions for fixing the “We couldn’t install a required dependency” Valorant error. However, the above troubleshooting methods are widely confirmed to resolve that gaming issue. You can also contact Riot Support for more potential solutions from this help page, but try applying the fixes above first.