R6 ShieldGuard Explained (2026): Secure Boot, TPM 2.0, Anti-Cheat

When the Legend Division opened in Y11S3, Rainbow Six Siege started asking some PC players for things a shooter rarely asks for: Secure Boot, Windows Memory Integrity and TPM 2.0. They are the three checks of the R6 ShieldGuard Secure Platform, which Ubisoft called "the most significant anti-cheat update the game has had since Siege launched". This guide explains what each check does, who needs them, how to switch them on in Windows, the authenticator-app rule that comes with them, and what Ubisoft has published about catching cheaters. It sticks to what Ubisoft has said; we don't speculate about how detection works inside.

What R6 ShieldGuard is

R6 ShieldGuard is the name Ubisoft gives its anti-cheat work on Siege: detection updates, ban waves and regular "R6 ShieldGuard" reports on its Player Protection pages. The game's Steam page still lists BattlEye as well. In its Community Checkpoint recap of 7 August 2026 Ubisoft added two things on top: the Secure Platform for the Legend Division, and news that "a dedicated team on Ubisoft Security is working on a kernel level, shared anti-cheat solution across all Ubisoft games", with Siege among the first to use it and players to be notified when they launch the game in Season 3. Ubisoft also noted that kernel-level anti-cheat isn't new to Siege.

The Secure Platform's three checks

Ubisoft described each part in the same recap. The right-hand column is where Windows shows it, from our own setup notes:

Ubisoft's season page uses the Windows name for the middle check: "Windows Memory Integrity (HVCI)". Memory Integrity is the switch; HVCI (hypervisor-protected code integrity) is the feature behind it, and it runs on Windows' virtualisation-based security.

Who needs it

As of 2 November 2026, the Secure Platform is a Legend Division requirement on PC. Ubisoft's Split Fire page: "The new ShieldGuard Secure Platform requires several standard security settings to be fully enabled on PC", namely Secure Boot, Windows Memory Integrity (HVCI) and TPM 2.0, and "to play Legend Division, players must grant temporary administrative privileges to verify these settings." The Legend Division itself is a solo-queue playlist above Champion for players who are Champion now, reached Platinum or higher last season and hold a positive reputation standing; the Legend Division guide has every requirement.

Ubisoft hasn't said that the normal Ranked playlist, Unranked or Quick Match need the Secure Platform. Its 7 August recap explains the focus on the top: the season had the lowest cheating-report count in recent seasons "except in high-ranking match pools", and Ubisoft wants to "improve the impact of anti-cheat tools at the Diamond ranks and above". If that scope widens, it will be in a season's patch notes.

How to switch it on

Ubisoft's own instruction is short: enable Core Isolation in Windows Security, and "some may need to upgrade their firmware to allow Secure Boot and TPM to run effectively." The steps below are general Windows 10 and 11 steps from us, not Ubisoft's; menu names vary a little between motherboard makers.

1. Check what you already have.

   Open System Information (msinfo32): "Secure Boot State" should say On and "BIOS Mode" UEFI. Then open Windows Security → Device security: "Security processor details" shows your TPM and its specification version.

2. Turn on Memory Integrity.

   Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation details → Memory integrity on, then restart. If Windows lists incompatible drivers, update or remove them first; an old driver is the usual reason the switch won't stay on.

3. Turn on TPM in firmware if it's off.

   Most recent PCs have a firmware TPM that only needs enabling in the UEFI settings, often labelled Intel PTT or AMD fTPM. Update the firmware first if your maker recommends it, as Ubisoft notes.

4. Turn on Secure Boot.

   Also in the UEFI settings. If msinfo32 shows BIOS Mode as Legacy, switching to UEFI isn't a simple toggle, because the system disk must use GPT: back up first and follow your motherboard maker's guide.

5. Accept the admin prompt.

   When you open the Legend Division, the game asks for temporary administrative privileges to verify the three settings. Without them it can't confirm you qualify.

Two-step verification with an app

The other security gate applies on every platform. The Split Fire page asks Legend players to "activate 2-step verification by adding an authenticator app to their Ubisoft account", so e-mail codes aren't enough there. Ubisoft sweetened it: "everyone who enables two-step verification will receive an Alpha Pack". And it is spreading: "two-factor authentication via app will be rolled out to other divisions of Rainbow Six Siege as well", with no date given. Ubisoft already urged it in November 2025, when it said it would "strongly recommend enabling Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), especially using a mobile authenticator app if possible". Ranked itself already needs 2-step verification on your Ubisoft account; switching it to an app now saves a step later.

How Siege catches cheaters: what Ubisoft has published

Ubisoft doesn't publish how its detection works, and neither do we. What it has announced, as of 7 August 2026:

• A recoil-macro model. "A new model is being introduced to detect programs and scripts that enable recoil macros." It is deliberately cautious and "will only issue account bans after several confirmed instances of cheating". It was due on PC later in August 2026, with a console version in development.
• Retroactive match analysis. A program in development that looks back at past matches so cheaters "can be retroactively caught and sanctioned as is appropriate".
• Mousetrap. Aimed at console players who spoof mouse and keyboard in controller pools; our console mouse and keyboard guide explains the pools.
• Manual bans after review. They come only "after the team has physically reviewed evidence", and "manual bans never happen based solely on a clip shared by players and content creators online." Backend data is reviewed too.

The rules behind the bans are the Player Protection Core Rules of 31 July 2026. Cheating covers programs "designed to give unfair advantages, even if not actively used in-game", and the hardware cases: emulating a controller on console, macro adapters and device spoofing. Sanctions depend on "the severity, frequency, and intent", in the recap's words, and run up to a permanent ban.

Ban numbers Ubisoft has published

Ubisoft's most recent dated figures we could find are from 2025. We found no 2026 tally, so read them as history, not as this season's numbers:

The same November 2025 post promised to double the cadence of R6 ShieldGuard updates from Season 4 of Year 10. Elo trapping, deliberately matchmaking against specific accounts to force losses, is now listed under Boosting in the Core Rules; the October 2025 wave against it came before those rules were published.

What's next, and what it means for boosting

• Kernel-level, shared anti-cheat across Ubisoft games, Siege among the first.
• App-based 2-step verification beyond the Legend Division, no date yet.
• A mandatory Code of Conduct from Y11S4, part of Ubisoft's anti-toxicity work.

For boosting the message is plain. Anything that touches the game client, scripts, macros or "boosting software", is exactly what these tools are built to find, and on an order the account it runs on is yours. Our boosters play by hand on PC with no scripts or third-party software, and we don't sell the Legend Division at all; we boost to Champion V. Paid boosting still conflicts with Ubisoft's Core Rules, which list "Paying or using external services to artificially inflate your rank" as boosting. Read is R6 boosting bannable? and the Risk Disclosure before you decide. Rainbow Six Siege boosting opens soon — get the launch alert on the hub.

• No login shared: 1-on-1 coaching with a Champion coach.
• By hand on PC: Rank Boost up to Champion V.
• Wins at your rank: Ranked Net Wins.

Related guides: Legend Division explained · how to unlock Ranked · penalties and the Core Rules · mouse and keyboard on console