Ancient setup for WARDOGS
Working Advanced setup Menu key Insert
Ancient runs at kernel level: turning off Windows protection is usually enough. Be sure to enable the in-game overlay — without it the menu has nothing to draw on.
Requirements
0 of 4 items
Tick what matches your PC:
- Windows 10 or 11 (x64), builds 1909-26H2
- 16 GB of RAM, a CPU with AES support
- SVM/VT-X virtualisation on; Hyper-V off on both AMD and Intel; Secure Boot on; on a laptop, disable the integrated GPU in BIOS
- One enabled overlay: SteelSeries GG, NVIDIA App or Discord
System requirements
- Operating system Windows 10 or 11 Builds 1909 – 26H2
- Processor Intel or AMD With AES support
- Graphics card NVIDIA or AMD
- Game mode Borderless window or windowed
- Launchers Steam
- Built-in spoofer No
Preparation
0 of 8 steps
Remove third-party antivirus and anti-cheats Kaspersky, Avast, ESET and the like, plus FaceIT and Riot Vanguard, conflict with the loader. They must be uninstalled, not just paused.
- Open Settings → Apps → Installed apps (or Control Panel → Programs and Features).
- Uninstall any third-party antivirus (Kaspersky, Avast, AVG, ESET, 360, Malwarebytes, etc.). Pausing or disabling is not enough — the antivirus driver stays resident.
- Uninstall the FaceIT AC and Riot Vanguard anti-cheats if present — they block third-party software at the kernel level.
- FaceIT is the CS2 anti-cheat, Vanguard is the Valorant one. If you don't play those games, they are safe to remove.
After removing an antivirus, restart the PC — some of its services only unload after a reboot.
Fully disable Windows Defender The #1 cause of “it won't launch”. Disable it for real: manually first, then remove it from startup, reboot, and finish it off with Defender Control.
- Step 1. Turn protection off by hand. Open Windows Security → Virus & threat protection → Manage settings and switch every toggle off:
- Real-time protection — Off.
- Cloud-delivered protection — Off.
- Automatic sample submission — Off.
- Tamper Protection — Off. Turn this one off first, otherwise the others switch themselves back on.
- Step 2. Disable reputation-based protection. In Windows Security → App & browser control → Reputation-based protection → Settings, turn everything off (SmartScreen, potentially-unwanted-app blocking).
- Step 3. Remove Defender from startup. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) → Startup apps tab, find Windows Security notification icon and click Disable.
- Step 4. Restart your computer. This is mandatory — some Defender services only unload after a reboot.
- Step 5. Finish with Defender Control. Download Defender Control (archive password: r1xon), run it as administrator and click Disable Windows Defender — the tile turns red.
- If your antivirus deletes the utility itself, protection is still active — go back to step 1. The file ships zipped on purpose so Defender can't wipe it before it's disabled.
Don't skip steps 3–4. “I turned the toggles off but it didn't help” almost always means Defender came back after restart because it was left in startup.
- Check the system meets the requirements: AES, SVM/VT-X, Windows 10-11 x64, at least 16 GB of RAM.
- Configure overlay before launching the game.
- Any one of the three works: SteelSeries GG, NVIDIA App or Discord.
- NVIDIA App is only available on Nvidia GPUs; on AMD use SteelSeries GG or Discord.
- Keep only the chosen overlay enabled and close the extra ones: Steam, MSI Afterburner, Overwolf.
If the menu does not appear with NVIDIA App, turn its overlay off completely and use SteelSeries GG or Discord instead. - If you chose SteelSeries GG, install and configure it download SteelSeries GG:
- SteelSeries GG supports fullscreen mode.
- Open GENERAL -> General and enable Sonar.
- Go to SONAR -> Shortcuts.
- Bind Master — Volume Up, for example
F7. - Press this bind before injection.
- If you use NVIDIA App, enable overlay download NVIDIA App:
- NVIDIA App does not support fullscreen mode.
- Open settings and go to Generals.
- Enable IN-GAME OVERLAY.
- If you use Discord, turn its overlay on:
- Discord → Settings → Game Overlay → turn the overlay on.
- Turn legacy overlay off and make sure hardware acceleration is on (System → Main).
- If the current activity section says “No suitable overlay”, turn the overlay off and on again.
- Discord does not support fullscreen — run the game windowed or borderless.
- Disable the antivirus and Windows protection before running the loader.
Launch
0 of 7 steps
- Download the loader — download the loader.
- Run the loader as administrator.
- Paste your key.
- Press Inject.
- The loader closes by itself after the injection.
- Start the game once the loader has closed.
- The menu opens with
Insert.
Problems & fixes
19Please launch SteelSeries Moment Overlay (GeForce)
Turn the In-game Overlay off and back on in NVIDIA App / GeForce Experience, then inject again. If the error repeats, turn the NVIDIA App overlay off completely and use SteelSeries GG instead.
The menu does not appear with the NVIDIA App overlay
Turn the NVIDIA App overlay off completely, enable SteelSeries GG instead (the Sonar bind is in the Preparation section) and inject again. Apex, ARC Raiders, Delta Force and Rust do not work with NVIDIA App or SteelSeries — they need Medal or Discord (ARC Raiders currently Discord only); WARDOGS also works with Discord.
Please launch SteelSeries Sonar Overlay (SteelSeries)
Before starting the Loader, press the assigned Sonar hotkey so the overlay is active.
Flickering menu or black screens
Open SteelSeries GG → Settings → Moments → Capture and Sound and turn off Allow Moments to capture while gaming, then restart the game.
Please disable Intel Rapid Storage Technology
Uninstall Intel Rapid Storage Technology from Windows following Microsoft's instructions and restart the PC. If the disk runs in Intel RST / RAID mode in BIOS, switch it to AHCI — see “Disable Intel RST”.
The bind button does not work
Inject again. If the hotkey still does not work, fully close the overlay, run it as administrator, and repeat the launch.
Menu does not appear or the Loader closes immediately
Install Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable x64, restart the PC, and repeat the launch sequence.
Unsupported Firmware
The system disk must use GPT, and Windows must boot in UEFI mode rather than Legacy/CSM. Verify both settings before retrying.
Error 0x296
Close the game and overlay, restart the PC, and inject again in the exact order shown in the guide.
Unknown network error
Check the internet connection and retry. If a VPN is enabled, try without it first; if the ISP blocks access, use a full VPN with another server. Restart the Loader after changing the network.
Failed to allocate memory / Failed to map memory
Restart the PC because the driver loaded incorrectly. If the error repeats, disable non-system startup entries with Microsoft Autoruns and restart again. In an internet café, try another PC.
Failed to load dependencies / Make sure all antiviruses are disabled
Completely uninstall third-party antivirus and anti-cheat software, disable all Windows protection, and restart. If the error remains, clean startup entries and run R1XON Checker to find remaining security drivers.
Please uninstall Vanguard / FaceIT first
Uninstall, rather than merely disable, Riot Vanguard and FaceIT AC, then restart the PC and retry.
AES instruction set is not supported
The CPU does not support AES instructions. This cannot be fixed in software; a different compatible CPU/PC is required. Contact the seller.
Please enable Intel VT-X / AMD-V in BIOS
Enable Intel Virtualization Technology / Intel VT-X for Intel or AMD-V / SVM Mode for AMD in BIOS, save the settings, and restart.
VMX/SVM is not supported
Turn off Virtual Machine Platform and Hyper-V in Windows Features. If the error remains, run
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off in an administrator Command Prompt and restart.Either virtual or RAID disk is present
Disable any active spoofer and virtual disks. If the system disk uses RAID / Intel RST, return it to a normal AHCI configuration; change disk mode only after backing up data and preparing Windows.
CRD failed at XXX / Failed to init render
On a desktop, this means the GPU is too old and unsupported. On a laptop, disable integrated graphics in BIOS or assign the game and overlay to the discrete GPU, then retry.
Incorrect HWID
Open an administrator Command Prompt and run
If the commands fail or return no serial numbers, Windows/WMI is broken — use an official Windows build. If serials are shown, send the key and an error screenshot to support.
wmic diskdrive get Caption, SerialNumber, then wmic baseboard get SerialNumberIf the commands fail or return no serial numbers, Windows/WMI is broken — use an official Windows build. If serials are shown, send the key and an error screenshot to support.
Nothing matches. Run R1XON Checker or write to support — we will sort it out.
Advanced setup — only if it still won’t launch
Enable Secure Boot This product needs Secure Boot turned on. Check the status first, then enable it in BIOS if needed.
- Check the status: press
Win + R, typemsinfo32, and in System Summary find Secure Boot State. If it reads On — you're set, skip the rest. - If it's Off — enter BIOS/UEFI (tap
Del,F2orF10while the PC boots — depends on the motherboard). - Under Boot, turn CSM (Legacy mode) off: Secure Boot only works in UEFI mode.
- Find Boot or Security → Secure Boot and set it to Enabled. Save (usually
F10) and reboot.- If it won't turn on, choose Install Default Secure Boot Keys (or Restore Factory Keys), then enable Secure Boot again.
Secure Boot only works with a GPT system disk. If the disk is MBR, convert it first — see “GPT disk”.
Enable virtualization (VT-x / SVM) The loader needs hardware CPU virtualization. Enabled in BIOS.
- Enter BIOS/UEFI and open Advanced → CPU Configuration (naming varies by board).
- Enable Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) on Intel, or SVM Mode on AMD. Save and reboot.
Disable Hyper-V and Windows virtualization Windows' own virtualization features grab the hypervisor and get in the loader's way. Disabled separately from VT-x.
- Open Control Panel → Programs → Turn Windows features on or off and uncheck Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Platform and Windows Hypervisor Platform.
- Open Command Prompt as administrator, run the command, then reboot:
bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off - Also turn off Memory Integrity and Application Guard if enabled (see “Disable Core Isolation”).
Disable Core Isolation Memory Integrity blocks the driver from loading. Takes a minute to switch off.
- Open Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation details.
- Turn off Memory Integrity and restart the PC.
Disk in GPT layout If the loader says “Unsupported firmware”, the system disk is MBR and needs converting to GPT.
- Check the layout: Win+R → diskmgmt.msc, right-click the system disk → Properties → Volumes → Partition style. It should read GUID (GPT).
- If it's MBR, convert without data loss: admin Command Prompt, run mbr2gpt /convert /allowfullOS. After converting, switch the BIOS boot mode to UEFI.
Back up anything important before converting. It usually goes smoothly, but a disk is a disk.
Disable Intel RST (Rapid Storage) On some laptops Intel RST mode gets in the loader's way. Switched to AHCI in BIOS.
- In BIOS find SATA Mode / Storage Configuration and switch from Intel RST / RAID to AHCI. Save and reboot.
If Windows won't boot after switching to AHCI, boot into Safe Mode once — Windows picks up the AHCI driver, then reboot normally.
Use a VPN for download and activation CIS ISPs often block the activation servers. A VPN is needed while downloading the loader, activating the key and injecting — you can turn it off before joining a match.
- Use a full VPN — an app that routes all traffic, not a browser proxy or extension: half the support tickets come from exactly this. In Happ and similar clients turn on TUN mode.
- Turn the VPN on before downloading the loader and activating the key. If something won't load, switch country (Europe or the US usually work).
- After a successful inject you can turn the VPN off before the match to avoid extra ping.
A VPN fixes most endless-loading and “key won't activate” problems.
Update Visual C++ and DirectX Up-to-date runtimes keep the loader and overlay from crashing at start.
- Install Visual C++ Redistributable x64 and restart the PC.
- Update DirectX if you haven't in a while.
FAQ
2 The menu does not open on Insert
Almost always the overlay: it must be enabled BEFORE the game starts. Check that the SteelSeries GG, NVIDIA App or Discord overlay is working and inject again.
Is a spoofer included?
No, this build has none. The Ancient HWID spoofer is a separate product in our catalogue.
Still stuck?
Run R1XON Checker first — it pinpoints most launch problems in 30 seconds. If it still fails, attach the checker report to your support ticket and we’ll sort it out fast.