Community Pact

We’re players too, and our detection systems were built and tested by Rioters at various skill levels in each game. That’s helped us develop detection software that can give us a pretty good (but not perfect) understanding of what it looks like when someone is learning how to play versus being purposefully disruptive. Rest assured, we won’t call you out just for making mistakes or trying new Champions or Agents in the course of learning how to play our games.

If there’s no harm, there’s no foul. Meaning if ALL the players in that mode have a reasonable expectation of casual play, and no one reports you as a result, you won’t receive any penalties. (So yes, your “yordles-only” 5v5 custom game is fine!)

But for most game modes, the default expectation is simple: everyone is playing to win. Not everyone cares about Ranked with the same intensity—some chase climb, others just want a solid match—but when you enter a queue, you’re making a pact with your teammates to give your best effort.

Owning multiple accounts, in itself, is okay. Using an alternate account to gain competitive advantage, provide competitive advantage, evade penalties, or disrupt other players’ experience is not.

Any form of rank manipulation is not playing fair and will result in penalties when we detect these behaviors. That includes boosting, queue boosting, and smurfing which are all defined below. And as a reminder, buying, selling, or transferring accounts violates our Terms of Service.

We get it. Everyone’s level of tolerance for trash talk is going to be different, and the line isn’t always obvious. Generally speaking, you should keep it about the game, not the person. Criticizing a play or egging on an opponent doesn’t break the pact, but attacking someone’s identity, threatening harm, or spamming repeated insults crosses the line. A few bad words or light jokes are probably fine— our games are rated 13+. The problem is when it gets personal, abusive, or doesn’t stop—that’s when it crosses the line. And there’s no space for hate speech in our games.

We know players come from different cultures and languages, so not every joke or comment lands the same way. If multiple players are consistently reporting you for how you communicate, that’s a signal to dial it back and keep the focus on the game.

Penalties exist to protect the game and the players who respect it. Disruption takes the fun out of games we all care about, and we’re here to protect the intended experience. Penalties keep the focus on playing the game, not dealing with disruption.

Penalties scale with the severity of the offense and your history of behavior. Small issues usually start light and escalate if they continue. Serious or repeated offenses can move you straight to longer suspensions, penalties across all of Riot’s games, or even a permanent suspension.

There’s no “three strikes” rule. If what you did was serious enough, your account could be permanently suspended on the first offense. 

Penalties can include:

• Warnings – Cautionary messages with no sanctions. 

• Delays – Delay of play for a period of time. 

• Restrictions – Temporary limitation or loss of access to a specific feature, like in-game chat or other communication features. 

• Time-based Suspensions – Temporary prevention of play. 

• Permanent Account Suspensions – Permanent prevention of play (single account). 

• Hardware Bans - Permanent prevention of play (physical device).

Mistakes happen, and when they do, your voice matters. No system is perfect, and sometimes penalties may be issued in error or missed when they should have been applied. If you believe a penalty was issued in error, you can appeal it by contacting Player Support. We’ll manually review the case, and if we got it wrong, we’ll make it right.

Your reports matter—they help keep the pact strong. When a player you reported is penalized, you may get feedback confirming action was taken, but we won’t always share the exact details to protect player privacy. Behind the scenes, reports are reviewed, and penalties are issued when rules are broken. We’re working on better ways to close the loop, so it’s easier to see when your reports made a difference.

Sometimes you might still see a player queuing up again after reporting them. That doesn’t mean the report was ignored—for example, some penalties start as comms mutes, which limit the player’s ability to disrupt without removing them from play. More serious or repeated offenses can lead to suspensions or bans, and the more disruptive or repetitive the behavior, the harsher the penalty.

Yes! Penalties are designed to hold players – not accounts – responsible for their actions. As a result, they may be imposed on your main account and any other accounts linked to you. If our systems detect you going on an alternate account while another account you own is under a restriction or suspension, that penalty may be applied to the alt account as well. Additionally, if you continue being disruptive on your new account, penalties are likely to accumulate across accounts, including your main, and result in harsher penalties.