In Update 13.01, we'll be stepping up our fight against smurfing with updated tools that will allow us to more effectively detect violations in ranked play, including boosting, match-fixing, and stream sniping. We'll start with the most persistent offenders and expand our use of this technology in the future. Penalties may include account bans, rank/MMR loss, and the removal of ranked rewards. The goal of these penalties is to maintain the link between ranked progress and fair play.

From the very beginning of VALORANT, we wanted to create a tactical shooter with the ability to compete at the highest level. Over the years, our community has grown, and today millions of players are climbing the ladder, honing their skills, and embodying the spirit of VALORANT.

However, the game's growing popularity has brought new challenges. More players mean more abusers looking for ways to circumvent restrictions and harm others.

Our vision is simple: every match in the game should be fair and enjoyable.

A fair and equitable game is one in which everyone has a chance to compete, improve their skills, and prevail under the conditions of the match, and where each player can focus on their skill without being distracted by abusers.
Boosting (Artificial Rank Increase)
We often receive complaints about smurfing, but in reality, what many refer to as smurfing includes various types of rank manipulation. One of these is boosting.

Boosting is a type of smurfing in which a player uses an account with a lower rank than their own to increase the rank of that account and/or other players in their group.

The following players may be penalized for boosting:

A booster is a player or service whose services allow players to increase their rank unfairly. This is often a player of a higher rank who logs into the game from someone else's account to bypass the matchmaking system or otherwise uses their skills to help another player unfairly increase their rank.
A booster's ward is the player whose account gains an unfair advantage. This could be a player who has paid for a service, shared access to their account, or knowingly participated in a rank-up scheme.
A companion is a player who queues with a booster's client to gain an advantage, even if their account isn't directly involved in the scheme.
As part of our fight against smurfing, we're introducing a new detection tool today that will help us more accurately identify boosters and their associated accounts. We successfully implemented this tool in League of Legends last year, allowing us to distinguish between normal play and coordinated abuse.

What penalties await violators?

Punishments for confirmed violations can affect any involved account, whether boosters, booster clients, or companions. Depending on the severity and frequency of the violations, the following penalties may apply:

Account suspension

Rank loss: RRI and MMR are returned to pre-boost levels
Companion players may also have their rank reduced depending on the advantage they gained from playing alongside the player engaging in rank manipulation
Reward loss: Rank rewards obtained through unfair means are removed
Permanent bans for serious and repeated violations
We understand that penalties in ranked play should be approached with caution. That's why we pay attention to repeat violations and seek compelling evidence before taking action. Your reports of boosting and rank manipulation are also very helpful, as they provide us with more data.

We'll be updating our report response notification system to let you know when players in your matches are receiving penalties for rank manipulation.

What's considered fair play?

We'd like to emphasize that our policies and rules for playing VALORANT haven't changed. We've simply updated our detection tools and wanted to remind you of them. VALORANT is a five-player game, and we want you to still have the option to play in a team with your friends.

What can you do?

Play in a team with five friends of varying ranks.
Help new players get comfortable.
Play with an additional account you created and rank up yourself.

Show poor results in a match (or in an Act) – in competitive play, victories often alternate with defeats.
Winning a series of matches – sometimes luck smiles on everyone.
As long as you play by yourself, don't share access to your account, don't intentionally lose to cheat the matchmaking system, and don't manipulate your rank for your own or others' benefit, then you're fine.

What shouldn't you do?

Share account access.

Buy accounts.

Borrow accounts.

Steal accounts.

Artificially boost your rank by any means.

Queue with a player who does any of the above.

If the outcome of a match is predetermined before it even starts, it harms the entire competitive system of VALORANT. Play only on your own accounts.