Is Duo Boosting Bannable? What Riot, Moonton and Tencent's Rules Say

Can you get banned for duo boosting? What Riot, Moonton and Tencent actually prohibit, where duo queue is allowed, and how to stay within the rules.

Updated 2026-09-25 · 7 min read

Is duo boosting bannable? It can be. As of September 2026, Riot, Moonton and Tencent all ban account sharing.

Riot and Tencent's rules also name paid carries that lift you to a rank you didn't earn, even when you stay on your own account. Moonton's ranked-boosting rule is judged by its effect on your rank, not by who logs in. Queuing with friends on your own accounts, within the party rules, is fine under Riot's rules.

Each section quotes the publisher's own pages. This isn't legal advice, and rules change, so check the links yourself. New to the term? Start with what is duo boosting.

Key takeaways

All three publishers ban account sharing: nobody else should ever log in to your account.

Riot penalises "hitchhiking" and says a boostee "could be someone paying for a service". Honor of Kings lists "playing together for monetary gain".

Moonton penalises "Boosting in Ranked Matches", judged by the effect on rank.

Penalties can hit the boosted account too: suspensions, rank resets and lost rewards.

Playing with friends on your own accounts is fine under Riot's rules. Unranked sessions, or coaching outside ranked, carry the least risk.

What counts as "boosting" in the rules?

The rules cover four different things:

Account boosting is when someone logs in to your account and plays for you.
A paid duo carry means you pay a stronger player to queue with you on your own account so you climb.
A smurf duo means the stronger player uses a low-ranked or bought account so the game lets you party.
Win-trading and match-fixing are deals between players, such as agreeing to throw games, instead of real competition.

What happens	Riot (LoL, Valorant)	Moonton (MLBB)	Tencent (HoK)
Someone logs in to your account	Banned	Banned	Banned
Paid carry on your own account	Named	Not named; judged by effect	Named
Partner plays on a smurf	Named, buyer included	Fits its ranked-boosting rule	Not named separately

What does Riot say about League of Legends and Valorant?

Riot's Terms of Service (last modified 1 December 2024) say "You can't share your account or Login Credentials with anyone". Section 7.1 goes further. It lists "playing on another person's account or otherwise engaging in activity intended to 'boost' an account's status or rank" as behaviour that warrants penalties. That covers more than logging in.

Paid carries and "hitchhiking"

League's /dev post of 11 August 2025 defines hitchhiking as queuing with another player "as a service in order to 'climb' and artificially inflate their own MMR/rank". Riot began penalising it in patch 25.18.

Valorant's Playing Fair post of 14 July 2026 calls a booster "the player or service helping create that unfair rank gain". It also says a boostee "could be someone paying for a service".

Riot's Vanguard anti-boost update of 17 September 2026 lists behaviours that get an account suspended and its rank removed. One of them is "Paying boosters to queue with you on smurfs, even if you're playing on your own account". Riot says it has actioned 296,416 accounts for rank manipulation in both games since late 2025.

What Riot says is fine

However, Riot draws the line at manipulation, not at playing together. The Valorant post says "queueing with friends remains completely fine". Its allowed list includes "Five-stacking with friends, even if you are all different ranks" and "Helping a newer friend learn the game". The Vanguard post's advice is to "play ranked on your own accounts, partied only with other players who are also on their own accounts".

League's enforcement FAQ of 6 October 2025 asks whether a Challenger friend can duo with you on an alt so you can learn. The answer: "Not in Ranked because that would be boosting", but normal queues are fine. Ranked duo is fine "when you are both eligible to queue together naturally".

What are the penalties?

League's penalties apply "for both the account being boosted and the player boosting that account". They escalate to a permanent ban, and "All LP and MMR gains from the boosting are reverted". In Valorant, penalties can reach boosters, boostees and hitchhikers, from suspensions and rank reversions to permanent bans for repeated severe abuse.

What does Moonton say about Mobile Legends?

Moonton's Common Violations and Penalty Scales page (undated; checked September 2026) lists two relevant violations:

"Boosting in Ranked Matches: Manipulating the matchmaking system to artificially increase rank".
"Account Boosting: Pay for someone else to play and level up an account".

Penalties for both can include match bans or account suspensions of 1 to 30 days, and bans from the rankings of 7 to 90 days.

The MLBB Terms of Service (last updated 20 June 2025) tell you to keep your password confidential. They forbid using "another User's account" without Moonton's permission, and say the game is provided "only for private, non-commercial use".

However, neither page mentions duo play or joki by name. Its ranked-boosting rule is about the result. A paid duo aimed at a rank you haven't earned can fall within it, whether or not anyone logs in.

What do Tencent and Level Infinite say about Honor of Kings?

The Honor of Kings End User License Agreement (last updated 17 March 2026) includes "No Account Sharing": "You may not sell, resell, rent, lease, share or provide access to your Game Account to anyone else". It also bans playing "on another person's Game Account" to boost it, and using the game "commercially" or "for the benefit of any third party".

The Honor of Kings Safe Gaming Agreement (13 August 2024) is the most direct of the three.

It defines boosting as "Boosting by a third-party player to improve a player's tier", with bans of 1 to 15 days and the star points earned from it deducted.
Under match-fixing, it targets "organizing the purchase and sale of points, playing together for monetary gain, boosting", with bans of up to a year.
It punishes using public or private chat for "advertisements, scams, boosting, or playing together for monetary gain".

None of this depends on anyone logging in, and the "playing together for monetary gain" wording doesn't say it only applies to ranked games.

How do you stay within the rules if you play with a paid duo?

No checklist removes the risk, but these steps avoid the clearest violations:

Never hand over your login, password or OTP. All three publishers ban account sharing.
Check that your partner plays on their own main account. Riot suspends buyers whose booster queues on a smurf.
Only queue ranked together when the game lets you party normally. League calls this being "eligible to queue together naturally".
Never duo with anyone using scripts or third-party tools. In League, that alone can mean a six-month suspension.
Close a big skill gap in normal games, or book coaching instead of a carry. League's FAQ allows a stronger friend in normal queues.
Don't pay for a promised rank. Boosted rank gets reverted, and nobody can promise a result.
Keep deals out of in-game chat. Honor of Kings punishes using chat for boosting, and Moonton penalises spreading boosting in the game.

One more caveat: all three publishers' terms limit commercial use. Riot's, for example, bars any "business purpose" without written consent. None explains how that applies to paid companions.

Where does a KAKI duo session fit?

On KAKI, a duo boost is duo queue on your own account: nobody logs in to your account, and each companion sets their own price. That avoids account sharing, which all three publishers ban, but it doesn't take you outside the boosting rules above. Nobody can promise you a rank or a result.

For the least rules risk, keep paid sessions to normal or unranked games, or to coaching that doesn't involve playing ranked for you. In Honor of Kings, remember that Tencent's agreement names "playing together for monetary gain" itself.

Pay only on the platform: your KAKI stays locked with the platform until the order finishes. Sessions happen in-game over voice, and you can report or block anyone. KAKI staff never ask for your password or bank OTP.

If you still want to climb with a duo partner, each of our duo pages sets out these rules first: Valorant, League of Legends, Mobile Legends and Honor of Kings. See how gaming companion services work and our gaming companion safety checklist.

Frequently asked questions

Can you get banned for duo boosting if nobody logs in to your account?

Yes, it's possible. Riot penalises "hitchhiking" and says a boostee "could be someone paying for a service". Honor of Kings lists "playing together for monetary gain", so account sharing is only one of the things these rules cover.

Is it against the rules to duo queue with a higher-ranked friend?

Not in Riot's games, if you both play on your own accounts and the game lets you party together. A stronger friend on a lower-ranked alt in ranked counts as boosting.

Who gets punished, the booster or the player who paid?

Both can be. League's penalties apply "for both the account being boosted and the player boosting that account". Valorant's reach boosters, boostees and hitchhikers, and Honor of Kings deducts the star points earned from boosting.

Is joki bannable in Mobile Legends?

Moonton penalises "Account Boosting: Pay for someone else to play and level up an account" and "Boosting in Ranked Matches", with suspensions and ranking bans. The page doesn't name duo-style joki, but its ranked-boosting rule is judged by the effect on your rank.