Riot Bans Over 171,000 VALORANT Accounts for Cheating in Act 5

Riot Games has revealed that more than 171,000 accounts were banned for cheating in VALORANT during Act 5. The figures, published alongside the VALORANT Patch 13.08 notes, also cover penalties for rank manipulation, toxic behavior, botting, and repeated gameplay abuse.

The report covers August 18 through October 1, 2026 and includes accounts that received bans lasting three days or longer. Riot says it plans to share these figures more frequently to give players a clearer picture of the action being taken against disruptive behavior.

How Many VALORANT Accounts Were Banned During Act 5?

Cheating was responsible for more than 171,000 bans, but it wasn't the largest category. Repeated AFK behavior and gameplay abuse accounted for the highest number of penalties, with more than 288,000 accounts banned.

Riot Games reported the following figures for Act 5:

• 288,000+: Repeated AFK and gameplay abuse.
• 171,000+: Cheating.
• 76,000+: Rank manipulation, including boosters, boostees, hitchhikers, wintraders, and other offenders.
• 74,000+: Toxicity and communication abuse.
• 54,000+: Botting.
• 14,000+: Use of stream-sniping or instalocking tools.

Combined, the six categories account for more than 677,000 reported bans during the detection period. 

AFK and Gameplay Abuse Account for the Most Bans

Repeated AFK behavior and gameplay abuse topped Riot's report, exceeding every other category individually. More than 288,000 accounts received bans for these offenses, while toxicity and communication abuse led to another 74,000-plus penalties.

Rank manipulation was another major concern, with more than 76,000 accounts penalized. The category includes practices such as boosting, where players help other accounts climb the ranked ladder, and wintrading, where players coordinate match outcomes to gain a competitive advantage.

Riot's figures also cover boostees, hitchhikers, and other forms of rank manipulation.

Meanwhile, more than 14,000 accounts were banned for using external tools associated with stream sniping or instalocking agents. Botting accounted for a further 54,000-plus bans.

Riot Plans to Share Ban Statistics More Frequently

The figures are part of Riot Games' effort to be more transparent about enforcement in VALORANT. Rather than limiting these reports to occasional updates, the developer says it wants to share penalty numbers more regularly.

Riot also encouraged players to continue using the in-game reporting system. According to the developer, player reports help improve its detection tools and methods, although it acknowledged that more work is still needed.

The statistics were released alongside VALORANT Patch 13.08, which also introduces Map Rating, changes Corrode's layout, rotates the Competitive map pool, and addresses several bugs.

When Does VALORANT Patch 13.08 Release?

VALORANT Patch 13.08 is expected to begin rolling out on Tuesday, October 13, 2026. Riot Games has scheduled server maintenance at different times depending on the region:

• Americas: October 13 at 9 AM ET / 6 AM PT.
• Asia-Pacific: October 14 at 5 AM SGT / 6 AM JST (October 13 at 2 PM PT).
• Europe: October 14 at 5 AM CEST / 4 AM BST.

These are the scheduled maintenance start times, not confirmed release times. Riot Games has not announced exactly when the update will become available in each region.

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Featured image credit: Riot Games

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