September 11, 2025

Is Boosting Still Safe After League of Legends Patch 25.18?

League of Legends never sits still. With every patch, Riot Games brings changes ranging from new champions and map updates to balance tweaks and features, some of which nobody really asked for. While players often wish the focus was on fixing broken champions or addressing issues like overpriced gacha-style skins, Riot sometimes diverts attention to other areas. One of the latest updates highlights exactly that. In the most recent Dev Update, Riot made it clear that stopping boosting and hitchhiking is now one of their goals. For players who rely on account boosting, this news might sound concerning, but the reality is more reassuring than it seems.

LoL Patch 25.18 safe boosting

How Patch 25.18 Targets Boosting and Smurfing

Patch 25.18 introduces stronger measures against boosting in LoL, as well as attempts to crack down on smurfing and hitchhiking. Riot defines boosting as when another person plays on your account to increase your rank, while hitchhiking happens when players buy a lower-ranked account to duo and climb faster together. The developers claim these practices ruin competitive integrity, but their explanation shows a shaky grasp of how boosting actually works.

First of all, it's important to remember that Riot can never prove that a player is hitchhiking instead of just playing with a premade. The vast majority of players in Solo/Duo Queue only play with premades, and more than half of those players have only one specific player who they frequently play ranked matches with.

Second, professional boosting services don’t rely on bought accounts. Instead, they create and level their own accounts to guarantee safety. For example, services like GGBoost operate with experienced players who carefully handle each step of the process. That’s why duo boosting through trusted providers remains one of the safest options; it avoids the risks Riot associates with account trading.

Riot’s New Methods to Detect Boosting

So, how exactly will Riot enforce these changes? According to the update, three main strategies are being put in place. The first involves Vanguard, Riot’s kernel-level anti-cheat program. While Riot didn’t give detailed explanations, it seems likely Vanguard will track suspicious activity through location changes or other irregularities.

The second strategy depends on player reports. Riot suggested that accounts flagged for suspicious climbing patterns could be reviewed. But this approach has clear flaws. If a player was boosted weeks before, the reports or data wouldn’t matter until much later, making it a delayed and unreliable detection method.

Finally, and most importantly, Riot is adding automated bans for accounts that show sudden and dramatic rank progress. This system already exists in Valorant, but its overall impact has been limited. Experienced League of Legends boosters know how to work around this by adjusting the pace of ranked games. Instead of fast, obvious climbs, boosters can space out wins and mimic a natural progression, avoiding detection entirely.

League of Legends 2025 safe boosting

Is LoL Boosting Safe in 2025?

With these changes, many players are asking whether boosting is about to disappear in League of Legends. The short answer: no, not entirely. The real outcome depends on which provider you choose. Some websites may become too risky, especially if they lack precautions like VPN integration or strategies for bypassing Vanguard. However, for services that already account for these risks, boosting will remain as safe as before.

Take GGBoost, for instance. Our boosters don’t just grind accounts quickly; they make sure to pace the boost to make it as fast as possible without raising suspicion on your account. By doing so, the climb looks natural, and the account avoids any risks. On top of that, VPN protection prevents location mismatches, one of the key red flags Vanguard looks for. These built-in safeguards ensure that players can still get the rank boost they want without worrying about sudden bans.

If you were wrongfully banned in League of Legends, you should always contact Riot Games' support team via ticket. The majority of Vanguard bans can be removed after a manual review by a human.

Why Vanguard Won’t End Boosting

Although Riot’s renewed push may sound intimidating, the reality is that Vanguard won’t eliminate boosting in LoL. At best, it will discourage less professional services that don’t prioritize safety. Boosters who understand how detection works will continue to adapt, making sure that climbing an account feels like an ordinary ranked climb. Vanguard may block some shortcuts, but it can’t outpace strategies designed to blend in with regular gameplay.

It’s also worth noting that Riot has tried similar tactics before in Valorant with limited success. Automated systems often rely too heavily on patterns like climbing speed or login location, but these are easy to manage with proper tools. As long as a boosting provider balances rank progression and uses protective measures, the risks remain minimal.

Boosting is Still Safe After Patch 25.18

So, will League of Legends patch 25.18 finally end boosting? Not quite. While Riot is putting more effort into detection, the changes mainly affect providers that cut corners. For players using professional services, the process remains secure. GGBoost and similar providers already anticipated these updates and built systems to counter them, ensuring accounts stay protected.

Boosting in LoL will continue, though it may look slightly different as providers adapt to new restrictions. For anyone seeking a safer climb, the key is choosing GGBoost, the only provider that understands how to navigate Riot’s detection methods fully. In the end, boosting is still safe after patch 25.18, so long as it’s done the right way, the GGBoost way.

 

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