- No four-player parties
- Platinum+: one rank apart
- Immortal+: solo, duo or 5
- Mixed 5-stacks lose RR
Want to play Competitive with a friend who is two ranks above you? VALORANT lets you β up to a point. This guide sets out the party rules Riot publishes for Competitive as of 31 October 2026: which ranks can duo or trio, why four-player parties are banned, what changes at Immortal, how much RR a mixed five-stack gives up, and the party mistakes that can get every account in it banned.
- The lowest player sets the window β the rest of the party has to fit under its ceiling.
- No four-stacks in Competitive: Riot bans them to protect the fifth, solo player.
- Immortal 1 and up: solo, duo or five-stack only β no trios.
- Mixed five-stacks lose RR: 25% when ranks are outside the normal limits or anyone is Immortal, 75% with a Radiant.
- Queueing with a cheater gets you banned too β Riot hands out 180-day bans to players who queue with cheaters.
The rank limits for duos and trios
Riot's Competitive FAQ sets one table for parties of two or three players. Read it from the lowest-ranked player in the party: that rank decides how high everyone else may be.
| Lowest rank in the party | Highest rank allowed | Example that works |
|---|---|---|
| Iron or Bronze | Silver |   Iron 1 with Silver 3 |
| Silver | Gold |   Silver 1 with Gold 3 |
| Gold | Platinum |   Gold 1 with Platinum 3 |
| Platinum to Radiant | One rank higher, same tier number |   Platinum 2 with up to Diamond 2 |
Below Platinum the window is a whole rank (any tier of Silver, Gold or Platinum), which is generous: an Iron 1 can play with a Silver 3. From Platinum up it narrows to a fixed span of three tiers β the same tier number one rank higher β so a Diamond 1 can bring an Ascendant 1 but not an Ascendant 2. There is no rank decay to work around either; a friend who has been away keeps the rank they had.
Party sizes: solo, duo, trio or five β never four
Solo, duo and trio
Allowed from Iron to Ascendant within the table above. Groups of three or fewer always have to meet the rank limits.
Four players β not allowed
Riot does not let four-player parties into Competitive: a four-stack plus one solo player tends to leave that fifth player with a poor game.
Immortal 1 and up
Players at Immortal 1 or higher can only queue solo, as a duo or as a five-stack. An Ascendant trio that promotes one player to Immortal has to split up or find two more.
Five-stacks
A full party of five can mix any ranks at all β three Irons and two Ascendants is a legal team β but it pays for that in RR and in queue time.
Five-stacks: no limits, less RR
Five-stacks ignore the rank table, but Riot reduces the RR they can win when the ranks are spread out or include the very top of the ladder:
| Who is in the five-stack | What happens to RR |
|---|---|
| Everyone Ascendant 3 or below, all inside the normal party limits | No RR reduction |
| Everyone Ascendant 3 or below, someone outside the normal limits | 25% RR reduction |
| One or more players Immortal 1 to Immortal 3 | 25% RR reduction |
| One or more players Radiant | 75% RR reduction β Riot adds that any player below Radiant in the group cuts the potential RR by 90% |
Riot's own example: five Silver and Gold players get no penalty; add an Ascendant and the whole team takes the reduction. Five-stacks are also matched only against other parties of five, so expect longer queues, especially at odd hours or in smaller regions.
Worked examples
| Party | Allowed? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Bronze 1 + Silver 3 | Yes | Lowest is Bronze, so anything up to Silver is fine. |
| Bronze 3 + Gold 1 | No | Gold is above the Silver ceiling for a Bronze player. |
| Silver 1 + Gold 3 + Gold 1 | Yes | Lowest is Silver; both Gold players fit. |
| Gold 3 + Diamond 1 | No | A Gold player can party up to Platinum only. |
| Platinum 2 + Diamond 2 | Yes | Riot's own example: one rank higher at the same tier. |
| Platinum 2 + Diamond 3 | No | One tier past the Diamond 2 ceiling. |
| Ascendant 2 + Immortal 2 | Yes, as a duo | Inside the one-rank window, and Immortal players may duo. |
| Ascendant 3 + Ascendant 3 + Immortal 1 | No | Immortal players cannot trio. |
| Iron 2 + Iron 2 + Gold 1 + Diamond 3 + Ascendant 1 | Yes, with an RR cut | A five-stack, so no limits β but ranks outside the normal limits mean 25% less RR. |
Who you queue with matters
Party rules are not only about ranks. Three Riot policies make your choice of teammates your problem too:
- Cheaters: if you intentionally queue in a premade with a cheater, Riot bans you along with them β its anti-cheat page puts the ban for queueing with cheaters at 180 days, and the cheater's account is banned permanently. A cheater that matchmaking puts on your team by chance does not cost you the RR you won, and if you lose to one, Riot restores the RR when it bans them, up to a limit each Act.
- Rank manipulation: Riot counts boosters, the boosted players, "hitchhikers" carried in a party and win-traders in the same bucket. In Act 5 of 2026 it banned over 76,000 accounts for rank manipulation, for 3 days or longer.
- Shared accounts and Ascendant+: accounts Riot detects as shared, and every Ascendant, Immortal and Radiant account, must turn on Riot Mobile multi-factor authentication to play Competitive β rolled out in NA, LATAM, BR and KR in 2025, EU with patch 12.01 and AP with 12.03.
How to get the most out of a duo
- Pick roles that cover each other.
A Controller and an Initiator, or a Duelist and the Initiator who flashes for them, fill two of the jobs the team needs most. Our agent roles guide explains each.
- Play the same side of the map.
A duo that trades each other's deaths wins more rounds than two good players on opposite sites.
- Talk to the other three.
A duo that only talks on its own voice channel leaves three teammates guessing. Call what you see in the team chat as well.
- Check the window before you promote.
If one of you is about to cross into a rank outside the window β or into Immortal with a trio β plan the next session before it happens.
For the full picture of how a party changes your RR and MMR, read how to rank up and RR and MMR explained.
Playing with a pro
A BoostPirate pro teammate joins your party for one to twenty Competitive games while you play every round on your own account β no login changes hands. Riot's party limits apply to every party, ours included, and being carried for money is still boosting under Riot's terms even without a shared password, so read the risks first.
- Play with a pro: Pro Teammate, priced per game at your rank.
- A fixed push: net wins β three to twenty wins over losses.
- A target rank: a rank boost to any tier up to Immortal 3.
- Riot Games support β VALORANT Competitive Mode FAQ (party restrictions, premade size cap, five-stack RR, cheaters) Β· Addressing Cheating in VALORANT (180-day bans for queueing with cheaters)
- playvalorant.com β Riot Mobile Verification (MFA for shared and Ascendant+ accounts) Β· patch 12.01 (EU) Β· patch 13.08 (Act 5 rank-manipulation bans, map rotation)
- Strafe β current Competitive map pool
- Checked 31 October 2026.
All free tools: calculators, percentiles & season countdowns β
Common questions
Can Gold and Diamond play together in VALORANT?
What ranks can duo with Platinum 2?
Why can't I queue as a four in Competitive?
Can Immortal players trio in Competitive?
Ready to climb?
Pro Teammate (Duo)
A verified Immortal+ player in your party for 1 to 20 games β no login shared.
VALORANT Rank Boost
Any tier from Iron 1 to Immortal 3, piloted or duo.
VALORANT Net Wins
Three to twenty wins over losses at your current rank.
More VALORANT guides
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