What is ELO Boosting?

If you've spent any time in League of Legends ranked, you've probably heard the term "ELO boosting." But what does it actually mean, and is it something worth considering?

ELO Boosting — Defined

ELO boosting is a service where a high-ranked player improves your account's rank in League of Legends. The term "ELO" is technically outdated — Riot moved away from the Elo rating system years ago, and the current system runs on LP (League Points) and MMR (Match Making Rating). That said, "ELO boosting" is still the term everyone uses in the industry, so it stuck.

In practice, the process is simple: you hire a booster — typically a Challenger or Grandmaster level player — and they raise your account's rank to a target you specify. Once the boost is complete, you get your account back and play at your new rank.

Solo Boosting vs. Duo Boosting

There are two main ways a boost can be delivered, and they work very differently:

• Solo Boosting — The booster logs directly into your account and plays on your behalf. You don't participate in the games. This is the faster and cheaper option, but it does involve sharing your account credentials. While your account is being boosted, you won't be able to log in yourself.
• Duo Boosting — You play alongside the booster. They queue with you, carry the games, and your rank goes up — but you're the one actually logged into your own account. This method is safer and doesn't require sharing credentials, though it costs more and takes longer since your schedule has to align with the booster's.

Which one is right for you depends on how much risk you're comfortable with and how involved you want to be in the process.

Benefits of ELO Boosting

The obvious benefit is time. Climbing ranked in League of Legends is a grind. If you're sitting in Silver II and want to hit Gold IV for the end-of-split rewards, that could take weeks of consistent play — or a few days with a booster. The math is simple.

Other common reasons players boost:

• Unlocking the Victorious skin tied to a rank threshold at the end of the split
• Beating a personal best or a previous season's peak rank
• Reaching a tier where the gameplay is actually competitive and enjoyable
• Escaping a rank where your MMR has been tanked by loss streaks and trolls

Is ELO Boosting Safe?

The honest answer is: it depends on the service. There are two main risks — account theft and account bans.

Account theft is virtually a non-issue with any established boosting service. Reputable providers don't store your credentials and have no incentive to steal accounts — their business depends entirely on trust and reviews.

Bans are the more real concern, specifically with solo boosting. Riot does monitor for unusual login patterns. Good boosting services counter this by:

• Using a VPN matched to your region to mask unusual IP changes
• Playing on a realistic schedule, not grinding 24 hours straight
• Enabling offline mode so your friends list doesn't notice unusual activity
• Never saving your credentials or reusing them across accounts

Duo boosting sidesteps the ban risk entirely since you're playing your own account — the booster is just a very good duo partner.

As for pricing, it varies a lot depending on how many divisions you're moving and which tier you're in. A small Bronze-to-Silver boost is affordable; climbing through Emerald and Diamond gets significantly more expensive. Check the BoostRoyal calculator for an exact quote.