League of Legends has officially kicked off its campaign to purge purchased accounts and those operated by bots.

This development was confirmed on the 10th via the League of Legends 25.18 patch notes. Riot Games stated, "We began implementing restrictions on purchased accounts and bot usage several days ago," adding that "this patch also extends sanctions to accounts identified as being involved in boosting or hitchhiking."

The details regarding this account crackdown were first announced in the developer notes on August 12. At the time, Riot Games revealed plans to "upgrade the anti-cheat software 'Vanguard' to strengthen sanctions against boosting, hitchhiking, purchased accounts, and bot-operated accounts."

However, the specifics of how these activities are detected remain under wraps. Unlike intentional losing or match-fixing, the criteria for identifying account sharing or boosting are notoriously murky. Consequently, players are speculating that "Vanguard might be flagging accounts based on sudden shifts in playstyle." For instance, if a player who usually plays cautiously suddenly turns aggressive, or if mouse movement patterns and key bindings undergo drastic changes, the system takes notice.

Beyond the account crackdown, the patch notes are packed with other updates. The commemorative skins for last year's World Championship winners, T1, have finally arrived, alongside various champion and item balance adjustments. Additionally, the special game mode 'Doom Bots' has received balance tweaks, accompanied by a slew of bug fixes.