Switching Your Riot Account Region of Residence
To switch Riot account region, use Riot Support’s Region of Residence tool, which checks your eligibility and moves the account to your new country’s region for games like Valorant and Legends of Runeterra; changes have a cooldown, commonly 90 days. League of Legends is separate: you move a League account between servers with the paid region transfer in the client, 2,600 RP.
What is a Riot account region of residence?
It is the country or region Riot treats as your home. It decides which game shards you play on in titles like Valorant, which payment options and currency the store shows, and who you can queue with. It is normally set when you create the account, partly from where you sign up.
That is where trouble starts. Create an account while travelling, or with a VPN switched on, and the region can end up somewhere you do not live. The symptoms are easy to spot: a store in the wrong currency, high ping to every server, friends nearby who cannot invite you.
How to switch Riot account region
For a Region of Residence change, Riot runs a self-service tool on its support site:
- Sign in to Riot Support with the account you want to move.
- Open the article on changing your Region of Residence and use the eligibility check.
- If you are eligible, choose the new region and confirm.
- If the tool refuses but you have moved, open a ticket and explain the move.
The tool is meant for people who have actually relocated. Riot’s systems look at where you are connecting from, so the check generally needs you to be in the new country already. Thing is, this is exactly why a VPN does not help: it may trigger the wrong result, and using one to dodge regional rules can break the Terms.
What do you lose when you switch Riot account region?
Less than people fear, but not nothing. Riot’s support pages warn that changing region can affect progress in some games; the 2XKO article, for example, says a region change may reset that game’s progression, and players active in 2XKO are asked to contact support instead of using the tool. Ranked standing in the current season can also be affected.
Read the warnings on the tool screen before you confirm. Honestly, five minutes of reading there saves a lot of regret, because a cooldown (commonly cited as 90 days) stops you from switching straight back.
How to switch region in League of Legends
League works differently. Each League account lives on a server (NA, EUW, EUNE, KR and so on), and moving it is a paid service in the League client store called a region transfer. It costs 2,600 RP and moves your champions, skins, Blue Essence and other unlocks to the new server.
| Region of Residence change | League region transfer | |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Riot Support tool or ticket | League client store |
| Cost | Free | 2,600 RP |
| Main games affected | Valorant, Legends of Runeterra and other titles tied to residence | League of Legends (and TFT on that account) |
| Meant for | Players who moved country | Anyone who wants their League account on another server |
| Limit | Cooldown between changes | Transfer rules and cooldowns apply |
Before you pay, check a few things in the transfer screen: whether your target server is available from your current one (some servers have restrictions), whether a name change is needed because your name is taken there, and what happens to your ranked standing. Ranked does not move as-is; you play placements again on the new server.
Which League servers can you move to?
League runs on regional servers, and the transfer screen lists the ones available from yours. The main ones players move between are North America, Europe West, Europe Nordic & East, Korea, Brazil, Latin America North and South, Oceania, Turkey, Russia, Japan and the Middle East, plus Riot’s Southeast Asian servers. Not every route is open from every server, and a few regions have their own rules, so the list you see in your client is the one that counts.
Pick by where you live, not by where you think the competition is easier. Long story short, a server 150 ms away makes every game harder no matter how strong or weak the players are. In practice, most players end up on the server closest to them, then keep a second account on the region where friends play (yes, people do play on two regions for years).
What happens to your RP and wallet?
On League, a region transfer moves your account content with it, and unspent RP stays on the account. What changes is the store around it: prices and payment options follow the new region, so a skin may cost a different amount in local money after the move. Our RP to USD calculator helps compare bundle prices if that matters to you.
Should you transfer, or start a new account?
It depends on what the old account holds. A collection of champions and skins is worth the 2,600 RP; a few months of play on a fresh account may not be. Also ask why you are moving. If it is ping, test it first; our LoL ping test shows your latency to each region, and the difference often decides the question in seconds.
Some players keep both: the old account for friends back home, a new one on the closer server. A new League account is free to create, but ranked needs level 30 and 20 champions, which takes time. Our step-by-step guide to creating a LoL account shows how to pick the right region from the start, and our EUW accounts page is one of several regional pages if you would rather start at level 30 there.
How region works in Valorant
Valorant follows your Region of Residence, so the Riot Support tool is the official way to move it. There is no paid transfer like League’s. Valorant’s matchmaking then picks the data centre with the best ping within your region; changing region changes which group of servers and players you are matched with, not just the closest city.
If your ping looks wrong in Valorant, check the region first. A player who lives in Europe with an account set to North America will see high ping everywhere, and no settings will fix that. Our guide to fixing desync in Valorant covers the network side once the region is right.
Does a VPN let you switch Riot account region?
No, and it is a bad idea to try. A VPN changes where your traffic appears to come from, not your account’s region, and using one around regional checks can break Riot’s rules. Look, it also adds latency to every match. Not worth it. If you have genuinely moved, the support tool or a ticket is the route; if you have not, a separate account on the other region is the honest option.
Common problems when you switch Riot account region
- The tool says you are not eligible: you may be connecting from a different country than the target, or still within a cooldown. Open a ticket with details of your move.
- Your League name is taken on the new server: the transfer asks you to pick a new one.
- The store still shows the old currency: sign out and back in after the change, and give it a little time.
- Friends cannot see you: they may be on a different region now; add them again once both of you are on the same one.
For what it’s worth, most region problems come from one moment: creating the account in the wrong place. Getting the region right at sign-up is the cheapest fix of all.
A quick decision guide
Moved country and play Valorant? Use the Region of Residence tool, since that is the only official route for it. Want your League collection on another server? Pay for the region transfer. Just visiting, or playing with friends abroad for a few weeks? Create a separate account there instead of switching anything. And if you are not sure whether the new region is even playable, run a ping test before you switch Riot account region or spend RP.
FAQ
How do I switch my Riot account region?
Sign in to Riot Support and use the Region of Residence tool to check eligibility and change region. If it refuses but you have moved country, open a ticket.
Is it free to switch Riot account region?
Changing your Region of Residence through Riot Support is free. Moving a League of Legends account to another server is a paid transfer costing 2,600 RP.
How often can I change my Riot region?
There is a cooldown between Region of Residence changes, commonly cited as 90 days. The tool shows when you can change again.
Do I keep my skins when I transfer a League account?
Yes. A League region transfer moves champions, skins and other unlocks. Ranked standing does not carry over directly; you play placements on the new server.
Can a VPN change my Riot account region?
No. A VPN does not change the account’s region and using one around regional checks can break Riot’s rules.
Does changing region affect 2XKO?
It can. Riot warns that a region change may reset 2XKO progression and asks active 2XKO players to contact support first.
How do I change region in Valorant?
Valorant follows your Riot account’s Region of Residence, so use the Riot Support tool. There is no paid transfer for Valorant.
