Key takeaways
- Pick a game name you are happy to see without the tagline. The in-match UI generally shows the game name on its own, so the tagline will not rescue a name you dislike.
- Assume long names get cut off. Sixteen characters is the cap, but the scoreboard and kill feed are narrow, and longer names truncate at smaller UI scales. Nine to twelve characters reads cleanly in every view.
You change your Valorant name in the Riot Client, not inside a match: open Settings → Riot ID, click the edit icon, type the new game name and tagline, and confirm. Valorant has no separate display name — your Riot ID is your name on the scoreboard, kill feed, agent select and friend list, and it is shared across every Riot game on the account. The first change is free, later changes cost a small amount of Riot’s premium currency, and Riot enforces a cooldown between renames.
What a Valorant name actually is
A Valorant name is a Riot ID: a game name and a tagline joined by a hashtag, for example SprayControl#EUW. The game name is the part people read and say out loud; the tagline is the part that makes the whole ID unique.
| Part | Length | Allowed characters | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Game name | 3–16 characters | Letters, numbers and a limited set of symbols; spaces are not supported | Shown on the scoreboard, kill feed, agent select and friend list |
| Tagline | 3–5 characters | Letters and numbers only | Makes the full Riot ID unique; defaults to a region-style tag such as #NA1 or #EUW |
| Full Riot ID | Game name + tagline | Combined | Must be globally unique on your shard — two players can share a game name if the taglines differ |
Those limits come from Riot’s own account documentation, and the client enforces them as you type. If a character is rejected or the ID is taken, you see it in the field immediately rather than after you confirm.
How to change your Valorant name, step by step
1. Sign in to the Riot Client and open Settings (the gear icon), then find the Riot ID panel. The reason this is the right place: the Riot ID lives at the account level, so the same screen serves Valorant, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics and Riot’s other titles. Change it here and it changes everywhere at once.
2. Click the edit (pencil) icon next to your current Riot ID. The panel is read-only until you do. This is also where the client displays your cooldown timer and the price of the change, which tells you before you start typing whether you can rename at all today.
3. Type the new game name and tagline. Keep the game name inside the 3–16 character window and the tagline inside 3–5 alphanumeric characters. Do this deliberately: the field validates live, so you can test spellings, capitalisation and symbol choices without committing.
4. Confirm availability, then submit. If the game name you want is taken, change the tagline instead — the full ID is what has to be unique, so SprayControl#NA1 being gone does not block SprayControl#TAC.
5. Pay the fee if this is not your first change. The free rename is attached to the account, not to Valorant, so a free change you spent in another Riot game is gone.
6. Restart the Riot Client and sign back in. Your client caches your identity for the session, which is why a rename sometimes appears not to have applied. Other players pick up the new name when your next session begins.
If you cannot get into the client — a crash, or you are away from your main PC — the same Riot ID panel is reachable through Riot’s account management site in a browser. You still need to be signed in, and two-factor verification may be required before the edit option unlocks.
Cost, cooldown, and not wasting your free rename
Per Riot’s support documentation, your first Riot ID change is free and subsequent changes cost 1,300 RP (or the Blue Essence equivalent on League-linked accounts). The authoritative figure is whatever your client shows for your region, so check the panel rather than trusting a number from a forum post.
Riot also applies a 30-day cooldown between Riot ID changes, and the client shows your exact remaining time when the edit button is greyed out. That combination — one free rename, then a paid rename on a 30-day clock — is the whole reason to plan before you type.
Here is the arithmetic worth doing before you commit. On a fresh account you get rename #1 at no cost and rename #2 at 1,300 RP, which in most regions is roughly a $10 currency top-up. Two impulsive renames therefore cost you real money for something a five-minute decision would have covered. Two practical consequences follow:
- Pick a game name you are happy to see without the tagline. The in-match UI generally shows the game name on its own, so the tagline will not rescue a name you dislike.
- Assume long names get cut off. Sixteen characters is the cap, but the scoreboard and kill feed are narrow, and longer names truncate at smaller UI scales. Nine to twelve characters reads cleanly in every view.
Where the new name shows up — and what it does not change
The rename propagates to your scoreboard and kill feed entries, agent select, party invites, friend list and match history. It does not touch:
- Your login username. The name you type to sign in is a separate credential and is not self-service changeable — a Riot ID rename does not move it.
- Rank, MMR, skins and purchases. These are tied to the account, not the name.
- Your friends list. Existing friends stay added; they simply see the new label.
One caveat on visibility: players already online may keep seeing the old name until they relog, and third-party stat sites update on their own cache schedule, sometimes days later. Neither is a sign that the rename failed.
Troubleshooting: when the name change will not go through
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Edit icon greyed out | Cooldown still running | Read the remaining time shown in the panel and wait it out; there is no workaround |
| “Name not available” | Full Riot ID already taken | Change the tagline rather than the game name |
| Submit fails at the payment step | Insufficient RP or a payment method problem | Top up first; the panel will not reserve the name while you sort payment |
| Friends still see the old name | Session cache | Both parties relog; it resolves at next login |
| No edit option at all | Account restriction, or you are signed into the wrong account | Check account status, then sign out and back in and confirm the Riot ID shown is yours |
| Old name lingers on stat sites | Third-party data cache | Wait; those sites refresh on their own schedule |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is changing your Valorant name free?
The first Riot ID change on an account is free. Every change after that carries a fee — Riot’s support documentation lists 1,300 RP — and the free change is consumed at account level, so using it in another Riot game removes it for Valorant too.
Can you change your Valorant name without changing your Riot ID?
No. Valorant does not have a separate in-game display name; the Riot ID is what appears on the scoreboard and kill feed. Renaming it also renames you in Riot’s other games, because the two are the same field.
How long does it take for the new name to appear?
It shows in your own client as soon as you restart and sign back in. Other players pick it up at their next login, and third-party stat sites can lag by days because they cache profile data on their own schedule.
Can I change only the tagline?
Yes, and it is often the smarter move when your game name is taken. Editing just the tagline still counts as a full Riot ID change, so it consumes the free rename or the paid one and starts the cooldown again.
Does renaming affect my rank, MMR or skins?
No. Rank, MMR, purchased skins, currency balances and your friends list are all tied to the account rather than the display name, so nothing is lost or reset by a rename.
Can someone else take my old name?
Yes. Riot does not reserve old Riot IDs, so once your cooldown allows it, anyone — including you — can claim the game name and tagline combination you just gave up, provided the full ID is free.
