Rules of the arena
Rulesof Rivals
Joining the server means accepting these rules. Read them carefully: they're what keep every fight fair.
General
General rules
These rules apply to every player from the moment they join the Rivals server or Discord. Not knowing them is no excuse for breaking them.
If a behaviour isn't listed here, that doesn't mean it's allowed. Staff can assess and sanction any situation that harms the server or the community.
Your account
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| One account per person | Each player plays with a single account. Multi-accounting is sanctioned, and new accounts that match a banned one can't join. |
| Your #ID | Your account has an identification number (#ID). Use it in reports, tickets and appeals. |
| Linking with Discord | Link your account with the 8-digit code the game gives you, in the linking channel. The bot will give you your rank and rename you to Name | ID. |
| Responsibility | You are responsible for everything done with your account, even if someone else uses it. |
| Trading | Buying, selling, lending or giving away accounts, items or perks for real money outside the official store is forbidden. |
Names, pictures and profiles
- Offensive, sexual or discriminatory names, profile pictures, banners or clan tags are forbidden, as is advertising in them.
- You can't use names that impersonate staff or Rivals (admin, mod, staff, support, owner…): the server rejects the connection.
- You can't impersonate another player or a content creator either.
Respect
- Treat every player and staff member with respect, in and out of matches.
- Competitive banter is fine; insults, harassment and threats are not.
- Racist, sexist, homophobic or otherwise discriminatory comments are forbidden.
- Sharing anyone's personal data (doxxing) is forbidden: real name, IP, address, phone number, bank details…
Discord
- To join the Discord, your Discord account must be at least 30 days old.
- The Discord has automatic moderation: insults, external links, invites and personal data are blocked, and anyone who keeps trying is unable to write for a while.
- The rules on this page also apply on Discord.
Staff
- Staff decisions in-game must be followed on the spot. If you disagree, raise it afterwards in a ticket, not in chat.
- Impersonating staff, or trying to bribe them, means a permanent ban.
- If you have a complaint about a staff member, open a «Report a Staff Member» ticket: only the server management can see it.
Chat, voice and reports
Chat
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Channels | Global, clan, match, room and whisper. Whispers only work between friends. |
| Logging | Everything you write is logged and staff can review it. |
| Links and invites | They are blocked. Advertising or linking cheat programs means an automatic permanent ban. |
| Spam and flooding | The system automatically mutes anyone who sends messages too quickly or repeats the same text. If you keep going, each mute is longer. |
| Advertising | Advertising other servers, communities or services is forbidden. |
Voice
- In the lobby and in Zones there is proximity voice (N key) and radio (Caps Lock).
- In competitive, teams can only hear each other between rounds.
- Shouting, playing music or annoying noises, or using voice to insult or provoke is forbidden.
In-game reports (F5)
- Press F5 in any mode to report a player from your match, or anyone by their #ID, even if they're offline.
- Choose the category: cheats/hacks, exploits/bugs, insults/toxicity, griefing/trolling, AFK, offensive name or picture, or other.
- You can send one report every 30 seconds and report the same player once every 10 minutes.
- Reports automatically save the match, mode, map and round: you don't need to explain all of it.
Kill clips (J)
- Press J to watch the clip of your death from your killer's camera.
- If something looks off, you can report them as a cheater with the video right there. The clip is kept until staff close the report.
Reports on Discord
Open a ticket on Discord (one open ticket per person) and choose the category:
| Ticket | What for |
|---|---|
| Report a Cheater | Suspected cheating, with a clip if you have one. |
| Report Misconduct | Toxicity, griefing, leaving matches and other behaviour. |
| Report a Staff Member | Complaints about staff. Only the server management can see it. |
| Support / Bugs | Server bugs or problems with your account. |
| Appeal a Sanction | Appeal a sanction. |
False, repeated or spiteful reports are also sanctioned. Don't accuse anyone in chat: report it and let staff review it.
Fair play
Fair play
In Rivals you win with skill. Any advantage that doesn't come from your aim, your movement or your game sense is forbidden.
Zero tolerance for cheating. The server and the anticheat detect external programs, menus and modifications. Cheating means a permanent ban, with no prior warning and no refund for purchases.
Forbidden
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cheats | Any program, menu or injection that gives an advantage: aimbot, silent aim, wallhack, ESP, triggerbot, speedhack, noclip, godmode, etc. |
| Macros and scripts | Software or settings that automate actions: automatic fire, recoil control, etc. |
| Modified files | Modifying the game or FiveM files to gain an advantage: hitboxes, removing foliage or effects, thermal or night vision… |
| Unauthorised weapons and items | Using weapons, ammo or vehicles that the mode doesn't give you. |
| Bugs and exploits | Abusing server or map bugs. If you find one, report it in a ticket instead of using it. |
| Boosting | Letting yourself be killed, giving away rounds or fixing results to raise someone's RR or stats. |
| Teaming | Allying with opponents in solo modes (Gun Game, Free for All) or with the enemy team in team modes. |
| Smurfing and shared accounts | Playing on someone else's account, or creating accounts to play against lower-level players or to dodge a sanction. |
| Ban evasion | Joining with another account while you have an active ban. It is detected by hardware and sanctioned with a permanent ban on all accounts. |
Allowed
- Adjusting graphics, sensitivity and keybinds in the game and FiveM settings.
- Using the crosshair the game itself provides.
- Recording and streaming your matches.
If you're accused of cheating
Staff may ask you for a screen share (SS). See the Screen share (SS) section: not showing up is sanctioned the same as cheating.
Matches
Matches and leaving
Rules that keep every match fair for both teams.
Leaving a match
In Competitive Defuse leaving is punished automatically. Leaving through the menu, disconnecting and not coming back in time, or leaving from the reconnection window all count as leaving. Leaving the queue does not.
| Leave | Queue ban |
|---|---|
| 1st | 30 minutes |
| 2nd | 2 hours |
| 3rd | 6 hours |
| 4th | 12 hours |
| 5th and later | 24 hours |
- On top of that, leaving Defuse through the menu costs 30 RR.
- The queue ban blocks the Defuse, Zones and Duel queues.
- Your leave history is cleared after 7 days without leaving.
- In Duel, leaving through the menu counts as an immediate loss.
- Deliberately leaving Clan War, Zones or Retake is also griefing, and staff sanction it manually.
Reconnecting
- If you drop out of Defuse, Clan War or Retake, you have 3 minutes to come back. Meanwhile you can't join another queue.
- When you return you keep your money, but you lose the weapons, armour and kit you had.
- Your team can call a technical pause to wait for you.
- Zones, Duel and the free-for-all modes have no reconnection.
Vote kick (F7)
In Defuse, Clan War and Retake your team can vote to kick a teammate for toxicity, trolling/griefing, AFK, sabotage or suspected cheating. You vote with F1 (yes) and F2 (no) for 20 seconds and the majority wins. The kicked player leaves the match and can't play competitive for 30 minutes.
Using the vote to kick someone for no reason is griefing and is also sanctioned.
Forbidden behaviour
| Behaviour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AFK | Being away during a match and leaving your team a player short. |
| Griefing / trolling | Sabotaging your team: not playing the round, feeding information to the enemy, blocking teammates, getting killed on purpose… |
| Friendly fire | Friendly fire is on in Duel and Red Zones: killing a teammate on purpose is sanctioned. |
| Spawn killing | Killing a player in their spawn area or right after they respawn. |
| Running from a fight | Leaving a Red Zone with /salirzona to avoid dying in the middle of a fight. |
Other match rules
- There is no surrender: matches are played to the end.
- Private rooms don't count for anything: no RR, no history, no battle pass or mission progress.
- When a server restart is announced, no competitive matches can start in the last 5 minutes, and matches in progress end with a fast finish. None are cancelled.
- Staff can put a mode under maintenance. If that removes you from the queue, it isn't a sanction.
Clans and Clan War
Clans
| Rule | Details |
|---|---|
| Size | Up to 25 members: 5 starters and the rest substitutes. |
| Name and tag | Name of 3 to 32 characters and tag of 2 to 5, both unique. The same rules as for player names apply. |
| Roles | Leader, co-leader, starter and substitute. Only the leader and co-leader can invite, kick and edit the clan. |
| Responsibility | Each clan is responsible for its members following the rules. Staff can sanction a clan's name, picture or tag. |
Clan War
- Played with a squad of exactly 5 players from the same clan, and only the squad leader can start the queue.
- A win gives +25 clan points and a loss −20. A draw changes nothing.
- Matches follow the same rules as Competitive Defuse.
- Deliberately leaving a Clan War is griefing and is sanctioned manually, even though there is no automatic queue ban.
Forbidden
| Behaviour | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Fixing results | Agreeing with another clan who wins, or letting them win to move clan points. |
| Fake clans | Creating clans or adding accounts just to inflate points or favour another clan. |
| Impersonation | Using another clan's or a known team's name, tag or image. |
| Harassment between clans | Rivalries are settled in the match; harassment and threats are sanctioned like any other case. |
Sanctions
Sanctions and appeals
Sanctions depend on how serious the offence is. Staff take into account the context, the intent and the player's history: warnings and notes stay on your record.
If a behaviour isn't in these tables, that doesn't mean it's allowed. Staff may adjust the sanction case by case.
Types of sanction
| Sanction | What it means |
|---|---|
| Warning | An on-screen message. It is saved on your record. |
| Mute | You can't write in chat for a while. It stays even if you disconnect. |
| Kick | Removes you from the server immediately. You can rejoin. |
| Queue ban | You can't join competitive queues for a while. |
| Temporary ban | You can't join the server for 15 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days, 30 days or up to 1 year. |
| Permanent ban | You can never rejoin. This includes any new accounts detected on your hardware. |
Permanent sanctions
| Offence | Sanction |
|---|---|
| Using cheats, menus or external programs | Permanent ban |
| Not showing up, disconnecting or refusing during an SS | Permanent ban |
| Ban evasion with another account | Permanent ban on all accounts |
| Advertising or selling cheats | Permanent ban |
| Trying to bribe staff or impersonating staff | Permanent ban |
| Buying or selling accounts | Permanent ban |
| Doxxing or serious threats | Permanent ban |
Serious sanctions
| Offence | Sanction |
|---|---|
| Macros or modified files | 30-day ban |
| Abusing bugs or exploits | 7 to 30-day ban |
| Boosting or fixing results | 7-day ban and removal of the RR or clan points gained |
| Teaming | 7-day ban |
| Discriminatory comments | 7 to 30-day ban |
| Insulting or disrespecting staff | 7-day ban |
Moderate sanctions
| Offence | Sanction |
|---|---|
| Deliberately leaving Clan War, Zones or Retake | Warning → 1-day ban if repeated |
| Griefing, trolling or sabotage | 1-day ban |
| Killing teammates on purpose | 1-day ban |
| Abusing the vote kick (F7) | 1-day ban |
| False reports | 1-day ban |
| Insults or toxicity towards other players | 60-minute mute → 1-day ban if repeated |
| Advertising other servers | 1-day ban |
Minor sanctions
| Offence | Sanction |
|---|---|
| AFK in a match | Warning → kick |
| Spawn killing or running from a fight in Red Zones | Warning → kick |
| Spam or flooding | Automatic mute, or a manual mute by staff |
| Inappropriate name, picture or tag | Warning and mandatory change → kick if not changed |
| Shouting, music or noise through the microphone | Mute |
On top of these, the system applies its own sanctions automatically: the queue ban for leaving Defuse, the vote kick (F7), the spam mute and the anticheat sanctions.
Appeals
- If you think a sanction is unfair, appeal only through a ticket on Discord with the «Appeal a Sanction» category. When you connect while banned you'll see the reason, the duration, your account number and an Appeal button that takes you there.
- Include your #ID, the date and what happened. Attach clips if you have them.
- There are no in-game appeals, and no appeals by direct message to staff.
- Appealing with insults, lies or from another account makes the sanction worse.
- If your ban is lifted, you'll get a direct message on Discord.