League of Legends F2P and Paid Nerfs - The Real Stats and Facts

I wanted to provide a detailed breakdown of how League of Legends has changed over the years, particularly focusing on the free-to-play experience and paid features. The game has gone through some significant changes, and I felt it was important to lay out the facts. Here’s the rundown:

Key Points to Consider:

  • Why post here instead of a League-focused forum? The main League subreddit is heavily moderated to avoid criticism. Posts about bugs, technical issues, or anything negative are often removed. It’s been this way for years.

  • Riot has continuously nerfed player rewards since 2018, affecting free players, paying players, and even whales. Riot Points (RP) prices have nearly doubled in the same period.

  • This post will focus on Blue Essence (BE), ranked eligibility, chests, and more.


Part 1: Blue Essence and Champion Costs

  • The total cost of all champions, as of now, is 531,985 BE.
  • The only consistent source of BE is the new Battle Pass, which gives 4,750 BE and 4 Champion Capsules (about 500 BE each). With 6 Battle Passes a year, this totals about 40,500 BE annually.
  • At this rate, it would take 13 years of grinding to unlock all current champions.
  • For players looking to speed up the process, it would cost 115,400 RP (around $900).

1.1 Ranked Eligibility for New Accounts

  • To play ranked, new accounts need to reach level 30, play 10 Summoner’s Rift games, and own 20 champions. With the current BE grind, it could take years for a new player to unlock 20 champions.

1.2 Clash Tickets

  • Basic Clash tickets can be bought with BE, but premium tickets require RP. The BE grind is no longer sufficient to sustain even basic ticket purchases.

1.3 New Account Missions

  • Riot removed missions that provided BE and XP for new accounts, making the grind even harder for new players.

Part 2: Rewards for Honour and Skill

  • Previously, players could earn Hextech Chests for good performance or positive behavior. Keys for these chests were earned by being non-toxic.
  • Riot has removed chests for good performance. Now, players accumulate keys but can’t use them unless they spend money.
  • This feels like an intentional move to push microtransactions.

Part 3: Mastery and Account Levels

  • Leveling up your account used to mean something. Now it’s just a number with no meaningful rewards.
  • Mastery is similarly arbitrary, with no significant achievements tied to it.

Part 4: Selling Useless Features

  • Despite removing the meaning of account levels, Riot still sells level boosts, which are now effectively useless.

Part 5: Gacha Skins

  • Riot recently introduced a gacha skin that can cost up to $250. This continues their trend of introducing overpriced, predatory monetization practices.

Part 6: Abandoning Systems

  • Riot introduced an achievement system but hasn’t updated it in over 2 years. None of the new season’s content counts towards achievements either.

Conclusion

The situation has been deteriorating for years, but this latest update feels especially egregious. Riot has removed almost all meaningful ways for players to earn rewards without spending money. This isn’t a bug—it’s intentional.

Do not recommend this game under any circumstances.


Thanks for posting this. I’ve noticed negative posts getting removed on the League subreddit, so it’s good to see someone shedding light on what’s happening. Ignore the inevitable ‘Why are you playing League?’ comments—you’re making valid points.

@Aki
The main subreddit is beyond saving. The mods refused to add flairs because they said it would reduce clicks on posts. They also didn’t participate in the API protests. Makes you wonder if they’re getting something from Riot for their PR stance.

@Bryce
Mods are definitely paid by Riot. If you want something similar but less greedy, try DotA 2. Plus, the custom maps in DotA are free and give you endless options.

League has hit a new low—no more free rewards, rigged matchmaking, and toxic culture at an all-time high. Riot is just doubling down on Blizzard’s worst ideas and somehow making them worse.

Skylar said:
League has hit a new low—no more free rewards, rigged matchmaking, and toxic culture at an all-time high. Riot is just doubling down on Blizzard’s worst ideas and somehow making them worse.

It’s pure greed. Instead of selling good products at fair prices, they overprice everything and take away rewards. Being honorable doesn’t pay in League—it’s all about squeezing players for every dime.

Skylar said:
League has hit a new low—no more free rewards, rigged matchmaking, and toxic culture at an all-time high. Riot is just doubling down on Blizzard’s worst ideas and somehow making them worse.

Haven’t played in years, but how is matchmaking rigged? Did they change it?

Interesting read, but a TL;DR would help.

Griffin said:
Interesting read, but a TL;DR would help.

TL;DR: League is awful for players now. Riot’s cash cow has turned completely anti-consumer, but nobody cares because it’s popular as an esport.

@Wren
It’s worse for new players than veterans, which is a strange direction for Riot to take.

Oath to never play League reinforced.

Most players have anger issues.

Fin said:
Most players have anger issues.

That’s a result of playing the game, honestly.

Why not just release Pool Party Ahri? That’d make them millions in a weekend.

Zeke said:
Why not just release Pool Party Ahri? That’d make them millions in a weekend.

You mean the Ultimate Exalted Prestige Pool Party Ahri? Only $2,500. What a deal!

You didn’t mention disenchanting champion shards.

Brooke said:
You didn’t mention disenchanting champion shards.

Champion capsules now give an average of 500 BE when you disenchant shards. But they also removed mega capsules and milestone rewards, which were a significant source of BE.