If you’ve just logged into League of Legends for the first time, you’ve probably noticed the small pool of free weekly champions and immediately wondered how to get your hands on the rest, especially if your friend has been hyping up their main that looks way more fun to play. If you’re searching for how do i unlock champions in league of legends, you’re in the right place. I’ve been playing LoL for 7 years, and I’ve built my full 160+ champion roster using a mix of free and paid methods, so I know exactly which paths save you the most time and resources, and which mistakes will leave you wasting weeks worth of blue essence for no reason. This guide breaks down every possible way to unlock champions, plus pro tips to build your roster as efficiently as possible.
How do I unlock champions in League of Legends for free?
The vast majority of players unlock almost all their champions for free using blue essence, the game’s primary free currency. You don’t have to spend a single cent to build a full roster of champions you love, though it does take a little time and planning to do it efficiently. The best part about the free method is that you get to test out champion shards before you commit to unlocking a full character, so you don’t waste currency on a champ you end up hating.
Here are the fastest ways to earn blue essence to unlock champions for free:
- Complete your First Win of the Day every 20 hours: this gives you an extra 400 blue essence on top of normal match rewards, no matter what game mode you play, even if you lose the match but end up with the win bonus active
- Disenchant duplicate champion shards from capsules: you get 20% of a champion’s full BE value if you keep the shard to unlock later, or 100% of its disenchant value if you don’t want the champion, so only keep shards for champs you actually plan to play
- Finish all event pass free tracks: most Riot events give 1000+ blue essence for free track completion, plus extra champion shards and capsules you can disenchant for more currency, even if you don’t buy the paid premium pass
I made this mistake when I first started playing: I disenchanted a Zed shard because I thought I’d never play mid lane, then two weeks later I fell in love with him after playing him in ARAM and had to pay full 6300 BE to unlock him. Don’t be like me. If you even think you might want to try a champion later, hold onto the shard, it’ll save you thousands of BE down the line. The free method is perfect for casual players who only play a few matches a week, you can easily unlock 2-3 new champions a month without any extra effort.
Paid methods to unlock LoL champions fast
If you want to build your roster quickly to jump into ranked play or play with friends who already have a wide pool of champions, there are a few paid options that offer great value, as long as you know what to buy. The main paid currency is Riot Points (RP), which you can purchase directly through the in-game store with real money. You can use RP to unlock any champion instantly, no need to save up blue essence, but there are cheaper ways to use RP than buying individual champions one by one.
Champion bundles are the best value paid option for new players, especially the new player exclusive bundle that’s available for your first 30 days of playing. These bundles usually include 15-20 low and mid cost champions for 50-70% less RP than you’d pay to buy each champion individually, and they’re curated to include a mix of roles so you can test every position to see what you like. If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you also get free monthly LoL loot drops that often include full champion unlocks or high-value champion shards, no extra cost if you already pay for Prime.
It’s important to note that Never buy RP or champion unlocks from third-party sellers, no matter how good the discount looks. These listings are almost always scams that use stolen credit cards or hacked accounts to make purchases, and Riot will permanently ban your account if they detect these unauthorized transactions. Always buy RP directly through the official Riot store to keep your account safe.
Mistakes to avoid when unlocking LoL champions
A lot of new players waste hundreds of thousands of blue essence on useless purchases because they don’t know how the system works, and end up having to wait weeks to unlock the champion they actually want to play. The first big mistake is buying random champion shards from the store. These mystery shards cost 1850 BE each, and you’re almost always better off saving that BE to buy a specific champion shard you already have, or saving up for the full unlock of a champ you know you want.
Always use a champion shard to unlock a champ if you have one, because it cuts the BE cost by 40% compared to buying directly from the store. For example, a 6300 BE champion only costs 3780 BE if you use its corresponding shard, that’s a 2520 BE saving that you can put toward another champion. A lot of new players disenchant shards without thinking, then end up paying full price for the same champion later, which is a total waste of resources.
Another common mistake is unlocking low-cost champions first just to fill out your roster. If you only play support, don’t waste 450 BE on a cheap jungler you’re never going to touch, even if it seems like a small amount. That 450 BE adds up over time, and you’re better off saving it for a support champion you actually want to main. Don’t waste BE on cosmetic items like chromas, icons, or emotes until you have a solid roster of 10+ champions you enjoy playing, those items don’t affect gameplay at all, and they’re not worth delaying your champion unlocks for.
Fastest roster building strategy for new LoL players
If you want to build a functional roster as fast as possible, even without spending money, there’s a simple strategy I recommend to all new players I coach. First, for your first 10 levels, only disenchant champion shards for roles you know you will never play, keep all other shards, even if you’re not sure you’ll like the champion. You can test any champion shard for free for one match, so you can try out new playstyles without spending any BE.
Stick to 1-2 roles for your first 100 matches, this lets you save BE only for champions in those roles instead of spreading your currency thin across every position. Most players only main 1-2 roles anyway, so you don’t need a huge roster of champions for every position when you’re just starting out. Once you have 2-3 champions you enjoy for each of your main roles, you can start saving for champions in other roles if you want to branch out.
Play ARAM as much as possible when you’re trying to figure out which champions you like. ARAM gives you a random champion every match, so you can test out characters you’ve never played before without spending any BE or shards. I found half my main champions by playing them randomly in ARAM, and it’s a much more fun way to test new champions than reading guides or watching gameplay clips. If you do decide to spend a little money, only buy the new player exclusive bundle, it’s the only paid option that offers significantly more value than earning blue essence for free.
At the end of the day, the answer to how do i unlock champions in league of legends depends on how much time and money you want to put into the game. If you’re a casual player who only logs in a couple times a week, sticking to free blue essence rewards is more than enough to build a solid roster of champions you love over a couple months. If you want to jump into ranked play fast or play with friends who have been playing for years, a combination of the cheap new player bundle and strategic BE saving will get you a functional roster in just a few weeks. Don’t rush to unlock every single champion at once, take time to test different playstyles and only spend your currency on champions you actually enjoy playing, that way you’ll get the most value out of every BE or RP you spend.