If you’ve ever stared at a stack of unopened Hextech chests in your League of Legends inventory wondering what to do next, you’re not alone. Most players earn chests far faster than they can get the keys to open them, leaving valuable free rewards sitting unused for weeks or even months. Today we’re breaking down exactly how to get keys league of legends players can use without spending real money, plus tips to speed up your grind so you never have to leave a chest unopened again. I’ve tested every single one of these methods across three years of playing ranked and casual modes, so I can confirm which ones are worth your time and which ones you can skip entirely.
How to Get Keys in League of Legends Through Regular Match Play
The most consistent way to earn keys is just by playing matchmade games, no extra steps required. Every time you win a match in any mode – normal, ranked, ARAM, rotating game modes like URF or AR Clash – you have a chance to earn key fragments as a post-game drop. You need three fragments to craft one full key, and the drop rate is tied directly to your honor level, so the better your in-game behavior, the more fragments you’ll earn. higher honor levels give 2x more key fragment drops than players sitting at honor level 2, which adds up to a lot of extra keys over a season.
You don’t have to play 10+ hours a week to get steady drops either. I play 4-5 ARAM matches a night after work, and I usually earn 2-3 fragments a week, which works out to one full key every 10 days without any extra effort. The only catch is that key fragment drops are capped at 12 per month, so you can’t grind 24/7 to get dozens of keys in a single week. That cap resets on the first of every month, so if you hit the limit, you can just pick back up the next month. If you get chat restricted or hit with a penalty for toxic behavior, your key fragment drops will be paused entirely until your penalty expires, so it’s worth keeping chat positive even when your team is feeding.
Earn Bonus Keys From Event Passes and Event Missions
Riot runs in-game events every 6-8 weeks, and almost every single one comes with a free and premium event pass track loaded with key fragments and full keys. You don’t have to buy the premium pass to get these rewards, either – the free track for every event always includes keys as long as you complete the basic daily and weekly missions. Free event pass tracks usually include 2-3 full keys per event, plus 4-6 key fragments, which is enough to open almost all the chests you’ll earn while playing through the event missions.
Most event missions are designed to be completed while you play your normal games, so you don’t have to change your playstyle to earn them. Missions usually ask for simple tasks like “win 2 matches as a mage champion” or “get 15 assists across any mode” that you’ll probably complete without even trying. If you end up with extra event tokens at the end of an event, you can also exchange them for key fragments or full keys in the event shop, instead of spending them on emotes or chromas you don’t want. During the last Winterblessed event, I got 3 full keys just from the free pass track, plus 2 more from leftover event tokens, which let me open 5 chests I had sitting in my inventory for months.
Use Honor Level Rewards to Get Free Keys Consistently
Your honor level doesn’t just boost your key fragment drop rate from matches – it also gives you direct key rewards every time you hit an honor checkpoint or level up. Every honor checkpoint (there are three per honor level) gives you at least 2 key fragments, and leveling up from honor level 3 to 4, or 4 to 5, gives you a full honor orb that includes 1-2 full keys plus extra fragments. Staying positive in chat and honoring teammates after matches is the fastest way to raise your honor level, even if you don’t get honors from other players every single game.
Honor level 5 players get extra perks too, including a free honor capsule at the end of every season that has 3 full keys, plus guaranteed key drops at every checkpoint. I hit honor level 5 last season, and I earned 8 extra keys just from honor rewards alone, which was enough to open all the chests I earned during my ranked climb to Platinum. If you dropped to a lower honor level after a penalty, don’t worry – you can grind back up by playing matches without getting reported, and you’ll start earning key rewards again as soon as you hit honor level 2. It takes 2-3 months of consistent positive play to get back to honor level 3 if you were dropped to level 1, which is well worth the effort for the extra free rewards.
Other Legitimate Methods to Earn Keys Fast
If you want to speed up your key grind even more, there are a few less well-known methods that most players don’t take advantage of. These are all official Riot-approved methods, so you don’t have to worry about losing your account or getting scammed. None of these methods require spending real money, and all are approved by Riot so you don’t have to worry about getting banned, though some do require existing subscriptions you might already have.
- Prime Gaming loot drops: If you have an Amazon Prime subscription, you can claim free League of Legends loot drops 2-3 times a month, which usually include 1-2 full keys per drop, plus occasional skin shards or champion shards.
- Clash tournament rewards: Even if your team loses all three of their Clash matches in a tournament weekend, you’ll get key fragments as a participation reward, and teams that win 2+ matches get full keys as part of their prize pool.
- Refer-a-friend program: If you invite a new player to the game and they level up to level 10 and win 5 matches, you’ll get 2 free keys as a referral reward, plus a free champion shard.
Stay away from third-party sites that claim to give free keys in exchange for your login information, no matter how legitimate they look. These sites are almost always scams designed to steal your account, and Riot will not restore your account if you give your login details to an unapproved third party. It’s never worth risking hundreds of dollars worth of skins and your ranked progress just for a couple of free keys. If a deal seems too good to be true, it almost always is.
At the end of the day, getting keys in League of Legends doesn’t have to be a slow, frustrating grind if you know which methods to prioritize. You can earn enough keys to open every chest you get just by playing regularly, staying positive in chat, and completing event missions as they come out. If you put even a little bit of effort into these methods, you’ll never have to wonder how to get keys league of legends players use to unlock free rewards again. I’ve used these exact methods to get over 40 keys last year without spending a single cent on Riot Points, so I know they work for casual and ranked players alike. Next time you log in, take a quick look at your event missions and honor progress, and you’ll be one step closer to opening that stack of chests sitting in your inventory.