If you’re new to League of Legends, you’ve probably noticed your starting champion pool is tiny. The weekly free rotation only gives you 15 or so champions to test each week, and if you want to lock in your main for ranked or try out that viral new pick you saw on social media, you’ll need to unlock it first. Figuring out how to unlock champions in League of Legends doesn’t have to be confusing, and you don’t have to drop hundreds of dollars to build a full roster either. I’ve been playing LoL on and off for 7 years, and I’ve unlocked almost 90% of the 160+ champions without spending more than $20 total on the game. This guide breaks down all the legit methods, plus tricks to speed up the process so you can play who you want faster.
Core Methods for How to Unlock Champions in League of Legends
There are only a handful of official, allowed ways to get permanent champions on your account, and all of them work through Riot’s in-game systems. You won’t have to jump through sketchy hoops or use third-party sites that put your account at risk. The four main routes are:
- Blue Essence (BE) earned from regular gameplay, event rewards, and account level ups
- Riot Points (RP) purchased with real currency for instant unlocks
- Champion shards obtained from Hextech Chests, event capsules, and level up rewards
- Limited-time event rewards that give full permanent champion unlocks for zero cost
Blue Essence (BE) is the primary free currency you’ll use for most unlocks, and it’s the only currency that doesn’t require spending real money. Riot Points (RP) are for players who want to skip the grind and unlock champions right away, and they also work for skins, battle passes, and other cosmetic items. Champion shards are my personal favorite way to unlock champions, because they cut the BE cost of any champion by 40% if you use the shard to upgrade it to a permanent unlock, instead of buying the champion outright from the store.
You might see random sites online promising free champion unlocks if you enter your account credentials or download a tool. Don’t fall for these. Riot actively bans accounts that use third-party services to get in-game content, and you’ll lose all your progress, skins, and ranked progress if you get caught. Stick to the official methods listed above to keep your account safe.
Fastest Free Ways to Earn Blue Essence for Champion Unlocks
If you don’t want to spend real money on the game, Blue Essence is going to be your main way to unlock champions, and there are plenty of ways to farm it faster without playing 8 hours a day. The easiest, most low-effort way to stack BE fast is to hit the daily first win of the day bonus as often as possible. This bonus gives you 400 extra BE on top of your regular match rewards, and you only need to win one match a day to claim it. Even if you only play 10 to 15 minutes of ARAM a day to get that win, you’ll earn close to 3,000 BE a week just from that bonus alone.
Event pass missions are another massive source of free BE, even if you don’t buy the paid premium pass. Every few weeks Riot runs a new themed event, and the free track of the pass always includes thousands of BE, plus champion shards, event capsules, and other rewards. You don’t have to grind nonstop to complete these missions either, most of them just require playing a certain number of games or using specific champion types, so you can knock them out while you play your regular matches.
Disenchanting duplicate champion shards is one trick a lot of new players miss. When you open a level up capsule or Hextech Chest, you’ll usually get 1 to 3 champion shards. If you get a shard for a champion you already own, or a champion you know you never want to play, you can disenchant it for BE instantly. For example, a 6300 BE champion shard disenchants for 1260 BE, which adds up fast if you get a few duplicates a month. Just don’t disenchant shards for champions you think you might want later, because using the shard to unlock the champion is way cheaper than buying it full price from the store.
I used to hoard every single champion shard I got when I first started playing, even for roles I never touched. Once I started disenchanting all the support and jungle shards I knew I’d never use, I was able to unlock three mid lane champions I’d been wanting for months in less than two weeks. It’s okay to be picky about which shards you keep, you don’t have to save every single one.
When It Makes Sense to Use Riot Points for Champion Unlocks
You don’t ever have to spend real money to unlock champions in LoL, but there are a few cases where using RP makes sense if you have a little extra cash to spend. The most common time players use RP for champions is when a limited-time release champion comes out. New champions cost 7800 BE for the first two weeks after release, before dropping to their regular 6300 BE price. If you’re super excited to try the new champion and don’t want to wait two weeks or spend the extra 1500 BE, buying it with RP is a solid option.
Discounted champion bundles are another great use for RP, especially for new players. Riot regularly sells bundles of 5 to 10 low-cost champions for a fraction of the price you’d pay to unlock them individually with RP or BE. The beginner starter bundle, for example, usually has 10 popular champions for less than $10, which is way cheaper than buying them one by one. These bundles are perfect if you just started playing and want to build a basic roster fast for ranked placements.
That said, don’t waste RP on champions you can easily unlock with BE in a week or two. RP is better saved for skins, battle passes, or other cosmetic items that you can’t get with free currency. If you do decide to buy RP, always purchase it directly through the official Riot store or your platform’s official store (Steam, Epic Games, console store) to avoid scams. Third-party sites selling discounted RP almost always use stolen credit cards or fraudulent methods to get the points, and Riot will ban your account if you buy RP from these sources.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking LoL Champions
It’s easy to waste thousands of BE if you don’t know what you’re doing when you first start playing, and there are a few common mistakes almost every new player makes. The biggest one is buying champions before testing them. I remember blowing 12,000 BE on two junglers in my first month of playing, only to realize I hate playing jungle and haven’t touched either since. You can test any champion for free in the practice tool, or wait for them to be on the weekly free rotation to try them out in real matches before you spend BE to unlock them.
Another mistake is hoarding all your BE waiting for new champions to come out. If there’s a champion you want to play right now that fits your main role, unlock it. There will always be new champions coming out every few months, and you’ll have time to earn more BE before they release. You don’t have to save every single BE you earn for a champion you might not even like when it comes out.
Don’t waste event tokens on champion shards unless you’ve already claimed all the other rewards you want from the event pass. Event tokens are better spent on exclusive skins, icons, or wards that you can’t get anywhere else, instead of champion shards you can easily get from level up capsules. If you have extra tokens left over right before the event ends, then you can use them for champion shards, but don’t prioritize them over limited-time cosmetic rewards.
The last mistake to avoid is playing way more than you want to just to grind BE for a champion. It’s okay to take weeks or even months to unlock the champion you want. LoL is supposed to be fun, not a second job. If you’re getting burnt out playing nonstop to earn BE, take a break, play ARAM or rotating game modes for fun, and you’ll earn the BE you need eventually.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to unlock champions in League of Legends is pretty straightforward once you know how the in-game currencies and systems work. You can unlock every champion in the game for free if you’re willing to put in a little time, or spend a small amount of money to build your roster faster if you prefer. No matter which method you choose, stick to official Riot systems, test champions before you unlock them, and don’t let the grind take the fun out of the game. Before you know it, you’ll have a full roster of champions you love to play for every role and game mode.