If you’ve just started playing League of Legends, you’ve probably stared at the champion select screen wondering why half the roster is greyed out. Trying out new champions is half the fun of the game, but figuring out how to unlock League of Legends champions efficiently can feel confusing when you’re first navigating the in-game store and reward systems. I still remember being frustrated as a new player when I couldn’t try out the cool new champion my friend was maining, because I didn’t have enough blue essence to unlock it. I’ve played LoL on and off for 7 years, and I’ve unlocked every single champion in the roster without spending more than $40 total on the game, so I know exactly which methods work and which are a waste of your time.
How to Unlock League of Legends Champions Using Blue Essence
Blue essence is LoL’s primary free in-game currency, and it’s the most common way to unlock champions without spending real money. You earn blue essence from a range of regular activities, including match end rewards, first win of the day bonuses, account level up capsules, and disenchanting champion shards you get from loot boxes. It’s completely free to earn, and you’ll accumulate it naturally the more you play, even if you only log in for a couple of matches a week.
Disenchanting duplicate champion shards gives you 20% of the champion’s full blue essence cost, which is way faster than saving up from match rewards alone. A lot of new players make the mistake of disenchanting every shard they get, but that’s not the most efficient way to use them. Redeem a champion shard for 60% off the full blue essence cost of that champion if you’re even slightly interested in trying it out later, and only disenchant shards for champions you know you’ll never play. For example, I once unlocked a brand new 6300 BE champion the day it came out just by using a shard I got from a random level up capsule, no extra grind required.
If you’re trying to save up for a specific champion fast, make sure you claim your first win of the day bonus every 24 hours. It only takes one win in any game mode to claim, and it gives you an extra 400 blue essence on top of your regular match rewards. Even if you only have 15 minutes to play a quick ARAM match, logging in daily for that first win will cut your grind time in half.
Use Riot Points For Fast, No-Grind Unlocks
Riot Points (RP) are LoL’s paid in-game currency, and they’re the fastest way to unlock a champion if you don’t want to wait to grind blue essence. You can buy RP directly through the in-game store with real money, and you can use it to unlock any champion on the roster immediately, no wait time required. This is a great option if you need a specific champion for an upcoming ranked match or a group play session with friends, and you don’t have enough blue essence saved up.
You don’t need to spend real money to unlock every champion in the game, so only use RP for champion unlocks if you’re in a hurry. Riot designed RP primarily for cosmetic purchases like skins, ward skins, and emotes, so it’s not a necessary expense for building your champion roster. If you do decide to spend RP on champions, wait for limited-time bundle sales that often include 5-6 champions for 50% off the regular individual RP cost. These bundles are especially valuable for new players who want to build a broad roster fast without spending a fortune.
Be wary of third-party sites claiming to sell cheap RP or free champion unlocks. These sites are almost always scams that will either steal your account information, give you fake currency that gets your account banned, or never deliver the product you paid for. Always buy RP directly through the official Riot store to avoid losing your account.
Unlock Champions For Free Through Events and Rewards Programs
Riot runs regular in-game events and partner rewards programs that give out free champion shards, permanent champion unlocks, and huge stacks of blue essence for almost no effort. A lot of players miss out on these free rewards because they don’t check the event tab regularly, but they’re one of the fastest ways to build your roster without grinding or spending money. I’ve gotten 12 free permanent champions just from event rewards over the past two years, and I barely spend 10 hours a week playing the game.
Some of the most reliable free reward sources for champion unlocks include:
- Seasonal event passes: Almost every major LoL event comes with a free reward track, which often includes champion shards, full champion unlocks, and thousands of blue essence just for completing simple daily missions like winning 2 ARAM matches or playing 3 games as a mage champion.
- Prime Gaming rewards: If you have an active Amazon Prime subscription, you get free monthly LoL rewards that often include permanent champion unlocks, 5000+ blue essence, or exclusive skins, no extra cost required. All you have to do is link your Riot account to your Prime Gaming account to claim them.
- New player welcome challenges: First-time players get a series of simple challenges in their first 30 days of play that unlock 10+ free champions just for completing basic tasks like winning 3 matches, playing a specific role, or adding a friend to your friends list.
- Account level-up rewards: Every time you level up your account past level 5, you get a champion capsule that contains at least 2 champion shards, and sometimes full permanent champions, for free. You keep earning these capsules at every level, even after you hit the max level cap of 500.
Most event missions can be completed in casual game modes like ARAM or Teamfight Tactics, so you don’t have to grind stressful ranked matches to earn these rewards. I often complete all my weekly event missions while playing TFT when I’m burnt out on Summoner’s Rift, and I still get all the free champion and blue essence rewards without touching ranked play for weeks.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Champions
A lot of new players slow down their champion unlock grind by making simple, avoidable mistakes that waste their blue essence or miss out on free rewards. The first mistake I see all the time is spending blue essence on random champion shards from the in-game store. These random shards cost 1800 BE each, and you’re almost always better off saving that BE for a specific champion you want, or disenchanting shards you already have to hit your savings goal faster.
Another common mistake is disenchanting every champion shard you get, even for champions you might be interested in trying later. The 60% discount you get for redeeming a shard is way too good to pass up, and you’ll end up spending 3x more blue essence if you disenchant a shard and then buy the same champion at full price later. I keep all champion shards for champions I haven’t unlocked yet in my loot inventory, even if I don’t think I’ll play them, just in case I change my mind down the line.
Avoid spending your hard-earned blue essence on cosmetic items like summoner icons, ward skins, or emote packs if your main goal is to unlock more champions. You can get almost all of these cosmetic items for free through event rewards, so wasting BE on them only slows down your champion grind. Never share your account information with anyone promising free champion unlocks or unlimited blue essence, these are all scams that will steal your account or get it permanently banned by Riot’s anti-cheat system.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to unlock League of Legends champions doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming if you use the right methods. Most players can build a roster of 20+ champions in their first month of play for free, and you can unlock the full roster over time without spending a cent if you prioritize blue essence and event rewards. Pick the methods that fit your playstyle: if you only play a few hours a week, focus on event rewards and first win of the day bonuses, if you want to unlock champions fast, grind normal matches and disenchant unused shards to save up blue essence quickly. No matter what your playstyle is, you’ll be able to try out every champion you’re interested in eventually, without breaking the bank.