If you’ve spent the last few weeks grinding ranked to hit Gold for the end of Season 14 skin, you’re almost certainly asking when does season 15 start League of Legends. As a player who’s been logging on for every season launch since Season 6, I know how frustrating it can be to wait for official news, especially when there are tons of leaked changes and conflicting dates floating around social media. Riot Games typically sticks to a rough annual schedule, but they often tweak launch dates last minute to fix critical bugs or adjust pre-season changes based on player feedback. This guide breaks down everything we know so far about the launch timeline, what changes are coming, and how you can get ready to hit the rift running when the new season drops.
When Does Season 15 Start League of Legends? Official Timeline Breakdown
Riot has shared a tentative launch window for Season 15, and it lines up with the patterns we’ve seen over the last 5 years. The official Season 14 ranked grind ended on November 19, 2024, which kicked off the 6-week pre-season testing period. Pre-season is when Riot rolls out all big system changes, item reworks, and champion updates for the upcoming season, so players can test them without impacting their ranked MMR. Riot’s official pre-season patch 14.24 is the last pre-season update before the season goes live, and it’s scheduled to drop on January 2, 2025.
Based on that timeline, the confirmed tentative launch date for Season 15 is January 8, 2025 for all regions. That said, launch times vary by region, so you’ll want to check your local server status page for exact times. NA typically gets the season update first at around 6 AM CT, followed by EUW at 10 AM CT, and OCE/SEA regions a few hours after that. Riot has noted that they may push the launch date back by 1-2 days if they find game-breaking bugs in the final pre-season patch, so it’s a good idea to keep an eye on official LoL social channels for last-minute updates. You don’t have to worry about missing out on ranked play time either, because the ranked queue will open immediately after the patch is fully rolled out to your region.
Key Changes Coming to Season 15 You Need to Know About
This season has some of the biggest quality of life changes Riot has rolled out in years, especially for casual and mid-rank players. A lot of the changes are direct responses to player feedback from Season 14, where many people complained about unfair LP gains, overly long promotional series, and lack of meaningful rewards for playing above Gold rank. Promotional series between Iron and Platinum will now be best-of-3 instead of best-of-5 for all 2025 season splits, which is a huge win for players who don’t have 3+ hours to grind promo series every time they rank up.
There are also changes to the item system, ranked rewards, and queue times that will impact almost every player. The top 3 most impactful changes for casual players are:
- Reduced LP loss for first 10 ranked placement matches to help you find your correct rank faster, with no LP loss at all for your first 3 placement games
- New weekly mission tracks that give free premium currency shards for playing 3 games a week, no paid battle pass required
- Disabled smurf detection for the first 2 weeks of the season to reduce long queue times for high-rank players and lower-skilled players alike
Champion mains also have a lot to look forward to this season. Riot is rolling out 3 new champions over the course of Season 15, starting with a new enchanter support that specializes in buffing melee carries in the bot lane. They’re also reworking 4 older champions, including Skarner and Udyr, to make them more viable in both casual and pro play. The item rework will also add 7 new items specifically for off-meta builds, so you’ll have more flexibility to play your favorite champion in multiple roles if you want.
How to Prep for Season 15 Before Launch Day
There’s a lot you can do in pre-season to make sure you have a smooth start to Season 15, instead of wasting your first few weeks playing catch-up. First, make sure you claim all of your Season 14 ranked rewards before January 5, 2025, because unclaimed rewards will expire once the new season launches. That includes your ranked skin, chromas, emotes, and any ranked points you earned but didn’t spend in the seasonal shop. If you earned the Gold rank skin but didn’t hit all the checkpoints for extra chromas, you can still grind the last few rank points in pre-season normals to unlock them before the season ends.
Pre-season is also the perfect time to test out new builds and roles without risking your ranked MMR. We recommend playing at least 10 normals with 2-3 different roles before your placement matches to avoid getting stuck on off-meta picks if your main role gets banned or picked first. A lot of players make the mistake of only playing their main champion in pre-season, but the meta shifts a lot in the first few weeks of a new season, so having a backup role you’re comfortable with will save you a lot of frustration.
You should also take a few minutes to clear out your loot inventory before launch day. Riot will be adding a bunch of new Season 15 loot, including new champion shards, skin shards, and event tokens, and you don’t want to miss out on free stuff because your inventory is full of old shards you’ll never use. If you have a lot of duplicate skin shards, you can disenchant them for orange essence now to save up for new skins that drop when the season launches. You should also make sure your honor level is above 2 before the season starts, because you won’t be eligible for ranked rewards if your honor level is locked below 2.
Common Season Launch Mistakes to Avoid
Season launch day is one of the most exciting times to play LoL, but it’s also one of the most frustrating if you go in without a plan. The first 3 days of the season are full of smurfs, pro players, and casual players who have been grinding pre-season for months, so the queue is way more competitive than normal. Playing ranked during the first 3 days of the season will usually put you against players 1-2 ranks higher than your previous season finish, so if you’re a casual player who just wants to have fun, it’s better to stick to normals or ARAM for the first week.
Another common mistake is playing your placement matches when you’re tired, distracted, or playing with friends who are way lower or higher rank than you. Your placement matches have a huge impact on your starting MMR for the entire season, so you want to play them when you’re focused and playing with people who are around your skill level. You also don’t want to spam pick new champions you haven’t tested in pre-season, because the meta is still shifting the first few weeks, and you might end up picking a champion that gets nerfed in the first post-launch patch.
You also don’t need to rush to hit your rank goal in the first split of the season. Riot split the ranked year into 3 splits a few years ago, so you have 3 separate chances to hit your rank goal and earn split rewards. If you don’t place as high as you wanted in the first split, you can always grind in the second or third split to improve your rank. Riot doesn't reset honor levels at the start of the season, so you can keep earning honor rewards right away if you stayed above level 2 last season, so don’t tilt and get reported in your first few games, because that can lock you out of honor rewards for the entire rest of the year.
Now that you know when does season 15 start League of Legends, you can take the next few weeks to wrap up your Season 14 grind, test new builds, and get ready for a whole new year of ranked play. I’m personally spending pre-season testing the new enchanter support builds so I can climb to Platinum for the first time this season, and I’ll be posting updated tier lists and build guides once the season launches and the meta settles. Even if Riot pushes the launch date back a little, you’ll be prepared to hit the rift running as soon as the new season goes live.