Image: Riot Games
League of Legends players aren't happy with the game's new reward system.
The first season of League of Legends (LoL) in 2025 has been met with a storm of controversy as players pushed back against sweeping changes in the game’s rewards system.
LoL developer Riot Games overhauled the traditional rewards system and crafting structures, replacing Hextech Chests and keys with a seasonal battle pass system that attempts to eliminate randomness and streamline loot drops. While Riot’s goal was to streamline loot drops and reduce randomness, the remove of level-up rewards, including Blue Essence (BE), has left many players frustrated.
Previously, players could earn Blue Essence abundantly through level-up incentives and other ways. However, with BE now seemingly tied exclusively to the battle pass system, many players felt alienated, especially those beyond level 50.
Viral Reddit post claims players would need to grind 882 hours to unlock a single champion
The changes caused a stir among players, where in a now viral Reddit post Redditor cpztpkqc claims that players would now need to grind 882 hours to unlock a single new champion.
In the post, they confirmed their findings from an official article on LoL’s Chinese website where it says "the summoner level upgrade reward [Hero Magic Engine] will be removed globally," making Blue Essence (BE) a battle pass-only reward. This claim contrasts with the absence of similar announcements on the English website.
The post sparked widespread criticism, with many players pointing out how the removal of level-up incentives disproportionately impacts old players. According to the thread, players above 50, who would previously receive champion capsules and other rewards for each level-up, now must rely solely on the battle pass.
The frustration was echoed by somewhatlikeawhisper, who felt like Riot shafted outlier players like them. “No longer is my BE amount decided by how much I play and engage with your game;it’s now decided by how much you want to put into the pass, a number far lower than I could farm,” they said.
Redditor raphelmadeira said, “as someone who has already surpassed level 1550, I find it VERY annoying to still have to buy champions to enable skins. It seems like you guys want to scare players away at any cost!”
Riot’s response
Since the viral post, Riot has attempted to calm things down and provide an explanation to the players through senior design lead Jordan ‘BarackProbama’ Checkman, who admitted in his post that he wasn’t part of the team responsible for “metagame systems.”
“Earning Blue Essence wouldn’t require a purchase of any kind,” Checkman emphasised.
According to Checkman, the battle pass system includes four champion capsules per pass and 4,750 BE, yielding 24 capsules and 28,500 BE annually with six passes each year.
Checkman’s computations further broke down the system's mechanics:
- BE Capsule Average Value: 4 capsules × 3,000 BE = 12,000 BE
- BE from the Pass: 12,000 BE + 4,750 BE = 16,750 BE per pass
- Average BE Per Pass Level: (16,750 BE / 50 levels) ≈ 335 BE
- First Win of the Day (FWOTD) BE Value: (150 BXP / 500 BXP) × 335 ≈ 100.5 BE
He explained how these values were designed based on average play patterns rather than maximum engagement.
Additionally, while the first 50 levels of the pass still grant capsules, these rewards are frontloaded, making them accessible with less effort compared to cosmetics that require greater progression.
Checkman acknowledged the concerns about accessibility for new players and hyper-engaged players, stating, “If new players don’t get enough BE, I expect the pass values would change.”
“It doesn't feel to me like someone who is new to the game is going to have trouble acquiring both a set of randomized champions OR champions they have a particular affinity for and want to acquire for free,” he added in response to another comment on the same thread.
Despite his detailed breakdown, Checkman’s explanation did little to appease the community. Many players criticised the lack of incentives for summoners above level 50. Others argued that the new system’s capped rewards discourage continued engagement. Both of Checkman’s posts were downvoted by Redditors.
Some like alem289, thanked Checkman for at least answering the thread, but emphasised that the changes made the community feel like “we are getting punished for being part of your playerbase.”
Others were just downright angry, like Redditor Pretogues who warned Riot that “other games with better monetization” will surpass them and comparing the current LoL’s battle pass to Marvel Rivals’ pass.
For now, Riot has not confirmed any plans to adjust the system, but player dissatisfaction continues to mount.
