In Short:
- The latest update to League of Legends has increased the difficulty for free-to-play players to unlock champions
- Players and content creators have stated that unlocking a new character can take upwards of 800 hours after finishing a Battle Pass
- The grind in League of Legends is noticeably different from Marvel Rivals’ free updates and Dota 2’s approach of making all characters available for free
League of Legends Player: LoL has been a huge success since its debut in 2009. Thanks to its availability on Microsoft’s Game Pass and the massive popularity of the Arcane animated series, the franchise is arguably at its peak popularity.
Even if you are looking forward to trying this game, especially as a free-to-play player, you might want to reconsider.
A recent update has made unlocking new champions (characters) a lengthy process, with players estimating it could take hundreds of hours.
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First highlighted by a League of Legends player content creator on YouTube and later mentioned on Reddit, it appears that free-to-play players would need to invest 882 hours to unlock a new champion.
The 2025 update introduces a Battle Pass system that allows players to earn 24 champion crystals and 28,500 Blue Essence annually. The cost of champions in Blue Essence can differ, with some of the more sought-after ones priced at $6,300.
We can take the case of a player maximizing all his opportunities; he can accumulate 50 Blue Essence for every level beyond 50 in a single pass. This adds up to roughly 900 hours of gameplay required to unlock a new character.
The calculations suggest that the game is becoming tough for new players or those who don’t want to spend money. However, Andrei van Roon, head of League Studio, responded on Twitter, stating that “unlocking new champions through Blue Essence wasn’t meant to be more difficult” and assured that the issue is being investigated.
First patch of the year for LoL, with all the start of season changes, went live yesterday. We're still digging into how everything's landing, some initial notes though:
1 – Unlocking new champions via blue essence wasn't meant to get harder. Digging in to understand whether…
— Andrei van Roon (@RiotMeddler) January 10, 2025
One user commented on Reddit, “The biggest problem with this game is that it’s not welcoming to new players. Every patch they release just makes the issue even worse.”
Other users have advocated for making champions free for everyone, similar to the model in Dota 2 and Marvel Rivals.
While it remains uncertain whether any changes will be implemented, it’s clear that fans are hoping for substantial adjustments in the near future.
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Source: League Of Legends Player Estimates That It Takes 882 Hours To Unlock A New Champion
