Riot Games as a purely free-to-play MMO game has kept the game thriving by successfully finding revenue in non-game breaking products such as vanity items and battle passes which offer a fun way to play the game. However, even with such success with finding money in this department, Riot Games still offers ways to get League of Legends free skins for players who don’t want or can’t afford to spend on Riot Points. Of course, that means anyone can be able to acquire League of Legends free skins but to know how to acquire this, we’ve made a little something to help you figure out the best possible ways to get these.
Why does Riot Games give away free skins?
There are two primary reasons why Riot Games gives away free skins: incentive and promotion. Players who have been playing League of Legends for a long time has technically paid the company time. As a video game company, the best way for you to support them is to play their game for a long time. As incentive for your continued support for both League of Legends, you know they’d give you something in return sooner or later so why not give players who play long amounts of times a way to achieve free skins?
Another reason is the Riot Games aims to promote its game so that other people will be enticed to try out the game. After all, why wouldn’t you want to play a game that gives you a lot of free stuff? Aside from that, promotion also comes where players are tasked to promote the game and in return will receive a free skin. This widens the audience reached by using its own player-base to advertise the game in their place.
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How To Get League of Legends Free Skins
Believe it or not, there are actually several ways to get League of Legends free skins without the need for you to spend Riot Points yourself. While some pf these methods do technically need some sort of currency to purchase these skins, they’re still technically free since you won’t use real money to buy these skins. So to jump right into it, here are some of the methods on how you can get free skins:
1. Skin Shards
Skin shards are the most effective way to get League of Legends free skins. Skin shards can be obtained through the Hextech Crafting system by opening Hextech Chests. These skin shards actually come in abundance as you get a lot of Hextech Chests and Keys as you continually play League of Legends so it’s essentially the most effective way to unlock free skins in League.
Of course, Riot Games won’t make it too easy for players to get skins through this method even though the shards come in abundance. Skin shards are merely shards and are not exactly skins themselves so you’ll need Orange Essence to craft them into actual skins. You can get Orange Essence by disenchanting skin shards or by opening Chests and Capsules you get in your loot box.
2. Re-rolling Skin Shards
This is also related to skin shards but does not require currency like Orange Essence to unlock a League of Legends free skin. However, to use the re-roll function, you’ll need to sacrifice three skin shards and re-roll them into a RANDOM skin permanent. This means you have no control over which skin you can get after you re-roll those skin shards. It creates somewhat a risk again since you might not get a skin shard for a champion you actually use.
If that makes you wonder if re-rolling is worth it, the answer will actually surprisingly be YES since the re-roll system gives out rare skins might be difficult to get these days. Besides, it’s easier to get skin shards than earn orange essence used to unlock higher rarity skins you want. This method does not limit you to earning rare or epic skins but also Legendary skins like Elementalist Lux.
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3. End of Season Rewards
What makes Ranked Games so great is that your hard work is always rewarded. Every end of season, players who have reached the rank of Gold and above gets a specific Victorious skin for a champion not already chosen before. If you often read guides like these, then you have no problem reaching gold by the end of the season. Of course, the down side of this method is that you only get one free skin per year.
4. Riot Promotional Skins
Riot Promotional skins are skins which are given away by Riot Games for free during event. Some examples of these skins were Riot Girl Tristana and Unchained Alistar which you could receive by liking, following, or subscribing to their social media pages/channels. While this isn’t made available all the time, you can always check for news regarding these events so that you’ll always be ready to snag yourself a free skin.
5. Hextech Skins
Another Hextech Crafting skin method, Hextech skins are attainable by trading in Gemstones for Hextech skins. While this can be considered as buying the skins, Gemstones are attainable by opening chests or simply leveling up your Honor or Summoner Level. Hextech skins are considered as prestigious skins as they can only be unlocked this way so it is worth it if you have the patience to save up your Gemstones.
6. Honor Level Rewards
Every season, Honor Levels promote various rewards for the player’s achievements in reaching certain honor levels before the season ends. For 2020, an Honor 5 player will receive either of 2 skins which are the Grey Warwick or Medieval Twitch skins. You can only have one of these skins but it’s worth leveling up your honor as there are a lot of rewards along the way such as honor capsules and Blue Essence.
7. Ask For a Gift!
Technically, this is a free way to get skins since you won’t be the one spending money on the skin. You never know which one of your in-game friends are feeling a little generous and give you a free skin or two. Generally, a lot of players like to exchange or give away skins as presents for special occasions. If all else fails, just wait for your buddy to get drunk enough that you can trick him into buying you that Legendary skin.
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How Do I send a Friend a Skin as a Gift?
To send your friend a gift simply go to the League of Legends shop found inside the client. Look at the upper-right section of your shop and look for the gifting center. Simply choose the recipient of the gift package you’ll send then choose what type of gift you want to send, in this case, a skin, then choose which specific model you want to give him/her/them. The recipient should be able to receive the gift right away and see who gave it to them.
Illegal Skin Mods
Another way players get access to League of Legends free skins is through illegal skin mods such Mod Skin LOL which are illegal software that hacks the client’s system into temporarily unlocking all League of Legends skins for use in-game. Needless to say, there are a lot of downsides to using software like these to find an easy way to get the skins you need. Most of which can permanently get you in trouble in the long run.
Although a lot of users review that illegal skin mods like these work just fine all the while leaving their accounts “secure”, these mods actually put your account as risk of banning at the very least. At the worst, the software might contain malware and other viruses which put your computer at risk. Leaving your files, personal information, or even business and banking details at risk of being hijacked by highly suspicious programs.
Besides, skin mods often just display the skin on your skin while other players in your team won’t even see you using a skin. It just acts as a visual enhancer for your side so there won’t even be any bragging rights present. Is that really worth getting your account banned for? To answer that, no and let us tell you why.
Riot Games’ Anti-Cheat Policy
Riot Games and its partner companies such as Garena and Tencent have made it very clear that it has 0 tolerance for the use of third-party programs whether it affects the game or not. The only exception to this rule is the Deceive Software that hides your activity in-game which even Riot Games themselves promote. Of course, it shouldn’t even be a topic of debate that cheating is always the wrong thing to do.
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Why is it hard to get free skins?
League of Legends free skins are not meant to be easily accessible as they are the primary way for Riot Games to earn revenue while retaining their free-to-play business model. To be fair, the fact the there are free skins already makes the company really generous despite having such a limited way to get them.
Should I buy skins?
Yes, definitely. Buying skins supports Riot Games as a company and show that you are really appreciative of their game and what it means to you. Buying skins helps keep the game running. However, if you have any form of financial difficulty, then it is suggested that you allocate your money to more important things in life instead.
Can I get free Legendary skins from chests?
Yes, you can. Hextech Chests and Hextech Crafting gives you a chance (although it is extremely low) to unlock Legendary skins. Each time you open a chest, you can rest assured that there’s a chance to get the Legendary skin you’ve been wanting to get for the longest time.
Are skins important in the game?
No, they are not. Skins are merely vanity item which hold an almost 0% impact to the game. These only apply a sort of visual effect and provides the user a sense of satisfaction when playing the champion. Aside from that, the player gets nothing except bragging rights by having this specific skin.
Are there skins I can’t get for free?
Yes, there are. Prestige Skins are very exclusive skins that can’t be gotten except for the use of Prestige Tokens which you can only get by spending money. Of course, prestige skins are only chromas of original skins which you can get otherwise through free methods.
Free Skins Moving Forward
League of Legends free skins is expected to be made available for a long time especially now that the game is continuing to grow in the international scene. As the company finds new ways to earn revenue and funding, the need for skins to be the primary source of income becomes less and less necessary. So you don’t have to worry about rushing to get those skin shards so that you won’t miss out getting any of the cool skins which are available.
In fact, the League of Legends free skin roster will only keep on growing as previous event skins releases become outdated. More skins will be added to the lineup and those skins you’ve missed out on buying all those months ago can be yours through the Hextech system.