Riot Games has announced that all the champions in League of Legends will experience a change in their pricing in the upcoming Patch 13.5. The goal behind this change is to make it easier for new players to acquire champions in the game by altering both the blue essence and RP values of all champions. The new prices will no longer only depend on the release date of the champions, but also on the required skill level to master them.
Riot Games has acknowledged that their current pricing system is somewhat outdated and does not reflect how players should obtain champions in 2023. Jordan “BarackProbama” Checkman and August Browning explained that while the new pricing structure will still be connected with the age of the champion, it will no longer be associated with the release of a new playable character. Instead, the prices will vary based on how many seasons the champion has been present in the game.
The Rioters stated, “We plan to keep the existing flow of new champions having an initially higher price point and being discounted after a week, with an additional discount after two seasons where they’ll be placed in a tier based on the data we see with new and returning players.”
Under the new pricing scheme, the lowest-priced champions will start at 450 BE / 260 RP, and will include champions that have an “approachable kit,” such as Malphite, Miss Fortune, and Yuumi. The second tier of champions will cost 1350 BE / 585 RP and will be slightly more complex than the first tier but still accessible to interested players. Champions in this category will include Yasuo, Lucian, and Sett. The third tier of champions will cost 3150 BE / 790 RP, and will consist of champions like LeBlanc, Shaco, and Yorick, which have “steeper learning curves to climb before one sees consistent success with them,” according to Riot.
The fourth tier, where only excellence and beauty are accepted, will only feature Virtuoso Jhin, but this may not be the case. Most champions will now cost 4800 BE / 880 RP, with higher tiers linked to the champions’ release. The highest tier will be sold at 7800 BE / 975 RP in the same week of their release. Champions released in the past two seasons will be available at 6300 BE / 975 RP. After a champion has been in the game for three seasons, they will be moved to one of the first five tiers.
The majority of champions will see a reduction in price, with some exceptions, according to Riot. Based on their data, four champions will have their prices increased, including Singed, Kayle, Twisted Fate, and Ryze, to ensure players have easier access to them.
Riot will also adjust the prices of other champions in the future to account for possible visual or gameplay updates. While some past champions may see a price increase, Riot will try to avoid this and communicate any inflation early enough. Additionally, new champion bundles will be added to cover a variety of gameplay roles within each tier, providing players with even more cost-effective options for expanding their collection.
Overall, these changes will result in a total reduction of 140,606 BE and 14,905 RP for players. These adjustments will be implemented in all regions with patch 13.5.
