League of Legends will be tweaking its champion pricing structure from a simple ‘older equals cheaper’ system to something more complex.
The new system will consider a number of factors, including how many competitive seasons the champion has been released for. Jordan “Barackprobama” Checkman and August “August” Browning from Riot Games provided details on the new system.
“This new structure still uses the age of a champion, but is no longer directly tied to champion releases. As our strategy has shifted from the early days of shipping a character every other patch to a cadence that allowed us to better plan around champions, we felt it was time to change how we approach price reductions. We’re now focusing on how many seasons the champion has seen rather than how many champions have released since,” they explain.
Under the current system of champion pricing, Zoe, a champion released over five years ago, is still at the highest price point (6300 blue essence). The new pricing structure seeks to address this by having time be a more significant factor in pricing.
Additionally, a champion’s price may change if it undergoes a visual gameplay update (VSU), a core gameplay update (CSU) or a mid-scope update if Riot feels they’ve become better experiences for new or returning players. The pair stressed that they’d “try and avoid” increasing the price for champions in this manner.
The new price thresholds are as follows:
- 450 BE / 260 RP – Champions that are awesome for new players. These have a strong fantasy and an approachable kit that our data suggests helps folks find success early. Examples include Malphite, Miss Fortune, and Yuumi.
- 1350 BE / 585 RP – Champions that are a bit more complex than the lower tier, but still approachable for interested folks. These will have more nuanced skill checks in their play patterns, but maintain reasonable skill floors and have proven to be fan favorites. Examples include Yasuo, Lucian, and Sett.
- 3150 BE / 790 RP – Champions that have a larger degree of difficulty or specialization in their play. These will often have steeper learning curves to climb before one sees consistent success with them. Examples include LeBlanc, Shaco, and Yorick.
- 4444 BE / 880 RP – Only perfection and beauty are allowed at this tier. HAHAHAHA. (Note, we’re not sure if Jhin will actually be priced at this point.)
- 4800 BE / 880 RP – The majority of the roster will live here.
- 6300 BE / 975 RP – Champions that have come out in the past two seasons, after which they will move to the tier above after the next season starts.
- 7800 BE / 975 RP – Champions that have come out in the past week.
Also being added are champion bundles, “packs” of champions in the same price tier that will offer you a discount if bought.
Kayle, Singed, Twisted Fate and Ryze which were previously priced at the lowest tier are having their price increased to 4800 as Riot doesn’t feel new players are having success with these champions.
These changes comprise an overall reduction in the price of champions in League of Legends. The entire roster is now 140,606 BE or 14,905 RP cheaper. These changes will go live with patch 13.5.
