Lol Skin Shards: How to Earn
By LOLValue Team · April 16, 2024
Skin shards are the most covetable free cosmetic items in the game as they allow you to unlock permanent LoL skins without spending any real money.
However, the methods of gaining these skin shards can be confusing, especially if you’re someone who recently started playing the game.
How to get skin shards in LoL
Hextech chests
Hextech chests are by far the most common method of obtaining skin shards, especially since you can earn them for free through the S-grade performance tracker.
Given that they’re free, naturally, these lootboxes have a slightly reduced skin drop rate compared to some of the paid alternatives.
Statistically, there is a 50% chance of getting a skin shard, as you can also receive other less desirable crafting items such as champion shards, ward skin shards, and summoner icons.
The redeeming factor of hextech chests is the fact that they also contain mythic essence as well as a 10% chance to contain another chest + key within.
Masterwork chests
There is a reason why masterwork chests are much harder to obtain than regular hextech chests and it’s primarily because of their skin shard drop rate.
Unlike hextech chests, these have a 70% chance of dropping a skin shard and they don’t contain any champion shards, which will significantly reduce your frustration when opening them.
On top of that, there are masterwork chest milestones that also provide you with valuable rewards once you’ve opened enough of them.
Most notable rewards include mythic essence and guaranteed skin shards, one of which is guaranteed to be worth 1350RP+.
Mythic essence
Mythic essence is a premium hextech crafting material that can be exchanged for exclusive mythic and prestige loot.
Prestige and mythic skins are some of the rarest ones in the game and owning them significantly boosts the value of your LoL account.
Fortunately, if you aren’t in the market for the most exclusive skins, small amounts of mythic essence can also be used in exchange for guaranteed skins.
Event orbs
Event orbs are the best way of consistently unlocking skins as they have a 100% skin shard drop rate.
On top of that, orbs have a small chance to contain other valuables, most notably grab bags that have an abundance of skins.
The most common way of acquiring event orbs is by exchanging event tokens that you earn from grinding event tiers and missions.
Considered to be the holy grail of skin shards, grab bags are the most sought-after rewards in the hextech crafting system.
Inside these exclusive lootboxes are multiple skin shards, two of which are valued at 975 RP or higher, and one that is guaranteed to be worth 1350RP or more.
Watching live esports
If you’re someone who already watches LoL esports, you’re going to love the fact that you can potentially earn hextech crafting items just by watching games.
However, if esports isn't your cup of tea, don’t worry, as you can simply open tabs of esports games and passively earn rewards while focusing on your League matches.
Clash
Clash is the premier way of playing competitive League of Legends with your friends in a tournament setting against other organized teams.
The best aspect of Clash is the prizing system though as you can earn capsules and orbs whose loot quality is based on your tournament results and ticket you’ve purchased.
Event pass
One of the fastest methods of acquiring skin shards in League of Legends is by purchasing premium event passes.
These passes give you a boost to your skin shard collection by providing you with a bundle of orbs and event tokens upon purchase.
On top of that, specific event tiers grant you other valuable crafting items such as chests, keys, and even a guaranteed grab bag upon pass completion.
Ranked milestones and missions
Wanting to incentivize players to play ranked, Riot gives out milestone rewards based on the number of ranked SP (split points) you amass.
Once you’ve played enough ranked games, you will naturally reach milestones that contain valuable rewards.
Fortunately, some of these rewards are hextech and masterwork chests, both of which potentially contain skin shards.
Furthermore, limited time passes and thematic events are often paired up with missions that are available for all players, offering some neat prizes including hextech lootboxes.
Sadly, the quality of missions is sometimes determined by whether you’ve purchased the premium event pass or not, as event pass holders gain access to higher-quality missions.
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