Introduction
Hextech Crafting is an in game system that allows you to earn a bunch of loot, including skins, champions and other cosmetic items through gameplay and purchases in a semi-random loot box system. By using Hextech keys to open chests you can get random rewards like skin shards, champion shards and essence.
While previously we had many different types of chests, Masterwork and Mastery Chests have been removed during 2024, leaving only Hextech Chests behind.
Hextech Chests are scheduled to feature once again as frequent free rewards in the Battle Pass, returning after their removal during the Welcome to Noxus Chapter 1 event. Over time, Crafting has received several updates, such as the convergence between Gemstones and Mastery Points into one currency, Mythic Essence, along with nerfs for non-paying players and a steadily decreasing amount of sources to obtain both chests and keys from.
With new skins and exclusive content only available through Mythic Crafting and the Mythic Shop, the system is more important than ever. Now you have even more chances to get the items you want, like Mythic Skins Hextech exclusives like Dreadnova Darius.
What is Hextech Crafting?
Hextech Crafting was introduced in 2016 as a gameplay reward system to give players access to skins, champions and other in game content through lootbox mechanics. The initial release would have you earn Chests through playing different champions, but would then transition into rewarding having a smaller champion pool instead, once the balance team realized this heavily rewarded playing a wide array of champions and punished OTPs. Mastery Chests were then introduced, giving you consistent rewards for playing your mains.
In 2025, both of these systems would be taken out in favor of simply getting Hextech Chests in your Battle Pass. This is easier from a management standpoint, since all that needs to be adjusted is how players gain Battlepass XP (BXP).
The method for gaining keys has not changed, although it was never very transparent. Most players would gain them for being honored by other players, gaining more honor levels and general play. Since the 2025 changes, Hextech Chests and Keys are given to players in pairs, which kind of defeats the purpose of having them be two separate things. They can still both be purchased in the store in exchange for a low amount of Riot Points (RP).
All types of Chests follow a specific drop rate pattern to make sure players get diverse and valuable content over time. The Hextech Crafting system also has "bad luck protection" so you won't go too long without getting a skin shard or other high value item.
How to Check Hextech Loot Items Drop Rate
We try to keep the drop rates up to date and accurate, but you can check them yourself in European Union countries and some other places where game developers are forced by local regulations to publish them.
| Chance | Item |
| 57.14% | Ultimate Skin Permanent or 1820 or less RP Champion Skin Shard |
| 21.43% | 4800 Blue Essence or more Champion Shard |
| 9.86% | Ward Skin Shard + 150 Orange Essence |
| 8.57% | Emote Permanent |
| 3% | Summoner Icon Shard + 150 Orange Essence |
| Bonus Loot | |
| 11.1% | Hextech Chest and Key Bundle |
| 4% | 10 Mythic Essence |
| 0.04% | Mythic Skin Permanent |
You can check the drop rates yourself by going to the Hextech Crafting section in the client and clicking on any unlockable content, and then the question mark at the top.
Crafting and Disenchanting Shards
Skin and Champion Shards
When opening Hextech Chests you may get Skin Shards or Champion Shards. These shards can be upgraded into Permanents or disenchanted into Essence, a currency to unlock or craft other content.
- Skin Shards: These shards are for skins of champions, wards or icons. Skin shards can be upgraded into skin permanents with Orange Essence or disenchanted into Orange Essence itself, which can be used to upgrade other shards.
- Champion Shards: These shards can be upgraded into champion permanents with Blue Essence or directly disenchanted into Blue Essence for later use. Blue Essence is needed to unlock champions, and champion shards are a cheaper way to get new champions compared to buying them from the in-game store.
Upgrading Shards into Permanents
- Skin Shards: Upgrading a skin shard to a permanent skin requires Orange Essence. The cost depends on the skin value, more expensive skins require more Essence.
- Example: A 1350 RP skin requires 1050 Orange Essence to upgrade, a 520 RP skin requires 220 Orange Essence.
- Champion Shards: To unlock a champion using a shard you will need to spend Blue Essence. The cost is 60% of the champion's full price in Blue Essence. Disenchanting a champion shard yields 20% of the champion's value in Blue Essence. Remember it's always more beneficial to you to unlock champions through champion shards or champion permanent shards.
Reroll Mechanics
Players can reroll skin shards or champion shards by combining three shards to get a random skin permanent shard or champion permanent shard. This reroll system allows you to use unwanted shards to get rare or more expensive content without Orange or Blue Essence.
- Reroll Odds: The reroll system doesn't guarantee a specific value or tier of reward. You can get a higher or lower value skin than the combined value of the shards you used, which means rerolling higher-priced skins is always bad odds for you. There's still 10% chance to get a bonus Hextech chest and key when rerolling skin shards and 0.04% chance to get Mythic skins.
How to get Hextech Keys
Earning Keys through the Honor System
Hextech keys are needed to unlock chests and are mostly earned through the Honor system. Players who behave well and get honors from teammates are regularly rewarded with key fragments which can be combined to get full Hextech keys.
- Honor System: Key fragments are given to players with Honor Level 1 and above, higher levels get more key fragments. Honors from teammates increase your chance to get key fragments and consistent good behavior can give you Honor capsules which contains multiple key fragments.
Key Fragment Distribution and Limits
Players can get up to 12 key fragments per month by good behavior in game. These fragments are given randomly after game, and there's a monthly limit, so even the most honorable players are capped on how many keys they can get for free.
- Honor Orbs: At Honor Level 3, 4 and 5 checkpoints players get Honor Orbs which contains key fragments and other rewards like champion shards.
- Honor Capsules: At Honor Level 3, 4 and 5 players get Honor Capsules which contains multiple key fragments and other items like ward skins and champion shards.
Buying Keys from the Store
For players who want more keys or want a faster way Hextech keys are available in the in-game store.
- Key Prices:
- 1 Key: 125 RP.
- Key bundles are also available at a discounted price, which makes them a more economical way to open multiple chests at once.
Earning keys through gameplay and buying them from the store ensures both F2P and P2P players have access to chests and the loot inside.
Earning Keys During Events
One of the best way to get keys in bulk is through game pass events. Whether you have bought a pass or not, you will get some event points. You can use those points to buy a full key for 60 points. That's 3 chests for 180 points compared to 1 event orb for 200 points.
So ,if you have a stock of chests just sitting there waiting for you to open them, take advantage of that little loophole until it's available. I personally stopped buying orbs since I found out about it.
Recent Changes to Hextech Crafting
Hextech Chests to Mastery Chests
In 2024, League of Legends changed the Hextech Chests to Mastery Chests as part of the reward system overhaul tied to champion mastery. Previously players used to get Hextech chests by achieving S- rank or higher either individually or through premade teammates, up to one chest per champion per season. This system was focused on individual game performance. You can read more about that in the Mastery Chests section of this article.
Gemstones and Prestige Points to Mythic Essence
In 2022, League of Legends switched from Gemstones to Mythic Essence as the main rare currency for crafting exclusive loot. This updated the crafting system making Mythic Essence the unified currency for Mythic skins, Hextech exclusives and other premium content.
- Gemstones were used to unlock Hextech skins and rare cosmetics but were replaced with Mythic Essence at a rate of 1 Gemstone = 10 Mythic Essence.
- Mythic Essence is now the standard currency for all rare crafting items and is obtained through chests, event milestones and loot capsules. It can be used to craft Mythic skins, Prestige skins and other exclusive cosmetics.
FAQs
Can All Skins Be Unlocked Through Hextech Crafting?
Availability of the skin through hextech loot crafting depends on the type of the skin. Any skin that had limited availability or was locked behind very specific event is not available.
Here is a full list of skins that are not obtainable through Hextech Crafting:
- All Super Rare limited skins such as Pax Skins and their Neo Pax Versions, Neo Pax Jax, Neo Pax Sivir and Neo Pax Twisted Fate.
- All Victorious Skins
- Riot Girl Tristana
- Medieval Twitch, Warwick
- Urfwick
If you want to get an account with one of these skins you will have to buy an account with it already unlocked. You can do that through our Buy a Skins Account section. Where you can filter by a champion and skin from the list off available accounts.
A huge chunk of otherwise unobtainable skins—Retired Legacy Skins—are available only through Hextech Crafting. For a full guide on these, check out our Legacy Skins article.
Note that all skins from Mythic Vault though available from Hextech Crafting have very low odds. Read the Drop Rates section to learn more.
How Does Behavior Affect Loot Eligibility?
Your in-game behavior affects your ability to get loot such as key fragments and chests. Players who get punished for negative behavior like chat restrictions or temporary bans will be unable to get Hextech Crafting rewards during the punishment period. Even after the punishment is over players may need to show consistent good behavior before they can get rewards again.
Can I Get New Skins From Hextech Chests After They Are Released?
Yes, new skins will be added to the loot pool for Hextech Chests, but not immediately after they are released. Riot adds newly released skins to the Hextech system a few days after they are in the store so wait at least a day before expecting to get a new skin in your chest rewards.
- Note: Mythic skins, Prestige skins and other exclusive skins may take longer to enter the chest system or may be available only through Mythic Essence crafting or special events.
Summary
Hextech Crafting is a fun and rewarding way for League of Legends players to get skins, champions and other cosmetic content. Through regular play, the Honor system and strategic use of Hextech Loot, players can get the most rare and exclusive content in the game without spending any money at all. Take advantage of special events and know how to craft and disenchant shards to get the most out of the Hextech system and you'll quickly start to grow your loot collection.
