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Free the champion Rotation key fragments!

Vaintex·4/10/2016, 7:01:01 PM·67 votes·10,435 views

First off let me say I can understand the reasoning behind not giving chests to free champion rotation champs. Key fragments however, should have nothing to with mastery or owned champions IMO. It seems somewhat idiotic for RIOT to make a system that rewards you for expanding your champion pool while at the same time punishing you for trying a free champ. It tilts me to no end to win a match just see a message in chat telling me I would have received a key if I had owned the champion. Either don't inform me I would have been given a key or just give me the damn key. My team won the match reward me, don't punish me. Key fragments are hard enough to get after the sixth drop. With ARAM now giving out key fragments it makes even less sense to punish free champion players. Is the player suppose to re-roll, trade, or dodge when receiving a free champion?

Update: Hey sorry it took so long to reply to you guys. I just noticed this got a few up votes so I thought I'd update this and help clarify the issue so I'll make a few key points.

  1. All my testing with free champs were done through ARAM. Some people have replied saying they've received key frags on free champs. This leads me think this may be an ARAM exclusive problem or I may very well be wrong in my assumptions and have not tested it enough.
  2. My experiences were on an account that had not received ANY key fragments before ARAM enabled dropping key fragments. It is pretty well known at this point the first 6 or so key fragments an account drops is at a very fast rate in my experience I'd say about 1-3 wins will drop a key frag.
  3. Normally after an ARAM win I would see this message in the chatbox on a champion I own. http://i.imgur.com/wkMlelM.png However, every single time my team won with an unknown champ I would see this message http://i.imgur.com/qtiGKDp.png I'll admit at the time of posting I could have sworn it mentioned key fragments but keep in mind this picture was taken post victory in an ARAM match which has no chests or mastery. Also at the rate key fragments were dropping for me on this account which had never received any before it felt like every victory or two one would drop. The only exception here is when playing a free champion I never once gained a key fragment. This also applies for the friends I asked as well.

My theory here is free champs in general or possibly only free champs in ARAM are some how coded wrong by attempting to reward a chest and being unable to since the champ is not owned and/or it is an ARAM match and then instead of a rewarding a key fragment in it's place it simply gives no reward at all. It could also just be we were unlucky and wouldn't have received a key frag at all those matches regardless if free champ or not. I'll admit I haven't sat here and checked hundreds of matches yet.

Last I'd like to add if this problem does exist the issue isn't so much "big deal you had to win 1-3 more matches before getting your key(possibly more depending on how many champs you own)" It's more an issue once key drop rates become much more harsh say around after your 6th key fragment. If you miss out on a win that should have given you a key frag it could be quite a few more victories before you gain it. I can't say for sure I don't entirely know how the system works. Either way I enjoy the hextech system and playing some ARAM with my friends but if this is an actual problem the chance of getting a key frag is much lower than other modes.

33 Comments

Valexfor4/10/2016, 7:21:23 PM9 votes

This makes sense, here upvote.

Queen Sunmi4/10/2016, 9:45:53 PM5 votes

You can get key fragments with free champs.

MVDuneCats4/22/2016, 5:26:52 AM3 votes

I just saw a slightly different worded message tonight when I won an ARAM with a free champ: http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii539/mvdunecats/Screenshots/Key%20on%20free%20champ_1.png

Well, that sucks.

Saianna4/11/2016, 1:03:38 AM3 votes

What a spoiled brat! He dares pointing fuckups Riot did with hextech!

In my times we just had a goddamn ROCK. And often that rock was old, petrified SHIT instead. And we were happy! We didn't ask why it smelt bad. Or why it was fragile. It didn't matter. Be like us, the old men of the past and...

#embrace the shit cause that's all you'll get sometimes

EDIT: LoL idiots can't see sarcasm unless someone writes /s. xD

Solari Fortune4/11/2016, 4:23:18 AM2 votes

Key fragments are not in anyway tied to Champion Mastery Key Fragments are only tied to just Winning the game, which is only a chance at getting it Premades help boost you chance at getting a key fragment With each Fragment you earn, the next one will be harder to get This scaling resets every 30 days since your first key fragment

TekkenPlayer4/10/2016, 8:22:46 PM2 votes

Literally got 3 skins that I all owned simulataneously.. and I dont even have many skins either. #scammed

SofaKingHi4204/11/2016, 11:44:32 AM2 votes

The thing I don't understand is limiting key fragments to owned champions in ARAM. Unfortunately no matter how many champions a player owns (unless they own them all) players get stuck playing the free rotations champs. Doesn't make much sense to limit them in ARAM. Other modes I understand, because players get a choice, but in ARAM, it's a bit silly.

theArtifacts4/11/2016, 1:04:53 AM2 votes

I haven't tested this however I believe you CAN receive key fragments on champs you don't own. Just not chests. In all likelihood you were going to receive a chest; perhaps from a teammate earning an S on a champ you don't own.

MVDuneCats4/13/2016, 4:17:31 PM1 votes

I played a couple of ARAMs last night, but didn't get a champ on free week that I didn't already own. However, I did play a free week champ in a Blind Pick Normal game last night.

My team did not win. My grade was a B. I had queued up solo, and no one on my team played well enough to get an S anyway. So I wouldn't have gotten a key fragment or a chest even if it was a champ that I owned. In spite of that, the game still displayed the "You must own the champion in order to earn its mastery chest."

I would take that to be an indication that the game always displays that message in the post game screen when you were playing with a champion that you don't own. It's not an indication that something would have necessarily dropped had you been playing with an owned champion.

Láughing Man4/19/2016, 8:30:19 PM1 votes

I see many people saying that they had won a key on a free champions, but i think it's really really really LOWER rate than if you own the champion. I playing on a new account when i didn't had any champ, didn't got any key at all. Then i bought Alistar, won once and boom, got a key.... later i tested again with few more free champs and again no reward after 20 matches, then i switched to Alistar again, and guess what... i got a key after the win ... i beleve the code is bugged somewhere in the system.

Owltears4/10/2016, 11:46:12 PM1 votes

I totally agree with not allowing mastery chests for free week champs you do not own. But when you play one and do not get a key fragment because you do not own it made me sooo upset. I don't have enough IP to BUY champs, that's why I try them on free week! It does feel like a punishment but only because: You do so well to get the chest/key but do not get it because you do not have the champ :c

Azeranth4/10/2016, 8:36:54 PM1 votes

Yeah I agree

Arakadia4/11/2016, 6:25:33 AM1 votes

What is the reasoning behind not giving chests to free champions users?

MVDuneCats4/11/2016, 6:16:58 PM1 votes

{quoted}

It tilts me to no end to win a match just see a message in chat telling me I would have received a key if I had owned the champion.

Do you have a screenshot of this message? I'm curious to see the exact wording.

P0IS0N IVY4/12/2016, 2:01:46 AM1 votes

They should just remove the restriction of boxes and keys from the free champs period. Why would I ever play a free champ ever again and remove my chance of getting a key fragment or a box?