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Upcoming Changes to Leveling, IP, & Rewards [Major Update]

ModWuks··25 votes·17,603 views

Moments ago, Riot released their plans for a comprehensive update to the IP/XP reward system. Here's a quick TL;DR of the announcement:

Updates to Leveling/XP

REMOVED
Level Cap
: The sky's the limit with uncapped leveling. No longer will you be oppressed by the confines of a level 1-30 system.
NEW
Leveling Rewards
: Earn an unlocked chest (Capsule) every time you level that contains champ shards and blue essence.
NEW
Special-er Leveling Rewards
: Upon reaching special milestone levels, earn a Capsule that contains special rewards like gemstones or rare emotes.
UPDATE
Goodbye, IP
: Influence Points will become a thing of the past with the new rewards system. Any IP balance on your account will be converted to Blue Essence (BE), and champions will now be purchasable with BE (ie. 4,800 BE instead of 4,800 IP).
UPDATE
Runes Reforged
: As a reiteration of the previous Runes Reforged announcement, runes will be free to use.
UPDATE
Inflation Control
: With an increase in the frequency of loot with the new rewards system, the relative value of essence from disenchanting shards will be "tuned down".
UPDATE
Inflation Control
: Current BE will be multiplied by about 6.5 times when pre-season hits.
NEW
: Mystery champions will occasionally be sold for BE.
UPDATE
Buff Chests
: Chests now have a chance of 2 drops per chest, including the possibility of a chest within a chest. Chest-ception.
NEW
Bad Luck Protection
: "Bad luck protection" will be added, meaning no more long streaks without getting a skin shard or gemstone from chests.
NEW
Blue Essence Store
: There will be a limited-time blue essence store at the beginning of pre-season, where you can spend extra BE on things like chromas, ward skins, and even a rare skin. These sales will occasionally be brought back for folks who level up fast and find themselves with too much BE.
REMOVED
IP Boosts
: Effective the posting of this announcement, IP boosts have been removed from the store. Active IP boosts at the end of the season will be converted to XP boosts in the pre-season.

Read more: Upcoming Changes to Leveling, IP, & Rewards

53 Comments

Forhonor3218 votes

Here are my thoughts on these changes:

Pros

  • No more level cap so there's more feeling of progression when you level up towards rewards
  • We're now getting more use of blue essence than just having it around for our rare time to level up champ masteries
  • More drops in chests, even another chest
  • No more streaks of not getting getting any skin shards or more importantly gemstones (YES!)
  • Current BE will be multiplied before being applied to your current IP transfer amount
  • All runes now are dramatically reduced in price and will be refunded if purchased when preseason hits
  • With any runes pages bought with RP, especially in the bundles, every 4 you've bought you'll receive an epic mystery skin, rounding up (nice)

Cons

  • IP boosts now disabled so any thought of grinding out lots of IP before conversion is a no go (Riot was 5 steps ahead of me dammit!)
  • Disenchanting shards will yield less essence now (not sure if this only applies to BE or both Blue and Orange)
  • No longer gain permenant champs from rerolling shards (kinda sucks)
  • Any runes you bought before the 2017 season you only get refunded 100 and 300 essence, which isn't a lot when you compare the prices of the runes like 515-2050 quints and 250-whatever high price runes. Getting that refund doesn't feel like I'm getting compensated, like come on at least 25% or even 50% if you want to be kind.
  • Rune pages are still a thing and still need to be bought and the compensation for any bought with IP again isn't that great since you only get 1500 when they originally cost the highest tier/newer champs of 6300.
  • Players who haven't hoarded that much IP or BE will feel left lacking when the special store comes in.
  • Urfwick will now feel less rare to have since it'll be purchasable again and everyone may be able to get it.

Overall: I mean, we are getting something for compensation for spending time and IP in the old rune system and get some rewards when it finally goes. On top of that we now have more progression, more likely chance of gaining gemstones and skin better & level progression again for rewards. On the other hand, the compensation of refund amount feels lackluster and not that great considering the amount of IP we've had to spend on these old runes (especially for pages), those who don't have a lot of IP or BE at preseason may not feel like they can take anything in the store, and Urfwick, as many have already complained, will go through the same thing as Championship Riven or the recent PAX Sivir and be less of a rare skin that's now seen more than being a rare sight to see and have.

In short I feel like Riot has the Riot idea but are executing it a bit poorly

PaladinNO2 votes

On the other hand, the compensation of refund amount feels lackluster and not that great considering the amount of IP we've had to spend on these old runes

Unless my math is off, we'll get a ~28% refund.

Forhonor3212 votes

Really? 28% for the varying prices of all the T3 runes? I don't think that's it. T3 runes cost 205, 410 and 820 IP and Quint Cost 515, 1025 and 2050 IP. Having a 28% refund on these runes would mean getting back 57/ 115/ 230 for normal runes & 144/ 287/ 574 for quints, rounding of course. Having at 28% refund would mean getting less back on the cheaper T3 runes, a little over 100 on the glyphs marks and seals and little less of 300 on quints in second price and obviously more on the highest priced runes.

The problem I was trying to get at was Riot refunding a flat 100 and 300 BE for these runes that we got feels lacking when most of us had to grind out IP to earn them. And now with them getting the boot for the new rune system we're only getting a flat number for our refund when they were so expensive to get a full set in the first place. This is already pissing off veteran players from what I can tell on the boards and I think they have a right to be so, as with anyone that had to grind out IP for runes that they needed or wanted. Hell, I'm pissed off since I had to grind for weeks trying to get MS Quints for a Hecarim build and now with the announcement I only get about 900 BE back from the 6300 that I spent on them: That's roughly 7% of the total amount I'm getting back as a refund. 7%!

Finally just to wrap this up, they had a survey a while ago asking about rewards with the runes relaunch and one of the things they asked was giving back roughly 40% of IP back to players who bought runes before the 2017 season. They somehow went backwards on what they were offering! 40% would have been a good amount to refund. It's not a 50% but hey I would've gladly taken 820 refund on 2050 quints anyday. Call me greedy for "asking Riot for more when they already give free stuff" but having a low amount of a refund for all the IP I spent just feels unfulfilling to have, especially to the long time player base.

PaladinNO1 votes

I've spent 153799 IP on runes (all Tier 3), including runepages. According to my math, from those 153799, I'll get 43700 Blue essence.

...So yeah, my aggression inhibitor is getting a workout here.

UShall Not Phase1 votes

14.285714%

ArbiterOfTruth2 votes

{quoted}

  • No longer gain permenant champs from rerolling shards (kinda sucks)

Where did they say this? It sounded like the only change to shards after the new system is how much BE you get from champ shards. Edit: Found where they said that. Gonna go disenchant my stuff then.

warpenguin5556 votes

Rito pls stop. You're gonna kill me from hype overload

Titanium704 votes

That's what I call a well formatted thread! Nice one. [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]

BobaFlautist3 votes

How is current IP converted? Will we get an appropriate amount of BE for it or should I buy as many champs as possible before then?

Will we get blue essence per game same as IP, or will it be only through the rewards system?

Feel free to ignore this if the information isn't handy, I can scan the site when I get home from work, just wondering if you already knew.

ModWulf Helhammer4 votes

Ip will be directly converted to blue essence 1:1. It's in the video

PaladinNO1 votes

For the runes, 100 Blue essense per Rune/300 Blue essence per Quintessence. ~18% refund on average for those.

An 1:1 convertion ratio for existing IP, aye.

ModWulf Helhammer5 votes

No, he means the IP we currently have

PaladinNO1 votes

Ah, my bad. I thought it was about the runes.

Yes, owned IP = Blue essence.

Blåbæret3 votes

Nice changes. Doesn't do anything about gameplay being complete dog shit atm though.

Dolyna3 votes

Hmm. Interesting. From what I understand, I'll only be earning blue essence when I level up. That's because I'm one of those weirdos who only plays against the bots. I don't currently earn blue essence, shards, or chests. I have a grand total of 30 blue essence, and that's from some past event.

Mind you, I'm not really concerned about that. I already have all the champions I want, and I'll be getting some more blue essence with the runes conversion. It's not like Riot needs to be all that concerned about bots players in a PvP-focused game. I'm just wondering whether this is indeed the plan, that if you stick to bots games then you won't earn BE outside of leveling up. It sounds like quite a drop in rewards for bots players, outside of the early levels (which go quickly). But I have no problem with it if that's the case.

Ow0wO1 votes

You wont earn BE from PvP either T_T

NotSoEvilDead2 votes

removing the ability to upgrade to permanent champion shards is really lame. Otherwise a pretty decent idea, since pretty much every other game has had uncapped leveling for the last few years. Seemed inevitable

archerno12 votes

Im curious what does lifting cap from leveling means. Would there be any advantage when having 77 lvl account and 31?

MysterQ1 votes

I assume not. Skills probably still cap at 30 points.

ModWulf Helhammer2 votes

I'm pretty sure levels won't matter with the new runes system

archerno11 votes

{quoted}

I'm pretty sure levels won't matter with the new runes system

What about mastery system? Would u open all masteries once u reach 120 lvl?

ModWulf Helhammer2 votes

....mastery system is combining with runes system. None of the old stuff is staying

Sukishoo2 votes

Masteries won't exist though, they are all becoming part of runes reforged. So there will be no points sytem.

MysterQ2 votes

Did not know that.

ModWuks3 votes

{quoted}

Im curious what does lifting cap from leveling means. Would there be any advantage when having 77 lvl account and 31?

Yes! So at each level, you'll earn a Capsule that contains a reward. At special milestone levels, you'll have access to more valuable rewards! Levels are now directly tied with rewards.

archerno13 votes

{quoted}

Yes! So at each level, you'll earn a Capsule that contains a reward. At special milestone levels, you'll have access to more valuable rewards! Levels are now directly tied with rewards.

I meant, gameplay wise. Cause now, each lever give u one point to put into mastery tree.

ModWuks3 votes

{quoted}

I meant, gameplay wise. Cause now, each lever give u one point to put into mastery tree.

As far as I'm aware, no. It looks like these changes will serve to even out the power differentials between new accounts and old accounts. That's just what I've taken from the statements.

KingDrego1 votes

{quoted}

Im curious what does lifting cap from leveling means. Would there be any advantage when having 77 lvl account and 31?

basically shows how long u have been around

Kokua2 votes

Read the thread. Disenchanted all my champion shards. Got 53748 shards. Multiplied by 6.5 will be a total of 349362. Added with my current IP will be a total of 407124. I wonder what exactly there will be to buy. I also wonder what exactly they will do to compensate the over 360 runes and 11 pages, haven't watched the video yet, about to.

MysterQ1 votes

Uhh 1 rare skin and some other stuff.

Come on man, you could have given me Xayah.

archerno13 votes

{quoted}

Read the thread. Disenchanted all my champion shards. Got 53748 shards. Multiplied by 6.5 will be a total of 349362. Added with my current IP will be a total of 407124. I wonder what exactly there will be to buy. I also wonder what exactly they will do to compensate the over 360 runes and 11 pages, haven't watched the video yet, about to.

They will probably make it so it applies only to essences prior to announcement to prevent such abuse

ModWuks6 votes

{quoted}

They will probably make it so it applies only to essences prior to announcement to prevent such abuse

I don't think that'll be the case. From the Nexus post:

For these reasons, you should go ahead and reroll or disenchant any shards you don’t want to upgrade before preseason hits so you can get the most essence possible out of them.

archerno13 votes

{quoted}

I don't think that'll be the case. From the Nexus post:

Sweet. Time to disenchant.

archerno11 votes

{quoted}

Read the thread. Disenchanted all my champion shards. Got 53748 shards. Multiplied by 6.5 will be a total of 349362. Added with my current IP will be a total of 407124. I wonder what exactly there will be to buy. I also wonder what exactly they will do to compensate the over 360 runes and 11 pages, haven't watched the video yet, about to.

How many champion shards u have o.O?

Sukishoo2 votes

Limited-time blue essence store with URFWICK <3 for 150,000 Blue Essence!

Riddarn2 votes

Is the upscaling of essence only affecting blue essence, or does it affect orange essence as well?

Basically, should I disenchant any skin shards I don't want before the update just like with champion shards if I want to get the most value out of them, or is it fine to keep the skin shards in my inventory? I felt the post was a bit unclear on that.

MysterQ1 votes

You gonna tell me I have to start a new account? I hope not.

MysterQ1 votes

Wait.

I am super anal and will not disenchant my champ shards. Does this mean my IPBE gains will actually go down?!? It seems like your calculation includes leveling up and destroying your capsule prizes to match current IPrate.

MysterQ1 votes

PROBLEM PROBLEM

I guess Xp rates will be slow. But now there will be EVEN MORE incentive for people to make bots. Like right now Bots can slow down at 30, but now they have no reason to.

Limrick1 votes

All this cool free shit and the front page is people whining that they aren't being refunded enough.

Ultima750001 votes

Most of these I can get on with, except the uncapped leveling. Now thankfully it does give you something but again it's another moniker telling someone how much time you spend on the game rather than any clear indication of skill like what happens on Overwatch. (I felt the same with champion mastery) I swear there are going to be level 100-250+ stuck in Silver and Bronze.

A Big Walrus1 votes

Still not really enough good use for people with tons of IP. Maybe make chroma sales more often, or have some way to convert IP to chests.

Better Players1 votes

will i get chests (capsule) rewards from previous lvls because im lvl 30

ƒogº1 votes

Will I get levels for the time I've played over level 30 so far?!

YouTastedPurple1 votes

so i would like to know how this will effect champion mastery costs

should i hold off on leveling my mastery to 7 or do it now?

de la viePvris1 votes

Will orange ess. work the same as the blue ess.? same rewards/currency etc? EVERY POST IS TALKING ABOUT BE ( blue essence) but not orange.... ?????????????

SAHotch1 votes

How to alienate new players 101

BananaBattery1 votes

I just found out tham my champion levels are all gone, will this be permanent?

Ow0wO1 votes

MFW Riot forgets to mention that you get only XP from games... RIP new players

A1ien1 votes

Did the hextech chest obtained from getting an S always drop champion shards? I gotten skins from every single one before, but now I've gotten champion shards and blue essense.. which kinda is a downer. Or was this part of the new changes?

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