Part of me wishes Riot would remove Hextech Crafting.

Hextech Crafting is a nice system in theory. I've gotten a lot of free skins from it, and free stuff is always awesome. But part of me really wishes Hextech Crafting wasn't a thing. Because as nice as it is of Riot to give out free stuff, it does introduce an element of toxic thinking in some people. I could be alone (I am an oddity in this game, in that I play a MOBA and actually have zero interest in any competitive aspect of the game), but I doubt I'm the only one who is more interested in getting free stuff than playing as a team to win a game.

I enjoy playing this game by myself in custom games. Immensely. If I had all the champions unlocked and a limitless store of BE so I could unlock future champions, I'd never do anything else in this game. But I can't get any rewards in customs, so I don't play them. If they brought back the ability to earn XP (and therefore BE) in custom games, I'd never play any other format again.

I sort of enjoy playing vs. AI. But people still annoy me there 50% of the time, so I have limited tolerance for it. Still, most of my games these days are bot-stomps. But I can't get Hextech Crafting stuff there. So after a few relaxed games vs. AI, I end up doing the thing I hate most...

... playing PvP. I HATE PvP. With a passion. It is not fun. Not in the slightest degree... I couldn't care less about "improving" or "climbing". I'm not competitive. I literally don't care about the competition or challenge. It isn't fun or exciting or satisfying for me. But I keep going back to PvP because it's the only way to get free swag. And feeling compelled to play formats I despise has made my attitude extremely toxic.

Not that I am ever toxic in chat. I'm not. In fact, I don't chat at all as a general rule. I usually mute everyone in chat so I don't have to see what anyone says. Because I don't care what anyone has to say unless it's a friend or someone who is just outright friendly and fun to chat with. And of course I don't troll my team. Like I said, I want that free loot, and I can't get it if I play badly. But it would be a huge lie if I said I care whether my team wins or loses. I don't. All I want is that S rank and my free loot. If I think leaving a teammate to die will keep my stats high enough for my free hextech chest, that guy isn't getting any help from me. Is that a good thing? No. Of course not. But the swag is all I care about. Literally. Nothing else matters.

I am not saying my attitude is a good thing. It is most definitely not. But I'm sure I'm not the only one who is so caught up in getting that free stuff that if it comes down to a choice between winning that chest or helping their team, they'll take the chest without hesitating. Or people who would rather farm top lane than group up because that extra 5 cs might be the tipping point that pushes them from A+ to S-... If Hextech Crafting wasn't a thing, or wasn't tied to PvP, I personally would be much happier.

Just my thoughts on the matter. Feel free to downvote. I certainly wouldn't blame anyone for doing it. I am very aware that my attitude, especially at present, is extremely poor. When I start to feel this resentful of this game, I usually quit for 4-6 months and when I come back I have a much more positive outlook. But now I'd be missing out on all of the XP during that break from the game... And that compulsive need to collect... well, I don't think any breaks are coming anytime soon...