How I spent $7,110 on League of Legends! I don't regret any of it(MOVED)

(( Riot asked me to move this here sorry ))

I've spent $7,110 on League in a 5 year window OO -- to be accurate it took me 64 months ( 5.3 years or ~ $110.00 a month ) to own all skins / champs / ward skins / icons / chromas. It started out as just a goal of mine to own everything in the game that was possible, I am a collector that wanted to "Catch" them all.... -_- hehe. I soon discovered a renewed reason to keep handing Riot my cash that will pay me dividends for the rest of my life.

I started playing League when I was 29 years old and have a small business that keeps me busy enough to not have other hobbies. My wife is a school teacher and together we budget $100 a month each to whatever hobby we have at the time. My wife is spends hers on scrapbooking, Bible journaling and well I'm into League of Legends and a few others games. Having a budget and margins helps me make this story happen and bring that huge number I've spent on League into focus.

So Every month for about 5 years, with the money I budgeted for League. I bought 15,000 in RP = $100 US and would buy any skin or Champion or Bundle that was on sale. I counted all bundles as " sales " since I did get better value for them. Also any other ward skins / summoner icons for the LCS / EU and non professional icons that came out not in a bundle. I would also estimate of that 7k around 3k of that has been gifted as skins, champs or a few cases s RP to friends but 90% mostly to random people that I felt on my heart could use a pick me up that day/game.

I would see very angry flamers or people getting verbal abuse from everyone but not getting toxic back.. It wasn't every toxic person or even every abused person I gifted.. Only the ones that I felt that still small voice in my head telling me to gift. Most the time some crazy stories came out of it that made it all worth it and some great friends I have to this day. One particular toxic person was really really mad at me the whole game... I was jungle and wasn't doing very well and had a few really bad ganks. It was a bad game for me but I never got toxic back and anyone who doesn't get toxic back knows it can make them really up the anite on the flame. After the game he was still blowing me apart verbally as I was saying I am sorry I sent him a mystery gift skin and asked him to have a blessed night, then left the lobby. He friended me and had a completely changed attitude of why? and WTF? Type of words, basically didn't know what to say. I told him I felt he needed something to cheer him up as I didn't feel I was the single reason that made him upset that night and he let me know about his wife who he cheated on was about to leave him... To make it worse she was pregnant with their first child on a military base far from home. They were both only 19 and he was thinking some really bad stuff. Long story short I talked to him daily for 4 days and helped him get his wife back who forgave him after I was able to lead them to accepting Jesus. Its been over a year now since that happened and they are still happily married with their beautiful baby boy on the military base.

That isn't the only story that has come out of me gifting random people who were toxic either who just needed someone to talk to and the gift was a catalyst that started a conversation. I would also hold 9 person raffles after the games if everyone was nice and non toxic the whole game on both sides of the team for a free mystery skin. After a game like this recently that I was announcing in /all for everyone to stay that I would be giving away a free skin to someone, only one person stayed ( this happens often). They won the skin by default and a conversation started just like every other time, then a friendship. That friendship became very rewarding for another friend of mine that only got to meet this person because I grouped them both together with me and connected in skype that I thought they both lived in Alberta..( Less than 10 miles away from each other =D had no idea ) and they will be getting married in September.

I have already made this a huge post that I don't think many will read as one look and it becomes TLDR for most but that will be okay. I really wanted to get this story out there like I told myself I would so that maybe others who had the ability would do the same and help heal a fractured community. Who knows what might become of it? I like to use the phrase used by my pastor " Why Not?"

I saw another thread about earning refunds on skins / champs that was full of mostly ideas that do not make sense on a business level for Riot at all. I posted this idea with a little more detail elsewhere, but I wanted to add it here as well because it would add depth to where I'm coming from. I think earning refunds would be interesting if it was a cash out - cash in system that could earn you an extra refund, like in store credit. I could see for every 3 mystery gifts you give out you earn 1 refund of a skin / champion of your choice. It's a win /win/win for Rito, the player base, and the person who has a case of buyer's remorse. For more detail if anyone reads this and wants a link to that post i'll come back and add it here.

Lastly, thanks to Hextech crafting as a reward kinda that Riot maybe didn't intend or did? I get a pretty neat benefit from spending all that money now that I enjoy. If you can figure out what that bonus I get is feel free to post about it because I rather not just come out and say it. This is how I got Hextech Annie on day one as well thanks to Hextech. I post this only to anyone that maybe philanthropist video gamer like me as a nice little side goal or end game to finishing up, "Catching Them All".

PS: Please excuse the grammar and spelling as I did not have time to re read it due to having to cook dinner for the family =) The servers being down for hours gave me the time to write this out may it bring flame or fan, thanks for reading.