Important Notes

Important Notes for League of Legends

Warnings and Pitfalls

• Vanguard Anti-Cheat: As of 2024, Riot Games enforces Vanguard (kernel-level anti-cheat) for League of Legends. You must have Vanguard running to launch the game. Do not disable or tamper with it — doing so can lead to permanent account bans. If Vanguard conflicts with other software (e.g., some hardware monitoring or virtualization tools), resolve the conflict or risk being unable to play.


• Toxicity and Penalties: League has a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech, harassment, intentional feeding, and AFK behavior. Penalties range from chat restrictions to 14-day suspensions or permanent bans (especially for repeated offenses). Use the mute button liberally and report toxic players through the post-game lobby.


• Account Security: Never share your account credentials. Riot Support will never ask for your password. Enable two-factor authentication (2FA) via email or app to prevent hacking. Scammers often promise free skins or RP — these are always fake.


• Refunds: You get three refund tokens for life, each refunding a purchase made within the last 90 days (skins, champions, etc.). Use them only on expensive mistakes. Hextech crafting items (chests, keys, etc.) are not refundable. Once you use Blue Essence to upgrade a champion shard to a permanent champion, you cannot revert it.




Irreversible Choices




• Server Transfer: Changing your server (e.g., from NA to EUW) costs 2600 RP and cannot be undone unless you pay again. Your friend list, chat history, and some regional data do not transfer. Unused RP and Blue Essence remain on the original server. Think carefully before transferring.


• Name Change: Changing your Summoner name costs 1300 RP (or 13900 Blue Essence, if available as an option). Once changed, your old name may be released to the public after 30 days. You cannot reclaim it unless someone else hasn't taken it.


• Skin Purchases: If you buy a skin for a champion you dislike or will never play, that RP is gone. Skin shards can be rerolled into permanent skins, but the outcome is random. There are no trade or exchange systems for skins.


• Champion Mastery Levels: While not irreversible per se, sinking Blue Essence into Mastery Tokens for a champion you never play is wasteful. Only raise mastery for champions you enjoy or plan to main.


• Ranked Decay: In ranked play, if you do not play for 28 days (in Platinum+), you begin losing LP from inactivity. If demoted, you cannot recover that LP without climbing again.




Missable Content




• Event Passes and Rewards: Each battle pass (e.g., Spirit Blossom, Star Guardian) offers exclusive skins, chromas, icons, and borders that are never obtainable again after the event ends (except rarely through returning events). If you want a specific reward, you must purchase the pass and grind it before the deadline.


• Season Rewards: Each ranked season ends with a unique Victorious skin (e.g., Victorious Sona, Victorious Sejuani) and chromas for higher ranks. These skins are exclusive to that season. You cannot earn them later.


• Honor Rewards: If you reach Honor level 5, you can earn exclusive skins like Medieval Twitch or Grey Warwick, but these are only available as rewards if you maintain high honor. If you get chat banned and drop to Honor 0, you may lose access to future rewards.


• Legacy Vault: Some skins are marked "Legacy" and only available during certain times (e.g., Harrowing, Snowdown, or special events). If you miss them, you must wait a full year or rely on chests/rerolls (which are luck-based).


• Clash Rewards: Winning a Clash tournament gives unique banners, icons, and a trophy. These are tied to that specific Clash event and cannot be obtained later.




Difficulty Spikes




• First 30 Levels: Until you reach Summoner Level 30, you are locked out of Ranked play. During this time, you face players of varying skill levels, including smurfs (experienced players on new accounts). Expect a steep learning curve in the first 10–20 matches as you learn last-hitting, map awareness, and champion abilities.


• Ranked Placements: Your first 10 ranked games are placement matches. Win 8 or more and you might start in Gold or Platinum; win 2 and you may start in Iron or Bronze. The system can be brutal — focus on improvement, not just wins.


• Elo Barriers: Each rank tier (e.g., Silver 1 to Gold 4) has a "promotion series" system (best of 3 or 5). These games are often high-pressure and can cause frustration. Stick to your best champions and consistent roles.


• Champion Complexity: Some champions have extraordinarily high skill ceilings (e.g., Lee Sin, Yasuo, Riven, Azir, Thresh). Beginners who attempt them often feed unintentionally. Start with easier champions (e.g., Annie, Garen, Ashe, Lux, Soraka) until you understand fundamentals.




Grinding Traps




• Blue Essence Waste: Do not spend Blue Essence buying every champion release. Use the weekly free rotation to try champions before buying. Once you buy a champion with BE, you cannot refund it (unless within a refund token). Instead, use Champion Shards from hextech chests to disenchant duplicates into BE — this is a better long-term economy.


• XP Boosts: Purchasing XP boosts with RP speeds up account leveling but does not grant Blue Essence. If you only need BE to unlock champions, XP boosts are inefficient. Use them only if you want to rush to Ranked.


• Rune Pages: Rune pages are now free (you can create as many as you like). Do not buy rune pages — they are no longer a thing. Similarly, do not spend BE on old runes or masteries.


• Hextech Crafting: Opening chests and key fragments is random. Do not buy an excessive number of keys or chests hoping for a specific skin; the odds are low. You are better off saving for the skin directly.


• Skin Sales: Skins go on sale (discount) only during specific sales (e.g., Your Shop, seasonal sales). Buying a full-price skin right before a sale is a common regret. Wait if you can.




Online Etiquette & Anti-Cheat Notes




• Mute and Report: In-game, use /mute all (to mute pings and chat from everyone) if a teammate is toxic. Do not engage; arguing reduces your performance and can be reported. Post-game, use the report button for offensive chat, inting, or AFK.


• Ban Phase: In Ranked Draft, you and your team must ban champions. Coordinate with your team (type in chat). Never ban a teammate’s hovered champion — that is considered trolling.


• Position Roles: Before the game, select your primary/secondary roles. Do not queue as Fill if you are uncomfortable with support or jungle. Be prepared to play off-role if auto-filled, and never force a teammate to swap.


• Remake: If a player is AFK at the start of the game (before 3:00 in-game time), call a /remake vote (in chat type /remake). This ends the game with no MMR penalty but loses LP for the AFK player. Refusing to remake penalizes your team.


• AFK/Dodge: Dodging champion select (closing the client) incurs LP loss and a temporary queue delay. Repeated dodging can lead to a 12-hour or even 24-hour ban. Only dodge if you absolutely must.


• Anti-Cheat Enforcement: Vanguard records your system actions while running. If you use macro keyboards or scripts (third-party automated inputs), you risk a ban even if not caught immediately. Riot’s detection is sophisticated. Do not cheat.




Save Management & Account Advice




• No Local Saves: League of Legends is entirely server-based. There are no save files on your computer. Your progress (champions, skins, rank, honor) is tied to your account on Riot’s servers.


• Account Recovery: If you forget your password, use the "Forgot Username" or "Forgot Password" option on the Riot Client. Linking your account to a phone number or email is crucial. Without it, recovery is extremely difficult.


• Regional Lock: Some regions (e.g., China, Korea, Japan) have separate account systems. You cannot merge accounts across regions. If you move countries permanently, you may need to start a new account (or transfer via 2600 RP).


• Two-Factor Authentication: Enable 2FA in your Riot account settings. This prevents unauthorized logins even if your password is stolen.




Things Players Commonly Regret Not Knowing Earlier



1. Practice Tool Exists: Many beginners waste time in live games testing builds or combos. The Practice Tool (available from the Play menu) lets you spawn bots, reset cooldowns, and practice last-hitting or combos without pressure. Use it daily.
2. Last-Hitting is Everything: The number one skill difference between low and high ELO is farming (CS). Missing 10 minions early game is equivalent to giving away a kill. Practice CSing in Practice Tool until you can get 80+ CS by 10 minutes.
3. Don’t Play Too Many Champions: Switching between 5+ champions each game slows learning. Pick 2–3 champions per role and spam them. You’ll learn matchups faster and climb more easily.
4. Minimap Awareness: Many new players tunnel-vision on their character. Glancing at the minimap every 5 seconds (or after every CS) helps you avoid ganks. If you see the enemy jungler elsewhere, you can play aggressive.
5. Mute Toxic Players Immediately: Engaging with flamers distracts you and tilts your team. Just mute them. Your mental state influences your performance more than any chat argument.
6. Free Rewards: Each week, check the Missions tab for free hextech chests, keys, and event tokens. Also, leveling up gives champion capsules. Don’t let daily missions expire unclaimed.
7. Champion Shards vs. Blue Essence: When you get a champion shard, you can either activate it (for a discounted BE cost) or disenchant it (for a portion of BE). Activating a shard costs less than buying the champion directly from the shop — always use shards to unlock champions you want.
8. Ranked Roles: You can set your main and secondary roles separately for ranked. If you select Mid/Top but actually hate top lane, you will sometimes be placed top. Be honest about your comfort.
9. Buy Wards: Control Wards (pink wards) cost 75 gold and provide stealth detection. They are the cheapest source of map control. No excuses — buy one on every back after first item.
10. Don’t Chase Kills: Killing the enemy is only good if it leads to an objective (tower, dragon, Baron). Chasing deep into the enemy jungle often results in a death for your team. Play for objectives, not KDA.



Summary Checklist for New Players




• [ ] Enable 2FA on your Riot account.


• [ ] Use Practice Tool for 10 minutes before your first ranked game.


• [ ] Stick to 2–3 simple champions per role.


• [ ] Always buy a Control Ward on each recall.


• [ ] Mute toxic teammates immediately.


• [ ] Never buy XP boosts with RP.


• [ ] Only spend Blue Essence on champions you are sure you like.


• [ ] Claim all event missions before they expire.


• [ ] Avoid cheating or third-party scripts — Vanguard will detect them.


• [ ] If you disconnect, rejoin as fast as possible; AFK penalties are harsh.

Remember: League of Legends is a marathon, not a sprint. Focus on improving your own gameplay, and the rank will follow. Good luck on the Rift!