'League of Legends' Is Changing How Discounts Work in 2019

Riot Games offers frequent discounts on League of Legends' many champions and skins, but the way the discount system works is changing in 2019.

Basic discounts on League of Legends items usually come twice a week with a predetermined list of champions and skins put on sale when the discounts go live, those promotions lasting until they're replaced by the next bundle of sales. These recurring discounts are broken up by larger events like the Your Shop marketplace that gives players discounts on skins for their most-played champions as well as the Essence Emporium, the rare shop that lets players use Blue Essence to buy items that usually cost Riot Points. Riot Games said that in 2019, it's changing up how it approaches these types of promotions.

"In 2019, we're revamping our sales," Riot Games said. "First up, we'll be focusing on more favorites like Your Shop, event passes, and the Essence Emporium. Next, we'll be experimenting with weekly sales over the next few months."

The event passes mentioned by Riot Games are a relatively new product that's released during special League of Legends events like the World Championship. They essentially operated the same as other games' "pass" items where players pay an upfront price and can complete missions to gain a form of limited-time currency which can then be used to by skins, icons, and other products that disappear from the store once the event is over.

Summing up what players can expect from the changes in 2019, Riot Games said "the total amount of content going on sale will go up." Players should see a shift towards newer, higher-quality skins, the announcement said, though classic cosmetics and champions will still be included. Riot Games previewed some of its plans for the new weekly sales that'll be tested in the coming months with those potential sales events listed below:

• Every Monday at noon PT, there will be at least 20 items on sale in the store
• We'll feature sales in the store front page below "Popular items" instead of in sale schedule announcements (see our refund policy here)
• Everything eligible for weekly sales, early sales, or essence emporiums could be included in a sale
• We'll have at least two dedicated essence emporiums a year
• Monthly bundles will be cut from the rotation

Those monthly bundles often combined several champions and skins which shared a common theme and priced them at one discounted Riot Points price, but it looks like they'll be removed as part of Riot Games' testing.

Riot Games said it'll be monitoring players' feedback on the new discount system as the tests begin in 2019.