The Path of Champions - In-Depth Look

Nov 6, 2021

It’s time to forge a new path. Welcome to The Path of Champions!

What is The Path of Champions?

The Path of Champions is Legends of Runeterra’s brand new PvE adventure mode coming in patch 2.19.0 on November 10 at 10AM~ PT. Travel across Runeterra as one of your favorite champions, conquer unique encounters, earn and equip powerful Relics, recruit allies, and upgrade your champion like never before to take on all-new challenges.

How to Unlock & Play The Path of Champions

The Path of Champions is unlocked during the tutorial. If you’ve already completed the tutorial, then you already have access! Navigate your way to the Labs tab, and select the mode to enter. The first time you enter The Path of Champions, you’ll play through a special adventure as Jinx, as she blasts her way through Zaun and Piltover in search of Vi. Why is Jinx’s adventure special, you ask? To celebrate Riot x Arcane, Jinx’s adventure, as well as those of the other four Piltover & Zaun champions available in The Path of Champions on release, comes complete with fully-voiced, animated comics to add some storyful flair to their journeys.

You’ll start Jinx’s adventure with a small premade deck, and you’ll get introduced to The Path of Champions through your first introductory encounters as you fight your way towards a powerful enemy boss. As you complete each encounter, you’ll be able to add new cards, ally champions, powers, and items that boost your cards for the entire adventure - you might even come across some cards that only exist on The Path of Champions! Some encounters will give you a choice between multiple rewards, refilling health, and you'll also be able to spend gold earned from encounters at Shops along the way. You’ll even be faced with a decision during your adventure that affects how your story ends!

Once you’ve blasted your way through augmented antagonists, Piltovan patrols, and smug scholars to take on Vi, you’ll earn exciting rewards to take into your next adventure, and access to The Path of Champions full experience - the World Map.

Your New Adventure Begins - What Awaits in The Path of Champions

If you’re familiar with Lab of Legends / Saltwater Scourge, running through Jinx’s adventure should seem somewhat familiar. We’ve taken learnings and feedback from both of those iterations to inform what a fully-realized, permanent PvE experience could, and should look like for Legends of Runeterra. The Path of Champions is the culmination of those learnings, and it breaks down into a few major sections:

The World Map

The World map, and the systems accessed through it, are what we’ve been hammering away on in the Lab - an expansive, persistent experience that ties everything together. There’s still plenty of work to be done, but we’re excited to introduce you to show you where we’re at.

From the World Map, you can:

• Select an adventure from a variety of regions across Runeterra.
  • Piltover & Zaun, Bilgewater, and Ionia are available on release. Across a number of future patches, you’ll eventually be able to explore many more parts of Runeterra.
• Select your champion, and begin your adventure!
• Not all champions are available on release, but many more will be added over time. Additionally, you must own at least two champion cards for the champion you’ll be playing. These champions are available immediately on release:
  • Piltover & Zaun: Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, Ekko, Jayce
  • Bilgewater: Nami, Pyke, Twisted Fate, Miss Fortune, Tahm Kench
  • Ionia: Lulu, Yasuo, Zed, Lee Sin, Irelia

Permanent Progression - Reputation & Relics

• View your champion’s Reputation level & adventure progress.
  • Reputation is a new champion-based progression system introduced in The Path of Champions. Earn Reputation for your champion by completing adventures, and level up to unlock a wide range of rewards, from passive power-ups, to new starting decks, new options for encounters, additional Relic slots, and more!
• Manage your Relic collection.
  • Relics are a brand new type of collectible item in The Path of Champions, ones you may recognize as objects of great renown across Runeterra. They vary in power and rarity, and can be collected by completing champion adventures. Equipping them grants powerful bonuses to your champion, and depending on your champion’s Reputation level, you can equip up to 2 Relics. Over 20 Relics will be available on release, with more to be added over time, so get creative and mix and match to create your ultimate champion!

Unlock New Adventures

As you complete adventures, increase your champion’s Reputation level, and stock up on Relics, you’ll unlock new adventures across Runeterra. Adventure difficulty ramps up as you progress through The Path of Champions, so while you might be able to blast your way through some of the early encounters, later ones can give even the most seasoned players a run for their money. Make the most of your Reputation abilities & Relics to even the playing field!

The best way to experience The Path of Champions is to jump in yourself - so check out the introduction video and get ready to begin your adventure in patch 2.19.0 on November 10! For even more information before you jump in, be sure to read through the FAQ below.

FAQ

Is The Path of Champions Free-To-Play?

Short answer - yes, but you must own at least two copies of a champion to begin their adventure in The Path of Champions.

Long answer - also yes, but we’re also planning on exploring additional opportunities for premium content as we continue development on The Path of Champions as a permanent mode. We don’t have anything to share right now, but we’ll keep everyone updated as we continue our exploration!

With Future Updates, Will My Progress Ever Be Reset?

That’s a very specific question, but yes, we currently have plans for a progression reset at some point next year. We’re proud of The Path of Champions as it exists today, but it’s still just our initial rollout. We have big plans for the future, and we’ll be actively developing and iterating on the mode as we see what works, and what still has room for improvement - just like we’ve done with Lab of Legends and Saltwater Scourge.

That means there’s a point where we know we’ll need to reset certain aspects of progression, like Reputation levels, to create the best experience possible. We’ll keep everyone informed as to when that’s going to happen and exactly what it entails when we get closer to that point.

Will The Path of Champions Support a PvP Mode?

At the moment, we don’t have any plans to support PvP within The Path of Champions. Making this a PvE-only experience gives us much more room to play when it comes to Reputation & Relic bonuses, mode-exclusive non-collectible cards, powers, and more without being constrained by PvP balance concerns.

You’re going to face some tough encounters in The Path of Champions, and we want to give players the power, freedom, and creative expression to tackle them with their favorite champions, however they’d like.

How Will The Path of Champions Affect Legends of Runeterra’s Development (PvP, Expansions, etc.)?

Not much at all, actually. The Path of Champions and Legends of Runeterra’s more traditional 1v1 PvP modes are being developed by largely separate teams. This release is more heavily weighted towards The Path of Champions since it’s a brand new mode and we want to celebrate its release, but you’ll still see expansions, balance patches, and more for traditional 1v1 PvP alongside updates for The Path of Champions moving forward.

What’s Next For The Path of Champions?

More of everything! We’re prioritizing adding new regions, champions, powers, and Relics, as well as actively adjusting Adventures based on player response. Look forward to a lot more coming to The Path of Champions in the coming year.