Pushback from Pros and Fans alike Leads to Return of Hextech Chests

League of Legends players are ride-or-die for their favorite game, and that sentiment includes investing time and resources to build the perfect profile. Skins, cosmetics and rewards help players customize their experience and serve as rewards for their dedication. After Riot Games removed free Hextech Chests in S25.1.1, the League of Legends community reacted with an uproar — and now, the chests are making an unexpected return. Let’s explore everything we know about Riot Games’ decision rollback and how Hextech Chests will change.

On January 9, 2025, League of Legends entered a new era with its “Welcome to Noxus” update. While the patch included many long-awaited adjustments and introduced plenty of new content, one beloved feature was notably absent: Riot Games had removed Hextech Chests from the game.

Traditionally, players could purchase Hextech Chests and keys or obtain them for free by grinding through milestones in the Battlepass. When combined with loot keys, the chests could be opened for rewards and provided an easy pathway to obtain content in the game, including skins, for free.

Hextech Chests weren’t S25.1.1’s only casualty. Free Mastery rewards were also removed alongside event orbs. In addition, Mythic Essence became harder to obtain and the title even introduced a Gacha system with the new Sanctum.

Players quickly became frustrated, seeing these moves as radical cash grabs. League of Legends is experiencing massive success with Arcane’s strong reception and record-breaking esports viewership, and many users wondered why Riot Games would seek further profit from their loyal fanbase while already in a healthy position as a company.

Fans began leaving the game en masse and even holding signs at Riot Games-sponsored League of Legends esports events asking for the chests to be added back. The player base continued to voice their discontent to Riot Games at any opportunity: the comment sections of most recent Riot Games YouTube and X.com posts are filled with users questioning when Hextech Chests would return.

Famed esports organization G2 Esports even joined in, calling for a “No League” boycott on February 29 to encourage Hextech Chests’ return.

One Reddit denizen, @Levi_Hackerman, made a viral post titled “I’ve been addicted to League for 5 years now and this patch finally helped me quit.” The user stated:

“I’ve been actively playing the game for the past 5 years […] Now with the mastery chests being removed and hextech chests remaining behind paywall, with ranked rewards being reduced to one victorious skin after 15 games, I finally realized I have been wasting my time and decided to quit the game for good, as there’s really no more incentive to play.”

This post quickly reached over 5,900 upvotes with countless replies detailing similar sentiments, and the user recommended that his readers “do the same.”

While Riot Games initially stood firm on the Hextech Chest decision, the company was quickly forced to take notice of fans’ concerns. On January 15, a Riot Games Community Manager commented and confirmed that the company was “internally” discussing Hextech Chests’ return. The studio was also reportedly discussing how they could fix reward and progression systems in future patches.

On February 26 2025, Riot Games released a video on Youtube at @leagueoflegends titled, “Hextech Chests, Rewards & More: Dev Update – League of Legends.” The video revealed that free Hextech Chests would be returning to the game, although with some changes.

Riot Games representatives Andrei “Meddler” Van Roon and Paul “Pabro” Bellezzo narrated the video, beginning with a confirmation that Riot Games’ decision was directly in response to the League of Legends community’s backlash:

“We know that some of you are frustrated, even questioning if Riot is the company you’ve always known. And we get it. We aspire to put players first, and when our decisions don’t land the way we intended, it can damage your trust […] we’ve been listening to your feedback and it’s clear that there are areas where we need to adjust.”

The two continued, explaining that Riot Games “did not fully grasp” how Hextech chests were necessary to make the game “feel rewarding.”

Meddler and Pabro confirmed Hextech Chests would return in the next Patch, and detailed several key changes to the system. First, players will be able to earn up to ten chests and keys per Act. Next, players can earn up to eight of these skins through the free Pass and two from the Honor System. However, multiple Champion Skins will be removed from the Pass to accommodate the rewards. Several additional alterations will also affect the Blue Essence system. Here’s a summary of all key changes:

For a more detailed list, including some Clash changes, check Riot Games’ related developer blog post here.

At the video’s conclusion, Meddler and Pobro stated:

“We want to acknowledge that we know getting League to the right place isn’t about just one set of changes. It’s about continually refining and improving the game. We think today’s updates are an important step, and we’ll keep tracking how these changes feel, talking with all of you about how things are landing, and making adjustments. We’ve always built League along with all you, the community. Thank you for sticking with us and hearing us out, and we look forward to continuing to work with you to make sure League is the best game it can be. Thanks so much, and we’ll see you on the Rift.”

The League of Legends community appears excited to see Hextech Chests’ return. Pro players, commentators, content creators and casual users are all commenting on X.com, Reddit and Twitch to express their happiness.

Analyst, commentator and Los Ratones coach Caedrel called the decision a “BIG W” for Riot Games. Esports pro Jankos stated, “WE DID IT, THEY LISTENED,” and noted his favorite change was the 50% Blue Essence Champion cost reduction. Team Vitality also commented on X.com to express the group’s approval.

Some users, including player @Sykko_xo on X.com, say that the fix is “a drop in the ocean” and encourage Riot Games to give similar attention to the gacha system and additional in-game issues. That being said, @Sykko_xo states “Credit where credit is due. They listened.. slightly.”

Meddler and Pabro confirmed that Hextech Chests will return with the aforementioned changes in Season 2025 Act 2, which will begin on March 6 2025. Exact update times may vary depending on player location and server region.

Related Article: League of Legends 2025 Patch Schedule