‘Understood, you like grab bags better’: LoL devs address Winterblessed event pass backlash

The League of Legends developers have moved to address the growing backlash around the upcoming 2023 Winterblessed Event Pass today, explaining they wanted to test several things about banners out this year.

Yesterday, SkinSpotlights revealed on Twitter the rewards players can obtain if they purchase the Winterblessed Event Pass for the Winterblessed event, rolling out in the first week of December. While there are a lot of rewards, players were unhappy to discover that they’d be receiving less orange essence and one less grab bag and instead would get two more banners. And BarackProbama, one of the League devs, addressed the backlash for this on Reddit today, Nov. 28, and understands we “like grab bags better.“

Riot’s thinking behind giving the banners was that players seemed to “enjoy” them, and they’d be a guaranteed banner, meaning you don’t have to worry about whether you’ll get it because you will. Whereas the rewards you get from grab bags aren’t entirely guaranteed. Granted, you can get at least three skin shards with a grab bag—one will be worth 1,350 RP or less, and two will be worth 975 RP or more. And you even have a chance to get Mythic Essence as well. So, you aren’t guaranteed specific skins, but you’ll get at least three skins with one grab bag. To players, this is a much better deal than two guaranteed banners. And it’s simply more valuable, which is why players are upset about losing a grab bag in the upcoming Winterblessed event.

When Riot understands players and creates events we love, the event is the next best thing since sliced bread. But if Riot fails to understand what players want, the backlash from the community can be pretty intense, which is what’s happening with the Winterblessed event and why players are upset about the missing grab bag.

Thankfully, the devs understand that players value grab bags and will hopefully prioritize them over banners in future events. However, it’s uncertain if Riot will add the lost grab bag to the Winterblessed Event Pass to assuage players. It’s possible but unlikely.