Image Credit: Bethesda
Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Five LoL champions ready to fight
Image via Riot Games

How to earn keys in League of Legends

Free loot? Who can resist?

League of Legends has quite a lot of ways to reward you—Prime Gaming, Twitch Drops, and Essence Emporium, but nothing is better than getting a Hextech or Masterwork chest and opening it proudly to find a skin you’ve been eyeing for weeks. But, before you can start opening chests like Christmas presents, you need to get a Hextech Key.

Recommended Videos

In most cases, I see players with more chests in their Loot tab than keys, and here’s how you can get keys in League and get that sweet, sweet free loot.

What are Hextech Keys

Hextech Keys in League are a special type of keys that can be used to open both Hextech and Masterwork Chests. While Masterwork Chests are tied to the cash shop and normally require you to spend money on it, Hextech Chests can be obtained throughout the season mainly by getting the S grade on champions.

How to get Hextech Keys

Before we dive deep into how you can get your keys in League, it’s essential you understand keys can come in one of two forms—readymade keys and Key Fragments.

Readymade keys aren’t that prevalent in the game, but still have a couple of sources. These keys can come from special Riot Games events like beginning of the season, battle pass milestones, battle pass shop for event tokens, or purchasing them together with chests from the RP shop.

Image of Masterwork Chest unopened.
You need keys to open Masterwork and Hextech Chests. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Key Fragments, on the other hand, are a bit more accessible to common players and can come from a wide variety of sources—playing games and getting Honored after the match comes to a close, honor orbs, champion orbs, Hextech Chests, various missions during events, and event shops.

Related: When is the next LoL Essence Emporium?

To be perfectly honest, the best way to get keys and fragments is via events and event shops. League events normally have free quests and you end up with 300 event tokens after you complete them all. Key fragments cost usually 20 event tokens and keys are 60 tokens. So, if you don’t spend your tokens on anything else in that event, you can get up to five keys.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
More Stories To Read
Author
Image of Rachel Samples
Rachel Samples
Managing Editor. In 2018, Rachel graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s in Rhetoric and Writing and first entered the esports industry in the same year. Her favorite games include indies, deckbuilders, and the entire Mass Effect franchise. Need any calibrations?
Author
Image of Jerome Heath
Jerome Heath
Senior editor at Dot Esports. Jerome has been in and around the gaming industry for the last eight years, and he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Author
Image of Izabela Tomakic
Izabela Tomakic
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.