Is Legends of Runeterra pay to win?

Legends of Runeterra, often abbreviated simply as LoR, is a digital collectible card game developed by Riot Games in 2020. The game is reminiscent of other digital collectible card games like Magic: The Gathering and the developers have drawn inspiration from them. With the somewhat complicated game that Magic: The Gathering is, new players might be a little intimidated, which is why Riot made the game easier to learn.

Legends of Runeterra can be played on both PC and mobile, running on both iOS and Android systems. The game follows a similar model to most of Riot’s games, it is free to play although some aspects of the game cost money, such as cosmetics. These cosmetics can be bought using real currency and act as the primary means of monetization for the game.

With the free-to-play aspects of the game, the first question that comes to mind is if the game is pay-to-win. Most free-to-play online games or MMORPG-type games these days claim there is no need to spend money but if you wish to get a leg up over the other players playing the game, it is recommended to progress using real-world cash. The money spent generally bypasses a lot of the games’ challenges by skipping the grinding aspect needed to either level up or get better gear to progress further in these games.

So does Legends of Runeterra fall under the same umbrella?

Is Legends of Runeterra pay to win?

The short answer to this question is no. The game is not pay-to-win and provides one of the best experiences to f2p (free-to-play) players. In general, LoR provides free-to-play players with tons of free cards that other digital collectible card games do not generally provide. Its wildcard system is also one of the main features of note that provides accessibility to new and f2p players.

When you decide to build a deck, be it something meta or a casual deck you wish to test out, you will need specific cards that fit the lineup. Whenever you buy booster packs, the chances of getting cards you don’t want are higher than the chances of getting cards that actually fit your deck. That’s where the wildcard system comes in to make life easier.

Wildcard system

The wildcard system allows players to purchase specific cards that fit their lineup. So there is no need to purchase whole booster packs to find the one card you’re missing when you can just get it as a singular card. These wildcards can be acquired in a couple of ways: you can either choose to buy them with real money or you can win them in-game through a loot box progression system.

But what about the traditional booster packs, you ask? There are none in Legends of Runeterra. This means that even if you choose to spend real money, there is no need to spend endlessly buying booster packs to get those rare cards. You can choose to spend some of it to craft cards you want using an in-game currency system called shards. Each card has a differing amount of shards needed depending on their availability and rarity, so make sure you have enough before you decide to craft them.

The rate at which you can gain these shards and make your own deck is quite fast-paced too. If you take a liking to the game and grind for a few days straight, you can finish quests quickly enough and get enough shards as a reward or gain the cards you want through the wildcard system to create the deck of your dreams. 

There have been instances where new players have managed to gain a competitively viable deck in less than a month. This is down to the immense amount of free stuff the game throws your way along with weekly loot boxes and expedition runs to marginally increase the amount of loot you can gain. When you see all the rewards coming your way, it tends to make the grinding experience less focused on grinding and more enjoyable.

How long does it take to acquire a competitively viable deck?

While the meta in most online games changes over time, Legends of Runeterra has a solidly established meta currently where many of the cards needed for a competitive deck can be gained easily enough. An approximate estimate of how much a meta deck will currently cost is anywhere from 22,000 to 25,000 shards.

To compare this amount let’s factor in some real-world currency. If you decide to spend a dollar on the game, it should roughly provide you with 1000 shards in return. With this conversion in mind, it would generally cost you an average of about $25 to create your perfect meta deck. 

When you compare this price to the prices of other digital collectible card games like Hearthstone, it is leagues apart. The accessible price point of this game has always been one of its major advantages in terms of competition. The money spend here is negligible compared to other games of the same genre, if you want to gain an equivalent amount in those games.

Then again, you can forego the purchasing aspect completely and just choose to grind out the shards instead. With the game being so enjoyable, that does not feel like a chore either. As mentioned before, the loot box progression system makes it so that you will always gain something after you finish a match and the weekly quests just make it that much easier.

Final verdict

Our reasoning here is that Legends of Runeterra is very newbie-friendly and accessible to all players. If you wish to learn the ropes of a competitive digital card game, there is none better to start with. The free-to-play aspects are emphasized with their generous wildcard and shard system, and easy-to-learn rules. 

The paid aspects of the game are quite a few and any major purchases that you make will end up being cosmetics, so it is very cost-effective for players that want to just have an enjoyable card gaming experience. Overall, the game is fair-priced and we believe it to be a great entry point for new and experienced players alike.