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League of Legends event passes somehow just got worse

If you thought League of Legends' Winterblessed event pass was bad, I've crunched the numbers and Heavenscale isn't looking great.

League of Legends event passes somehow just got worse: An attractive Asian man with blue hair wearing an aqua jacket made of scales stands in front of a huge golden crystal, orange horns poking out from his hair

It’s no secret that League of Legends‘ Winterblessed event pass changes went over like a lead balloon. Switching out the highly-coveted level 30 grab bag for a champion border didn’t exactly leave people jumping for joy, and despite the backlash, the all-new Heavenscale event pass doesn’t contain any grab bags at all. While there’s new rewards on offer, sadly the trade-off just isn’t worth it.

As detailed in Riot’s official rundown of League of Legends‘ Heavenscale pass, grab bags have been phased out for Heavenscale Orbs, which you receive four of when you first start playing, then to more at levels 20 and 44. Heavenscale Orbs drop one random shard, and multiply your Mythic Essence drop rate by 1.5, just as they have in previous events.

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The kicker is, though, that they have a 3.5% chance of dropping a grab bag, meaning they are now considered a higher-tier reward despite being included in all of the MOBA‘s previous battle passes.

The Heavenscale grab bags will, as usual, drop three 975RP skins at a rate of 70% or, if you’re lucky, four 1350RP shards at a rate of 30%. You’ve got a 5.4% bonus chance of ten Mythic Essence as well, so for me, I’d rather have the grab bags at level 30 and 50 than two orbs as replacements.

But there are the all-new Heavenscale Capsules, too. Like the grab bags, they drop three random skin shards, and there’s a 3.5% chance of a grab bag drop, too.

The more interesting thing, however, is that the Capsules have a 1% chance of dropping the Divine Heavenscale Lee Sin Mythic chroma (think Dark Cosmic Jhin). If you’re planning to splash the cash and purchase all 30 capsules, you’ll get the chroma as a result, and the milestone rewards leading up to it now grant previous lunar skins, emotes, and more.

A list of all of the League of Legends Heavenscale event pass rewards

Using 2023’s Lunar Beasts event as a template, you’d get between six and eight skin shards (with the same 5.4% chance of ten Mythic Essence) from the grab bags, then the six random skin shards from your orbs. That makes a minimum of 12, and a maximum of 14.

In this year’s pass, you’ll get your six random shards from orbs, then three random skin shards from the one capsule, so nine in total. Obviously you can get grab bags as part of the orb drops, too, but I’m crunching the base numbers. Winterblessed, for the record, also came in at nine with the border replacing the grab bag.

So, this means we’re missing out on three skin shards – or if you’re really lucky, five. Sure there’s the extra 1% to get the Lee Sin Mythic chroma, and there’s a new title for completing the pass, but those, in my opinion, are negligible.

A shirless man wearing a blindfold with long flowing pink and white hair raises both arms, a collection of bright red beads around his neck

If I was to choose, I’d happily go back to the old format – I’m not bothered about icons and emotes, though, and much prefer having a bank of cool cosmetics. For me, the old system worked well – it’s an ‘ain’t broke don’t fix it’ kind of deal. This does look like the way of things going forward, though, so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.

If you’re determined to grind for Prestige Heavenscale Ezreal though (he looks stunning), then check out our LoL tier list to ensure you’re running the best champs. Or, if you’re more interested in what the current League of Legends Mythic shop looks like, we have a list of all the available skins.

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