League of Legends’ free currency, IP, is transforming soon

In a new Riot Pls, lead designer NEW001 announced several huge updates that we’ll see in the preseason. In the past, they dropped the bomb on the runes changes, but the game is dramatically changing in the upcoming months. For one, there won’t be a level cap anymore. Tied to that is also the fact that Influence Points, or IP, is now just Blue Essence. (Yes, the blue bits from Hextech Crafting.)

IP is becoming Blue Essence

IP is finally getting a rework this preseason. Instead of being its own currency, IP has merged with Blue Essence, that stuff that you use to craft champions. IP has always had the problem of either feast or famine. Players who own all of the champions and have for years (hello), have nothing to spend their IP on, while newer players feel like they will never be able to afford Ornn.

This system is getting a complete overhaul now, and you will be able to use the same currency for buying as you do for crafting. This should help new players unlock champions even faster than before, with champion shards from chests essentially becoming discounts. For folks that have more Blue Essence than they know what to do with, we will be getting our own special reward later this year ...

There will be a Blue Essence store at launch

League of Legends is finally getting a Blue Market, a place where the scraggly old players can wonder in and exchange currency that they haven’t even thought about in years. For a limited time only, Riot will be opening a Blue Essence store, allowing players to spend their piles of BE on things like Chromas and super rare skins like Urfwick. If you have been wanting your Warwick to look like a big, Urf-y boy, you need to start saving now; manatees don’t come cheap.

There won’t be any IP/BE awarded after games.

Instead, you’ll get BE and champion shards through exclusive obtained through leveling up! There hasn’t been a decision on how much Blue Essence you’ll get per capsule, but we can probably expect a decent amount. Disenchanting champion shards will also give much more BE than it does now, so it won’t be too scarce.

Each capsule will have one drop and sometimes it will have two. That means you’ll mostly be getting Blue Essence and no champion shards, right? Wrong ...

Crafting is getting some bad luck protection added in.

Sometimes in games, you’re just unlucky. You roll bad stuff and small amounts of Blue Essence with no gemstones in sight. Lucky for you, there will be an algorithm added to the game that makes sure you might luck out with a gemstone every now and then. It’ll also make sure you don’t go too long without rolling an actual champion shard. Thanks, Riot!