There’s no better way to intimidate the opposing team than by showing off a flashy skin on your main champion. Whether or not your skills match the swagger, it’s the impression that counts, and that starts with style. While most League of Legends skins require real money, there are plenty of ways to earn amazing cosmetics without spending a dime. They might not include fancy effects or animations, but free skins still look great. Here’s your full guide to getting free LoL skins in 2025!
Best Ways to Unlock Free Skins in League of Legends
Earning skins for free in LoL has evolved over time, but there are currently seven reliable methods. Most require gameplay, while a couple reward you just for watching esports events. Here’s how you can get started:
1. Rerolling Skin Shards
As you play League of Legends, you’ll naturally accumulate skin shards from different sources like:
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Hextech & Masterwork Chests
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Event Capsules and Orbs
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Mythic Essence drops
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Clash rewards
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Ranked milestones
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Live esports Twitch drops
If you’re both an active player and a regular watcher of LoL esports, you’ll earn skin shards regularly. While you can save three of the same shard to unlock a permanent version of a skin, that’s extremely rare due to the massive number of skins in the game.
Instead, most players use the reroll system:
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Open the Loot tab in your client.
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Go to “Crafting.”
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Select any three skin shards you don’t need.
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Click “Re-roll into random skin permanent.”
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Enjoy a random skin you now permanently own, absolutely free!
2. Earn Hextech Chests
Hextech Chests are one of the most consistent ways to farm skin shards. These chests can contain:
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Skin Shards (50% chance)
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Champion Shards
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Emotes
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Bonus Orange Essence
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Mythic Essence
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Bonus Hextech Chests
You can earn up to 60 chests per year through progression and honor rewards. They can be earned by getting S-tier grades with champions or through various seasonal content like the Event Pass. Riot originally planned to remove Hextech Chests, but player feedback kept them around—thankfully!
3. Increase Your Honor Level
Earning Honor from teammates after games helps you level up your Honor Rank. Being respectful, avoiding toxicity, and encouraging your team earns commendations. Once you reach Honor Level 5, you’ll receive a free Honor-exclusive skin at the end of the season.
Remember: some LoL features, like all-chat, XP boosts, and ranked rewards, are locked behind Honor Level 3+. Playing honorably not only gets you skins but keeps the full game experience available.
4. Win Ranked Games
As of 2025, Ranked now spans across three seasonal splits within a year. To earn a free Victorious skin each season, all you need is 15 ranked wins. That’s right, no specific rank requirement!
The skin you earn will come with a Chroma based on your final rank at the end of the season, so pushing for higher ranks is still worth it for better visuals. With three splits per year, that’s up to three free skins annually.
5. Compete in Clash Tournaments
Clash is LoL’s team-based tournament mode, where you and friends battle other teams in bracket-style competitions. Depending on your placement, you’ll earn Capsules and Orbs that can contain champion or ward skin shards.
You’ll need tickets to enter, but those are often provided through missions or Event Passes. While the competition is tougher than normal modes, the potential skin rewards make it worth it, especially during themed events like ARURF Clash weekends.
6. Watch Streams for Twitch Drops
If grinding games isn’t your thing, try Twitch Drops. Riot Games enables drops during major events like MSI or Worlds. Simply link your Riot account to Twitch and watch official broadcasts.
You’ll receive rewards like emotes, loot capsules, or even skin shards just for watching. The more you watch, the better your chances. Follow the Riot Games Twitch channel and check event schedules to ensure you never miss a drop campaign.
7. Participate in Pick’Em Challenges
Pick’Em events take place during Worlds and let you predict the outcomes of matches and group standings. While not a frequent event, it’s one of the few ways to earn skins purely through strategy and analysis.
Top performers have historically received exclusive skins and other cosmetic rewards. Since the challenge only appears once a year, make sure to visit the official League of Legends site during Worlds season and enter your predictions early!
Final Thoughts on Free Skins in League of Legends
While most of LoL’s best skins come with a price tag, Riot offers a surprising number of opportunities for dedicated players and fans to unlock them for free. Whether you’re grinding ranked, earning Honor, or watching esports, there’s always a new way to expand your collection.
So load up the client, hit the Rift, and start stacking those shards and rewards, you never know what your next free skin might be!
