A long time ago (at least in terms of videogames), being nice was just something people did when they wanted to. There was no incentive to be a more polite or helpful player, no rewards for good sportsmanship or anything like that. Riot Games saw the kind of landscape this “hands off” approach was having, and decided to implement an honor system, where players could rate the players in their game once the match was finished. Initially it was a flawed system, with players at best receiving a small icon over their portrait as they loaded into the game. The different icons were reflective of the different ways a player could be honoured, depending on if they were helpful, friendly, or even if they were considered a good opponent by the enemy. But times change, and Riot Games has a new honor system for 2018, so here’s what you need to know to get the most out of being a happy, helpful player.
Right now, there are five different levels of honor, with checkpoints between the ranks after level 2. Technically there are two more levels, though calling Locked and Dishonorable a level seems a bit premature. Players basically start at level 2, and gain levels as they are honored by their team mates after the game is finished. There are three different honor categories that a player can be honored for. Players who can remain calm in the face of adversity should get the “Stayed Cool” honor, players who make the calls and initiate the plays should get the “Great Shotcalling” honor, and players who keep the mood positive, or otherwise had a positive impact on the game, should get the “GG <3” honor.
As the players decompress in the post-game lobby, they are given the option to honor one of their team mates with one of those three choices, or alternatively they can choose not to honor someone if the like. As the honor’s roll in, players will get a little notification that they have been honored. Now that we’ve talked the basics of the honor system, let’s discuss the rewards.
Every time you reach a checkpoint, you are guaranteed a reward. At level 1, that is a single key. At level 2, you also get a key, plus your honor sign looks a little healthier. As you reach the checkpoints through level 2, you will receive key fragments. Level 3 is where things start getting interesting, as you start getting Honor Capsules. The capsules get better as you rank up, so reaching level 3 doesn’t mean it’s time to rest. Reaching level three is also where people will start to notice if you’re considered an honorable player, with loading screen flairs appearing if you were honored in the previous game. The checkpoints for level 3 give Honor Orbs as rewards as you level up. Level 4 nets another Honor Capsule, but a much beefier version than before with better rewards. The checkpoints are again Honor Orbs, but again are a bit beefier. Honor 5 is basically the pinnacle, with the capsule giving up much nicer rewards, along with legacy skins that simply aren’t available anymore. As you continue to gain honor past level 5, you keep getting Honor Orbs that put up some pretty nice rewards. In addition to all of these rewards, simply being a player that is considered honorable will get you some free key fragments, as a sort of mini reward to players with good standing.
That’s basically all you need to know in terms of the honor system in League of Legends. While we can’t give you the answer for every scenario you may encounter in game, all we can really say is as long as you’re all excellent to each other, you should have no trouble reaping the rewards of the new and improved honor system. if you still have some questions, check out the Honor FAQ, here.
