Challenges in League of Legends explained: New progression missions in Season 12

Andrew Amos
Santa Draven in League of Legends

Challenges are coming to League of Legends in Season 12 as an all-new progression system for players. Tracking all your achievements in-game, players will be able to show off their progress with player titles and other rewards. Here’s how it works.

Challenges is one of the biggest changes coming to League of Legends in Season 12 ⁠— even if it’s not directly impacting the game. The new progression system is for all players, not just those who fork out for Eternals or the ranked grinders.

With over 300 Challenges being added ⁠— and tiers of progress in each one ⁠— there’s plenty to grind for, and some new rewards on offer too. Here’s how the new system will work.

Samira was dominating League of Legends solo queue after her patch 10.19 release.
Show off your League of Legends progress with all-new Challenges.

How do Challenges work in League of Legends?

Challenges are a new progression system in League of Legends. However, instead of it being directly tied to your rank, or your Mastery of a champion, it encompasses all things within the game.

Everyone will get Challenges for free ⁠— unlike the Eternals system, which is gated behind a paywall. Players can unlock progress on these Challenges just by playing the game and completing specific tasks.

It’s also part of Riot’s new profile revamp, giving players more options to showcase their progression across all elements of League of Legends.

Challenges collection in League of Legends
Riot are adding more than 300 Challenges to League of Legends.

Types of Challenges in League of Legends

There are six primary Challenge categories coming to League of Legends. They will test you on different parts of your skill in-game, and will reward players old and new with achievements to show off that mastery.

  • Imagination: Challenges that focus on unique objectives
  • Expertise: Challenges related to mastering a champion or role
  • Teamwork & Strategy: Challenges that focus on working with your team
  • Veterancy: Challenges for veterans of the game who have posted “big lifetime numbers”
  • Collection: Challenges related to collecting loot like champions, skins, and icons in-game
  • Legacy: Limited-time Challenges that will come and go

Within these categories, there are over 300 Challenges, and you can individually level up each group (except Legacy) by completing specific ones.

You can also level up certain challenges from one rank to another, starting from Bronze and heading all the way up to Challenger ⁠— following the game’s ranked system.

League players will still receive a "Victorious" skin each season for finishing at least Gold.
You might not get a Victorious skin through Challenges, but League’s new stat tracker has its own perks.

What rewards are on offer for Challenges?

By completing Challenges, League of Legends players will receive a few rewards. They will earn progress towards badges with Achievement Points, which will show on player profiles.

“One of the important lessons we’ve learned from Ranked is that players enjoy having the ability to showcase their accomplishments,” developer ‘BarackProbama’ said in a post on April 8.

“We believe that Challenges will help tell a story of your League experience and your journey to be the very best that no one ever was.”

After leveling Challenges to a specific tier, you will also earn new Titles, which you can show on your profile. They’ll also display in the loading screen and in your friends list.

League of Legends loading screen in Season 12
The League of Legends loading screen is getting a visual overhaul as part of the Challenges launch.

When will Challenges release in League of Legends?

Challengers are finally all set to go live on League of Legends patch 12.9. The update is due to launch on May 11, 2021. It might be six months on from the preseason launch on patch 11.23, but better late than never.

Riot have not stated whether new Challenges will be added every season, but it’s likely the system will expand as players start to grind their way through.

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About The Author

Hailing from Perth, Andrew was formerly Dexerto's Australian Managing Editor. They love telling stories across all games and esports, but they have a soft spot for League of Legends and Rainbow Six. Oh, and they're also fascinated by the rise of VTubers.