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Legends of Runeterra: The Path of Champions Guide for Beginners
This PvE game mode has become a staple part of the LoR experience. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your adventures.
The Path of Champions is Legends of Runeterra’s answer to players looking for a casual single-player experience they can do at their own pace. Instead of collecting cards and researching the best decks to take into competitive play, players simply choose a champion with a premade base deck and go on an adventure, increasing the strength of that character with every campaign they complete. Players can access The Path of Champions from the Home and Play pages once they complete the overall tutorial.
If you haven't played this game mode before, you will complete your first playthrough with Jinx, a very easy-to-play and powerful champion. She has a small premade deck that you will slowly add to as you win battles. Some of these cards aren't even available in the regular game so the experience feels really tailored to her character. After you complete your first adventure with Jinx, you’ll gain access to the entire game mode.
Path of Champions World Map
© Riot Games
Champions and everything that comes with them
Once you’re into the full mode you’ll see the map of Runeterra featuring regions available for you to explore. Your current champion is located at the bottom left of the screen where you can see their level as well as their stars. If you click your champion you will be taken to their info page where you can see their Overview which includes a little bio, their play style, and their level of difficulty. In the case of Jinx, she's an aggressive champion that’s easy to play, making her great for beginners who want to accumulate as much experience as they can.
The following tab is Star Powers, unique abilities that your champion brings to every adventure which grow stronger as you accumulate more stars. Jinx's one-star power gives you +1 starting mana and creates a Super Mega Death Rocket! in hand when you level up a champion. To unlock Star Powers, collect Champion or Wild Fragments by going on adventures. Your Star Powers should be the first thing you build your deck around. In the case of Jinx, you want to use that extra mana to summon lots of enemies to the field so you can play Aggro before finishing them off with a Super Mega Death Rocket! by having a companion champion that’s easy to level up.
Levelling up in Path of Champions
© Riot Games
After Star Powers, there’s your Champion Level which increases from XP gained by winning battles. Every level gives you a little upgrade to the cards in your starting deck, your Nexus, cards you collect on your adventures etc… Be sure to check out the new bonuses you come across so you can build the best decks to defeat your enemies. Once Jinx reaches level 7 you get a revive token, meaning if you die you can get a second chance to beat an adventure, which is great if you figure out how to win a battle just as the enemy destroys you.
Your Champion Level also determines how many relics you can carry on your chosen character. After you look at your Starting Deck tab to see what cards you start every adventure with, select your Relics (power-ups that you can attach to your champion to give them a boost). Relics can give your champions keywords, higher Power and Health or do certain things when your card levels up in-game, to name a few possibilities. After you’ve checked all those tabs you can customize your Loadout with card styles, boards, guardians, card backs and emotes just like in standard LoR PvP.
Finally, the button of the helmet with the reverse arrows at the bottom left of the champion page or at the bottom right of the World Map, allows you to swap your current champion for another one. There are 24 champions and counting that you can play with and they’re unlocked with Champion Fragments, Wild Fragments or Coins. Champion Fragments are specific to one champion while Wild Fragments can be used on anyone.
Path of Champions Adventure Journal
© Riot Games
The places you’ll go with the Adventure Journal
Once you have a good idea of where the strengths of your champion and starting deck lie, and you’ve done all the necessary customization, go out into the World Map and complete an adventure. There are two options to choose from: complete a World Adventure or a Champion Campaign. The Adventure Journal, which you can find towards the bottom right, will let you see what sort of campaigns or adventures your champion either has already completed or can start.
World Adventures are available once you complete the tutorial and can be played any number of times by whatever champion you have on hand. In order to complete them, however, you will need to fulfil certain requirements. In the case of The Saltwater Scourge, you need to get to the end once with Jinx and then again with any other champion in order for this adventure to be marked complete.
On the other hand, Champion Campaigns are unique to the character you’ve chosen and are important for increasing their strength. You will receive tailored rewards for completing a Champion campaign that will help you raise your Star Powers and increase Champion Level more efficiently. The more Star Powers you have the more Champion Campaigns you can unlock and the more powerful your chosen champion will become.
Rise of the Underworld
© Riot Games
Rewards
This game mode gives you lots of ways to earn fragments, relics and various other boosts to increase your champions and their power. Your Legend Level to start is your overall standing, encompassed by everything you do in The Path of Champions. You can find it at the top left of the World Map. It’s a diamond shape which, when clicked, brings you to the Legend Level page where you’ll see all the rewards you can or have acquired by gaining Legend Points.
Chapter, Daily and Weekly Quests can be unlocked at Legend Levels two and three, with tons of reward opportunities for doing specific things when you play The Path of Champions. You can find them at the top right of the World Map in the same place you would find your regular PvP Quests. Chapter Quests are static and are available until you complete them, while Daily and Weekly Quests will refresh after 24 hours or 7 days.
These quests might ask you to complete five battles for four Wild Fragments and 1000 Legend Points or to complete 2 adventures for a Vault or Reliquary. Vaults and Reliquaries are where you get relics and large amounts of fragments. You can get them by completing adventures, quests or growing your Legend Level. It may seem like a lot to keep track of but everything is connected, as long as you’re completing all your Champion Campaigns and World Adventures you will be working your way towards a ton of rewards.
