How to gets shards in League of Legends & what they're used for
Shards are used for unlocking Champions and many kinds of cosmetic items, provided you have the necessary resources to unlock them permanently.
League of Legends shards are important items that are used to unlock all kinds of rewards. League of Legends has a deep roster of Champions and hundreds of cosmetic items to collect, and shards are one of the best ways to unlock them.
Shards, alongside Orange Essence and Blue Essence, can be used to acquire most of the items in the game. Here is everything you need to know about League of Legends shards.
How to get shards
Shards can be acquired in League of Legends through several methods. These include:
- Chests
- Capsules
- Orbs
Pretty much any source of loot can grant shards, as there are shards for many different items. Those can be separated into two main categories, Champion shards, and skin shards. Champion shards are arguably more valuable, as they can be used to unlock new Champions.
Skin shards are broken down into regular Champion skins, legacy skins, epic skins, and wards. These are all purely cosmetic items, but no less sought after by players.
What shards are used for in LoL
Shards can be used with Orange Essence or Blue Essence to turn the item in question into permanent unlocks. When you get a shard - for example, a Jinx Champion shard - that does not mean you have unlocked Jinx. You then need to spend the required Blue Essence to turn that shard into a permanent unlock of Jinx.
The same goes for skin shards, but those require Orange Essence. The advantage to shards is that they do not cost as much as buying the Champion/skin outright, and while there is an element of chance to them, they are not just a random drop.
With shards, you get to choose where to spend your resources, so you don't end up with useless extras. If you receive a shard you don't want or already own, you can disenchant it to receive a certain amount of Blue or Orange Essence. You can also re-roll three shards into a new one for another chance at something you want.
For more, head to our League of Legends homepage, or check out how to remove challenge tokens in League of Legends.
About The Author
André González Rodríguez
André is a Freelance League of Legends Journalist at GGRecon. He has written about his state’s local esports teams such as the Florida Mayhem and the Florida Mutineers on the Valencia Voice (Valencia College’s online newspaper). André has been watching esports since 2013 spanning different titles such as Call of Duty, League of Legends, Overwatch, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Super Smash Bros. Melee, and Ultimate, as well as other FGC titles.
