If there’s one thing I miss about the glory days of League of Legends, it’s the distinct lack of microtransactions. Riot has ramped up its premium offerings over the past few years, starting with Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin and the Mythic Variants, and ending in the infamous $450 Hall of Legends Ahri skin. When I booted up League of Legends Classic, I was a little disappointed (but not shocked) by the fact that the mode does, indeed, contain a store, and that iconic chromas like Tundra Hunter Warwick and Exiled Morgana were locked behind 300 RP ($4.99 / £4.50) paywalls. Turns out, I wasn’t the only one.
At the moment, even if you own Tundra Hunter Warwick on your ‘Retail’ League account, that doesn’t grant you access to it in Classic. Instead, you had to shell out the aforementioned 300 RP to effectively re-buy it. “The argument that you ‘shouldn’t have to buy your skins again for Classic’ goes out the window when I literally have to buy the skins I bought 13 years ago again,” writes one player on the League of Legends subreddit, and I can’t help but agree.
Riot, however, has come in clutch. In an August 3 X post, it writes “We’ve heard your feedback around Classic Chromas. If you already own the modern version of the skin, you’ll be granted the Classic Chroma for free. If you already purchased a Classic Chroma and own the modern version, you will get your RP refunded.” So if you did choose to pick up Blast Zone Heimerdinger (I mean, come on, who wouldn’t?) but already own the skin in ‘Retail,’ you’ll have your RP refunded.
This is absolutely the right call – there’s no real reason to be re-purchasing something you already own. Riot has promised that it’s planning to build League Classic alongside the fans, akin to the likes of Old School RuneScape. This proves that it’s willing to listen.
Riot’s continued changes to Classic – including the walking back of paid Classic skins, which locked the original base models behind a paywall – prove that it’s actively trying to work with its community. We’ve seen a push towards transparency throughout 2026; I saw Head of League Studio Andrei ‘Meddler’ van Roon and League of Legends Executive Producer Paul ‘Pabro’ Bellezza’s MSI shenanigans, and at Valorant Masters London, there were a whole host of devs that were willing to chat to the public. It’s exciting to see Riot connect with its community again, and Classic is a great example of where it’s doing just that.
