Every hextech chest in LoL is a free shot at a skin you’d otherwise pay for. Here’s exactly how to farm them in 2026, which methods are fastest, and what the actual drop rates look like.
Last updated: April 14, 2026, patch 26.7
How Do You Get a Hextech Chest in LoL?
You get hextech chests in LoL by earning S-minus or higher on champions you own in PvP games, progressing through the free Battle Pass track (which awards 8 chests per act), completing Honor milestone missions, or buying them outright in the store for 125 RP each. The champion-based chest resets every season.
That’s the short version. The long version is that Riot changed the system pretty heavily, and the old “just get S ranks on 52 different champs” grind isn’t the main path anymore. Riot’s official /dev blog on hextech chests explained the shift: they moved chests into the Battle Pass to “ensure they’re more accessible to a range of playstyles.” One-tricks, ARAM mains, and people who play three champions total can all earn chests now without being punished for a shallow pool.
I earned 47 chests last season across two accounts. Not a single one required me to touch a champion I didn’t already play. That wasn’t possible two years ago.
The Battle Pass Method (Fastest Free Chests)
The free Battle Pass track is now the biggest source of hextech chests. You don’t need to buy the premium pass. Eight chests with keys are scattered across the free milestones each act, and there are six acts per year. Quick math: that’s 48 chests just from playing the game.
You earn Battle Pass XP from wins, losses, missions, and daily play bonuses. Wins give more. Longer games give more. But even a loss on Summoner’s Rift moves the bar.
Here’s the thing most guides skip: the Battle Pass XP curve isn’t linear. The first few milestones fly by. The last few take significantly more games. I tracked it during Act I this year and needed roughly 80 games of Summoner’s Rift to clear all 8 chest milestones. Your number will vary depending on win rate and whether you’re completing missions, but 80 is a solid baseline.
If you’re trying to grind ranked games anyway, the Battle Pass progression happens in the background. Two birds.
S-Rank Farming Still Works
The classic method isn’t dead. Earn an S-, S, or S+ on a champion you own in a PvP match and you’ll get a hextech chest. One chest per champion per season. This resets when the new ranked year starts.
A few rules people forget:
- You must own the champion. Free rotation champs don’t count.
- Co-op vs. AI doesn’t count. PvP only (Summoner’s Rift, ARAM, and rotating modes all work).
- Your premade can trigger it. If someone in your party gets an S-rank, you get a chest too, as long as you haven’t already earned one on your current champion this season.
- You can only hold 4 available chest slots at once. One slot regenerates per week. If all 4 are full, you can’t earn another until you use one.
The premade trick is huge. I duo with a friend who one-tricks Yone, and he pulls S ranks constantly. I’ve gotten 6 chests this season just from his performance while I played whatever I wanted (mostly Nautilus support, where my S-rank odds are, let’s be honest, grim).
If you want to grind S ranks yourself, play champs in off-roles where the grading curve is softer. Supports and junglers tend to get S ranks more easily because fewer players hit the stat thresholds. A 5/2/18 Nautilus game will get you an S. A 5/2/18 Jinx game probably won’t.
For players who want to start fresh on a new account with full chest eligibility on every champion, grabbing a fresh LoL smurf account is one way to reset that counter without waiting for a new season.
Honor Rewards and Key Fragments
Two more hextech chests per act come from Honor milestone missions. These require you to be Honor level 2 or above (which is the default, so don’t be toxic and you’ll keep it).
Keys are the other half of the equation. A hextech chest without a key is just a paperweight. Here’s how key fragments break down by Honor level, according to the League of Legends Wiki:
| Honor Level | Key Fragments per Checkpoint |
|---|---|
| Level 2 | 2 fragments |
| Level 3 | 2 fragments (+ 3 at level-up) |
| Level 4 | 2 fragments (+ 4 at level-up) |
| Level 5 | 3 fragments per periodic drop |
Three fragments make one key. At Honor 3 and above, you’ll generally have more keys than chests. Below Honor 2, you get nothing. Riot doesn’t reward people who flame their jungler at 3 minutes.
Buying Hextech Chests with RP
If you don’t want to wait, you can buy them.
- 1 Hextech Chest: 125 RP
- 1 Hextech Key: 70 RP
- 1 Chest + Key bundle: 195 RP
- 11 Chests + Keys bundle: 1,950 RP (saves about 10%)
Is it worth it? Depends on what you’re chasing. Hextech chests have a 50% chance to drop a skin shard, 25% champion shard, 10% emote, and the rest splits between ward skins and summoner icons. According to Dexerto’s loot drop rate breakdown, Masterwork chests bump that skin shard rate to 70% and cut champion shards entirely. If you’re spending RP, Masterwork is the better value for skins.
There’s also a 10% chance each chest drops a bonus chest with a key inside it. And Riot’s bad luck protection means you can’t open three chests in a row without getting at least one skin shard. Not terrible odds.
How to Get Hextech Chests Fast
If speed is the goal, here’s the priority list:
- Play enough to clear Battle Pass milestones. This is passive income. Just play the game.
- Duo queue with a high-skill friend. Their S ranks give you chests. Shameless? Yes. Effective? Also yes.
- Play off-role champions for easier S grades. Support and jungle have softer curves.
- Don’t let chest slots cap at 4. If you’re sitting at 4 available chests, you’re wasting weekly recharges.
- Stay above Honor 2. Losing Honor access kills your key supply and your bonus chests.
I think Riot will eventually fold hextech chests into a larger reward overhaul. They’ve been slowly consolidating loot systems since 2024, and the Battle Pass integration feels like a halfway step. Wouldn’t surprise me if chests get replaced by something else within two seasons. Enjoy the current system while it lasts.
If you’re grinding ranked and want to climb faster while farming chests, LoL boosting services can help you hit your target rank while your Battle Pass progression ticks up in the background.
FAQ
How many hextech chests can you earn per season in LoL?
Riot caps free hextech chests at around 60 per year. Each act gives you 8 through the Battle Pass and 2 through Honor missions, totaling 10 per act across 6 acts.
Do hextech chests reset every season?
Yes. Your champion-specific chest eligibility resets at the start of every new ranked season. A champion you already earned a chest on last year becomes available again. The weekly chest cooldown timer also resets independently.
What is the drop rate for skin shards in hextech chests?
Skin shards have a base 50% drop rate from hextech chests. Thanks to Riot’s bad luck protection, you can’t open three in a row without getting at least one skin shard, pushing the effective rate closer to 57%.
Are hextech chests worth buying with RP?
A single hextech chest costs 125 RP, and a key costs 70 RP, so you’re spending 195 RP per open. The 11-chest bundle at 1,950 RP saves roughly 10%. Decent if you’re chasing skin shards, but Masterwork chests at 70% skin shard rate give better odds per RP.
What is the difference between hextech chests and Masterwork chests?
Hextech chests have a 50% skin shard rate and can drop champion shards. Masterwork chests bump the skin shard rate to 70% and remove champion shards entirely. Masterwork costs more RP but is strictly better if you only care about cosmetics.
The hextech chest system in 2026 is more generous than it’s ever been, honestly. Sixty free chests a year is real value if you’re playing consistently. Pair that with a rank boost to climb while you collect, and you’re stacking rewards without extra effort.