League of Legends Classic Guide (2026): How Does It Work?

Riot released LoL Classic game mode on July 29th, 2026, alongside Patch 26.15. For anyone who played League years ago, it brings back a nostalgic version of the game. Season 3 was the main inspiration for Classic, but Riot focused on recreating the slower combat and old-school experimental builds that defined early League days, not just one season.

In this guide, we’ll cover how League of Legends Classic came to life and what you can expect.

What is League of Legends Classic?

Altogether, LoL Classic is a League of Legends game mode based on Season 3, which took place from February 1st, 2013, to November 11th, 2013. Therefore, you can access Classic mode with your game account through the same LoL Client launcher.

League Classic has its own panel in the League Client, divided into six tabs:

• Home is where players queue for a Classic match.
• Classic Pass holds information about it (like rewards and time left to complete).
• Collection divides into 4 more tabs (champions, spells, items, and portraits).
• Runes display the player’s Rune pages with slots and let you edit them.
• Masteries lets summoners view Mastery pages and edit Mastery points in trees.
• The store tab is where you can buy Classic items such as champs, Runes, and skins.

For most old-school LoL players, Classic marks the start of their LoL journey. For that exact reason, it’s such an iconic event for many summoners. It brings back the classic champions, items, Runes, Masteries, art style, and, of course, a lot of memories for some. 

How to play League of Legends Classic?

You don’t need a separate download for League Classic. It runs through the regular LoL Client. 

1. Open League of Legends and select the Classic tab.
2. Head to the Home tab to access Classic matches.
3. Choose a game mode (Classic supports PvP, co-op vs AI, and custom games).
4. Queue for Classic Rift, pick your champion, and start the match.

Classic champions

League of Legends Classic launched with 60 champions in patch 26.15, followed by Akali, Kennen, and Shen in 26.16, then Fiora, Galio, Poppy, Shyvana, and Xin Zhao in 26.18.

However, they’re not just modern LoL champs in the old Summoner’s Rift. Riot changed them to better match their old versions. We’re talking about more than just their appearance. Some Classic champions’ abilities changed so much you have to relearn them, while others stayed the same. 

• Poppy’s Diplomatic Immunity makes her immune to everyone except one targeted enemy, Sion can be built AP or AD, while Twisted Fate gets the infamous global slow.
• Karthus, Lee Sin, Leona, and Tryndamere have no ability changes at all.

Old Runes and Masteries

Now summoners use only the updated Runes to make their champ stronger before a match begins. But long ago, almost 10 years ago, a completely different Rune and Mastery system existed. In League of Legends Classic, you use those old Runes and Masteries again.

Runes unlock once you reach Classic level 4, and there are four types of them:

• Marks

• Seals

• Glyphs

• Quintessences (or Quints)

Meanwhile, Masteries unlock at level 3 and don’t require any further purchases. With them, you gain additional stats, special effects, and you can even improve your summoner spells.

You get 30 points to spread across 3 Mastery trees:

• Offense

• Defense

• Utility

League of Legends Classic summoner spells

League of Legends Classic has 16 summoner spells, and you must select two before each match, as in any modern LoL game. The mentioned Classic spells consist of:

Six of these no longer exist in modern Summoner’s Rift. Meanwhile, the ones that do exist in modern LoL work differently. Let’s take Flash, an S-tier spell, as an example. In League of Legends Classic, it has a shorter blink than in modern LoL matches.

League of Legends Classic items

You’ll find over 140 items in the League of Legends Classic in-game shop, including over 50 items that are no longer available in modern LoL. Mana Potion, Crystalline Flask, Heart of Gold, Avarice Blade, Deathfire Grasp, Frozen Mallet, and Sword of the Occult are just a few examples. Classic also brings back purchasable Sight and Vision Wards alongside the free Red and Yellow Trinkets.

However, items known in modern LoL can also have stats, effects, costs, and recipes from old LoL. So don’t assume you know everything about an item just because you buy it often in modern LoL.

League of Legends Classic progression

League of Legends Classic has a separate 30-level Progression Track. Therefore, you earn Classic XP (CXP) by playing Classic matches, and reaching certain levels unlocks certain features and rewards.

LoL Classic roadmap and updates

On July 29th (patch 26.15), Riot released League of Legends Classic with 60 champions, Council Voting, Classic SR map, Classic Pass: Act 1, and Seasonal Summoner’s Journey. But that’s not the end. Riot plans to keep perfecting this LoL game mode, adding new things every update. 

So far, these are the officially announced LoL Classic updates:

Riot also announced that every patch release will have a balance update.

How did Riot come up with Classic?

Riot created LoL Classic after years of players asking to experience the old League again. The goal was to bring back what summoners remembered and wanted to experience once again the most: 

• Slower combat
• More noticeable champion strengths and weaknesses
• Old items
• Runes
• Masteries
• Pre-rework champion kits

However, instead of recreating one exact patch, the Riot dev team used Season 3 as the main reference and combined popular features from several early seasons. Hence, Riot describes Classic more as a collection of early League’s “greatest hits” than a copy of one specific season.

Get better deals on Eldorado.gg

If you don’t have enough RP saved up, or want a better price, Eldorado.gg has great deals waiting. You will even find accounts with enough RP to buy everything in the Classic store. But it doesn’t stop with RP. Skins, chests, keys, passes, and much more are for sale here.

Eldorado.gg protects you as a buyer during and after the purchase:

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4. Buyer protection: Release payment only after a successful trade, or get your money back.
5. 24/7 support: If anything goes wrong, we’ve got your back.

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