Economy and Currencies: Building Your Collection
Legends of Runeterra offers a robust and player-friendly economy, designed to allow players to build competitive decks without requiring significant real-money investment. The game features several currencies, each with its own purpose and method of acquisition, enabling a flexible approach to collecting cards and customizing your experience.
Understanding the interplay between these currencies is key to efficiently expanding your card collection and accessing all that Legends of Runeterra has to offer. This guide will break down each currency and how they contribute to your overall progression and enjoyment of the game.
The Core Currencies: Shards and Wildcards
The primary means of acquiring cards in Legends of Runeterra are through Shards and Wildcards, both of which are earned through gameplay.
- Shards: Shards are the most common free currency. They are earned by playing games, completing daily quests, and opening chests. Shards can be used to directly purchase individual cards of any rarity from the store, or to purchase Wildcards.
- Wildcards: Wildcards are special tokens that can be exchanged for cards of a specific rarity: Common, Rare, Epic, or Champion. They are earned from chests, the Weekly Vault, and can also be purchased with Shards. Using Wildcards is often the most efficient way to acquire specific cards you need for your decks.
The Weekly Vault: Your Primary Reward Source
The Weekly Vault is the cornerstone of the free-to-play economy in Legends of Runeterra. It levels up each week based on the experience you earn from playing games and completing quests.
- Leveling Up: The more experience you gain, the higher your Weekly Vault level will be. Higher levels offer progressively better rewards, including more Wildcards and higher rarity cards.
- Guaranteed Rewards: Each Vault level guarantees a certain number of cards or Wildcards. At higher levels, you can receive multiple Wildcards of different rarities, or even Champion cards.
- Opening Day: The Weekly Vault unlocks every Thursday, providing a significant boost to your collection.
Other Sources of Cards and Currency
Beyond the Weekly Vault, several other avenues contribute to your collection:
- Chests: Various chests can be earned through gameplay, events, and Expeditions. These chests contain a random assortment of cards and Wildcards.
- Expeditions: Successfully completing Expeditions rewards players with chests, which can contain valuable cards and Wildcards.
- Events: In-game events often have reward tracks that include chests, Wildcards, and other valuable resources.
- Daily Quests: Completing daily quests provides a steady stream of experience for your Weekly Vault and sometimes directly awards Shards or Wildcards.
Premium Currency: Coin
While not essential for card collection, Coin is the premium currency used for cosmetic items and direct purchases.
- Cosmetics: Coin is used to buy card backs, board skins, emotes, and guardians.
- Expedition Entries: Coin can be used to purchase entries into Expeditions, offering an alternative to using Shards.
- Bundles and Packs: Special bundles and starter packs are often available for purchase with Coin.
Legends of Runeterra's economy is designed to be generous, allowing players to build competitive decks through consistent play. By understanding how to leverage Shards, Wildcards, and the Weekly Vault, You can efficiently expand their collection and enjoy all aspects of the game.