Wondering how to level up honor LoL? Follow along with our quick guide in order to learn how the honor system works, what rewards it offers for leveling up – and how to get your level maxed out.
Have you ever had to deal with an “honor system” at work or during a recreational activity?
Maybe you have to manually log your own hours and keep track of your own breaks for the day with your boss simply trusting that you are taking your breaks on-time and for the set amount you’re supposed to take.
Well, League of Legends actually has an honor system of its own as well! However, it works a fair bit different than the example above. So, in today’s article, we’ll help you get acquainted with LoL’s honor system, and give you the low-down on how it works – including how to level up honor LoL style.
Let’s dive right in!
What Is Honor In League Of Legends?
Whereas being honest about your work and your breaks may be rewarding in itself, the honor system in League of Legends actually rewards players for being on their best behavior.
Originally, this used to be a way players could earn credit (not honor points) from other players by playing a great game or just making it an awesome experience for the team – simply put they’d be rewarded for not being toxic.
But nowadays, the honor system rewards you for the same reasons via votes from other team members at the end of each game.
These votes go towards a player’s Honor Ranking which makes them eligible for rewards. These rewards include Honor Capsules, Honor Orbs, Key fragments, Champion Shards, and other cosmetic rewards – all of which we’ll talk more about in a minute.
What Type Of Honor Points Are There In LoL?
There are several things you can commend someone for. Knowing how the LoL honor system works will help you play the game in such a way so that your team will see you deserve certain honor points.
After all, what you do in the game affects whether or not you get commended, and ultimately reap the awesome rewards that the honor system has to offer!
Level-Headed Playstyle – Stayed Cool
So your game is going badly. It feels like everyone is out to get you and it’s just getting you more upset.
What do you do?
Rage and get mad at everyone on your team because you feel they aren’t helping at all? That definitely won’t get you honor points!
Keeping calm and pushing through all the rough bits the game is throwing at you is the better option. Your team-mates will see that you didn’t give up and didn’t lose your cool throughout the match. Even if the whole game was lost, the voting still follows.
The MVP – Great Shotcalling
Having a great team leader is key to overcoming a tough battle. Communication and strategy are important parts of this. Calling out the right strategies to play with your team will lead them to victory more often than not.
However, not everyone likes being nagged like a teenager being told to take out the garbage.
Keeping the call-outs to only when they’re necessary is a good mentality to adopt.
The Lazy Honor – GG <3
So you weren’t calling the shots nor no one noticed that you had a cool head during the game.
What made you get noticed was that you helped win the game, got the objective, or just made it a super fun game for everybody – an all-around Good Guy, Good Game Greg.
Making an impression even if you weren’t a team leader will help you earn this honor point.
Why Should You Level Up Your Honor In League?
You get lots of cool shit. Is there any better incentive to show off your skills and general positive in-game attitude?
Current Honor Rewards
At the time of writing – there are a few different rewards that you can get if you level up your honor in LoL.
Below, we’ll guide you through what’s up for grabs and tell you a little bit about what each type of loot is good for in-game.
Honor Chests (Orbs & Capsules)
Unlike Hextech chests, these don’t need Hextech keys to open them. There are a number of things you can get from these.
Was there a skin you wanted for one of your champions? You get the chance to get skin shards to unlock one of these.
You are also able to get blue essence, orange essence, or champion shards in the capsules.
Loading Screen Borders
Also called, loading screen flairs – while these certainly won’t make you play better in the game, they definitely look awesome.
Firstly, it shows other players that you’ve reached a high honor level. And overtop of that it also gives the impression to your team-mates that maybe you would be a good team leader and incentivizes them to listen to you more during the game.
Hextech Keys & Fragments
When you reach checkpoints on your leveling journey, you will receive a Hextech key and a random amount of key fragments. Keep in mind that to make one Hextech Key, you’ll need to combine 3 fragments through the crafting system.
In case you didn’t already know – these keys are needed to open a Hextech Chest, which give you the chance to get skin shards and champion shards among a whole myriad of other cool loot.
Free Exclusive Skins (Aside From Chests)
Before the season ends, if you’ve reached the highest honor level of 5, you are able to get one of two exclusive skins.
You’ll receive an Honor 5 token for your efforts, which you can then redeem for either Grey Warwick or Medieval Twitch (check out our guide on free League of Legends skins to learn more about them).
Of course, there’s a chance you could already have these skins. It doesn’t mean you don’t get anything. If you’ve already got the skins unlocked, you’ll have the option to claim a Chroma skin for either skin.
How To Level Up Honor LoL?
Showing off your skills and blowing your teammates’ minds in-game aren’t the only ways to level up your Honor in League of Legends.
Put simply, the only “real” way, and the only real answer to “how to level up your honor in lol” is just by playing games, time and time again.
However, it’s not all about just grinding out a certain amount of commendations. The honor system makes you pass 3 checkpoints in order to level up.
And while that might sound a little strenuous – don’t worry!
Each checkpoint bears some fruit with awesome rewards like loading screen flairs and more to keep you motivated.
Method 1: Trading Honor With Teammates
This one almost sounds like cheating, but it’s also one of the fastest ways to gain honor points in League of Legends.
If you have made a pre-made party of 2 or more, you and this other player can just honor each other after every game. The same goes for a party of 5.
Asking your team-mates to dole out the points to you can be a pretty secure way to get points fast in the least amount of time.
Unfortunately, all good things do come to an end. And in recent times, Riot has been blocking this out for people that are in a queue together – just think about how easy it would be to farm either of the skins with this approach.
Method 2: Play The Game & Behave Well
Of course, if you play a stupendous game and everyone sees that, it’s more likely you’ll be rewarded with honor points.
Behaving positively and respectfully is always welcomed in the game. Meanwhile doing the opposite, not so much!
So gear up with your big boy carry pants and go grind out some games – just remember to have fun while you’re at it, that’s the only thing that matters at the end of the day.
League Of Legends Honor FAQ
Let’s go into some more detail about the LoL honor system and answer any burning questions you may have that we might have missed above.
How Many Honor Levels Are There?
Currently, there are 5 honor levels. You don’t start receiving real honor rewards until the 3rd level but you will start receiving some freebies at the 1st one.
Again, the checkpoints between each level up are a pretty good way of keeping track of how far you have progressed in your level and what the next batch of rewards will be once you’ve leveled up or reached another checkpoint.
The honor ranking and rewards are as follows:
- Level 1 – 1 key.
- Level 2 & Level 2 Checkpoints – 1 key & 2 key fragments.
- Level 3 & Level 3 Checkpoints – 1 Honor Capsule (3 key fragments, random ward skins, blue essence or champion shards) & 1 Honor Orb (2 key fragments, blue essence or champion shard).
- Level 4 & Level 4 Checkpoints – 1 Honor Capsule (4 key fragments, random emote, and champion shard) & 1 Honor Orb (2 key fragments, blue essence, or champion shard).
- Level 5 – 1 Honor Capsule (5 key fragments, Medieval Twitch or Grey Warwick skins, random emote or ward skin, champion shard).
- Level 5 + – 1 Honor Orb (3 key fragments, blue essence, or champion shard).
Is It Possible To Lose Honor In LoL?
Unbeknown to most LoL players – it’s actually possible (and pretty easy) to lose honor in-game.
Things like throwing your team-mates under the proverbial bus or cussing them out for making what you thought was a “stupid” play will make you end up reaping what you sow.
Just as much as you can gain honor points, you can also lose them!
Getting a chat ban or a temporary suspension frequently is like having your stint as being the kid who always got detention on your permanent record. For pulling stunts like these – Riot can bump you back down to Honor 0 if you aren’t careful.
Why Did Riot Make An Honor System In LoL?
The honor system was to encourage players to play positively with each other through a reward system. As with any online community – keeping toxicity at bay is always a challenge.
In particular, with its explosive growth – League of Legends has been the hallmark of a toxic online game for years, with an immeasurable amount of social disdain for the toxicity across thousands of social media threads like this and this.
With that in mind – Riot has made curing the community of that rep one of their foremost priorities as the game positions itself to lead the world of eSports into the next chapter. And the honor system that we see in-game today is just one of the many initiatives under that umbrella.
What Honor Level Will I Be After The Season Ends & New Season Starts?
Every new season, the old season’s honor levels will be wiped and every player will start either at Honor level 1, or between Levels 2 and 3. If you leveled up past level 2 in the previous season, you’ll end up starting out at level 2 or slightly higher. Alternatively, if you stayed at level 1, you’ll still be level 1.
Here’s a quick overview of which checkpoint you’ll land at once the levels reset:
| Old (Pre-Reset) Honor Level | New Season Starting Level |
| Level 2 | Level 2-0 |
| Level 3 | Level 2-1 (1st checkpoint) |
| Level 4 | Level 2-2 (2nd checkpoint) |
| Level 5 | Level 2-3 (3rd final checkpoint) |
Source: LoL Fandom Wiki
Pretty simple, huh? Typically, most players reach between level 3 and 4 each season, so this will have you landing mid honor Level 2 at the start of a new season. This is a good place to start, and generally speaking you may even be able to shoot higher each new season without necessarily having to play more.
Closing Thoughts
One thing remains clear – if you play to the best of your abilities and play with a good attitude, you will be rewarded handsomely.
The League of Legends Honor System is your oyster (so to speak) and there are a number of pearls for the taking if you grasp the opportunities to do so.
How do you feel about this honor system that Riot has put in place? What was the best reward you received from it?
We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
