Hextech crafting is League of Legends' free loot system — the way you turn match performance and honor into chests, keys, shards and, eventually, permanent skins without spending real money. Once you understand chests, keys and the three things you can do with a shard, you can squeeze a surprising amount of free content out of it.
Chests and keys: the two halves
The system has two pieces that only matter together:
- Hextech chests hold the loot. You earn one by getting an S-grade (S-, S, or S+) on a champion you own — once per champion per season — and from events, the battle pass and missions.
- Hextech keys open them. Keys come from key fragments, which drop from honored, matchmade games. Three fragments combine into one key.
A chest with no key just sits in your loot tab, so most players end up with a small backlog of one or the other. That's normal.
What's inside a chest
Opening a chest drops shards — skin shards, champion shards, ward skins, emotes, and occasionally rarer items like gemstones or a chunk of Orange Essence. A shard isn't the permanent item yet; think of it as a voucher you decide what to do with.
The three things you can do with a shard
Every skin shard gives you exactly three choices:
- Upgrade it to a permanent skin using Orange Essence (the crafting currency). This is the cheapest way to own a skin you actually want.
- Disenchant it for Orange Essence, which you bank toward upgrading a different shard.
- Reroll: combine any three skin shards into one random permanent skin. Great for clearing junk shards into something you keep.
Champion shards work the same way but use Blue Essence — disenchant them for BE, or upgrade to permanently unlock the champion.
Blue Essence vs Orange Essence
This trips up a lot of players. Blue Essence (BE) comes from leveling up and disenchanting champion shards, and it buys champions. Orange Essence (OE) comes from disenchanting skin/cosmetic shards, and it upgrades cosmetics. They are not interchangeable. For a deeper breakdown of LoL's currencies, see our Blue Essence and RP guide.
Gemstones and the rare stuff
Gemstones are an uncommon drop. Collect ten and you can craft a Gemstone/Hextech exclusive skin (the kind you can't buy in the store), or spend them rolling Masterwork chests for a shot at more. They're rare on purpose, which is part of why accounts with a Hextech-exclusive skin carry real prestige.
How to get the most out of it
Play champions you're good at to bank S-grades, stay honorable for key fragments, and don't upgrade shards on impulse — save Orange Essence for skins you'll actually equip and reroll the rest. Over a full season this quietly adds up to several free skins.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you get Hextech chests for free?
Earn an S-grade on a champion you own (once per champion per season), or get them from events, missions and the battle pass. You still need a key to open them.
What is Orange Essence used for?
Orange Essence upgrades skin and cosmetic shards into permanent items, or you earn it by disenchanting shards you don't want.
Can you really get skins for free with Hextech crafting?
Yes. Between chest drops, rerolling three shards into a permanent skin, and saving Orange Essence, free-to-play players regularly unlock multiple skins a season — just not specific ones on demand.
What are gemstones for?
Ten gemstones craft a Hextech/Gemstone exclusive skin, or you can spend them on Masterwork chest rolls. They drop rarely from chests and capsules.
Hextech crafting is slow by design — specific skins can take seasons of luck. If you want a collection now, browse verified League of Legends accounts, see which skins hold value in rarest LoL skins, and always buy safely.