Riot Games has announced that the League of Legends store is scheduled to open tomorrow, Nov. 20. Players will be able to use the Influence Points they earn through playing the game to purchase Champions and Runes, which give you stat bonuses. You will also be able to use real money to buy Riot Points, which can be used to buy new skins and unlock Champions. More information on the store can be found after the jump.

Speaking of purchasing items, Riot Games has also revealed new pricing options and bundles for League of Legends. You can play it for free and use your 10 rotating Champions to earn Influence Points, buy the Collector's Pack to get 20 Champions from the start, or purchase the Champion's Bundle to get all 40 initial Champions right off the bat. There's a comparison chart for all of these options after the jump.

We've seen a lot of new players and gotten a lot of great feedback during the Launch Celebration, but we are excited to open the store on Friday (November 20th).

There will be a few changes with the end of the launch celebration and the opening of the store:

• Influence Points - If you have been playing League of Legends you have been building up Influence Points, which you will now be able to spend on Runes and Champions

• Runes - You will be able to purchase runes with Influence Points. Runes give you stat bonuses.

• Champions - Instead of having all the Champions unlocked, you will start with 10 Champions unlocked, with options to unlock more using Influence Points or Riot Points

• Skins - You can unlock different appearances for Champions using Riot Points

• Boosts - You can unlock a limited time boost to your Influence Points or XP using Riot Points

• Pre-Paid Cards - You can now redeem prepaid cards for Riot Points

• Collector’s Pack - If you have already redeemed your Collector’s Pack code, the runes, Champions and skins will already be unlocked. If you haven’t redeemed your code yet, you can enter it and get your items

• Special Bonuses - If you have a promo code, you will be able to redeem it in the store.

Influence points are points you earn just by playing games. Riot Points can be bought with real world currency.


Q: Why are some Champions locked?

We unlocked all the Champions for our Launch Celebration to give new players a taste of all the Champions. However, as you know if you’ve been playing, some Champions are harder to use than others, and having all the Champions to choose from can be overwhelming your first few games. New players will start with 10 free champions available for play at any given time. The free Champions will be rotated regularly giving everyone an opportunity to try the new ones that we release. If you have been playing, you will probably be able to unlock quite a few Champions right away, and can unlock more through playing.

Q: Why is this good for me?

That’s a good softball question. Here’s why this is good news:

• Influence Points have meaning: People will be less likely to leave games now that there is a use for Influence Points. You will get the most Influence Points for winning a game, the second most for losing and a game, and you won’t get Influence Points for leaving a game. These changes allow us to punish people who leave the game early more effectively. We can also rollout rewards to people who help build our community and make playing League of Legends fun for everyone.

• Runes: We are re-introducing a very fun game mechanic that our early Beta Testers are familiar with, but we turned off for the Launch Celebration. You can use Runes to enhance stats and you will be able to choose the runes that make the most sense for your style of play in the store. You’ll be able to make trade-offs on the type and power of runes you want.

• Skins: We’ve made quite a few cool skins that you will be able to unlock to give your Champions a new look.

• Boosts: Level faster or gain more Influence Points by unlocking a boost.

Q: Will my account stay intact?

Yes! You get to keep your account, your name, your level, your icon, your wins, leaves, kills, ELO (your matchmaking rating), and all the Influence Points you have accumulated during the Launch Celebration. We won't be resetting anything.