League of Legends new mastery system and controversy explained

The champion mastery system is revamped in League of Legends 14.10, a nice finishing touch on the already massive update.

For longtime players, this update changes quite a bit. Historically, playing a champion over and over again would increase their mastery up to level five. From there, a player would have to perform well and earn an S grade in multiple games to increase their mastery level, which capped out at level seven. At that point, a champion’s mastery would stay like that permanently, even if someone didn’t play them for years. 

This new update now has a permanent and rotating mastery system, which has caused a bit of controversy in the community. 

Unlimited mastery levels and new marks of mastery

Mastery levels are now uncapped, so players can now continue leveling it up if they go through the correct loops. However, after mastery level four, players have to earn marks of mastery.

Marks of mastery reset with every split, and they are awarded through split mastery milestones that have five different stages for each champion. These milestones also have different rewards beyond just marks of mastery.

• Milestone 1: 1 B Grade, 4 D- Grade or higher; rewards 1 mark of mastery and 1 Hextech chest (for the first six champions per split)
• Milestone 2: 1 A Grade, 4 D- Grade or higher; rewards 1 mark of mastery
• Milestone 3: 1 S Grade, 4 D- Grade or higher; rewards 2 marks of mastery and 1 Hextech chest
• Milestone 4: 1 S Grade, 4 D- Grade or higher; rewards 2 marks of mastery and champion title (will reset after that split is over)
• Milestone 5+ (unlimited): 3 S Grades, 7 D- Grade or higher; rewards 1 mark of mastery

Essentially, marks of mastery are still tied to getting an S grade, but there’s also a requirement to play at least five games between each Milestone. There’s also a new mastery set challenge, which contains a curated list of popular champions or picks that Riot thinks players will enjoy. By increasing mastery levels on those champions, players can earn a mastery chest. These new mastery rewards have the same loot as a Hextech chest. 

Mastery levels have new icons and emotes as well, changing in color and design up to level ten. After that, a number plate appears at the bottom to show higher mastery levels. This system has also removed mastery points from showing, opting for these new icons. 

LoL community split over new mastery system

While Riot claims that the new mastery system is meant to demonstrate long-term dedication to a champion, many players argue that it simply forces them to play more. To some, it appears that the new mastery system is doing the opposite of what is intended. Simply playing a lot of games on a champion doesn’t equate to actually mastering that champion, and the added grind frustrates players.

Players are also speaking against the removal of mastery points. Some have claimed that it’s not satisfying to see a mastery level number that’s much lower than many mastery points would be. For example, someone who had over 1 million mastery points on a champion may now only have a mastery level of 90. Riot may address these concerns in a future patch.