Here is the shortest possible version of how to play LoL Classic: open the Riot Client you already have, wait for July 29, 2026 at 8 AM PT and Patch 26.15 to land, then pick Classic from the game-mode selector on the play screen and queue like any other mode. That is the whole access story. No separate download, no second account, no shady emulator. LoL Classic is a featured game mode baked into the live client, a Season 3-era recreation of the game a lot of us fell in love with. Here is the full walkthrough, what your first match will feel like coming from modern League, and the beginner traps in the old systems.
How to access LoL Classic in the Riot Client
You do not install anything. Classic ships inside the same client that runs modern Summoner’s Rift, so the “how do I get it” answer is really “you already have it, you just wait for the button.” Here is the exact path once the mode is live:
- Launch the League of Legends client and let it patch to 26.15 or later. The mode goes live on July 29, 2026 at 8 AM PT, so if you log in earlier the option simply will not be there yet.
- Click the game-mode selector at the top of the Play screen, the same dropdown where you swap between Summoner’s Rift, ARAM, and whatever rotating mode is up.
- Pick League Classic from that list.
- Lock your queue, hit Find Match, and you are in. Same friends list, same account, same everything.
Because it runs on your existing account, your summoner level, your friends, and your client settings all carry over. What does not carry over is the modern gameplay layer. The moment you load into champ select you are in a different game, and that is the point. If you want the full breakdown of what Riot rebuilt and why, we wrote a longer piece on what LoL Classic is and how it works that goes deeper than this quick-start.
What LoL Classic actually is (so you queue with the right expectations)
LoL Classic is a Season 3-inspired mode, not a museum-accurate copy of one specific old patch. Riot has been clear that it took the Season 3 foundation and pulled the best bits from across the first few seasons rather than pinning it to an exact 2013 build, so do not go in expecting a frame-perfect version of any single patch you remember. Think “the greatest hits of old League” rather than “a time capsule.”
It launches with roughly 60 champions. The original 40 that shipped with the game are all there, plus a chunk more, and the confirmed launch list already includes names like Alistar, Amumu, Annie, Ashe, Blitzcrank, Corki, Gangplank, Jax, Katarina, Master Yi, Morgana, Nasus, Ryze, Sion, Sivir, Teemo, Tristana, Twisted Fate, Veigar, and Warwick, alongside old-kit versions of Graves and Urgot. More get added after launch through community voting Riot calls “The Council,” so the roster grows over time. If you want the full picture, the announcement rolled out on June 26, 2026 and got a proper reveal at the MSI 2026 Finals on July 12. The League of Legends Wiki page for Classic keeps a running list as champions get voted in.
Under the hood you get the systems a lot of us have not touched in years: the original Summoner’s Rift layout, pre-2017 runes and masteries, the classic jungle with no scuttle crab, retired items in the old shop, original ward types instead of trinkets, and IP as the currency. It is a genuinely different game living inside the same launcher.
What your first game feels like coming from modern League
Your first Classic game will feel slower, poorer, and weirdly quiet, and I mean that as a compliment. The biggest shock is the pace. There is no scuttle crab to contest at 3:15, no herald bullying, and gold flows a lot more carefully, so lanes settle into a longer, grindier rhythm. The old snowball felt heavier because comebacks were harder, which means every trade in lane carries more weight than the modern version trained you to expect.
The second shock is the shop. You open it and half your muscle-memory buttons are gone. No mythic items, no component paths you know by heart, and a bunch of retired items you either forgot existed or never saw. The third is vision: no trinkets, so you are back to buying green sight wards and pink vision wards out of your gold, carrying Oracle’s Elixir when you want to clear, and actually rationing your wards like they cost something. They do.
Here is the honest side-by-side so you know what you are walking into:
| System | Modern League | LoL Classic (Season 3-era) |
|---|---|---|
| Vision | Free trinket ward, upgrades by level | Buy green sight wards and pink vision wards, plus Oracle’s Elixir, all from your gold |
| Pre-game power | Runes Reforged keystones and shards | Old runes (marks, seals, glyphs, quintessences) bought with IP, plus a 30-point mastery tree |
| Jungle | Scuttle crab, sweeping objectives, jungle pets | No scuttle, old camps, jungle items like the Spirit line and Feral Flare |
| Itemization | Mythic and legendary tiers, guided paths | Retired items in the classic shop, no mythics, flatter build paths |
| Currency | Blue Essence and Orange Essence | IP, the way it was |
| Progression | Level 1 to 30 fast, modern rewards | Level 1 to 30, Seasonal Classic Passes for cosmetics |
The emotional beat that catches everyone is the map itself. The original Summoner’s Rift has slightly different brush, different jungle spacing, and a color palette that will hit you right in the 2013 if you played back then. My first blind-pick Classic test game, I face-checked a brush I have walked past ten thousand times on the modern map and ate a full Amumu combo for it, because the bush geometry is not where my hands remembered it. Humbling. Great, but humbling.
Beginner tips for the old systems
If you never played Season 3, the pre-game setup is where you will lose games before you even load in. Two menus matter, and neither exists in modern League anymore.
Runes and masteries: set them before you queue
Old runes are physical items you buy with IP and slot into rune pages: marks (usually offensive, like attack damage or armor penetration), seals (typically defensive, armor or health), glyphs (magic resist or ability power), and quintessences (the big impactful ones). On top of that you spend 30 mastery points across three trees, Offense, Defense, and Utility, in splits people wrote as numbers like 21/9/0. You cannot swap these mid-game, so build a couple of solid pages before you queue. We broke the whole thing down in our LoL Classic runes and masteries guide if you want ready-made pages instead of guessing.
Jungle: respect the old camps
The Classic jungle is punishing if you learned to jungle in the last five years. No scuttle means no free vision or easy tempo reset, camps hit harder relative to your early kit, and the item progression runs through the old Spirit line into Feral Flare rather than anything you recognize. Clear health is your currency early, so track it and do not greed a full clear when you are one bad camp from feeding a gank.
Wards and the shop: budget for vision
Because vision costs gold, warding is a real decision now. Buy a green ward on your back, keep a pink up in a key bush, and pop Oracle’s Elixir before you go for a pick or a dive. The classic shop also means you should glance at recommended items early instead of autopiloting, since your usual build simply is not in there. Spend two minutes learning three or four core items for your role and you will be ahead of half the lobby who did not.
If your real goal is climbing modern ranked and Classic is just a nostalgia weekend, that is a completely fair way to use it. When you head back to the current ladder and want to skip the grind, our League of Legends boost team handles division climbs and placements on the live game on your schedule. Classic itself has no ranked ladder to boost, and we would not pretend otherwise, so treat it as the pure-fun mode it is.
How Classic ranked compares (and why you should not expect a live ladder)
Do not assume a competitive ladder just because the map is nostalgic. The Season 3-era ranked system ran from Bronze up to Challenger, and it did not have Iron, Emerald, Master, or Grandmaster, those are all modern additions. Riot has framed Classic around fun and cosmetics rather than a live climb, so if and when any competitive layer shows up it will be its own thing. For now, queue Classic to enjoy the old game, and keep your ranked ambitions on the modern client where the ladder actually lives. The League Classic threads on r/leagueoflegends are a good temperature check on what people are most hyped to replay.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to download anything to play LoL Classic?
No. LoL Classic is a featured game mode inside the existing Riot Client, so you play it on the account and install you already have. Just patch to 26.15 or later and pick it from the mode selector.
When can I play LoL Classic?
The mode goes live on July 29, 2026 at 8 AM PT with Patch 26.15. If the option is missing before then, it simply has not been switched on yet. We track the exact timing in our LoL Classic release date and launch time post.
How many champions are in LoL Classic at launch?
Around 60, starting with the original 40 that shipped with the game plus more, including old-kit Graves and Urgot. Additional champions get added after launch through community voting called The Council.
Is it exactly like Season 3?
Close, but not frame-for-frame. It is Season 3-inspired, built on that foundation with elements pulled from the game’s early seasons, rather than a copy of one specific old patch. Expect the vibe and the systems, not an exact historical build.
Does my modern rank or account progress carry over?
Your account, summoner level, and friends carry over because it is the same client. The gameplay systems do not: you are back to IP, old runes and masteries, classic wards, and the retired shop while you are in the mode.
Is there ranked in LoL Classic?
Treat it as a for-fun mode. The old ladder went Bronze to Challenger with no Iron, Emerald, Master, or Grandmaster, and Riot has centered Classic on nostalgia and cosmetic passes rather than a live competitive climb, so do not queue it expecting LP.
That is the whole path: patch your client, wait for July 29, 2026 at 8 AM PT, pick League Classic from the mode selector, and queue with the expectation that vision costs gold, runes come from a menu, and the jungle will not hold your hand. Build a rune page or two before you load in, learn a few core items for your role, and let the old map surprise you. When you are done reliving Season 3 and want to move the needle on the modern ladder, our League of Legends boost team is there for the real climb.