League of Legends Classic Guide - S3 Map, 60 Champions & How to Play

League of Legends Classic is Riot's permanent Season 3 game mode, launched July 29, 2026 alongside patch 26.15. It brings back the original Summoner's Rift, the old rune and mastery systems, and a shop full of long-removed items: Deathfire Grasp, Heart of Gold, Philosopher's Stone and about 140 others. Sixty champions play their old, pre-rework kits. There is no separate download and no new client — Classic lives inside the regular League of Legends client every active player already has.

Version note: Written on the July 29 launch build (patch 26.15), updated August 11, 2026, the day before Classic's first content patch. Mode facts, roster and systems come from the official League of Legends Wiki's League Classic page and Riot's launch communications and roadmap, linked inline.

Treat the mode as permanent, not an event. Riot patches Classic on its own cadence and has published a roadmap of content waves that add champions, so this hub and its four companion guides get updated as the roster grows.

The League Classic key art — Zilean's clock is doing the heavy lifting, thematically. (Artwork: Riot Games / League of Legends, via the official League of Legends Wiki)

Quick Facts

What is League of Legends Classic?

Classic is a curated snapshot of old League, not a literal restoration of one exact patch. The base is Season 3 (2013). Per the official League of Legends Wiki it also pulls in "elements from both earlier and later versions," with late Season 2015 as the absolute cutoff for any feature. In practice the shop mixes Season 1–2 relics (Force of Nature, Innervating Locket, Ionic Spark) with Season 3 staples (Spirit Stone jungle items, Sightstone, the old Trinity Force) plus a few later additions like Bami's Cinder. Champions play their Season 3-era kits.

Riot's stated intent for ongoing updates: the mode "is expected to branch out from the modern version of the game, with patches expected at the same cadence," and all changes "are meant to preserve the original, slower-paced design philosophy of the game." Expect Classic to evolve and still feel like 2013 — slower combat, fewer dashes, more time to think between fights.

Do not go hunting for stats. Riot withholds all match data for Classic, including winrates, explicitly to "preserve gameplay exploration and prevent aggressive metagaming." No op.gg-style number exists to look up, which shapes how our tier list works.

How to Play: Queues & Access

Queue Classic straight from the League client's game mode selection. If you can play a normal game, you can play Classic. Your options are Normal Draft, Co-op vs. AI, and custom games. There is no blind pick and no ranked; Summoner's Journey covers the competitive itch instead.

All 16 old summoner spells are back: Barrier, Clairvoyance, Clarity, Cleanse, Exhaust, Flash, Fortify, Ghost, Heal, Ignite, Promote, Rally, Surge, Revive, Smite, and Teleport. If you never got to see a Fortify or a Revive-Teleport play live, this is your chance.

The Season 3 Map & Old Systems

The mode runs on the original Summoner's Rift: the pre-2014 map, purple side and all, with the old Baron, the old dragon, and jungle camps in their classic spots. Two mechanics to plan around, both verified from the official wiki. Jungle monsters scale with game time and update their level dynamically, and Homeguard, the fountain speed boost, unlocks after 20 minutes.

The out-of-game systems are the old ones as well:

• Runes — the pre-2018 system: 9 Marks, 9 Seals, 9 Glyphs and 3 Quintessences per page, bought with Influence Points. Covered in detail in our builds guide.
• Masteries — the old three-tree system (Offense / Defense / Utility) with 30 points, enabling the classic 21/9/0-style splits.
• Influence Points — IP is back as the earned currency for runes and unlocks.
• The old item system — over 140 items including gold-generation items and long-deleted actives; the full tour is in the items guide.

Champion Roster: All 60 Launch Champions

The launch roster covers the game's earliest years: the original 40 champions plus 20 more early releases, the newest face being Lulu from March 2012. Every champion uses their older, Season 3-era kit, so the list includes old Sion, old Taric, old Warwick, old Fiddlesticks and other kits that no longer exist in modern League. Our champions guide breaks down what's different.

Ahri, Alistar, Amumu, Anivia, Annie, Ashe, Blitzcrank, Brand, Cho'Gath, Corki, Dr. Mundo, Evelynn, Ezreal, Fiddlesticks, Gangplank, Garen, Gragas, Heimerdinger, Janna, Jarvan IV, Jax, Karthus, Kassadin, Katarina, Kayle, Kog'Maw, Lee Sin, Leona, Lulu, Lux, Malphite, Malzahar, Master Yi, Miss Fortune, Morgana, Nasus, Nidalee, Nunu, Olaf, Pantheon, Rammus, Ryze, Shaco, Sion, Singed, Sivir, Skarner, Sona, Soraka, Taric, Teemo, Tristana, Tryndamere, Twisted Fate, Twitch, Vayne, Veigar, Warwick, Wukong, Zilean.

More are coming, and the first wave has names. Classic's opening content patch lands August 12, 2026 — the same day as modern League's 26.16 — and adds Akali, Kennen and Shen on their old kits, taking the roster to 63; the official wiki moved all three off its upcoming list on August 10. The same patch brings Classic's first balance pass, mostly reversions to older numbers. Still confirmed for later waves without dates: Caitlyn, Fiora, Graves, Irelia, LeBlanc, Mordekaiser and Urgot. The roster will eventually stop "before the release of Yasuo" (late 2013), so don't wait for wind wall.

The original Summoner's Rift, down to the old Nexus. (Screenshot: Riot Games / League of Legends, via the official League of Legends Wiki)

Classic Levels & Summoner's Journey

Classic runs its own progression track, separate from your modern account level:

• Classic Levels run 1–30, "mirroring League of Legends' original leveling system," and unlock runes, masteries, Influence Points, Blue Essence, and cosmetics as you go. Rune tiers gate the early levels, just like 2013 — higher-tier runes unlock as you level, and tier 3 historically required level 20.
• Summoner's Journey unlocks at Classic level 10 and stands in for ranked. The tiers, ascending: Salt, Wood, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, and Legend. Riot starting the ladder at "Salt" tells you how seriously to take it.
• The Council is a community voting system: vote on which champions, skins and features get prioritized next. Votes from higher Classic levels carry more weight, so leveling buys you influence.

Where to Start

• Classic tier list — all 60 launch champions ranked, with the methodology stated up front, because no winrate data exists for this mode by design.
• Builds guide — S3 item logic role by role: gold-generation items, flask starts, old runes and masteries.
• Champions guide — roles in the old meta, the best beginner picks, and what the pre-rework kits actually do.
• Items guide — the full reference for the S3 item system, including every removed item that's back.

FAQ

Is League of Legends Classic permanent or limited-time? Permanent. Riot launched it as a standing Featured Game Mode on July 29, 2026, with its own roadmap of content updates and its own patch cadence going forward — not an event with an end date.

Do I need a separate client or download to play Classic? No. Classic is built into the standard League of Legends client. Queue for it from the regular game mode selection, on the account you already have.

Does my modern account level or collection carry over? No. Classic runs its own progression: Classic Levels 1–30 with their own unlocks (runes, masteries, IP, cosmetics), plus the Summoner's Journey ladder from level 10. You start the climb fresh, which is much of the point.

Is there ranked in League Classic? No ranked queue. The available queues are Normal Draft, Co-op vs. AI, and customs. Summoner's Journey, the Salt-to-Legend tier track, is the mode's competitive progression instead.

Will Riot add more champions to Classic? Yes. The first content wave lands August 12, 2026 with Akali, Kennen and Shen, taking the roster from 60 to 63, and it carries Classic's first balance pass. Caitlyn, Fiora, Graves, Irelia, LeBlanc, Mordekaiser and Urgot are confirmed for later waves without dates. The roster will cap out before Yasuo's late-2013 release point.

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One Hit Kill Guides' League Classic coverage was created under Riot Games' "Legal Jibber Jabber" policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project.