League of Legends: How to get Key Fragments

Manage to score an S rank performance in a League of Legends match and you'll be rewarded for your efforts with a Hextech Chest. It's effectively a loot box that you can crack open for crafting materials and cosmetic items such as skins. While they don't provide any gameplay benefits, they're still one of the main ways to personalise your characters to your liking. Crack them open for snazzy outfits, or save materials for useful stuff like extra Rune Pages.

There’s a catch though - inevitably - and it’s the way in which you open these Hextech Chests that may confuse new players. You’ll need Hextech Keys to unlock them, but you’ll need to forge these keys first (we know, we know, it's confusing.).

To forge a Hextech key, you'll need to earn three Key Fragments and combine them. This begs another question, how do you get hold of Key Fragments to kick off this process though? Well, we've put together a page which will explain all the ways to get hold of them, so you can get to unlocking every Hextech Chest you've got stashed away.

What are Key Fragments?

Key Fragments are the components that are needed to craft Hextech Keys, and Hextech Keys are needed to unlock Hextech Chests.

Combine three Key Fragments and you’ll make a Hextech Key.

That’s all there is to them really, so we’ll now explain how you can start earning more of them in the section below.

How do I earn Key Fragments?

Each player’s Key Fragment drop rate is unique, and you can earn up to 12 of them in a four-week period. Drops are purposefully made to feel like they’re being spread out over a month long period. After 4 weeks, the timer resets.

Here’s all the ways you can start earning Key Fragments in-game.

• Play matches, be honorable, avoid penalties and you'll likely receive a Key Fragment. It won't drop immediately after a match but will show up in your inventory at some point later, like a lovely little surprise.
• When you’ve reached Summoner Level 5 you’ll start receiving one Champion Capsule every time you level up. Open these and you’ll have a chance of receiving a Key Fragment.
• Start climbing the Honor Ranks and you’ll begin receiving Honor Capsules and Honor Orbs. These are a brilliant way of earning Key Fragments as the higher ranking capsules and orbs can award multiple Fragments.
• Funnily enough, even Hextech Chests have a chance of granting you with Key Fragments too.

Earning Key Fragments: Tips

League of Legends' Hextech Crafting system is watertight when it comes to exploits, so there isn't a single method of rapidly earning Key Fragments.

Instead, your main focus should be on playing to win, with a positive mental attitude to boot. Might sound a little silly, but you want to be earning the respect of your teammates to gain Honor.

This is the main way to increase your chances of landing those Key Fragment drops. Rewarding good behaviour is the cornerstone of the design.

Spending some cash on EXP Boosts is also an option if you're aiming to level fast and earn Champion Capsules. There's no guarantee they'll contain a Key Fragment, but it's certainly an option for those of you who have a little spare change to hand.

Honor Explained - League of Legends

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Know of any other methods for earning more Key Fragments? Sign up and let us know about them in the comments, and we'll add your tips in - with credit - when we next update this guide.