League of Legends remains one of the most popular games in the world, due in no small part to developer Riot Games' frequent updates to the MOBA. The latest example is the Star Guardian event, themed around League of Legends characters becoming magical girls. As any fan of live service games knows, however, even major games like League of Legends can struggle with technical issues. That's sadly the case with Star Guardian, which has been disappointingly canceled -- but there's a silver lining.
Like most live service game events, the League of Legends Star Guardian event was built around a progression system encouraging players to log in each day and complete various missions. Unfortunately, these missions were not completing as expected, denying League of Legends players progression and making it impossible to earn the best Star Guardian rewards. First, Riot decided to extend the event, but since progression issues continue it decided to end the event early.
Due to the early end of the Star Guardian free missions, Riot has confirmed it will be granting all players the free rewards planned for the event regardless of how much progress they've earned. The only restriction is that Star Guardian rewards won't unlock for brand-new accounts. The rewards include emotes, icons, various Essences, Masterwork Chests and keys, and even a Star Guardian 2022 orb. It should be a decent haul for any League of Legends player.
Keep in mind that the free rewards are only being offered for the free progression track of the Star Guardian event. The premium track is not being unlocked, so League of Legends players that purchased the upgrade will have to continue doing missions to earn their rewards. While these premium Star Guardian rewards won't be given away for free, Riot is extending the event. Missions will be available through August 24.
The unfortunate conclusion that Riot must have come to was that there wasn't enough time to fix the problem, even if it extended the Star Guardian event. Since it couldn't fix the problem, and couldn't extend the event, providing League of Legends players the rewards for free was the best alternative. The only other option would be to leave many League of Legends players without a way to earn their rewards, something no live service game wants to do.
Altogether, this is understandably a huge disappointment of an event for League of Legends. The Star Guardian thematic is one of League of Legends' most popular, and many wanted to play the MOBA event out normally. Getting free rewards will certainly placate some frustrated League of Legends players, but it's not the same experience. Of course, Riot itself is guaranteed to be disappointed with the situation, as well. Here's hoping future League of Legends events go much more smoothly.
League of Legends is available now on PC.