As we wave bye-bye to Season 7, players now turn their eyes to the start of Season 8 and what it means for the game. With Riot announcing a whole new list of patch notes and updates, it looks like some big changes are coming to the Rift.

To keep you up to date with all the important changes, we’re taking a look at the biggest Season 8 updates. From Blue Essence to uncapped leveling, we’ve got everything you need to know. Let’s begin with the removal of Influence Points and what it means for the in-game currency.

One of the biggest League of Legends Season 8 updates is the removal of Influence Points. Ever since the game was released in 2009, IP has been an important in-game currency used to buy champions and runes. Heading into the new season, IP is being merged with Blue Essence to make the in-game currency much more standardized. This means that instead of having various currencies used to purchase different things, Blue Essence will be able to buy everything.

To celebrate the launch of the new currency, Riot have also opened a limited edition Blue Essence store. In this store, players can buy super rare skins and items including the highly sought after Urf Warwick 2017 skin. 

Although Influence Points might be gone forever, the new currency system will allow players to purchase in-game items much easier. Instead of having to transfer and combine several different currencies, everything can now be purchased with just one.

The removal of Influence Points might sound like a significant change to League of Legends, but we’re just getting started. The next Season 8 update is what players have been waiting for a long time.

Currently, in League of Legends, the maximum level cap is level 30. This means when a player reaches that level they stop gaining XP in matches and stay level 30 forever. Riot noticed that for experienced players this was not a good thing. Considering it only takes a few months to get to level 30 the player then spends several years playing with no incentive.

To gives players another reason to join the rift, Riot have decided to uncap levels meaning players can level indefinitely. Going beyond level 30 might sound exciting but it gets better. In addition to uncapping the levels, Riot are also giving players rewards at certain milestones. These rewards include things such as shards, skins and other in-game cosmetics. With plenty of rewards up for grabs, players are eagerly racing each other to the next milestone. This new level of competitiveness has brought the love back to the game for many players and has been seen as a positive improvement. 

However, although the level cap has been uncapped, players are still required to reach level 30 if they want to play ranked. This part of the game hasn’t changed since its release and players still need to experience that long and tedious tutorial. Luckily, they kept that in the game for new players!

Since the level cap has been uncapped, this change has also affected other areas of League of Legends. For instance, before the changes players could buy XP and IP boosts to give them additional rewards in game. However, due to the removal of Influence Points, several boosts have been modified.

For starters, all IP boosts have been removed from the game, but let’s be honest, who didn't see that coming? Something that’s not so obvious, is that the price of XP boosts have increased significantly with most going up by around 50%. This means a 1 day XP boost that used to cost 150 RP now costs 290 RP. Expensive!

In addition to the price increase on XP boosts there have also been a whole range of new ones added including a 3 win, 5 win, 15 and 25 win boost. As you can probably see, Riot are cashing in on these boosts!

Luckily, it’s possible to buy a League of Legends account and save yourself a small fortune. With XP boosts almost doubling in price, buying a smurf account is a much cheaper way to get to level 30 faster. Did we mention that it’s instant? No waiting around and playing weeks of games, simply select your region and you’re good to go. Overall, it’s much cheaper than leveling a new account yourself and it’s definitely the quickest way to jump into ranked.

So there you have it, all the League of Legends Season 8 changes. With some of the biggest changes ever coming to LoL, Season 8 is going to be one of the most exciting seasons yet.