How to Raise Your Honor Level in LoL and Escape Zero

Stuck at Zero Honor? 

We all have bad days, some more than most. Maybe you had a few too many bad days and Riot suspended you and reset your honor back to zero. Unfortunately, you need to be Honor Level 2 (or higher) in order to get ranked rewards. The good news is, once you stop being honor locked, there's still a possibility of getting back to Honor Level 2 before the ranked season ends but it's going to take some grinding...

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS

HONOR SYSTEM

UPDATED AUGUST 2026

What each Honor level costs you

There are five levels. Level 3 is neutral and where everyone starts. Below that you lose access to parts of the game; above it you gain cosmetics.

Level	What you get, or lose
1	No honor or seasonal rewards at all. No [All] chat, no champion select chat. Limited to 2 pings and 2 emotes per 5 seconds.
2	No recurring Battle Pass XP bonuses. Still no [All] chat. 4 pings, 2 emotes.
3	Neutral. Full chat access, 6 pings, 3 emotes, occasional Battle Pass XP.
4	Honor emblem on the loading screen. 7 pings, 4 emotes.
5	Emblem in chat, a recall decal, every honor skin unlocked, 7 pings, 5 emotes, and more frequent Battle Pass XP.

How to climb back out

Honor rises by playing games and being honored by players who are not in your party. Premade honor does not carry you. At level 5 you bank an extra vote to give out.

• Play games and finish them. Leaving is the fastest way to stall.
• Use pings rather than chat when you are frustrated. It is the single most reliable way to stop earning reports.
• Honor someone every game. It costs nothing and encourages the reciprocal habit.

The rule that surprises people: any punishment drops you straight to Honor level 1 immediately, no matter how high you were. There is no partial demotion. One chat restriction erases a full season of good standing, which is why level 5 players guard it so carefully.

Everything below this line is the original 2018 post, kept for the record.

What We Know About Honor

Here are the facts of what we know so far about Honor, which is shrouded in a bit of mystery:

1. Pre-mades give "less" honor than randoms;
2. If everyone honors someone, the entire team gets a boost;
3. Getting reported may or may not affect rate of honor gain; and
4. Getting reported at zero honor will slow the rate at which you get out of zero honor. 

With that in mind, let's check out how to work around these facts...

Play Bot Games or ARAM Out of Zero Honor

Zero honor is honor hell. If you receive another report while sitting at zero, it amplifies your stay and you're stuck there for even longer. The best way of generating honor and more importantly, avoiding reports is to play low stress games. Bot games are perfect for this since everyone basically honors someone after each game. Same with ARAM, but sometimes players are saltier after losing and may end up not honoring someone or worse, reporting.

Swap or Trade Whenever Possible

A good first impression is always worth more for generating honor. If your teammates want to swap or trade roles/champions, do it. Remember that your goal is getting honor, not necessarily winning. 

Don't Say Anything Critical

There's nothing that will turn your teammates against you faster than a few negative words, and even something that you thought was innocent WILL screw over your chances of gaining honor. Missing enemy pings are also not going to win you any friends.

Don't Die...unless it's to save your ally

Getting kills is all fine and dandy, but what's really impressive is simply not dying. If you stay alive a lot more than your team mates, not only will you gain a natural gold advantage, but it'll also look like you carried the game. Meanwhile, willing to give your life for your ally is even better than not dying, but make sure they know they would have died if not for your valiant sacrifice.

Build team-oriented items and tell your teammates

One of the easiest way to get honor, especially in ARAM is to build team-oriented items and make sure your team knows you picked one up. Saying something like, "I'll buy a Locket and a Redemption for us" early on and following up with "I just got Knight's Vow for you :)" is a quick and easy way to make your team think you're the cat's meow.

Spam Games

After all is said and done, it really comes down to a numbers game. Keep playing as much as possible to rack up as much honor as possible. You could try doing premades if you get bored, but that has a greatly reduced honor reward. However, as long as you keep playing without getting reported, you'll quickly recover your honor for those sweet season end rewards.

How's your honor grind going? Did you get reset this season? Got more honor grinding tips? Comment below!

Climbing while you rebuild Honor?

Honor recovers on its own if you just keep playing cleanly. While you do, see the solo queue tier list for what is worth picking.