League of Legends - Demacia Rising Metagame

Long before the white ivory towers and glorious cathedrals of Demacia, there were only empty fields and desperate refugees. Their home lost to the chaotic magic of the Rune Wars, these stranded souls found refuge west of Valoran, deep in the petricite forest where magic could not touch them.

Delve deeper into the creation of the kingdom of justice with Demacia Rising.

• The metagame’s progression unlocks throughout each Act of the Season 1, with The Founding of Demacia arc released in Act I, and Threats from Beyond becoming available for Act II.
• You need to complete The Founding of Demacia before you can play Threats from Beyond, and you can still play The Founding of Demacia during Act II in case you missed it.

The Founding of Demacia Schedule

Start - January 8, 2026 // 12pm PT
End - March 3, 2026 // 11:59pm PT*

Threats from Beyond Schedule

Start - March 4, 2026 // 12pm PT
End - April 28, 2026 // 11:59pm PT*

*Dates and times are subject to change. Always check the in-game schedule for the most accurate information.

Basic Information

You can access Demacia Rising from the home screen of the League of Legends Client. There you can see the game's map with several locations you can use to expand your territory as you build the foundations of Demacia. Whether it's gathering from farms and quarries or commissioning barracks and unique landmarks, it's up to you to establish a prosperous kingdom.

• For the best experience, it is recommended that you increase your client window size, through either the League Client General Settings page, or using the “Control” and “+” key combination.

Turn System

Demacia Rising uses a turn system that allows you to perform certain actions depending on the phase of the game. Every time you enter the metagame you get a summary of the Silver Shields you have earned since the last time you played.

Silver Shields

Silver Shields are a special currency you earn every time you play a League game. They can be spent to build and upgrade your settlements and to unlock upgrades in the research tree. Not only that, but you’ll need 10 Silver Shields every time you finish your turn. After that, your progression is saved, and you begin a new turn.

• Unlock the For Demacia: Act I Premium Pass to earn more Silver Shields for each hour of League or TFT played!

You’ll also earn additional Silver Shields for the first game of League you play using any of the new skins in the For Demacia season.

Gameplay

After clicking into the game, you are free to act during the current turn. Use your resources to train Units, build or upgrade structures, move units between your settlements, and research powerful upgrades. When you’ve done all you wanted to, clicking the Sun icon in the bottom right of the screen ends the current turn. 

At the end of a Turn, several things happen in sequence:

• All structures that produce resources do so
• Any structures that were being built or upgraded progress 1 Turn, and complete if their building finishes
• Units move 1 Turn worth of distance towards locations they were marching
• Units in training progress their training by 1 Turn, and complete and become active if their training finishes
• Events and Threats can appear
• Any Battles set to happen on this turn begin

You may face an Event where you need to decide which path to take. Give every choice careful consideration, for even the tiniest pebble can give way to a huge avalanche!

Combat Threats

Combat threats are triggered either when you explore an occupied territory, or when an enemy army attempts to raid your lands.

You'll need to expand your kingdom by securing adjacent locations: when you want to claim a location, you’ll need to secure it from any threats to your people. By clicking on an enemy territory, you’ll get a peek of enemy units, including how strong their army is. If you think you're ready, rally your forces and prepare for battle!

• Battles are resolved in an autoplay format
• Units have specific strengths and weaknesses
• Your units can be upgraded through the Research tree, which greatly increases their combat prowess
• Battles can be sped up with the button in the top right corner of the screen

Eventually, Demacia will also come under threat from random enemy attacks. When so, the game informs you of incoming enemy troops to a specific location in your kingdom. Prepare and move your units to defend the settlement before the battle begins.

Kingdom Management

As you progress and discover new territories, you'll be joined by the great heroes of old. Champion units are unlocked in the Research tree, and they'll permanently fight by your side after enough progress is made.

• Available champions will be released throughout the Act’s progression.
  • Poppy will be available early, after completing the Prologue.
  • Morgana will be available during Chapter 2, after Zeffira reaches Level 2.
  • Kayle and Galio will become available in Chapters 3 and 4, after Patch 26.03.
  • Garen and Sona will be available at the beginning of Chapter 5.
  • Jarvan IV and Quinn will be available during Chapter 7.

Story

• Demacia Rising features both voice-acted dialogue and non-voiced dialogue.

Progressing the story and unlocking further dialogues is tied to the main objective, which is always available in the top right of the screen.

At any time, you can click this objective to review all the goals you’ve completed, as well as the rewards you will earn for finishing this chapter of the story.

Research

Research unlocks powerful upgrades to your Kingdom, your Structures, your Towns, and your Units. It also lets you recruit new Champion Units to help you fight! Unlocking Research items requires normal resources like Lumber and Stone, but it also requires an amount of Valor, a unique resource gained from establishing new settlements, upgrading settlements, winning battles, and certain events.

Research is available from this button on the bottom-right Turn panel.

In the Research panel, you will see many upgrades, separated by level and by color. Research items are divided by the level of your main city, Zeffira. Unlocking additional sections of the Research tree requires that you upgrade Zeffira. These research options increase in power as you get further in the game!

• Green research items are System upgrades. These track things like purchasing the For Demacia: Act I Pass, and the metagame-specific rewards you get for doing so.
• Blue research items are Kingdom upgrades. These unlock new Structures and Resources, such as the quarry to unlock stone and the forge to unlock metal, as well as empowering other structures or settlements within your kingdom.
  • Blue upgrades generally unlock a new feature, or increase your kingdom’s efficiency. Look for these if you want to earn resources faster or get an advantage over enemy threats!
• Red research items are Combat upgrades. These unlock new units, such as the Archer and the Soldier, as well as strengthening your units in combat. 
  • Research upgrades provide massive combat power to your units, and are necessary for Demacia to expand and thrive!
• Gold research items are Champion upgrades. These let you recruit powerful Champions to fight alongside your soldiers. 
  • Champions must be trained at a settlement that has a Barracks, just like any standard unit.

Some research items have lines connecting them to items further in the research tree. These items are chained together, and must be unlocked in a sequence. Unlock the cheaper, earlier item to get the ability to unlock the stronger Research later! For example, in order to get the Guard’s level 2 upgrade “Piercing Strikes,” you must first research “Increase Platoon Size” in the level 1 group.

Objectives & Rewards

Demacia Rising has in-game objectives you can clear to earn resources and content rewards. Here's a sample of some objectives you can clear:

… AND MANY MORE!