Why Do I Have a Bounty? Explaining the League of Legends Bounty System

League of Legends

12 May

Foo Zen-Wen

Finding yourself ahead is one of the most euphoric feelings in League of Legends. But that invincibility comes crashing down fairly quickly when enemy champions finally manage to take you down – seizing the bounty placed on your head.

For nearly 15 years, League of Legends has played host to incalculable battles on the Rift and, for just as long, the Bounty System has been in play. Over the years, its shape has been shifted and reworked countless times – and yet it stands the test of time as an intrinsic mechanic of the game.

In October 2024, the latest reworked version of the Bounty System was released. Furthermore, Patch 25.09 in April 2025 further tweaked the system. Today, this guide will run through the inner workings of the system and explain one of the oldest and most fundamental mechanics in League of Legends.

**What is the Bounty System in League of Legends?**

The League of Legends bounty system is a system designed to reward Summoners (that’s you) with extra gold for taking down high-value targets. There are two distinct types of bounties that fall under this system: Champion Bounties and Objective Bounties.

Champion Bounties

Also known as the kill bounty, champion bounty is the more visible of the two bounty variants and is concerned with the gold worth of each individual champion in the game. As of Patch 14.21, Champion Bounties are calculated based on gold earned and lost rather than kill/death streaks.

In the previous system, champion bounties were decided based on tiers. The higher the number of consecutive kills (or deaths), the higher the bounty tier given. This ranged from -6 to +8 with 0 set as the starting point.

But with the latest changes to the Bounty System, the tier system has been scrapped, and champion bounties are now accrued granularly. Bounties as small as +1 gold are now possible with the new system. However, only bounties worth 150 gold and above will display on the scoreboard (updating in increments of +50 gold visually).

Furthermore, champion bounties are distinguished into two categories:

Positive Bounties
- Refers to the gold granted for killing an enemy champion. It is rewarded to the champion who deals the killing blow.
Negative Bounties
- Refers to the devaluation of a champion’s kill gold (value). This occurs as the game progresses, beginning with an assumed value of 0 and reducing with each subsequent death.

Leads can crumble in a moment when your team has 'positive' bounties active. Credit: Riot Games

Objective Bounties

Unlike champion bounties, objective bounties are more team-oriented and have been designed as a comeback mechanic for the team that is behind. This is done by providing bonus gold for capturing key objectives on the map (i.e. enemy turrets, epic monsters) and is activated for a period of time after a certain deficit threshold has been reached.

Objective Bounties are huge 'swing' rewards that can catapult your team back itno the running! Credit: Jaxon.gg

How are Bounties Calculated?

Now that we've gone over what types of Bounties exist in League of Legends, we need to understand how they are calculated so that we don't accidentally throw away leads or funnel a massive amount of gold into the enemy carry.

Champion Bounties

For Champion Bounties, we need to examine the difference between how positive and negative bounties are generated. Positive bounties are generated and built through 2 methods primarily: farming well and scoring multiple consecutive kills without dying. The size of the bounty continues to increase over time as long as the methods continue and the champion is not slain. It goes without saying then that slaying said champion collects the bounty – this is colloquially known as ‘shutdown gold’.

A champion is assumed to begin in a 'neutral' state. By generating a positive bounty, they trend towards a positive state. And the inverse will also be true: by generating a negative bounty, they trend towards a negative state.

Key Notes:

A champion's base gold value is initially set at 300 gold.
- This scales up from level 7 to 18, 10 gold per level. Caps out at 420 gold as base gold value.
Base gold value can be assumed to be the 'neutral' state and any deviation trends the champion either towards positive or negative state.
A buffer of 100 gold is provided for all champions entering a positive state. This is to reduce variance of granting bounties close to the base value.
Extended Bounties: champions with bounties exceeding 700 gold will be placed in an extended bounty state. A single kill cannot reward more than 700 and the excess amount if applied to the champion on their next respawn.
All bounties earned from kills and assists cannot increase mid-combat.

Here are all the ways for a champion to accrue a bounty:

Kills and Assists
- In Positive state: 3 gold earned per.
- In Negative state: 5 gold earned per.
- For either states, earning shutdown gold does not increase contribution to positive bounty.
- Total assist bounty scales with game time (starts at 50% and reaches 100% by 3,30 minute).
Minions, Monsters, Support Item Generation
- In Positive state: 17.5 gold earned per.
- In a Negative state: 10 gold earned per.
Deaths
- 4 gold depreciation to current bounty amount.

A new mechanic 'suppression' has also been introduced to Champion Bounties with this latest rework. Post 6-minutes of game time, Champion Bounty Suppression will activate. While suppression is active, bounty payouts will be limited until a team is moderately ahead, at which point Shutdown gold will be restored for the winning team.

Objective Bounties

While the exact metric has not been disclosed, Objective Bounties are generated and presented for the losing team when behind by a combination of gold, experience, number of dragons slain, number of Void Grubs slain, and number of turrets destroyed. A hard-set threshold is set from this combination, below which a team is considered to be 'losing'.

Can only be activated after 14 minutes of game time have elapsed.
Activates 60 seconds after a team drops below the threshold.
Gold leads represent the biggest contributor to the metric on whether a team is 'losing'. Biggest weightage in Objective Bounty calculation.
When Objective Bounties are active, positive bounties for the losing team will be devalued. The starting modifier is a 10% reduction and can scale up to about 80%.
Objective Bounties pay up to 10% of the gold difference on top of the base bounty payment (capped at 1000 gold total).
Objective Bounties will deactivate after 30 second delay when the losing team is detected to have made a comeback (crosses back over the threshold).
In situations where the losing team is 'coming back', Objective Bounties will still remain active but decrease in value by 20-40%.

Conclusion

The bounty system is an integral balancing mechanic meant to provide avenues for the losing team to come back into the game. Comprised of two cores, it is meant to reward both the individual and the team for proactivity in the face of adversity.

Mastery over this mechanic is crucial for climbing the ranks and bettering your understanding of the game. Not every game starts well. Neither will every game go your way. But every game is winnable.

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Feature image credit: Riot Games

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