Path of Champions Monthly Challenge Guide

With the announcement of rewards for the Path of Champions Monthly Challenge, many players will no doubt rush to complete all 70 challenges to gather Aurelion Sol’s shards and get him to four stars!

I did the monthly challenge before it was in beta, often getting 1st place on the leaderboard every month at some point in time. This article has all the information you’ll need about the Path of Champions Monthly Challenge format and the best way to approach it to maximize the value of your character roster.

Because the Monthly Challenges are constantly changing, this is going to be a generic guide for how to approach any given set of challenges.

Disclaimers:

• Monthly challenge is designed for players that have a large roster of Champions,
• Characters with 1 star or less can be used on lower difficulty encounters just fine, or against the correct mutators / fights.
• The challenges change every month.
• You do not have to finish it all in one go, you can space it out throughout the month.

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Path of Champions Monthly Challenge: Frequently Asked Questions

“What star level and champion level should I have on challenges?”

There is no recommended amount of stars, but I would recommend using two-star characters for any challenges rated 3 stars or higher. My recommended champion level is 20 so you can get consistency through drawing a champion at the start of every game.

The higher the better, though!

“What champions should I be using?”

The champions that are good in the monthlies often vary depending on the challenge list, so our article is going to focus on general Monthly Challenge strategies rather than any specific month’s challenges. A below subtopic will be better for covering the thought process of who to choose for each challenge.

“What relics should I be using?”

You may want to switch up what relics you’re using depending on who and what you’re facing.

For example: Turret Plating to give Tough to your Nexus can be very powerful against a lot of the enemies and mutators you are likely going to face, but may not be good on all your champions or against every enemy. 

"What is the Monthly Challenge format?"

• 70 individual micro adventures.
• Champions can only be used 3 times in total – losses still count as a use.
• You can preview all 70 challenges in advance.
• Resource management is a key factor for strategizing (Your resources being your champion pool and their number of uses).
• A minimum of 24 champions is required to complete all 70 challenges.
• Individual challenges will either be a single final boss OR a mid boss and a final boss.
• No power-picking nodes at the start of adventures.
• Mutators are presented before entering, similar to how it’s done for Weekly Adventures.
• Full heal after completing the midboss.
• +200 starting gold and you do not gain more gold from fights.
• You get an additional reroll.
• There are not a lot of nodes in these adventures, and your deck is largely going to stay very close to the starting deck. 
• 2 non-combat nodes for 1-fight challenges.
• 3 non-combat nodes for 2-fight challenges, with the first being a guaranteed Shop node.
• Shop nodes are adjusted and cannot offer powers, they are replaced with adding an item to a card in the deck. This does not add an extra copy of the card.
• The standard shop still adds card copies to the deck.

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Path of Champions Monthly Challenge: Strategies

• Plan what characters you will use for each challenge ahead of time.
• Recommended order: 3,6,9,12 -> 70 (to unlock all), then complete harder challenges, making your way to the easier ones.
• Keep your options open – you want to use your best champions where you NEED them.
• Your weaker options are often more interchangeable in case of losses.
• Even if you plan your entire run beforehand, unlucky draws and unexpected losses are real. Be ready to use backup options if it ever comes down to it.

Consider the following when choosing your fighter for each challenge:

• What enemies you're up against (Foe deck and power)
• What mutators are applying for that challenge
• How enemy powers affect or combo with mutators. For example, Spell power with Ezreal or Scout on Yasuo.
• How mutators combo with other mutators or your own champion’s powers.
• How your character fares against the bosses. For example, Tahm Kench destroys Caitlyn.
• How your character combos with the mutators. For example, three-star Kayn and Formidable or three-star Kayn against Mercy killings.

Always consider if that champ could be used elsewhere better. You don't want to be using your hard-hitting champs like Jinx for the easier fights – you would very much want to use her for harder fights.

Also try to determine if certain characters have a particular niche. Nasus, for example, can often perform pretty decently or even well against either something like Powder Monkeys or even Irelia's Blades, even if he is generally a low-tier champion.

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Path of Champions Monthly Challenge: Rewards

10 Wins: + 20 Aurelion Sol Fragments

20 Wins: + 2 Silver Reliquaries

30 Wins: + 20 Aurelion Sol Fragments

40 Wins: + 3 Greater Cosmic Pearl*

50 Wins: + 20 Aurelion Sol Fragments

60 Wins: + 3 Silver Reliquaries

70 Wins: + 40 Aurelion Sol Fragments

*Greater Cosmic Pearl is a consumable common relic exclusive to Monthly Challenges.
- Effect: +1 Starting Mana. Quest: Win an Adventure. Reward: Gain 10x the normal Champion XP.

Unlocking Aurelion Sol requires 30 shards, then to level him you need:

1 star - 10 shards (40 total)

2 stars - 20 shards (60 total)

3 stars - 40 shards (100 total)

4 stars - 100 shards (200 total)

It’ll take a minimum of 2 months to get your Aurelion Sol to 4 stars.

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Scoring

Completing a challenge awards 1,000,000 points, with an additional 1,000 points for first time completion. If any players have the same score, they will be ranked in order of completion.

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Path of Champions Monthly Challenge: Bosses and their Powers:

These deck lists and items aren’t 100% confirmed yet, (but may be in the future)

Ashe

• Round Start: Frostbite the Strongest ally.
• Tip: Can be deceivingly difficult at times, avoid using characters that go tall.

Azir

• Azir's Sand Soldiers everywhere have +2|+0.
• Note: The Foe’s Sand Soldiers also have Overwhelm .
• Tip: Don’t waste resources on Sand Soldier. Remember you only need to win, it doesn’t matter if you win at 1 health or 40 health.

Caitlyn

• Round Start: Plant 2 Flashbombs randomly in the top 8 cards of the Player’s deck.
• Tip: Hard-countered by 1* or 3* Tahm Kench, or The Berserker’s Buckle relic.

Darius

• Round End: Deal 1 to the player’s Nexus for each unit the Foe has.
• Tip: Thin the enemy board, have a plan to stop Darius when he comes down.
• Tip 2: Be aware of potential Apprehend.

Draven

• Round End: The Foe summons Draven if he isn't in play. When Draven attacks, give him +1||+0 and Double Attack this round.
• Tip: Don’t kill Draven when you don’t have to – he’s going to resummon next round for free anyway.
• Tip 2: DO NOT LET DRAVEN GET OVERWHELM ON ATTACK.

Ezreal

• The Foe’s spells cost 1. Round Start: Create a Fleeting Statikk Shock in the Foe’s hand. If the Foe has leveled a champion, create a Fleeting Trueshot Barrage instead.
• Tip 1: Ezreal tends to be very tricky, especially because he has Targon cards to play with. If you try to go tall, be careful of Defective Swapbot, and Celestial Wonder.
• Tip 2: His deck also has Assembly Line, Rocket Barrage, and Battle Bonds, all of which counter various different strategies.

Fiora

• When one of the Foe’s units Challenges an enemy, give them Tough this round.
• Tip: Without units, Fiora can do nothing.

Fizz

• Round Start: The Foe creates a fleeting 3 or less cost spell in their hand. It costs 1 less.
• Tip: Burst speed or untargeted removal is great against both Fizz and the Elusives he can summon.

Gangplank

• Round Start: The Foe summons a Powder Keg. The first time the Foe starts the round with less than X health, summon The Dreadway. Note that X can vary based on encounter.
• Tip: Keep the enemy Nexus above the health threshold before you can kill it in a single turn to avoid the enemy from summoning The Dreadway.
• Tip 2: Destroy Powder Keg on attack unless you’re going for a final push.

Irelia

• When the Foe Blade Dances, they grant their strongest unit +1|+1 and it attacks with the Blades.
• This is a very dangerous fight, especially due to the sheer amount of synergies with mutators that Irelia can have.
• Tip 1: Stop the unit attacking alongside the blades after they’ve entered combat.
• Tip 2: The only removal/stall spell in their deck is Defiant Dance. You can safely establish most units without much worry.
• Tip 3: The AI isn’t the greatest at using Bladesurge at times, and will often not push for damage with Irelia if you don’t block the blades.

Jhin

• The Player's units have Nexus strike: The Foe creates a fleeting Blade's Edge in hand.
• This is generally an easier fight.
• Tip: Be aware of your Nexus health, as Jhin has a lot of burn potential.

Jinx

• When the Foe attacks, they play Super Mega Death Rocket!
• Tip 1: Have ways ready to kill off Daring Poros.
• Tip 2: Jinx’s units tend to be very weak, most of her damage will come from stopping your units from blocking effectively and direct damage rather than head on combat.

Kai'Sa

• Round Start: The Foe grants each of their units +1|+1 and a random keyword.
• Tip 1: Thin the enemy board early on.
• Tip 2: Otherwise, kill the enemy unit with the most dangerous keywords that Kai'Sa may want to copy.

Karma

• Both players start at 10 mana gems.
• Tip: This is the best encounter for expensive champions or decks that want to spend a lot of mana.

Katarina

• Whenever the Foe plays a Champion (including Champion spells), Grant their units +2|+2.
• Tip 1: If possible, keep the enemy board thin before Katarina can come down, to minimize her power.
• Tip 2: Otherwise, stop Katarina from leveling and going back to hand.
• Tip 3: In rare cases, you may want the enemy Katarina to get the cost increase from her level up.
• Tip 4: Be aware of Katarina’s Whirling Death giving the enemy board +2|+2.

Lee Sin

• When the Foe’s units attack, create 2 Resonating Strikes in the Foe’s hand. They cost 0.
• Tip: Oftentimes it’s better to not block and just let the enemy attack your Nexus to avoid losing your units in bad trades.

Lulu

• Round Start: Transform the Player’s strongest follower into a 1|1 Squirrel and Silence it this round.
• Tip: Champion-focused strategies can bypass Lulu’s power.

Miss Fortune

• When the Foe attacks, they play Love Tap.
• Note: Miss Fortune has Phage (+2|+2)
• Tip: Miss Fortune has a very explosive early game, but will quickly fall off once her hand empties.

Nautilus

• When any unit dies, heal the Foe’s Nexus 1 and the Foe tosses 1 if they aren’t Deep.
• Tip: Avoid champions and decks that have units that die a lot, or use a champion that can combo for lethal while bypassing enemy blockers.

Poppy

• Round Start: Grant the Foe’s strongest ally +1|+1 for each of their other allies.
• This is generally an easier fight.
• Tip: Keep their board thin, trading is almost always worth it.

Swain

• Round Start: Deal 3 to the Player’s damaged units.
• Tip 1: Avoid taking unnecessary unit damage, or find ways to heal your allies.
• Tip 2: Swain's deck lacks spells that can initially damage an ally, limited to only Death's Hand.

Tahm Kench

• When the Foe summons a unit, grant it +0|+3
• This is generally an easier fight.
• Tip: Save buffs and damage spells for after Tahm Kench commits An Acquired Taste.

Taliyah

• Round Start: The Foe summons a landmark that costs 2 or less.
• This is generally an easier fight.
• Tip: Their board will often be clogged with landmarks; if they have a countdown the enemy will be at their most vulnerable, so take advantage when you can.

Thresh

• Game Start: The Foe summons Vaults of Helia. When Thresh levels up, the Foe creates 3 Shadow Isles champions in deck.
• This is generally an easy fight.
• Tip 1: Try to get Vaults of Helia to kill off units for you. Note there are no 6-cost units in their deck by default.
• Tip 2: If Thresh levels up, Viego and Hecarim are 6-cost units and have a chance to be summoned.

Tryndamere

• Each round, the first time the Foe’s unit would die, grant them Tough, Overwhelm and Fearsome instead.
• Tip 1: Prepare ways to kill multiple enemies in a single turn to minimize the amount of times you have to spend resources and to limit enemies gaining keywords.
• Tip 2: Don’t use a 3* Jinx.

Viego

• Round Start: The Foe summons an Ephemeral copy of the player’s strongest follower that died this round.
• Tip: Play for champion-focused strategies to best get around Viego’s power.

Yasuo

• When the Foe attacks, stun the Player’s weakest unit. Note: Their power will also draw a card at higher difficulties.
• Tip: Consider playing units after the enemy attacks to avoid them taking damage and advancing Yasuo’s level-up condition.

Zed

• Round End: If the player’s Nexus took damage this round, the Foe’s strongest unit strikes it.
• Tip 1: Have a plan for a 3-mana Zed into a 4-mana Dawn and Dusk play from the opponent.
• Tip 2: Be ready to deal with Elusive units.

Zoe

• Round Start: Create a random 3 or less cost Celestial card in the Foe’s hand. Give it Fleeting and reduce its cost to 1.
• Note: In this challenge Zoe does not have Focusing Crystal, unlike in the Galio adventure.
• Tip: You can check what spell Zoe has generated before playing, so you can usually bait it out.

As of Patch 4.10, there is one mutator we know is worded incorrectly:

Demacian Might II
Wording: Allies have Strike: Grant me +2|+2

Actual effect: Foes have Strike: Grant me +2|+2

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Wrapping Up

I’m a little nervous now that the monthlies have actual rewards! It means leaderboard competition might get harder and I’ll have to REALLY start earning my spot. I already get a little sad when I miss first place for the month – Just more motivation to work harder, I suppose!

Thanks for reading all the way here! More Path-related content will be on the way on my YouTube channel where I’ll be trying to upload more discussion about Path and LoR in general, as well as where I stream my own Monthly Challenge runs if you want to see how I approach them.

If you have any ideas or requests for future topics on Path, ask away on Reddit or ask me directly on Discord @YouuXun, or join our dedicated Path of Champions Discord made by @powercuties#1013 where you can discuss or ask questions you may have. (I also frequent here a lot, so if you wanted help directly, it’s likely your best place to get it!)

Shoutout to the Path community for providing so much documentation, info, and discussion to help push the mode forward!

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