Featured Champions are those that are either new to The Contest, have had a recent update to them, or are included as part of a featured hero crystal. While the term “featured” may be used in a lot of crystals or offers, we typically consider a featured Champion to be one that is new to the game.
Release Cadence
New Champions are usually released on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. This means that for each version of The Contest, we can expect two new Champions to become part of our ever-growing roster (sometimes three per version, on rare occasions).
When a new Champion’s featured crystal is added to the game, they are available for 72 hours (Thursday, 10:00 AM PT - Sunday, 10:00 AM PT). These crystals will experience a rerun 11 days after initially being released, on a Sunday (for a limited time, depending on the crystal types, like featured hero, grandmaster featured hero, etc.).
When a new Champion is released, there is a certain amount of time before they are available in other Champion pools.
- Base pool (for the Premium Hero Crystal): around two to three months after their initial release
- 5-star base pool (for the 5-Star Hero Crystal): around three and a half months after their initial release
- 6-star base pool (for the 6-Star Hero Crystal): As of January 2022, we’ve started adding 6-Star Champions to the base pool when we add their 3 to 5-Star versions. This means 6-Star Champions will be added to the base pool before the end of their run in the 6-Star Featured Hero Crystal.
Preview Bundles
For some new Champions and their associated featured crystals, there will be a preview period where players have a chance to own the Champion before they are officially released. These crystals will be included in a “preview bundle,” and operate differently than other featured crystals.
- They are purchased using real-world currency.
- The number of featured crystals in the bundle varies from two to five (quantity will be shown prior to purchase).
- They have a limited number of purchases (usually they can be purchased twice).
- They usually include Gold and another item, like crystal shards and boosts.
- There are typically two versions at a time: a normal bundle and an Uncollected bundle. The Uncollected version can only be purchased by players who have reached that story quest campaign progression. For more details on the Uncollected title and its associated perks, see this article.