To promote a new League of Legends server for Australia and New Zealand, the game’s creators want to drop a statue into the ocean to form an artificial reef and they want the League of Legends community to help according to a new post on their blog.

Players from New Zealand and Australia have been invited to take part in “Ocean Week”, a special event that runs from the 23rd to the 30th of January, and all victories achieved using one of 12 free champions provided for the event earn points. Riot has set a target of 275 000 points to unlock the Artificial Reef, with plenty of other rewards that unlock along the way.

Probably the most attractive reward is players having their Summoner Names engraved on the statue before it’s turned into an ecosystem for marine life. Should players earn three points during the event (one per victory), their Summoner Name will be engraved onto the statue for posterity. Unlocking that reward also gives players a vote towards which hero form the statue will take: Fizz, Nami or Nautilus.

Riot Games say in the comments section that they’ve worked closely with an artificial reef company and a marine biologist to establish the best location for their game-themed reef; they’re also going to gain official approval from the relevant authorities before going ahead, so it’s all above-board.

Naturally, there will be Ocean Week-themed sales happening throughout the event so it’s not like this is entirely altruistic, but that’s the nature of LoL’s business model which allows Riot to keep putting out content, so it’s okay.

Creating an artificial reef out of a League of Legends statue is a neat way to promote the game’s new ANZ server, and rewards players for taking part with something meaningful. Sure, their egos get a stroking by having their names engraved on the statue, but they also get to give marine life a helping hand, and that’s just brilliant.

[Source – League of Legends website]