411 About the Best League of Legends Skins

In the League of Legends community, skins have been a contentious point among the player base for a number of years. Skins are the primary tool by which Riot Games makes money and in light of recent controversy regarding a reduced budget for the World Championship this year, revenue is an increasing cause of concern for the beleaguered company.

There has been a trend in recent years to focus on skins with a higher base price. To alleviate the scrutiny against skins, Riot has historically created skins for popular champions, often times ignoring those who are underplayed. This has been a sore point for players, as each champion has his or her fair share of advocates and there is a clear bias for particular champions given the sheer number of skins available for them. With all that said, there is still interest in them, and knowing which are the Best League of Legends skins, will help inform your future purchases.

What features do the best League of Legends skins have?

• Include new skill animations
• Interesting splash art
• Represent the champion well

While it is ultimately a subjective opinion as to what exactly constitutes the best League of Legends skins, there are some key features to look out for if you are considering a purchase in the near future. The most notable difference between lower and higher priced skins are new skill animations. The question then becomes: what are new skill animations?

New skill animations are appearance changes to a champion’s abilities. A cheaper skin will very rarely include said changes and will often only change the base character model and provide a new splash art. If seeing your favorite champion’s abilities cater to the skin itself is important to you, then be pay attention to new skill animations when making a purchasing decision.

The simple truth with splash art is that not all splash art is created equal. This is most apparent in champions that have not yet received a visual update. Depending on the splash art, it can either be a unique take on a champion or provide little in terms of an appealing design.

Having a splash art that brings something new to the table is an important aspect of the best skins available in League of Legends. What should also be taken into account with splash art is representing the champion well. This correlates to not only the splash art but the skill animations and character models as well. Certain champions are best represented by their personality and maintaining a distinct aesthetic. The best skins manage to keep these factors intact and do not veer off into questionable directions that are difficult to reconcile with the champion’s theme.

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How about the current pricing structure for skins?

• Cheap skins give less
• Higher priced skins account for a proclaimed reimagining

Some time ago Riot released a guide that outlined the specific tiers included in their skin pricing. When thinking about which skin you should purchase, the most important factor to keep in mind is that a lower price equates to receiving less. As mentioned earlier, new skill animations are what separate high and low quality.

Deluxe skins, the name coined by Riot to describe its lowest tier, will only sometimes change skill animations and are much less likely to include other features such as recall animations and new voiceover. If you are content with skins that offer very little in terms of visual gameplay changes, then you should be looking at skins priced at this tier of 750 RP or lower. It is important to note that while 390/520 RP skins are no longer made; they are still available to purchase.

After we move beyond the 750 RP tier, things become murkier. Superior skins priced at 975 RP claim to give features that go beyond a model change, but the description itself is hard to understand if you are an inexperienced buyer. Essentially the higher price makes animation changes more likely. The “sometimes” description attached to deluxe skins becomes “likely” with superior skins.

When legendary and ultimate skins are considered, they can be thought about in terms of complete overhauls for a champion. They will change the way you think about a champion by adding new animations, adding new dialogue that thematically fits with the champion, and of course including other small effects. The changes to these skins are exactly what warrant the price hike. Legendary skins can be purchased for 1820 RP and ultimate skins can be purchased for 2775 (Gun Goddess Miss Fortune only) or 3250 RP.

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Which skins are worth the price investment?

• DJ Sona
• Spirit Guard Udyr

Ultimate skins are the most expensive skins available for purchase. While specific rare skins may sell for more on third-party sites, ultimate skins are directly available from Riot Games through the League of Legends client for 3250 RP which equates to roughly $20. These skins are at the highest price point because they offer the most to players in terms of features. The two skins that best showcase this price investment and are also among the best skins in the entire game are DJ Sona and Spirit Guard Udyr.

Released in 2015, DJ Sona introduced new music into League of Legends that could only be heard in-game when a Sona player on your team owned the skin and decided to use it. DJ Sona, as the name implies, is accompanied by EDM music. There are three different tracks available and each track is uniquely different from the others.

With this skin, Sona can change forms depending on which song has been selected and each form is accompanied by its own distinct character model and skill animations. Furthermore, by purchasing the skin, other items are obtained such as icons and profile banners. What completes the skin is how well the splash art maintains Sona’s aesthetic compared to her default splash art. The number of additions makes this skin the cream of the crop, alongside Spirit Guard Udyr.

Whereas DJ Sona changes forms based on the music selection, Spirit Guard Udyr, in line with his kit, utilizes unique animations based on which form he is currently using. The most notable aspect about this skin is how it evolves over the course of the game where the appearance of a rank 1 ability is vastly different from its rank 5 counterpart.

Other features included new voiceovers, new animations, and unique effects on minion kills. To advertise the skin, Riot created a comic book presentation which showcased Udyr’s primal nature and this determining characteristic is carried over into not only the skin itself but the splash art as well. Spirit Guard Udyr is the skin that makes you proud of owning skins.

Final Thoughts

In League of Legends, there an incredible amount of skins of varying quality. As is the case with most cosmetic items in video games, the more you are willing to pay, the more you will receive in return. The common traits that carry across the Best League of Legends Skins are new skill animations for abilities, interesting splash art, and being able to keep a champion’s core traits intact. While there is tier pricing behind skins and value can be found in cheaper skins, the two best skins to own in League of Legends both belong to the ultimate tier: DJ Sona and Spirit Guard Udyr. Both skins have a number of varied features and showcase the talent behind the skin team at Riot Games. If you are looking for a skin that will impress your friends, the ultimate skins are a good place to start.

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