An Extra Layer of Satisfaction: Free League of Legends Skins

League of Legends is a hugely successful game, not only in terms of popularity but also in terms of revenue as well. Throughout its history, skins have been the primary source of that revenue. As a free-to-play game, microtransactions are a necessary evil to keep the game alive and healthy. However, not all skins cost money. If you frequently play LoL, you may have an increasing interest in Free League of Legends Skins. There are various ways to obtain them and different types available, and they add an extra layer of satisfaction when you roll one out with your favorite champion.

Social Media

As any successful business owner can attest to, having a strong social media presence is important to overall growth and sustain. Riot Games has always communicated and marketed League of Legends through various channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Twitch, and Reddit. This is particularly important because League of Legends has a much bigger global presence than almost every other game. With so many players living outside the United States, the value of social media increases because it is the most visible way to communicate problems and changes to the player base. In regards to skins, social media is a way in which someone can receive specific skins for no cost at all, other than time.

Riot Girl Tristana

Although in recent years its popularity has been declining with the younger generation, Facebook is still the primary way many people communicate with friends and family. To receive this skin, someone can “like” the official League of Legends Facebook page. You will then have to choose a specific server. After a few more prompts, you will be given a code for the skin. You must then login into your account and redeem the code through the client.

Typically, the Riot skin line in League of Legends has been reserved for specific officially sanctioned events or by meeting a Riot Games employee. This skin is the exception to that general rule. Riot Girl Tristana makes cosmetic changes to Tristana’s default character model, and if you don’t already own the champion, this promotion will also unlock Tristana on the account that was used to redeem the code. As will become a recurring trend, this is little work for a reward that outweighs the effort put into the endeavor.

Dreadknight Garen

In a lot of ways, Garen is one of the poster champions for League of Legends, has been around quite a long time and often being having been featured on the promotional material when League of Legends was picking up steam on computers all around the world. League of Legends became popular during the same time as the now widely used Twitter. It may seem only natural to have a skin promotion through this social media giant. Dreadknight Garen is obtained in much the same way as Riot Girl Tristana.

To obtain this skin, one must have a Twitter account and follow the official League of Legends Twitter account. After doing so, a few prompts will appear again giving a code to redeem through the client. Just like the Tristana skin, this particular skin will also give you Garen if you do not already own the champion. Having followers on social media can provide huge boons to a business, and these skins attempt to take advantage of that.

Unchained Alistar

Rounding out the social media free skin trio is Unchained Alistar. Compared to Riot Girl Tristana and Dreadknight Garen, this skin is a lot more troublesome. Unchained Alistar revolves around yet a different company, this one being YouTube. In the past, you could obtain this skin, which pays homage to Greek mythology, by subscribing to the official League of Legends YouTube channel and following the instructions to receive the skin. Again this is very similar to the other already mentioned skins. The issue is that many people have reported the links needed for this promotion no longer work.

Riot has apparently remedied this injustice through its support ticket system. If you submit a new support ticket with the headline “Unchained Alistar,” it has been reported this will prompt the system to credit the skin to your account and the champion as well if you do not already own Alistar. This type of goodwill from the developer creates a sense of trust from the player base, and this trust benefits the developer long term. Fixing a defunct situation shows changes are being actively made to League of Legends.

Event Skins

Outside of the social media promotions, in years past skins were tied to certain events. Perhaps the most famous of those are the PAX skins. If you attended a specific PAX event in 2009, 2010, or 2011, you would have received a skin for one of three champions. If you attended PAX in 2009, your reward was the PAX Twisted Fate skin, a skin that while originally free, is now one of the most sought after skins. Attendees to PAX East or Prime in 2010 or Pax East in 2011, were given the PAX Jax skin. PAX Sivir rounds out the bunch by being handed out to those who attended Pax Prime in 2011.

These are not the only skins that have been given out at events, and while there are others such as Riot Blitzcrank and Arcade Hecarim, interestingly enough, these free skins have disappeared in recent years. Hextech crafting plays a large role in this. Free skins have been obtainable through the client since the system’s introduction, and Riot probably feels this is enough of a gesture where free skins from events is no longer needed to create goodwill. The skins gave players an additional reason to travel and experience new events and that extra incentive has fallen by the wayside.

Unnecessary, but Nice to Have

Ultimately, skins do not make you a better player. They are simply a nice thing to have. There is a certain amount of satisfaction one feels by swapping through different skins during champion select. Riot Games has made an effort to appeal to its fan base through these cosmetic items by making specific skins free over the course of its lifespan. While the methods certainly vary, depending on the skin, they are all free and require no monetary purchase outside of attending an event for event skins. While it is disappointing to see event skins exist no longer, they are a reminder of the history of League of Legends, and there is always hope they will return in some capacity in the future. Until then, keep grinding away and retreat to your home in Summoner’s Rift when you need a break from the stress of life.

For more, check this out: How to Get Key Fragments in League of Legends for Greater Experiences.