Perhaps League of Legends players in Vietnam are no longer unfamiliar with Garena’s “special” events. Besides the well-known practices like increasing the price of skins to sell at a higher rate, a series of normally valued skins available for sale have been “transformed” into limited skins on the Vietnamese server. The Freljord Sylas skin is the latest case to fall into this situation.
It was thought that this would stop at skins of normal value and that unique creations by Riot Games, like Premium skins, would be different. However, Garena says no; they still “lock” the Premium Dark Sorceress Zyra skin, preventing players from redeeming it with points, and the only way to obtain it is through Garena’s blood-sucking lottery events. Of course, for players who work hard hoping to exchange points for beautiful skins, you won’t be able to own this skin.
Nevertheless, there is some good news for players who love to “grind points” as Riot Games has provided answers in the latest AskRiot about the return of these Premium skins in the near future. You will have another chance to legitimately own these extremely beautiful skins, instead of gambling on luck as in Garena’s events.
Additionally, another product named Announcer Packs is also in production. However, due to the well-known pandemic situation in the U.S., the recording process will be much more difficult, affecting both the release of new champions and Legendary skins.
Question: Will you allow players to buy Premium skins in the end-of-year event? Can we get a specific schedule for the rest of 2020?
Riot’s answer: Yes, all Premium skins that you can earn by exchanging points this year will also be exchangeable for Premium points at the end of 2020. Of course, special icons and skin borders will only be available if you unlock them during the event period. We will announce the next champion with a Premium skin soon after Zoe’s skin is added to the PBE server in June.
Question: Earlier this year, you teased the production of Announcer Packs; do you have any updates on its release?
Riot’s answer: We briefly introduced it and hope the first product will be released in the fall of this year, however, everything has been delayed due to the impact of Covid-19. Ensuring everyone’s health is our top priority, so we do not want to jeopardize the safety of partners such as voice actors.
This affects more than just Announcer Packs; Legendary skins and new champions are also facing similar issues. We are looking for solutions for Legendary skins and new champions before moving on to Announcer Packs. We will update everyone as soon as there are changes.
With the information Riot Games has announced above, we can be assured that the Premium skins which currently can’t be redeemed will return by the end of this year when the Premium shop is back. Additionally, other products like Legendary skins and new champions (which require new voice lines) are delayed because Riot does not want to jeopardize the health of voice actors. Therefore, Announcer Packs, which change the in-game announcer voice, are also postponed.
Hopefully, in the coming months, things will progress positively so that not only in-game products but also tournaments around the world can proceed normally.