In games like League of Legends, skins for champions are an indispensable factor, if not a vital one. This is because they represent one of the largest revenue sources for the game, especially for certain “one-of-a-kind” skins, such as the skins honoring the champions of World Championship, or skins that have been around since the early days of League of Legends and are no longer available for sale.
Among these, the most special and perhaps the “top-tier” skins of League of Legends is the Ultimate line, featuring names that are considered part of the game’s development history, such as Lux Elementalist or Udyr Spirit Guard… These skins are special because they feature Riot’s highest design technologies, including integrated VFX, animated skin backgrounds, and changes to the skill icon designs… In general, almost every League of Legends player aspires to own at least one skin from the Ultimate skin line.
However, since the release of Samira’s Ultimate skin, the Ultimate skin line no longer meets its intended purpose for gamers. Many critical comments have targeted Riot, claiming that Samira’s Ultimate skin did not receive adequate investment. In fact, it was noticed that Samira’s Ultimate only has a mere 3 features upon release, far less than another Ultimate skin, Miss Fortune, which has 6 features plus a chroma.
Clearly, Samira’s skin (left) has less content investment compared to another Ultimate skin, Miss Fortune Star Guardian.
However, the community’s complaints have made Riot… “upset”. Accordingly, a representative from Riot shared that players have been complaining too much about Samira’s Ultimate skin: “I don’t think we should remain silent about Samira’s Ultimate skin. But if we don’t share enough, I apologize. We believe that Samira’s Ultimate skin deserves the definition of this skin line and has been compared to previous Ultimate skins in terms of popularity.”
“Not everyone agrees with what is defined as an Ultimate skin, and perhaps that is the reason for the negative feedback. This is definitely a group of skins that are not released frequently; the diverse products have caused significant performance issues in League of Legends. Therefore, we understand the confusion and dissatisfaction of the community. We will also consider whether to release Ultimate skins in the future.”
Thus, according to the Riot representative, it can be understood that the community’s negative feedback could potentially push the Ultimate skin line towards extinction. It is very likely that in the future, there will be no more Ultimate skins released.
Riot’s responses have left the community even more disheartened. According to many opinions, rather than improving the Ultimate skin line to meet its essence, they seem to be justifying and shifting responsibility onto the community for having “too high expectations for Ultimate skins”.
Whether this skin line will appear again in the future or not, it seems that players are the ones who suffer the most. Ultimate skins are not easy to acquire, but Riot is undermining the historical significance and value of this skin group that is tied to the development of League of Legends.