2024 has been a turbulent 12 months for League of Legends. On the plus aspect, the sport’s stability is the perfect it’s been in years (except you’re an ADC), fewer champion releases means there’s been much less chaos, and a renewed concentrate on correcting older lore has made every part really feel extra cohesive. There are sparkles of sunshine on the finish of what’s felt like a winding, complicated tunnel, however with these highs have include some critical lows. The shuttering of Riot Forge, two rounds of layoffs, botting points with Worlds tickets; for each win, it seems like there’s been a reasonably ugly loss.
After which there’s Immortalized Legend Ahri, the MOBA’s first-ever Corridor of Legends pores and skin. Celebrating the legacy of T1’s ever-iconic Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok, for some gamers it was an absolute must-buy. Faker’s legacy is plain; he’s develop into the worldwide face of League of Legends and by proxy the participant that many aspire to emulate. Most of us in all probability wished that pores and skin, however when Riot unveiled its $300 worth level, lots of people went ‘thank you, next.’
All through 2024, Riot has constantly come below hearth for its pivot in the direction of uber-pricey League of Legends cosmetics. A pattern that appeared to start out within the sport’s sister title, Valorant, all of it started with Darkish Cosmic Erasure Jhin, the primary $200 chroma. From there adopted Breakout True Injury Ekko, and in 2024 alone we’ve seen six Mythic Variations – successfully one each two months.
In my interview with Riot Video games again in June, sport director Pu ‘PuPuLasers’ Liu instructed me that “these kind of products are designed for a very small percentage of our players to be able to purchase and flex,” however assured me that they are going to proceed to be “a small minority.” Whereas the $200 chromas largely cater to avid followers of the champion and beauty collectors, the Ahri pores and skin had mass-market enchantment. It was one thing a number of gamers genuinely wished, however the worth level pushed it out of their attain.
In all my video games of League of Legends this 12 months, I’ve solely seen one participant utilizing the $430 Immortalized Legend Ahri pores and skin. They have been on the enemy staff, and as we loaded into the sport, each side have been fast to spit flames within the chat. Because the match progressed the toxicity grew exponentially, maybe the results of the Ahri’s lane opponent feeding their ass off, or her skill to constantly outplay them regardless of our jungler tenting her lane. As a bystander it was a bizarre, harrowing thought experiment: gamers are actually bullying one another over a videogame beauty.
Again when the pores and skin was revealed, gamers have been fast to ban Ahri en-masse out of protest, which means that those that owned it didn’t get that likelihood to flex. Whereas that’s all historic historical past, I’ve watched gamers be relentlessly bullied only for having the pores and skin, and in some ways proudly owning it seems to go away you as extra of a laughing inventory than anything. However I’ve by no means skilled any of this hate instantly; I don’t personal the pores and skin. So I talked to 2 gamers who do.
They’re ‘Falcon’ and ‘Saint,’ two League of Legends gamers who I used to be in a position to confirm personal the Immortalized Legend Ahri pores and skin. After I ask why they selected to buy it, that they had a reasonably easy reply.
“I bought the skin because it’s like the ultimate celebration of a player I’ve seen play and grow for over a decade now,” says Saint. “It just felt like something that, if I could afford it, I should buy it.” Falcon echoes this: “I really respect Faker and everything he’s done; people can hate on him, but he has a legacy. Coming from football, there’s like Ronaldo or Messi – Faker is that kind of figure.”
However Falcon additionally tells me that he regretted not choosing up the unique $200 Jhin chroma, which inspired him to seize Immortalized Legend Ahri. “It goes back to Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin,” he tells me. “With Jhin being one of my favorite champions in the game, I wanted to get it, but when I went to, I was convinced against it. Then it timed out. It was a regret for me.”
Ahri is one other of Falcon’s favorites, and whereas initially he thought of doing a giveaway with the pores and skin, he ultimately settled on holding it. “I would tell my colleague ‘yo, this is pretty cool, it’s a rare, once-in-a-lifetime skin,’ and she was like ‘hell no.’ But it’s pretty simple: I bought the skin because, for me, it’s a thing I have that others don’t.”
Each agree, nevertheless, that the pores and skin’s worth was notably exorbitant, with Saint noting that “the cost was definitely too high. I think it was definitely a lot and a bold decision on Riot’s part to make this the first big cosmetic item with a price tag like this. Additionally, because I see so much hate about the price, it ‘only’ cost a little bit more than $400. Riot released an RP bundle with the skin that made it so you got a bunch of bonus RP so it cost less.”
“I was going to spend that $500 on something else,” Falcon remembers. “I had to sacrifice something for the skin. That was the coping mechanism I had to go through.”
As I discussed, homeowners of the pores and skin have been just about unable to make use of it for weeks as their friends protested Riot’s pricing on the Rift. Because the months have gone on, there’s a sense that proudly owning the pores and skin truly impacts you negatively. It feels such as you’re instantly going to get a barrage of hate, or that utilizing it can paint a goal in your again, whereas concurrently alienating your teammates.
I ask Falcon and Saint whether or not or not they’ve had unfavourable experiences in-game. “Literally the first game I played the skin I got called a slur in chat,” Saint tells me. “I’ve since played the skin numerous times and pretty much every time the enemy team flames me the whole game. Heaven forbid you make a misplay when you bought a skin. I was even told I have no morals in an ARAM because I bought the skin.”
Falcon’s morality has been questioned too, as he remembers that “outside of the game, people were like ‘you’re supporting what [Riot]’s doing, and they’re just going to keep doing it because of people like you,’ which I feel is a dumb comment to make – me buying the skin doesn’t really matter to Riot.” He calls the ban Ahri marketing campaign “scummy,” however notes that he “never received any negatives on [his] side of the team. There’ll be comments on the enemy team, but never anything particularly negative, just the cheesy ‘oh you bought the Ahri skin, imagine wasting your money.’”
When it comes to gameplay, Saint’s expertise can also be considerably unfavourable. “People target me, a random plat guy playing Ahri support one in 50 games, like I’m some big-name streamer who needs to be killed so they can make it to clip channels on YouTube. It’s kind of pathetic on their part in my opinion.”
“When I play normals with a mix of ranks, people are more childish, but in ranked nobody cares,” Falcon explains. At increased ranks like Grasp and Grandmaster, he notes that “I’ve come across a lot of players who have the Ahri skin and no one cares. I feel like, when you’re playing competitively, you’re just playing the game to win; everyone’s just locked in.”
The ranked and regular disparity is probably unsurprising, given those that are actually grinding the League of Legends ranks are probably to be the sport’s die-hard followers and esports fanatics. In the event you’re investing sufficient time into sustaining a Grasp or Grandmaster rank, I can perceive why a $500 pores and skin might really feel ‘worth it.’
However is it, certainly, price it? Considering the fee, different gamers’ considerably variable responses to it, and all the controversy, do Falcon and Saint have any regrets? And would they purchase future Corridor of Legends skins, even when the value level stayed the identical?
“No regrets here. I enjoy the skin, and it’s been my profile banner since it was released. I already get enough flak from people for owning every skin; one more skin isn’t going to hurt that.” Falcon mirrors this, noting that “the skin has good value. It’s number one; the first of its kind – it has that perk to it.”
As for future buying selections, each gamers say it is determined by which champion we see added to the Corridor of Legends subsequent. “If I have the money and the champ is something I could see myself playing at some point, yes. If it’s a champ I don’t want to play or for a player I know nothing about then I might pass,” says Saint. “I enjoy League and it’s where I choose to spend my time and money, so I don’t mind spending on big skins like this.” “I feel like I’m mature enough to make my own reasonable choices,” Falcon shares. “It would really depend on the champion; it’d have to mean something to me.”
I’ve usually puzzled what would occur if the subsequent Corridor of Legends pores and skin was for one in every of my favourite characters – Senna, Karma, Nami, for instance. Whereas I’d be reluctant to drop $300 or $500, the urge to have one thing distinctive is difficult to withstand. Falcon means that Riot creates a dearer battle cross, impressed by the esports participant and their journey. That’s a system I’d like to see.
For me, realizing you labored in-game to earn one thing makes it all of the extra particular. I’d somewhat gadgets have been scarce as a result of unlock standards somewhat than their hefty price ticket alone. Hopefully, Riot embraces that sentiment coming into 2025, in any other case I sense some disappointment on the horizon.
