Regardless of the debate over their competitive impact, weapon skins continue to be a crucial part of the VALORANT experience. As in previous years, 2025 saw the release of several skin collections—but not all of them deserve a spot on our “best VALORANT skins of 2025” list.
So, what were the biggest yays (and nays) of Season V25’s cosmetic releases? Let’s take a look at the top 10 best VALORANT skins of 2025—and, of course, the worst as well.
Table of contents
The best VALORANT skins of 2025
This list is based on personal preference. Everyone’s experience is different, and players may have their own opinions.
10) Bubblegum Deathwish
At number 10 is the Bubblegum Deathwish collection, featuring a colorful and expressive theme at its core. I particularly love the smoothness of the firing sound and the musically electrifying finisher. The collection also comes with an adorable emoticon flex.
However, I didn’t like the melee and the Stinger—just sharing my take.
9) Prelude to Chaos, Season V25
I’m a fan of the Prelude to Chaos collection from Episode Five, so I naturally had high hopes for this bundle. While the Season V25 iteration impressed many VALORANT fans, I couldn’t place it higher on this list as it felt a bit forced. The flail melee, although unique, didn’t sit well with me either. That said, I did enjoy the Phantom and Sheriff from this collection.
8) Bolt
The Bolt collection is surely one of the most underrated bundles released in Season V25. From its satisfying muzzle fire to its grand finisher, these skins check almost every box for me. The bundle also included a sparkly Prism flex. I particularly enjoy using the Bolt Phantom and Outlaw—they suit the lightning theme really well.
7) VALORANT Champions 2025
As the most awaited bundle of 2025, the VALORANT Champions 2025 collection surely hit the right notes for many players. Granted, these skins weren’t as good as the older Champions skins, but the sound and visual effects—coupled with vibing music and a finisher that turns walls into gold—did all the heavy lifting. No wonder it became one of the highest-selling Champions bundles of all time, crossing $40 million in sales via Douyin (the Chinese version of TikTok) alone.
6) Cyrax
I put Cyrax on this list mostly because of its unique otherworldly theme, inspect animation, and melee. The Cyrax Fanblade is easily one of the best knife skins I’ve used in VALORANT. I’d steer clear of the rest of the collection—but again, that’s just my preference. Many players liked the Vandal and Guardian, both of which pair well with the inspect animation and clean sound.
5) Mystbloom, Season V25
The second iteration of the “flower bundle” brought skins for the Vandal, Ghost, Ares, and Outlaw. I loved the original Mystbloom concept—it’s beautiful, grand, and near perfect. So, I’m glad I get to apply the same theme to more weapons, especially the Vandal.
4) Divergence
The Arcane-themed Divergence collection is simply elegant. The skins are clean and beautiful, with glistening animations to top them off. The staff touched my heart too, but I particularly love the finisher, which transforms the entire world into Viktor’s heavenly dimension. Who’s Viktor? Well, you’ll have to watch the popular League of Legends series to find out!
3) ORA by OneTap
If you like to jam to VALORANT tracks daily, the ORA by OneTap collection is for you. It upgrades your everyday weapons to deliver the iconic Riot Games music experience during your VALORANT matches. Not just that—you can also unlock a dance emote by walking into the finisher animation and pressing inspect. Truth be told, there’s something surreal about taking down the last enemy and inspecting your weapon inside the finisher’s environment.
The bundle also included a fun blowhorn flex, which many of us used to troll our teammates.
2) EX.O
Now that we’re getting close to ‘the best,’ the EX.O bundle is here—and for good reason. All the EX.O skins add the right amount of flair and smoothness to your aim, and if you’re into futuristic aesthetics, this cyberpunk-inspired theme is likely right up your alley. If I had to pick the best EX.O skins, it’d be the Outlaw, Vandal, and Sheriff. The sword melee is stylish to wield as well.
1) Phaseguard
The Phaseguard is my favorite VALORANT weapon skin collection of 2025. What makes it arguably the best skin collection of the year is that it doesn’t just look cool. With randomized grip styles, inspect animations, rich color variants, and immersive visual effects, it actually makes you want to frag for your team just to see the animations and finisher. And you definitely can’t forget the Phaseguard Splitter melee, which is my favorite melee skin of the year.
The worst VALORANT skins of 2025
3) Minima, Season V25 (except for the knife)
What’s the point of a second Minima collection that costs 5,100 VP and offers no animations? It’s basically like wielding default skins with minor tweaks. Some people may like the minimal design, and I personally like the Karambit, but these skins are definitely among the worst released in 2025.
2) Storm Maw
Yet another skin collection nobody asked for, the Storm Maw bundle featured a price tag of 3,500 VP. I’d rather go for a battle pass that costs 1,000 VP and offers better content than spend $35 on lackluster skins.
1) Wasteland, Season V25
I’ve never really understood why anyone would want to buy a Wasteland skin. Too much money? Or do you genuinely prefer scrap and waste sticking out of your weapon? And yet, we got a second iteration of the Episode One collection in 2025. The only explanation? Riot must have been completely out of skin ideas that week.
Whether you’re looking for a list of all weapon bundles or knife skins released in VALORANT, we’ve got them all. Check out our VALORANT page for more updates!
