Riot announced a new Exalted Skins tier for League of Legends just days after the publisher laid even more people off in order to ensure "we have the right expertise so that League continues to be great for another 15 years and beyond."
"Exalted is a new skin tier that fits into what we define as a 'luxury good' last December," a developer says in a blog post. "Over this past year, we've continued to refine what luxury goods are and where they exist in our catalog. Exalted skins are for players who want hyper-inclusive skins."
At the end of last year, Riot announced that it would be restructuring its business model. Despite saying that "League is about playing better, not spending money" in that blog post, the publisher also announced a higher tier of skins that would be classified as "luxury goods." These come in the form of Mythic Variants like Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin and Breakout True Damage Ekko, which are typically $200/ £154.
So, the newest skin that Riot has released to celebrate the upcoming Arcane season 2 will fall under the above category. Arcane Fractured Jinx has " two distinct models across three different forms and VFX that highlight her story." Plus, there's a unique voice-over for each form, and you can switch between each version at any time in-game by using a slot-machine mechanic controlled by Jinx's Ctrl+5, and if you hit big (which is guaranteed), you change forms.
"These forms will also be reflected across three HUD overlays for Jinx's passive, which reflect some of her experiences from Season One and some from Season Two," the blog post says. "We really wish we could show you more right now, but, again, spoilers."
But the thing is that you can't get the new Jinx skin by buying outright—instead, you need to use the Sanctum. "When we were designing how you would acquire exalted skins, we considered making them a set price," Riot says. "However, we decided to pursue another way that would allow players who may not want to commit to a larger price the chance to get them at a lower investment—so we built a new system called the Sanctum with that in mind."
In the Sanctum, players will use a new currency called ancient sparks to win prizes from a pool of rewards. There'll be the new Jinx skin (which is classified as S-tier content) alongside other content like select skins, exclusive paragon chromas (A-tier content), or just mythic essence (B-tier content). The drop rates for each tier range from 0.5% to 10% to 89.5%.
You can get ancient sparks for 400RP (in-game League currency), which translates to $3/ £2.50. But, if you want a better chance of getting the Jinx skin, you can invest 32000RP, which clocks in around $246/ £205, as that'll give you 80 rolls outright, which is apparently enough to score the skin.
This policy does seem like a wolf in sheep's clothing. Even if there is "bad-luck protection," which is meant to "make sure you're never too far from the item you want," according to Riot, this still seems pretty iffy and not far off from the practice of loot boxes. This practice has been removed from most major games like Overwatch as it's seen as a form of gambling or, at the very least, predatory.
I want this shit regulated out of existenceHaving any kind of gacha shit should make your game 18+ rated by default dgfaOctober 16, 2024
"Skins are the primary way we monetise League," the blog post says. "The revenue from skins, especially those at higher price points, allows us to invest in areas like new modes, champions, and further explorations in the narrative like the Spirit of Hearth Home minigame. We care about making a great game above all else, and your investment gives us the means to make these awesome experiences."
But even if expensive skins may be the best way to keep the lights on for League, players still aren't very happy with the new tier. "I want this shit regulated out of existence," one player says. "Having this kind of gacha shit should make your game 18+ rated by default."
A League of Legends subreddit has also been trying to piece together Riot's thought process recently. "Make ultimate skins, drop quality ever since lux, make exalted tier, still less content than lux, 10x the price, profit," another player points out. Some players also touched on the fact that this new skin tier is coming at a time when Riot has just laid off a ton of talented artists responsible for making skins: "Also firing a lot of talented and good artists, skin developers, etc. too… [Riot] is losing their mind over whales who would spend hundreds of money on a skin…"
One of the artists affected by the recent round of Riot layoffs was even Ben Rosado, who was responsible for loads of legendary skins, including the $500 Ahri skin that was made to celebrate esports player Faker. "These were some of my best years of life, but now it's back to the job board, Rosado says in an X post.
The exalted skin tier has definitely come at a bad time for League of Legends, and it'll be interesting to see how players react to chasing exalted skins in the Sanctum to see how easy it is to get the cosmetics you want or if there's mostly just filler on offer.
