Well, it's hard to pinpoint exactly when the rise was. One further review, I'm not sure there really was a dramatic rise at all, so much as two years of steady improvement.
Certainly, Reaper Hecarim is not part of new order. It has changes to its model and splash art, but that's nothing new. Its sounds, animations, voiceover, and particles are all identical to the base skin. If anything, that's a step back from prior release skins like Mad Scientist Ziggs and Bittersweet Lulu, which altered spell effects and in Ziggs's case sounds.
I do agree that reducing the number of release skins to one was an important milestone, though it didn't pay immediate dividends. Blight Crystal Varus is pretty unremarkable, and though Lord Darius has the distinction of being the first skin with a recall animation, that's just because Darius was the first champion with a recall animation. Soul Reaver Draven, however mediocre it may be, is where release skins started to always have distinct particles. From there on, most skins had particle changes.
Oktoberfest Gragas was the first skin to have a unique recall animation. This didn't really catch on until Neon Strike Vi, and didn't become ubiquitous until Celestine Soraka. Soon after that point, between Special Weapon Zac and the Freljord event, on April 11, 2013, we had the grand skin repricing announcement. This actually is later than I expected. Since then, we've had significantly increased prevalence of sound changes in skins, the beginnings of voiceover changes making it down below Legendary, and an increase in extra stuff, like different dance animations, or Night Hunter Rengar's toggleable hood.
This strikes me as a consistent rise starting in the summer of 2012 and still continuing. Still, even though the price guidelines were established over a year ago, they don't seem wholly outdated. The requirements for a 975 skin are the same as for a 750 skin: new model, texture, and splash. Above that, 975 skins may have animation, particle, and/or sound changes. Certainly, by modern standards, Hextech Janna is a terrible skin. But by modern standards, Rocket Girl Tristana falls short, and that skin was widely acclaimed on its release. But by the strict definition of 975 laid out, both fit.
So what standard do we use to price skins, given that the level of skin released continues to grow? In a couple years, I expect Night Hunter Rengar to appear just as obsolete as Rocket Girl Tristana does today. If we have a creeping standard, where we drop RGT to 750 today, and then down to 520 in a year, this limits Riot if they do reach actual limits of skin quality. It might also reduce sales, as people know the price will permanently drop if they just wait a while. If we do ad hoc, that opens up even more problems, as Riot would be besieged by threads arguing that <SKIN THREAD STARTER WANTS TO BUY> isn't really up to standard for 975 and 1350.
I think the current system, arbitrary as it may be in places, is pretty good. It's a fixed, infrequently adjusted system, and that heads off a lot of problems, as well as gives Riot a lot of flexibility to grow the quality of skins or to devote resources elsewhere. I would not be surprised if they adjust it; under a strict ruling, even Mafia Jinx shouldn't be allowed to be priced as low as 975. And Primetime Draven, as impressive as the VO is, clearly falls short of legendary tier. But working well for 18 months is pretty good in my book.
