So, about those SKT skins... 2017 Edition

RiotRiot SuperCakes·6/23/2017, 1:04:05 AM·1 votes·104,970 views

Hello players who love Skins, players who love SKT and, in this particular case, players who love SKT Skins!

When we first shipped the SKT Skins to PBE, we heard some concerns over their pricing. More specifically, we have a “Guide to Skin Price Tiers” on our player support page that promises that 1350RP skins would have new sounds, and some of these SKT skins don’t.

First, I want to apologize that we’ve not updated this guide in so long. When we originally wrote it four years ago, our philosophy on pricing skins was different (not dramatically, but still). When we change our thinking, this also means we owe you an explanation, and we failed to do this.

In the case of these SKT skins, all of our normal playbooks were thrown out. We didn’t look at them as an individual set of features, but rather a holistic experience. We wanted to create World Championship skins that are highly commemorative and, because they are rev-shared, give you an opportunity to honor SKT in a really meaningful way.

We don’t charge you for “our effort.” There is no evil overlord tracking our hours and converting that into RP. But, there is a level of value and quality that we strive for when creating content and once we hit it, we price accordingly. In the case of the 2016 SKT World Championship Skins, we believe they are priced fairly for what they are: a high quality execution across a number of dimensions, even if those dimensions don’t 1:1 match our checklist.

But we also know we made a commitment, so we’re going to live up to it. We’re still planning to release these skins at 1350RP in Patch 7.13, but we will release an update to them soon after that adds in sounds and checks those boxes. Honestly speaking, we’re not sure if the skins are necessarily better for it. That’s why they weren’t part of their original design. But we also don’t feel that we’re holding up our end of the bargain otherwise.

This conversation also gives us an opportunity to revamp our policies to match how we currently approach our work. We owe you an updated explanation that really gets into why we make the things we make. We’ll probably also update or retire that article once we can.

We’re really excited to launch these 2016 SKT Championship Skins, and thank you for all of your feedback to help make them the best they can be.

xoxo SuperCakes

115 Comments

Spideraxe6/23/2017, 1:19:25 AM28 votes

So we are to see an updated skin pricing list eventually? Are we to see an explanation for why we have some inconsistent releases like how some modern 975 skins have 1350 quality stuff. Also how do you guys feel about SKT being the largest skin line in League

PrinceBedazzled6/23/2017, 3:07:23 AM28 votes

This is just the way i see it and think it should be.. 520- Outdated tier, sometimes even includes recolors that would just be chromas now a days. Mostly just model with a few exceptions. 750- Completely new model, sometimes has quality of life weapon/particle changes. 975- New particles, sometimes a few recolors. Some new sounds, new recall. 1350- All new particles, NO recolors, all new sounds, VO processing when appropriate, recall 1820- New particles, sounds, jokes, voice over, recall, and otherall themetic. 3250- Everything an 1820 has, plus a very above and beyond unique niche. I think a whole overhaul where skins are repriced correctly and what is worth what amount is made CRYSTAL CLEAR. These skins at the moment are 975 tier, period. No beating around the bush about it.

Tormentula6/23/2017, 1:54:39 AM23 votes

Will these be put back up for sale after the update?

Just because the skins are not even finished, I may hold off on purchasing any of them until they get updated with new sounds (incase the sounds actually sound worse to me than the base skins and make me not care much for them). I would hate to have to wait a whole year for another esport sale only for them to be updated in a couple months and be unpurchasable at that time.

Some suggestions: Give an audience cheer during jhin's curtain call similar to 2015's recalls, and maybe make syndra sound more "metal" with her spheres as if they're trophies or something.

I still think the splash arts kill the skins for me. I factor in what the skins look like in their art and loading screen, its honestly part of the reason I even bought skins I hated in-game because their art captured their character so perfect (I bought prestigious LB for the new art alone). I feel the new SKT skins really lacked in the splash art, grouped up there's not much to look at and individually in the splices there's no detail to the art itself without an appropriate background (last years got stage lights/flowers and other SKT members faded in the back ground) to compliment that (and in nami's case there's no detail period). I'd say the only splice that looks good is the olaf one because he got positioned in the good part of the background (the only part with lightning and not just a void of clouds).

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--QYqAIOsQuk/V5Zqpk-BujI/AAAAAAAASEc/0d5evsKJ_pQqYMGBWGI2v3ntM5_fgZemQCEw/s1600/Azir_3.jpg https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k3PVFwRROOw/WUmOGV-DklI/AAAAAAAAndM/2W1cJAizXsIwayV1o9SmrShxGObvnlBeACLcBGAs/s1600/NamiLoadscreen_8.png

The difference is so huge. I may sound extremely arrogant and biased when I say this, but I think these need a splash art update more than a lot of dated splash arts. Its my opinion, some agree, some disagree, but I don't see many who agree that the splash arts are good the way they are (vocally).

Regardless, I'm glad you guys are at least taking one good step in the right direction with these skins

His Xayáh6/23/2017, 3:17:44 AM15 votes

the nami splash is terrible, no detail at all because she has her back turned

Makuta Teridax6/23/2017, 2:07:40 AM11 votes

Personal opinion, keep the article, add a disclaimer, and use it for guiding (so most skins are still going to follow it but there can be an exception here and there). Why I'm saying this? Because it's really how it should be. You currently have 5 pricing categories, 2 of which are basically the same (520 and 750) but one price is used for older content while the rest is for newer. Then we go up for 975 for a recall, and then it's 1350 for a recall and particles (and maybe a custom animation somewhere)... And then we go to 1820 and Ultimate tier, which are pretty much an overhaul and many models in one.

So the thing is, if you don't use it as guidance, how can we perceive those prices as more or less fair to us? In other words, what justifies in our (consumer) eyes that this skins are 1350RP worthy, if we don't really understand what differentiates it from other 975 skins clearly?

And having said this, I also find that if you guys could go into a bit more of detail regarding why you felt the price was right even with the lack of a few things, it'd help here too. Maybe we're overlooking something, as we don't really work on stuff and for us seeing a different model might not immediately make us understand how much complicated it is regarding another one.

Thanks for your time!

TerraRising6/23/2017, 2:15:09 AM11 votes

If I understand this:

When some very wary Redditors (among others) inform you that the announced price of these SKT skins does not meet with the company's current policy, rather than lower the prices and adjust revenue sharing accordingly, Riot's skins team decides to:

  • Stubbornly stick to the announced (and incorrect) price point, using revenue sharing as the only real justification.
  • Promise a future update (at an undisclosed time) that you admit may not improve the skins to that original price point.
  • Change current, longstanding announced policy to meet a new and currently unjustified "philosophy" that runs within the department.

If I have any of this wrong, please tell me.

To be honest, as a Yorick fan (for almost six years), this change in philosophy within the department scares me. If you guys are willing to change your policies at a whim, what sort of "confident commitment" can I realistically expect after waiting all this time? Am I going to have the opportunity to purchase a high quality skin that's worthy of my wait (or the champion's wait), or am I just going to get some hastily made thing that is underdone and overpriced because "screw Yorick fans" is still the team's philosophy?

NinjaGuy696/23/2017, 2:06:39 AM9 votes

Hi, SuperBaekes. Just out of curiosity, do you plan on adjusting prices for previously released skins in the near future? Not to disrespect the artists and designers, but older skins (like Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao for example) have no legitimate reason for being 1350 RP. Thoughts?

LostFr0st6/23/2017, 5:39:05 AM5 votes

Hello SuperCakes!

First of all thank you for the transparency about everything. The skins all look great^^

Now, I'm going to leave a couple comments here in case anyone else is in a similar boat and ends up doing the same thing. Please don't misinterpret it.

  1. I love the Nami skin especially and was already planning on buying it.

  2. Now that you guys have announced these 'modifications' I will be holding off on insta-getting the skin --hear me out:

It is in no way due to the policy update or anything of the sort, I will simply need to hear the sfx or w/e is added before I get the skin. I'll give an example with a different skin: Blood Moon Talon. The skin is amazing looking in every aspect, and it feels really good and smooth to use, but the sound of the Q is like a little barking dog and I can't be serious when listening to it X3

I know it's a stupid reason, but I wanted to put it here anyways.

Please pass my regards to the team, you guys are amazing.

GingerKing126/23/2017, 12:36:11 PM5 votes

So will Jhin say, "1, 2, 3, BANG!" "S, K, T, BANG!" or even "Bang, Bang, Bang, BANG!"?

Badrick6/23/2017, 4:50:37 AM4 votes

Hello, I am the OP of the reddit thread, and I think this is a great response. Thank you very much for your hard work.

Aríon6/23/2017, 8:16:07 AM4 votes

Annie In Wonderland!

CrazFight 6/23/2017, 2:57:50 AM4 votes

That feel when faker is gonna have more skins than yorick who has been out for 6 years U_U

Wendígo6/23/2017, 1:55:41 AM4 votes
  1. Thanking you for listening too feedback and responding to it
  2. When you do update that article, I'd hate to see the feature list completely removed Without it I worry future skin prices will seem arbitrary
Favours of Tyche6/23/2017, 3:00:47 AM4 votes

Honestly - I was going to break my strike of buying rp to protest a couple issues I have with Riot (haven't bought a skin in about 2 years) and get the SKT1 Nami skin because it's really stunning in game. However, the loading screen splash is REALLY terrible for it so I'm passing again. You guys either nail the splash art and the skin falls extremely short or vis versa. It's a shame that the artists were so willing to listen to the players and make sure the community was happy with the skins **IN GAME **- but then the splash is automatically final. _

Edit: I'd just like to add this point too, group splashes are fun but overused for convenience and thematic reasons obviously. This SKT1 splash looks amazing together but each figure falls short on it's own in detail and polish.

v4j4yj4y7/5/2017, 1:52:36 PM3 votes

Well, 7.13 is here but I don't see the SKT skins available for sale yet. I've been patiently waiting, but I would like to know as I need to budget for them. I already have some money set aside for them and every week there is an update the first thing I do is see if they are available to be purchased yet.

ChaoLan6/23/2017, 11:29:33 AM2 votes

Well you guys should check Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao then. He is a 1350 skin who is 750 RP tier quality. That's literal false advertisement imo.