Can Skins Actually Improve You?

Yes. Get Surprise Party Fiddles and tell me you don't instantly improve 2 ranks.

Some skins have different particle effects on skill shots that can either confuse people or they seem much smaller...

Psychologically speaking, maybe. If you really like the champ and buying a skin makes you enjoy playing the champ more, then you'll probably practice with it a little more to see the skin. It might also make you happier seeing the champ you are playing in a skin you like making you less likely to tilt or rage. These are probably small positive effects that go with buying skins. However if you buy a skin for every champ just because you heard buying a skin gives you and advantage, probably not.

Now there is another small advantage where game theory talked about how showing off a skin in fighting games improves your game if you switch them up by distracting opponents, but longer they see the skin, the less advantage you get.

There are some skins which do offer slight advantages (due to differences in animations or particles), but they are generally pretty minor.

However, I would say that a skin can improve your play if you enjoy it. If you are having more fun with the game or are in a positive mood, you will generally perform better than you would otherwise.

Some skins DO have special graphics (Khazix comes to mind) that can help or hinder based on what is more noticeable to the player.

Not really. Skins have nothing to do with skill

iBlitzcrank is bullshit all the while looking fugly, throwing people on tilt with your bs hooks

underworld twisted fate and snow day ziggs are broken on ARAM

(Masked) has a much less noticeable puff of smoke when he deceives, because it's a bit smaller, is more transparent and is a purple instead of a red.

Sometimes. iBlitzcrank and Aether Wing Kayle come to mind. iBlitzcrank's hook is very deceptive and is a lot smaller than the hitbox, making BS hooks easier.

Aether Wing Kayle's auto attack animation is a lot smoother than default (so is Riot Kayle's) and so thats an advantage too.

Maybe not improve you, but there are skins that give you small advantages.

Dragonslayer panth - less notification to enemy team for airdrop Underworld TF - cards are harder to see Steel legion lux - abilities are harder to see Justicar syndra - balls are harder to see Frostfire annie - stun particles are very hard to see Iblitzcrank - hard to see Q particles

Some of these are banned in tournaments, but they do give a small advantage in soloqueue.

When i play Graves with the pool party skin, i always feel weaker because of the water sounds, but when i use mafia/riot - it feels much more strong, has more punch to it.

Not really, no.

The "Buy these skins to buff your champ" thing is more a thing of generic, bad youtube click-bait than anything of reality.

Some people feel that certain skins feel more "fluid". Whereas others may feel less fluid.

For example the newest riven skin, arcade riven, received much criticism due to the the sounds not being synced as well with the abilities. This made it harder for riven players to do their q-auto combos and such.

But generally the skins will not have any effect on how you may do mechanically on a specific champion because the animations are not changed with the skin.

I noticed somehow that when I play with Iron Solari Leona I win more than when I play with Defender Leona, I lost every game when I chose that skin.

actually, some skins are banned in competitive due only to the fact that riot messed up with them and it causes problems

for instance, some skins, the visuals of their abilties do not match the effect and for others, the visuals are practialy "invisuals" XD or otherwise invisible, such as blood moon Jayce or whatever his thing was...his Q becomes almost invisible