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@Riot: Chromas and why they seem questionable

Daen·4/8/2015, 10:38:26 PM·34 votes·1,783 views

Hey there everyone,

Please refer to this thread if you haven't seen it already. The OP claims to have made a chroma with very little Photoshop experience within an hour, complete with particles; screenshots and videos are attached. I know there have been a lot of threads about chromas, but I wanted to add one more where I touch on why this is potentially a big ticket issue with the community.

In my opinion, a reasonably significant part of the community's negative reaction to chromas is that it appears they are vastly easier to produce than the cost would suggest. I'm not necessarily saying this is true (I trust Riot not to be greedy), but there needs to be some communication to help us (the community) understand why they are priced the way they are.

The reasoning of "previous recolors used to be 390 RP so that's how these need to be priced" seems a bit questionable, particularly when considering the fact users are able to create custom chromas in half an hour and there are seventy million potential buyers. Is there any particular reason RP is potentially the only option at launch? Consider the following:

Personally, this is how I might set up the price structure for chromas; I'll use Riot's numbers for consistency.

  • 390 RP per individual chroma
  • 4,800 IP per individual chroma
  • 590 RP for a three chroma bundle
  • Cannot buy chroma bundles with IP
  • Chroma of player's choice (for that champion) unlocked for free when player reaches Tier 5 champion mastery

To me, this is a much more compelling structure for chromas. It allows players to buy individual chromas for each type of currency if they'd like while still incentivizing the use of RP through much cheaper bundling and a significant reduction when compared to IP. This also ties into the Champion Mastery system nicely, providing a little reward for players that show their dedication to a champion.

37 Comments

RiotRiot Bearly Leah4/8/2015, 10:48:55 PM9 votes

Couldn't agree more dear friend. However I do think there needs to be a divide between the "earn from mastery " part and the "pay ___ currency " part. Personally I'd feel a little cheated knowing I worked hard on a champion to get a chroma for it, while someone else can just money dump and get the same thing.

Maybe there should a special chroma specifically for the champion mastery segment? If not, I'd personally say either make it pay IP/RP OR do the champion mastery system.

Meªt4/8/2015, 10:45:51 PM5 votes

I believe that's a very very fair and reasonable structure for Chroma skin purchase. Well thought out.

Starlighte4/8/2015, 10:56:38 PM3 votes

"But Daen, this is just a Beta! We (Riot) are releasing them like this to test the waters. That doesn't mean IP is out of the question, but we're going to try this and see how it goes." -Riot copy-paste response to the thread, if they respond.

This whole process seems sketchy. They probably put an intern on the Chromas...

Chaotic Reks4/9/2015, 2:29:37 PM2 votes

chroma xerath will be cheaper battlecast and runeborn...

Bresn4/9/2015, 2:38:34 PM2 votes

RP on top of RP (The specific skin itself), I see Chroma Packs NOT as something that we wanted, but something to make profit. Disgusting.

The Vilemaw Icon4/9/2015, 6:38:04 PM2 votes

Riot has been so quiet about this. Only KateyKhaos has dared touch this topic and even then only with a mixture of replying to the 1 positive comment among 50, general appreciating of feedback, and asking for more feedback as if there aren't 49 comments in the thread saying exactly what the OP here has said.

Suppose it could be a sign that they're thinking things over, but it makes me nervous.

Krigjer4/15/2015, 8:31:55 PM1 votes

I'd buy chromas for IP.

I'm not a fan of them in the first place. I feel like they're adding a lot of visual clutter. (Seeing a flash of Yellow Fizz out of a bush and thinking it's Heim)

But I think it's an insult to expect players to pay real money for a recolour. They've been moving away from recolour skins and doing more with models/particles. I feel like they took two steps back.

tifas left elbow4/8/2015, 11:11:03 PM1 votes

Now we just need to get some Red attention here.

Penta Penguin4/15/2015, 8:26:47 PM1 votes

Chromas for RP is a really bad idea. Riot has already actively moved passed developing and selling recolors, but are now stepping back on that for some reason.