We’re changing up discounts

Riot·Nov 9, 2015·10 votes·273,832 views

Hey everyone,

A lot of you have given us feedback around offering sales more frequently and in wider varieties, so we’re trying to provide extra deals to help you grab the skins you want.

TLDR:

We’re adding 2 additional champions and skins per week (now 8 instead of 6) to our standard 50% off discounts, effective immediately
We’re introducing an early sale for recently released skins, so you don’t have to wait a year for a skin’s first sale

All tiers, including future Legendaries, will be eligible for the early sale
Starting 2016, the early sale will replace launch discounts
To get things started, we’re rolling out an early sale with Extra Bonus RP on Dec. 3rd

Introducing the early sale!

A year or more is a long time to wait for a deal, so we are adding a monthly sale featuring skins of all tiers. All non-Legacy skins will go in the sale 4-6 months after release. This means skins that previously didn’t have early discounts (750s and 975s) will start going on sale sooner.

We also want players to have a chance to get a deal on skins of any tier, which conflicts with the fact that we previously didn’t discount legendary skins (1820s). So we're making future Legendary skins eligible for the early sale (previously released 1820s won’t be going on sale though). This’ll be the only time Legendary and Ultimate skins will be purchasable at a direct discount.

Here’s how it’ll break down:

Tier	Sale Price
3250	2450
1820	1350
1350	975
975	750
750	520

Bringing all of our skins onto the same early sale schedule means there will no longer be a launch sale for 1350s and Ultimates starting in the new year. All 1350s released during the rest of 2015 will still go on sale at launch and be eligible for their early sale 4-6 months later. We’re kicking this off with a mega version of this sale. Keep reading for more details.

More 50% off sales

To give you more chances to grab a deal, we're bumping up the number of weekly skins and champions from 6 to 8 in our standard 50% off sales. This sale still applies to 520-1350 RP skins. The new sales schedule will generally follow this new pattern over the course of 2 weeks (4 sales):

Week 1 - Sale 1

520 RP skin
750 RP skin
975 RP skin
1350 RP skin

Week 1 - Sale 2

520 RP skin
750 RP skin
975 RP skin
975 RP skin

Week 2 - Sale 1

520 RP skin
975 RP skin
975 RP skin
1350 RP skin

Week 2 - Sale 2

520 RP skin
750 RP skin
975 RP skin
975 RP skin

Let's get started

To kick off the new sales, over 30 skins released in the last 4-6 months will go on sale from December 3 00:01 PST through December 7 23:59 PST. Remember, you'll also get extra bonus RP when you purchase RP from November 29 00:01 PST through December 7 23:59 PST.

The following skins will be on sale:

Skin	Price	Sale Price
Ace of Spades Ezreal	750	520
Archduke Nasus	750	520
Arclight Vayne	975	750
Blood Moon Zilean	975	750
Debonair Galio	750	520
Definitely Not Udyr	975	750
Elderwood Bard	975	750
Firecracker Jinx	1350	975
Forsaken Jayce	1350	975
Guardian of the Sands Rammus	975	750
Guardian of the Sands Skarner	975	750
Guardian of the Sands Xerath	1350	975
Headhunter Akali	1350	975
Heartseeker Varus	1350	975
King of Clubs Mordekaiser	750	520
Marauder Ashe	750	520
Marauder Warwick	750	520
Master Arcanist Ziggs	1350	975
Order of the Banana Soraka	750	520
Queen of Diamonds Syndra	750	520
Risen Fiddlesticks	1350	975
Sandstorm Ekko	975	750
Secret Agent Xin Zhao	975	750
Star Guardian Lux	1350	975
Surprise Party Amumu	1350	975
Sweetheart Annie	750	520
Urf the Nami-tee	750	520
Warden Nautilus	750	520
Warden Sivir	750	520
Warring Kingdoms Katarina	975	750
Warring Kingdoms Nidalee	975	750
Wild Card Shaco	750	520

300 Comments

CuppakeenoNov 12, 201571 votes

It seems a lot of people are confused... So to alleviate the confused and/or angry forum posts, hopefully this breakdown will help...

DISCLAIMER: I rounded percents to the nearest whole percent so they may be a fraction of a percent more or less than the percent I listed (assuming I did my math correctly)

Current Model:

Monday: 3 champs, 3 skins go on sale

Friday: 3 champs, 3 skins go on sale

Ultimate skin release: x% discount sale at release, never goes on sale again

Legendary skin release: no sale , never goes on sale

1350 skin release: released at 28% discount for a week then goes back to full price, wait approx. 1 year from release for 50% off sale

975 skin release: no sale , wait approx. 1 year from release for 50% off sale

750 skin release: no sale , wait approx. 1 year from release for 50% off sale

New Model:

Monday: 4 champs, 4 skins go on sale

Friday: 4 champs, 4 skins go on sale

Ultimate skin release: no sale on release, 4 - 6 months goes on early sale for 25% discount then goes back to full price, never goes on a direct discount sale again

Legendary skin release: no sale on release, 4 - 6 months goes on early sale for 26% discount then goes back to full price, never goes on a direct discount sale again

1350 skin release: no sale on release, 4 - 6 months goes on early sale for 28% discount then goes back to full price, wait approx. 1 year from release for 50% off sale

975 skin release: no sale on release, 4 - 6 months goes on early sale for 21% discount then goes back to full price, wait approx. 1 year from release for 50% off sale

750 skin release: no sale on release, 4 - 6 months goes on early sale for 32% discount then goes back to full price, wait approx. 1 year from release for 50% off sale

These early sales DO NOT apply to Legacy skins, or to previously released Ultimate and Legendary skins

PlainsrunnerNov 13, 201515 votes

You da real mvp.

NikolaNov 12, 201561 votes

My wallet is tellin' me no but my body, my body's tellin' me yes summoner 6

dubstyl23Nov 13, 20155 votes

and I don't see nothing wrong, with another skin that's mine...

TheUnholySporkNov 12, 201540 votes

I don't think you guys understand what's going on here......

The recent "PROJECT: First Strike" thing was an experiment to see what it would take to get people to buy things immediately at no discount (not much apparently). Now we're just losing the release discounts altogether in favor of this new.......wait 4-6 months system. On paper it looks good because legendary skins will go on "sale" now and we have to wait a little less for 975 and 750 content.....but the reality of it is that they're holding the quality content, the 1350+ tier stuff, hostage to try and tempt people into spending that extra money to have them first because they know that's the stuff people want. If it were a true 50% sale that'd be one thing but what this is is them effectively eliminating the release discount. (that release "discount" for ultimate skins continues to go up and up....)

I used to be totally supportive of buying full price skins back in 2012....I remember a rioter saying that quality would go up but 975 would stay the standard.... Then it all changed when they hired Hippalus and he started masking markups as deals (remember that atrocity when the 1350 tier was introduced and he tried to make it sound ok because all of these skins nobody buys are getting cheaper?)

The way it's looking now I will not be buying another skin at launch once 2016 hits.....I encourage other people to follow suit too but....apparently all it takes to change your minds is a loading screen border.

Selling NudesNov 13, 20155 votes

I remember all of this and I feel your pain man but it's my own fault for abusing my wallet even though I saw the warning signs at the release of Mecha Kha'Zix, and even during the rise of the 1350 skins... Well time to stop being and idiot and lock up my wallet I hope you guys do the same.

(My opinion won't change much but I hope we all get the best deal for all of us, if the line isn't drawn at some point next thing we know these so called "early" sales will be replaced by an even "better" system they will come up with).

StexeNov 13, 201516 votes

Wait, you're saying Hippalus, the guy who promised a survey for Limited Edition skin owners to express how they felt about them bringing the skins back and who hasn't delivered it for 2 years, lied?! WOAH!

But yeah, seriously, I was all for Hippalus when he first got hired. Then he started doing stuff like bringing LE skins back, increasing prices, not actually coming up with any solutions, and just doing anything to get money for Riot without considering players. Really a shame too... I miss supporting Riot.

AnarchALNov 18, 20158 votes

As someone who was promised limited edition skins were truly limited edition, and spent money specifically for this reason, only to have it half-heartedly refunded (in riot points, not dollars) sans interest, 2 years after the purchase, I have to say I agree with the above poster. For shame Rito.

SQUIRRELNAHALFNov 12, 201524 votes

When they say future legendary skins will Dragon Trainer Tristana be included? Its not out yet but it may be out before this new thing starts. I love the skin but getting it for 1350 would be much nicer

RiotRiot TuxedoBearNov 12, 201541 votes

As part of the new discount changes, Dragon Trainer Tristana will be available in the early sale after she has been out for 4-6 months :)

SiachiNov 12, 2015194 votes

Well too bad! I'm planning on getting the skin on launch anyway, so you'll just have to take my extra money! Ha!

...

wait...

JDOG3838Dec 1, 201510 votes

and its people like you who got them to change prices making the rest of us wait 4-6 months to buy skins now :(

I knew the project skins were the start of a bad trend item 3070

SQUIRRELNAHALFNov 12, 201512 votes

Rioter responded to me?!?! I feel special now :) Thanks for the answer!

Deep Terror NamiNov 12, 201514 votes

Oh wow. Now I won't feel obligated to buy a really good skin that I don't want to buy right on release because of the discount, I can let it sit and get it the next time!

Flyingchipmunk12Nov 12, 201513 votes

i love you guys <3

DedicationNov 12, 201513 votes

I'll miss you very much my dearest wallet

Blind MinionNov 12, 201513 votes

I bought a really nice wallet once. It cost me so much that I had absolutely no use for it until my next payday.

There's a cart and horse metaphor somewhere in there...

Lux CocoNov 12, 201510 votes

How is 50% off a 1350 skin 975 and not 675? I don't understand the math.

24SevenEUNov 12, 20155 votes

I was about to say Release Sales aren't 50% off but I checked first and you're right; The 1350 skins in the 50% Off Sales are marked as 975 as the discount price.

Failbot DeployNov 12, 20159 votes

So instead of knowing that the new skin will be discounted that first week, we'll have to be on the guesswork as to when it will happen?

This isn't really a sale in the first year for new skins, it's just delaying that price reduction we knew and expected to make Riot more money that first week. K.

The rest of it is good though.

MyziscoNov 12, 20155 votes

More money how? It will very likely be less money on release, because the majority of people will buy a skin for the sole reason that it IS on sale.

Failbot DeployNov 12, 20157 votes

So how many cool things exist that people will buy on release without a discount? Does Fallout 4 ring a bell? Everybody knows it will be buggy and fairly unpolished given Bethesda's track record, but damn it all if everybody didn't buy it anyway.

That said they will also get more money on the back end because now those that weren't early adopters will see it on sale and think it's a bargain to get it at that point.

Don't be fooled that this was a player driven decision. There were probably surveys and things of that nature asking players if they would pay full price for a release skin and it was probably backed up by the number of people buying PROJECT skins when they dropped simply for the border, which is irrelevant to the actual player 99.99999999999999999% of the time.

lightdragoon88Nov 12, 20159 votes

Oh man...so much to take in...I can still do my stories during sales right?

meluvulongtime3Nov 12, 20159 votes

I've been waiting for Warden Nautilus and it was already getting close to coming on sale! Does this mean it will be reset now? Or will it still get the 375 RP sale in the near future? Not a fan of the price actually increasing just so it comes on sale slightly sooner.

RiotWizardCrabNov 12, 201519 votes

The early sale won't affect any of the timings of the regular 50% off sales. So Warden Nautilus will still have the normal sale at 375 RP at the same time it would have, plus there's this bonus sale in the meantime.

meluvulongtime3Nov 12, 20156 votes

Phew, awesome. Thanks alot lol.

Dr OshawottNov 12, 20158 votes

Oh come on, I just got $10 worth of RP yesterday! item 3070

CaptainAsia999Nov 12, 201512 votes

I got $50, so I can't say I feel bad for you T-T

Ludens EchoNov 14, 20153 votes

Well GG I got $50 ;-;

Blue BeastNov 12, 20157 votes

"Early sale with EXTRA BONUS RP" YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS! RIOT'S GIVING EXTRA RP! Dreams really do come true!

AwesomeRayNov 13, 20157 votes

When can we get ward skins discount??? item 2043

TerraRisingNov 12, 20156 votes

So... early adopters of new, higher tier skins (1350) will get hosed in exchange for a guaranteed sale 4-6 months down the line and possible sales on ultimate and legendary skins?

MrSteal ur pentaNov 13, 20156 votes

I think riot needs to do something about refunds, for example every few 1000 RP u spend you get another refund, because alot of the people i know used their refunds like me (i was level 10 and didnt know how easy IP was to get) i spent my refunds on champs like TwistedFate and Alistar and now would like it for when i buy champs that cost more and skins.

Necromancer1221Nov 18, 20153 votes

i refunded annie, poppy and yi.... i wanted cho gath so bad

ryejinNov 12, 20155 votes

Thank you Riot .. You guys are the best!

Adrian BlackbearNov 12, 20155 votes

No release sales anymore? item 3070

SakuraMavenNov 12, 20155 votes

I'm all for skin sales but can you do ward skin sales eventually? I know ward skins are cheaper than champion skins but sometimes you see a new ward skin you want to get but you are only like 10 - 50 rp short and you don't want to spend that extra $5 or can't afford to at the moment to get it and its a ward skin that is seasonal so it will be gone after a while. So can there be ward sales?

trivialattireNov 12, 20155 votes

So what part of this 4-6 month schedule mandates the end of launch sales?

LeaugueBomberNov 13, 20155 votes

Does this mean there will to be any 260 skin sales anymore cause if so this update or change will not be wise then people will not buy as much rp cause the cost of 260 skin slaves is smart, whenever they go on sale you just buy the $10 dollar card and buy it, i strongly disagree with this if there will not be anymore 260 skin sales.

Destroyer of OzzNov 13, 20153 votes

i agree

AyuM4dNov 13, 20153 votes

agreed

Oblivious DenialNov 12, 20154 votes

Awwwwww, you put on sale Warring kingdoms Nid and Kat, but not Arclight Vel'Koz? It was only released like a week or so before those skins were released... item 3151

League PhreagueNov 12, 20154 votes

im kinda confused, so looking at the price, the sales are no longer 50% off but like 25% off?

TotalisNov 12, 20154 votes

This... actually happened, even though it means a decrease in profits.....

It's official, Riot is the best company in the whole damn world <3

SvynNov 12, 201514 votes

This isn't a decrease in profit at all. People that want the skin aren't going to wait 4-6 months for the thing to go on sale, they'll buy it immediately and Riot will get more money for it.

wooshimNov 12, 20153 votes

So what happens to those who have been waiting for any of those skins released 6 months ago to go EXACTLY 50% off? Do they have to wait another year for the sale just curious? o.O

BixitsNov 12, 20153 votes

Wow thank you :D

ToreniaNov 12, 20153 votes

Well. In the end I am still waiting a year for the 50% off since the early sale isn't 50%. A shame about the launch discounts. There is good news though, that there are 8 skins instead of 6 now. That is about it though (I wonder if legendaries etc. will be 50% off?).

Destroyer of OzzNov 13, 20152 votes

If there isn't any more 260 skin sales it will be very very disappointing because we wont really buy rp anymore because when the 260 skin sales always come in id always buy em and keep buying the 10 dollar rp card and wait till new sales come in. I think that if you guys take of the skin sale for 260 rp people will be very very disappointed! Thank You for reading this reply.

AyuM4dNov 13, 20153 votes

i definitely want the skins for 260 rp! i agree