Prestige Points and new prestige edition skins

Riot·Jan 9, 2019·8 votes·302,726 views

TL;DR: Starting in 9.1, we’re introducing a different type of prestige skin that stays in the store until the end of the year and is unlockable with new Prestige Points.

The skins team has a bunch of ideas for future prestige versions of skins, so we are experimenting with another way for us to release these skins throughout the year without limiting them to events. So we’re keeping event-specific prestige skins, but adding yearly prestige edition skins, which are craftable for 100 Prestige Points each. These 2019 yearly prestige skins will release throughout the year until they all expire on January 31, 2020, at 11:59 PM PT.

We’re planning to continue using a gold-and-white color palette to keep Prestige Edition skins instantly recognizable. But we’ll still experiment with other accent colors to mix things up as needed.

Prestige Points come from bundles with Masterwork Chests (there will be three of these bundles available at launch), and we’re looking to add more ways for you to get Prestige Points in the future. Unlike Gemstones, there’s no random factor to Prestige Points, so you’ll always know how close you are to getting the prestige skin you want. The 2019 Prestige Points will expire from Masterwork Chest bundles on December 31, 2019, at 11:59 PM PT.

Happy collecting!

420 Comments

Hungry CancerJan 10, 2019451 votes

If you can only get the prestige points from buying shit then it kinda removes the sense of prestige from it; please make these prestige points unlock from in-game achievements with chests and bundles being purely additive, just like how buying chests earns tokens but the primary way to earn tokens is still missions.

SanyokJan 10, 201978 votes

OMG yes! that is one of the hugest arguments. Purchasable skins should never have Prestige skin! Good point

OneWingedDemon3Jan 10, 2019155 votes

Off this last prestige, the KD/A Akali, I wound up spending the last 5 days of snowdown pulling 14 hour binges to just barely finish with enough tokens. But I only paid twenty bucks for the pass. So that feels kinda fair, and rewards the player for their investment of time.

$100+ for one skin, and only making the points available through a chest, leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Everyone can make time to play but not everyone can afford to Shell out cash to buy these.

Takes all the pride out of earning that skin too.

Helghans templarJan 11, 20195 votes

I spent only like a couple seconds, I bought small chest packs since they came out so I'm at the point that I own all skins. All prestigious skins can be rolled for as I found out.

OleandervineJan 11, 201976 votes

Good for you. But that means you've dumped loads of money into this game to get the hextech chests or whatever other methods you've used to collect all of the skins. Your solution isn't a solution because you've probably spent hundreds, if not a thousand dollars already on the game, and you're reaping the benefits from having already spent so heavily on the game. People not having the disposable income to dump that much cash into the game is the core issue with this new system.

It's like someone complaining that airline tickets are so expensive, and then you asking why they're complaining when you they could have just bought a personal jet to reduce their airfare cost.

High LollinJan 11, 201912 votes

Upvote for the plane tickets analogy, I like that...I've got all the skins too, and it is a nice bonus to just roll them - I figured that if someone isn't trying to get all the skins, it shouldn't really matter if there are really expensive ones, since they can just decide to pass on that skin. Riot releases lots of high quality, relatively affordable skins for every champ - but for people who do have the disposable income, they want to release skins that will be more limited. A lot of people won't want to pay $140 for a skin - and they're probably the smart ones. But a lot of people are fine with it, because it's fun to see people react. When I break out PAX Twisted Fate, then go 0-8-3 with him....Priceless...

RevelationaryJan 10, 201967 votes

The only real prestige skins are the victorious ones. I agree with you, the fact that purchasable skins are labeled prestigious is a joke. Doesn't even fit with the definition of the word.

Postal TwinkieJan 10, 2019254 votes

I have tested and played for almost 10 years, any of the old timers at Riot will recognize my name...

This has to be about the most tone deaf response/announcement in Riot history.

I actually remember when the ethos of Riot was doing right by the players, and that player experience counted above all, listening to feedback.

What happened?

The players made it clear they wanted Riot to pull back on the Prestige skins. To asses their value and frequency of release. Yet here you are, announcing not only more, but for a hefty price.

There is no "Prestige" in having more money than another person. Nor is there "Prestige" in falling into what is an obvious money-grab. This is something Electronic Arts would do, not Riot Games.

StexeJan 10, 201958 votes

Yep. I'm user 2352 here and Riot has gone down this dark path so many times, but this just takes the cake again. So disgusting and out of touch with the original player base. Doing whatever they can do to get money. Really is a shame to see how the mighty have fallen.

AiurJan 11, 20193 votes

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OleandervineJan 11, 201928 votes

No one is forcing to buy anything you use for entertainment. But if Sony delivered to you the sequel to last year's God of War on PS4 with PS1/N64 graphics with a $60 price tag, you'd be fucking outraged because Sony would be engaging in a shitty business practice of delivering a poor quality product for a ridiculous price tag. That's what's happening here. Riot is delivering a shitty product (a gold chroma) at a ridiculous price tag and telling us we should buy it because it's special. Even if you don't buy into skins or other content, you shouldn't be forgiving of the company engaging in such shitty consumer practices.

Deep Terror NamiJan 10, 2019206 votes

I really like the sense of pride and accomplishment I get from this!

RysophageJan 11, 20195 votes

Except you don't need skins to play the game. so why should you care? EA locked pieces of their games even endings behind paywalls this is completely different.

FoxynthJan 11, 201935 votes

It... was uh... sarcasm. lol.

Nox NoxJan 10, 2019137 votes

Getting EA flashbacks

Mandala30Jan 10, 201989 votes

So uh, Riot marketing team clearly needs to open a dictionary and learn what the word "prestige" means. Call them something else, because there is nothing prestigious about spending over $100 for a silly chroma. [zombie-brand-facepalm]

KuroganoJan 10, 201929 votes

We shall call them whale points! All the skins will be light blue and navy blue in theme.

XDragoReaperJan 10, 201962 votes

Prestige skins are basically pointless now. It's legit a $100+ skin now with nothing but just a change in the colors. I don't think anyone in the right mind would spend $100 on this piece of garbage. Why did they have to change something that was perfectly fine.[slayer-jinx-unamused] Smh. Feels bad.[sg-shisa] [sg-lux-2] [sg-ahri-3]

RavenHuskyJan 10, 201958 votes

It better not cost $100 just to get one prestige skin.

BuschwichtelJan 10, 201999 votes

Prestige Blood Moon Aatrox costs a hundred prestige points. You can, as stated above, only get those in bundles.

If you didn't buy the gemstone pack yet (which includes 20 Prestige points for the best possible price in the store right now, 1750 RP, but is limited to one purchase per account), the total (1x Gemstone Pack, 2x 9 Blood Moon Capsule Pack) comes to 15250 RP. As a comparison, Elementalist Lux costs 3250 RP. Now, if you pay this using a method that doesn't yield any bonus RP, you will have to put down the nice slim sum of ~122€ in Europe, or if converted to dollars: 140.28$.

Seems worth it for what is essentially a golden Chroma and not even an ultimate skin, amirite? [slayer-jinx-wink]

RavenHuskyJan 10, 201964 votes

I just did the math myself. It's the Gemstone bundle + two 10 capsule bundles, which would require you to buy $110 US of RP to get one prestige skin.

I'm not interested in the Aatrox or Vayne skins, but given that they plan to release several more skins over the course of the year, you never know.

Riot, you're not winning any friends with this. Please reconsider this extremely greedy cash grab.

NaërlynJan 10, 201914 votes

I agree that this is a ridiculous price / a ridiculous way to obtain the skin. However, something is off with that number. You don't pay 122 euros for the skin, you pay 122 euros for the skin and 62 skin shards.

It's certainly not something I'd buy, but comparing it to Elementalist Lux which is a skin and only that isn't fair - you get the skin and 62 skin shards (2x10x3 from the Capsules and 2 from the gemstones, assuming you use the gemstone to get a chest), instead of just the skin.

OMGDarkForceJan 10, 20191 votes

well, 1750 per 20 points, so 8750 rp per skin

WaftlyJan 10, 201914 votes

You can only get 1 gemstone blood moon bundle per account.

GalaxyQueenJan 10, 201957 votes

So basically you're telling me that prestige skins are now over 3X the value of ultimate skins? That is insane. Also, I love how riot buffs all the champs that are getting skins so more people buy them :) What a scam. Riot really only wants money now.

LordXemnas23Jan 10, 201940 votes

When all five high quality ultimate skins are cheaper than the color gold...

ZER0 2Jan 10, 201949 votes

Nice cash grab, but it's a no from me.

oscarchompJan 10, 201949 votes

this seems very unfair to those who cant spend money on league all the time. i got bills to pay and ur making me spend $100 for a skin??? i play almost everyday and should be able to earn the skin through my grind. also "experimenting" just means "lets see if people will pay for the skins?";which is so messed up this disgust me.

Chromatic EagleJan 10, 201912 votes

No one is "making" you pay for a chroma. It's greedy as hell, don't get me wrong, but save your money.

itsVoltaJan 10, 201936 votes

This is absolute trash. What does "Prestige" even mean to you guys? Seems to me like Riot is trying to capitalize on the gambling aspect of loot boxes but masking it as just another grind for a skin you like. Either make skins purchase-able in the market or make people grind for them. This "Pay over time" b.s. of trying to charge upwards of $100 for a skin is horrible and makes me scared to even spend my money with Riot; if they keep this up, they will be a defunct company in a few years time.

A Game ErrorJan 10, 201934 votes

This is about as bad as "Do you guys not have phones?"

KuroganoJan 10, 201917 votes

DO YOU GUYS NOT ALREADY BUY LOOT?!

OleandervineJan 10, 201932 votes

So Riot is like: "Hey guys, we heard you loud and clear about the Prestige skins from the token events, and we got all this feedback about how the grind was so exhausting and demanding, so we've now made prestige skins available as BONUS CONTENT for spending $100s of dollars on the game! Such an improvement! No more grinding! Aren't you all happy?!"

SanyokJan 10, 201915 votes

More upsetting aspect of all of this, is that people will actually spend this much money on this game, because LOL IS an amazing game. Never thought I will have to rethink my position on that statement. When I played COD non stop and spent hundreds over a lifetime of playing, I haven't noticed how much money they pulled out of my pocket before I was done with it. I personally own 270+ skins in LOL and I have always respected RIOT for making these skins a fair price and easily achievable for the first two prestige skins if you put in time and dedication. The Gem stones RIOT introduced made it harder to achieve special skins unless you spend a lot of money, however at least it wasn't a temporary thing, meaning if I needed time to make some extra money on the side, over a longer period of time the special skins will still be available (Dread Nova Darius..). Riot are you helping Trump build the wall and need money from us?

Frostbyt3zJan 10, 201930 votes

Earning 1 prestige point per PVP win could be one way. (100 wins for 100 points)
Maybe if you do a flex queue, you can earn 1 point per party member (5 party members queue up, everyone can earn 5 points if y'all win).
Missions have been a tried and true method.
Tuning in for the Spring Split.

mage192117Jan 10, 20198 votes

1 prestige point per win is too high. If you have a 50% winrate, then in theory playing 2 games every 3-4 days (for a total of 200 games per year) would get you a prestige skin. And most of us play more than that, so it would be much too easy to get 2 or even 3 prestige skins, if they even release that many for the Prestige Point system.

But I agree with a non-buytowin approach would be much better. A point for every x games won would probably be a good way to do it. Or possibly for only ranked games, to create another incentive to play ranked (because some people just can’t get out of silver, and end of season rewards aren’t anything good up to gold; and even then, the skin might be for a champ they don’t play)

SukishooJan 10, 20199 votes

They could just increase the point amount. Before they were like 1800 (akali) and 2500 (kaisa) in tokens so they could up the points to a value like that if they did give them out in missions.

Yuumi Sucks ToesJan 10, 201927 votes

can someone from riot actually address some of these posts? you guys have gone quiet when usually theres a few of you hoppin around the comments.

RAKAN IS ÐADDYJan 10, 201924 votes

This ain't it chief.

SanyokJan 10, 201920 votes

When the first prestige skin was in the works, my friends and I where so excited that we dont have to spend HUNDREDS, to unlock the skin. But instead spend more time playing league and get better while we are at it. Now it seems that LOL is just Money Hungry, they are taking the spirits of all LOL players that loved the prospect of working for something special and giving it up to those who are more fortunate and can fill RIOTs pockets more. This release of Prestige Aatrox only available through store purchases is very upsetting, not only because this is the first prestige skin RIOT is forcing you to pay for, there is also a precursor in their explanation of prestige skin releases. "The skins team has a bunch of ideas for future prestige versions of skins, so we are experimenting with another way for us to release these skins throughout the year without limiting them to events." (Scroll up) this basically tells you, we are experimenting how much people can pay us for prestige skins! Will this be the way prestige skins are released from now on?

XinCrinJan 10, 201918 votes

This is really disappointing to see. What is the prestige in this ? All you are doing is putting a shiny little dress up doll behind a huge paywall. There is NOTHING prestige about this. When I see someone with this skin, all I will think is they spent 100 $ + on a little doll skin. These skins ought to be earned, not paid for.

AwesometombJan 10, 201917 votes

Wow, I'm sure going to be in awe at the sense of pride and accomplishment people who bought a $105 USD skin feel This is absolutely pathetic, Riot.

TSM RekiJan 10, 201916 votes

You're done Riot. I already spend 2000+ on your game and this what you come up with.

GrimąJan 10, 201916 votes

This is the most tone deaf response i have seen from Riot in the past few years. Not only have people commented negatively on prestige skins as they were, you guys are planning to make them $100/skin. What the actual fuck.

ValkrazJan 10, 201915 votes

Really hoping this is not just an extra for spending lots of money... The highest amount of Prestige Points from one Bundle is 40 and that's for 6750RP... So, If I want Prestige Aatrox anytime soon, I have to buy two of those and the 20 Prestige Point Bundle (1750RP)... No Thanks. This one just seems like a cash grab. Some other way to get these points needs to happen... Canadian prices for RP, that's 150$....

Side Note: I don't play Akali or Kai'Sa... So, when I heard about the Prestige Aatrox skin being released (a Champion I do enjoy playing), I was actually excited to save up tokens or do whatever missions needed to be done to get the points to earn it.. Such a disappointment...

LuaDotExeJan 10, 201914 votes

I'm assuming that purchases are intended to be the SECONDARY way to get them, which you should probably be MORE CLEAR about. If it's not, this is pretty inexcusable. The entire point of the Prestige skins was that you WORKED for it-- kinda like URF Warwick in the Blue Essence Emporium. THAT was the sense of achievement.

PrismarinaJan 10, 201912 votes

Who in their right mind thought this was a good way to go about the prestige skins? There were already way too many being released, and now you just have to spend a crap load of money to get it, can't even just buy a pass to grind tokens? Lol and then these points have the audacity to EXPIRE. Yeah I'm good, no more prestige skins for me completely tone deaf in terms of value. [sg-ahri-3]

Riven4sJan 10, 201912 votes

I'm going to feel so accomplished from buying all these skins...with 0 in game effort needed...

NasarieJan 11, 201912 votes

We are experimenting with a new way to rip you the fuck off.

AbryssleJan 10, 201911 votes

Fantastic! It’s like when gemstone skins first came out, were ass and not really worth the money, only now even cheaper as products and less possible to earn with time, since you can ONLY get points with bundles and prestige skins are chromas+!

I’m sure there are already people rushing to defend these as purely cosmetic, but like. Come on. Come ON. I can eat bread exclusively and survive but that doesn’t mean if I got a $100 dollar meal and it was a microwave sausage patty I wouldn’t be upset.