Feedback: Harrowing
I just wanted to make a topic to express my own personal growing disappointment concerning The Harrowing event and how it has evolved over the years. Really, this can apply to the Snow Down as well. It seems like in years past, peaking around 2011, The Harrowing was much more interesting and (for lack of a better word)special. Skins released at this time were always guaranteed to be very different from the usual fare, very Halloweeny, whimsical and fun. Again, likewise with the Snow Down! These were the skins a lot of people waited all year for. The vibe was great, there were special "autumn" and "winter" versions of the summoner's rift map, it really felt like a special seasonal change that you could get into. People begged Riot to keep the special summoner's rift maps as options just so they could enjoy it more often.
Now I feel like this Harrowing(and the last) are really just kind of obligatory. The skins have gone downhill when it comes to that special Halloween quality. This year's Harrowing skins are apparently Ravenborn LeBlanc, Reaper Soraka, and Underworld Wukong. Please understand I mean no offense when I say this, but all three of these skins have an average look about them. They seem like skins that could be released at any time of the year. Reaper Soraka has the most Harrowing feel of them, and would be a good choice for a Harrowing skin, but Ravenborn LeBlanc almost seems like it should be LeBlanc's base skin because it's so fitting. There's no particular theme. If it was a Halloween costume, she wouldn't know how to respond when people asked what she is. "I'm uh... a raven... woman. Thing. I guess I'm a Poe girl." Underworld Wukong disappoints me because it's rather generic, yet another in a long line of "Let's do (insert champion here) as if they were from the Shadow Isles". I swear at this point we could probably do an entire 5v5 with everyone using teal-green-and-grey characters.
Here's a timeline for you to show what I mean.
2010: The first Harrowing. A full 6(!) skins of mediocre but very Halloween themed variety. Lollipoppy, Pumpkinhead Fiddlesticks, Nosferatu Vlad, Mundo Mundo, Kitty Kat Katarina, and Zombie Ryze!
2011: The prime Harrowing. Some of the skins released here are STILL the best skins on that champ! Bewitching Nidalee, Frankentibbers Annie, Definitely Not Blitzcrank, and Haunting Nocturne!
2012: Riot tones it down to only 3 skins but one is at least of extra high quality. Zombie Brand, Headmistress Fiora, and Pirate Ryze. At least at this point it was still very Halloweeny.
2013: A shameful low point. Riot offers a mere 2 skins, including Officer Vi which doesn't seem like a Harrowing skin at all. The other is haunted Zyra, which is cool but generic and decidedly not in the spirit of costume.
2014: Ravenborn LeBlanc, Reaper Soraka, and Underworld Wukong.
My theory is that these changes are reflections of League's desire to keep their events more international, and still have strong appeal in locations where Halloween isn't a thing. I think that's a shame because people in those locations can enjoy Halloween skins all the same, and these changes to the Harrowing have not helped those people since they've resulted in skins that could have been released at any time of the year.
To any Rioters who see this, I'd love to hear your take on why The Harrowing has changed so much and seemingly become such a low priority. I understand it took a lot of work to get all of those skins ready in the months preceding The Harrowing, but I think it was worth it and now for the past couple years I've been expecting disappointment before it even hit.
