Boards›Story, Art, & Sound

Why I think Riot got it wrong with the update on Aether Wing Kayle (Not about it looks good or not)

nNagato·2/23/2019, 2:52:35 AM·70 votes·22,907 views

There are a lot of people discussing about Aether Wing Kayle being extremely ugly especially the 3rd and 4th from, while some are crying out in joy saying its amazing and its the best thing ever. I understand that whether you like something looks is subjective, and I'm not here saying which side is the correct side and say "This sucks I hate it". However there is something that is objective and not subjective here, and that is her style is VERY DIFFERENT from what the skin used to be, which I don't think should be happening.

Think about it in this way, a customer bought an item - Aether Wing Kayle because he/she likes the streamlined elegant look on her with a more futuristic but at the same time, still relatively magical and divine design, and maybe the other effects like the Auto Attack sound and her voice, which again still sounded human. But now this item you bought suddenly changed to something very different, whether you like this item better or worse, the thing here is you LOST your old thing. I do not know if the skin ORIGINALLY intended Kayle to be a future soldier in a militaristic society arresting people and telling citizens to move around, but from my countless number of games with her using this skin, based on her voicelines it really didn't give me that feel. She feels more like soldiers from like Asgard in the Marvel Universe with some futuristic yet mythological and magical equipment, but now she's a cyborg and the design look more bulky and robotic and even entirely changes shape and colour later on.

Again I need to re-iterate my point very clearly. The new updated skin has a very different design compared to the old one, which is probably why the players bought the skin in the first place. Even if they like the new robotic Kayle with a space station on her back and a cyborg voice, they no longer have the old streamline futuristic Kayle, which is the reason I think most people are not happy with the update, especially when subjectively a lot of them think the new one looks a lot worse.

Look Riot, if you want a robotic pulsefire Kayle or a gundam Kayle or whatever, you can totally just make a new one and sell it. If the people like it they can buy it and no one will be unhappy. But don't change the core design of a skin to something completely different because skins costs actual real money to buy and keeping the old core design does not affect gameplay balance so why don't just tweak it a little to match the graphic quality but keep the design core?

As an extension, this goes similarly to the pretty heavily discussed "lack of armour" on Kayle. I know they want her to look not as bulky and less armoured, but again the new design just looks logically flawed regardless of it looking nice or not. You can still wear full-armour WITHOUT looking heavy and bulky and tanky. Trust me. Maybe do some research and hire ACTUAL armour designers instead of making up fantrasy armour?

On a final note, I am not saying Aether Wing Kayle looks good or not as Riot apparently says subjective reasons don't mean much but just for reference in case you didn't notice you can check the comments in this video and see how many people subjectively think this skin looks terrible, maybe you will change your mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BufHtuc8GIM

Let's put up some of the replies and their upvotes in the video BEFORE I CLICK SHOW MORE: (Date 23/02/2019 2:30am UK time) (Popular replies will be in bold)

Complains:

  • ** What is this skin trying to be? PROJECT? Pulsefire? Both? (164)**
  • That last form should be illegal so ugly it is LMAO (33)
  • wtf is this recall animation (242)
  • the wings are disgustings in the last 2 forms (140)
  • The 2 last forms are terrible. Aether wing should be elegant, not robotic like mecha or puslefire. It's so messy. And the 2 last forms have this 2 robot wings in her side -- don't like it. (121)
  • it's more like program kayle to me (28)
  • That mecha zero back animation have nothing to do with this skin... even the classic back animation is better. Pls for the love of god change it back for the normal one, we dont need another mecha/project/pulsfire skin. (56)
  • Wait this skin is horrible now lol (127)
  • I hate the dark armor evol and the wings evol too, the first wings evol is epic, but 2 and 3 are trash. (48)
  • i own this skin and im extremely disappointed in the last 2 forms (67)
  • it needs fly style like old aether wing (53)
  • I dont like her recall. Old was better (10)
  • From best to worst. Thanks a lot Riot. (50)
  • Please change the last two transformation (22)
  • okay the skill effects are too bad for a legendary skin (11)

Compliments: NONE

After one click of show more: Complains:

  • Legendary and no more cool auto-attacks animations.. disapointing (394)
  • I miss the thrusters on the back when she was moving, and the auto animations. They need to remove the voice filter too she isn't even wearing a helmet or cyborg enough to justify having it. I also would rather she not upgrade when her ulti does since her base looks better to me. (101)
  • How can this be so plain and bad compared to her other cheap skins..... give us legendary Silver Kayle and erase this disaster. (8)
  • very sad that the got ride of the old auto attack sound and a bit disappointing about the walk animation. Also wish she would only use one sword the whole time instead of going to two for the ranged attack. (7)
  • its probably best to have no attachment to any skin or champ anymore cause theyll ruin it eventually (8)
  • The 11 and 16 transformations are just way too much tbh. The way those thingies float on her side just makes her look really weird when she is moving/attacking. She is all over the place. (243)
  • Aether Wing Kayle... Where are the wings on the last 2 forms? (8)
  • They need to change the autoattacks. Give the skin the old exclusivity. :( (31)
  • She doesn't turn into her sword anymore on death? What's the point of the skin then? (4)
  • Compared to other legendarys or mechanical themed skins, this is such a disappointment. Not only the last 2 forms and the recall but also the boring blue particles instead of yellow which is 1350rp worthy and doesn't match her wings color. I feel like the first forms just look like the old aether wing, when they could've made a cooler version of it. I'm gonna stick to the casual Kayle then.. (14)
  • ** sad i will miss the auto attacks (484)**

EDIT: Ok so I hit the length limit which chopped off quite a bit of my original post so I will end with conclusion earlier:

Not only do I believe it wasn't the right decision to change the core design of a skin, especially such an expensive one, there are also A LOT of people that thinks this skins looks terrible, and have agreed on roughly the same things that they think made the skin bad:

  • Too different (Which reinforces my point)
  • Bad back animation
  • Auto attack sound
  • Too bulky
  • Changes colour to black in later stage
  • Cyborg sound
  • 3rd and 4th forms

Please listen to your community about this skin, as well as the classic Kayle armour and other things. Just because you're on the top doesn't mean you're always right.

35 Comments

Μegumin2/23/2019, 2:20:15 PM14 votes

Unfortunately i'm sure riot will do nothing about this becouse they already did this before with frostblade irelia, such a nice skin before turned into a completly different skin becouse rito tought just staying to ice theme and emphasizing butt meme would be enough, but it's a completely different skin now, it looks like winter wonder irelia

Crossheart2/23/2019, 6:00:52 PM8 votes

Totally agree. I loved this badass, epic angel, her modest, yet powerful sword, cutting through the skies. Okay, I wasn't fan of her mechanics itself, but the old Aether Wing Kayle will be always the only Aether Wing Kayle. And if someone prefers new look, fine, but why have it to be old OR new? Why can't we choose if we prefer old version or never one? There are some many skins, so many chromas don't tell me it's too much job to do so (and I could go on but don't have time right now). I want THIS Aether Wing Kayle. I want my old Night Raven Fiora and so many others. And of today I am seriously done with League of Legends. Amen.

triage at dawn2/23/2019, 4:55:29 PM6 votes

I got this skin for free from a chest but still, I'd never waste orange essence for this shit.

team of feed2/23/2019, 11:21:42 PM6 votes

Yeah Im gonna miss the super left and super right swinginess of her attack animation. The other thing Im gonna miss is her sword being engulfed in aggressive blue pointy particles. Those are the 2 reasons I bought the skin originally.

Beyond that the new recall is literally an epic downgrade from the original. I also hate the yellow particles. I get she needs to have an aflame iteration but they could make the wings a brighter blue or even add longer particles similar to project ashes cape. I just really dont understand the yellow decision.

Smartness Immune2/23/2019, 11:16:00 PM5 votes

THIS. @Riot PLEASE LISTEN TO THIS GUY OVER HERE [slayer-pantheon-thumbs]
Have my upvote.

Tikoo2/23/2019, 5:42:30 PM5 votes

I never post on these boards, but after seeing this troll post i have decided to make a post, Your complains are all useless, you are bashing a skin because of the BEST FEATURES, the level 11 and level 16 transformations are epic! and i will buy the skin for sure and many of my friends will too, drastically changing the appearance will remove the uniqueness and epicness the skin has to offer.

I repeat, the skin is perfect, the only thing i was disappointed with was the level 1-6 look with the old aether kayle look, i didnt wait for a rework over 5 years to get same kayle skin that i stopped playing before. The NEW KAYLE ROCKS and the aether wing kayle ROCKS!

DominoKid2/23/2019, 6:08:20 PM5 votes

I saw a post and it said that Aether Wing Kayle is now part of the 'Steel Valkyrie' skin line alongside Gun Goddess Miss Fortune and Bullet Angel Kai'sa. And after watching the spotlight I understand how it is.

HowPlayGAEM2/24/2019, 2:58:58 PM5 votes

Aether Wing went from being the sleekest Kayle skin to the bulkiest and shittiest, what the fuck was Riot thinking. Everything I liked about the skin is gone now, they even changed the recall animation (with the cool audio) into some low tech jetpack crap. She doesn't even have a unique death animation. RIP my first League purchase.

Frostblade Irelia wasn't enough I guess, Riot can't seem to stop ruining aesthetics for no good reason .

Fxn2/23/2019, 4:14:37 PM4 votes

I'll be honest here, this is the reason I stopped purchasing RP. I bought skins that I really loved and with the updates those skins changed to a point where I just don't like some of my favorites anymore. I paid real money for a cosmetic thing that is now different. Visual updates and reworking my favorite champs are the reasons I am done throwing money at riot.

WILDCASABLANCA2/23/2019, 12:01:31 PM4 votes

I agree that the skin looks way worse now. But I like the final black form, it's actually the only one I like. I think the gold forms have really ugly color palettes, it's just different from the original AWK.

Also riot please give us a way to get silver kayle its my favorite now (but make the helmet design match the splash)

Thanae2/23/2019, 7:05:48 PM4 votes

I guess it is all subjective but my main concern is that Aether wing used to be the only usable kayle skin which justified its outrageous price point but now it's arguably the same quality as the others yet I bought all the others for 1/3 of the price. I guess I just expected something more, idk.

Gixia2/23/2019, 8:52:38 PM4 votes

To me, the biggest issue with AWK is her VO. The look of the skin changing is pretty par for the course as far as VGU updating old skins. Afterall, if you want to talk about skins not being anywhere close to what you paid for, Unmasked Kayle doesn't even exist anymore. Same thing for Crimson Akali back when she got her VGU (which I'm still pissed off about. Not even a red chroma for base Akali to replace it Riot? Fuck you.) Aether Wing's VO though is such an enormously drastic departure from the original that it, way more than the appearance changes, are what completely change (and ruin) the skin for me.

Incendious2/23/2019, 5:03:24 PM3 votes

Similar thing goes for Aatrox, people bought the skins for him and then rito removed him from the game.

Somber Rites2/24/2019, 6:31:31 AM3 votes

I think the first form looks great, and every form following looks like garbage.

Aetherwing Kayle was literally my favourite skin in the game, but seeing this new one makes me want a refund. I spent a lot of money on this game, and bought this skin because I thought it looked fucking rad. I was so excited to see what they did with it in her VGU, and I walk away disappointed with what they've done to Kayle, and this skin.

Obviously some people like it, but speaking as an OG Kayle fan, I think Riot really dropped the ball here.

Lulu the Support2/24/2019, 2:46:38 PM2 votes

Thank you for putting into objective and concise words what many of us were too frustrated and enraged to express correctly ourselves. Indeed, I feel like I paid for something and that thing was stolen from me by the same company that sold it. If they wanted so much a new gundam skin for Kayle, fine, but why ruin an old awesome skinline instead of simply making a new skin?

Grouchy Poro2/24/2019, 7:16:16 AM2 votes

well aether wing kayle is in the same universe as gun goddess and dread nova so it does actually match i just wish the wings on the final upgrade we'rwent so bulky and had more of that blue stuff on them

Lulu the Support2/25/2019, 3:15:33 PM2 votes

I think her third form should look something along those lines: https://i.imgur.com/YgvJ0Pj.png[\img] https://i.imgur.com/FR3Okt9.png[\img] And the 4th form should just make thrusters on the wings effect permanent. But I would argue the effect needs to be whiteish-blue or blueish-white instead of yellow, similar to how her sword used to glow in the old E, however that is an entirely different discussion.

SILVERgh0st3/6/2019, 11:31:58 PM1 votes

didn't get far enough to see transformations but her new voice is TERRIBLE. and her 3rd skill? what is she good for anymore? one hit? so dumb.

reminds me of my old signature down there. over 80% wanted the original Diana skin. that is their player base. did Riot give a rat's @**? of course not. they don't care about anything even when they blatantly rip off players that support them.

they ruined my former favorite champ so why not ruin another favorite right? why does Riot even test these things if they don't listen is what I'd like to know.

Petition to Return Dark Valkyrie Diana to her Proper Skin http://forums.na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=2527725

BambooWorld2/23/2019, 3:12:06 PM1 votes

How about no :D

Rinzy2/23/2019, 5:38:10 PM1 votes

Besides this saying "regardless of if people thinking its good or bad it should be changed" it very clearly turned into a "this is ugly please change it," sigh.

Alright, let's get this over with, I'll play devil's advocate and give my opinion on the skin, starting with the negatives, because that's what this thread addressed. I don't like how bulky her final two transformations are, and I don't like the recall. But that's where my dislikes stop.

What I do like about the skin, however, is the color. First of all, I'm happy Kayle isn't tiny as all hell with this skin like she used to be. Secondly, I actually reeeaaally like the final transformation's colors. I think the black main color and copper accents, with the cyan looks fantastic, but obviously that part is subjective. Yes the skin is really bulky, but to me it still doesn't look out of place. I'd rather it be sleeker and more agile looking, but that's about it.

Blows my mind that of all things people are annoyed it turns black lmao.

Dabrick012/23/2019, 7:35:20 PM1 votes

Wah wah. Riot wont change a skin in the middle of a release schedule.

It's perfectly fine, and they dont need to listen. Maybe with the new refund tokens, people can do something.

Alzon2/23/2019, 10:27:37 PM1 votes

No one complained about Giant Enemy Crabgot or Hextech Galio.

He4rtkiller2/24/2019, 12:55:41 AM1 votes

They do this all the time with reworks. The most painful one for me was Tyrant Swain, then we had Frost Blade Irealia, and now not only Aether Wing Kayle but also Battleborn Kayle who used to look like a full plate knight but now she is a Valkyrie from Norse mythology. These 4 are just from the top of my head, there must be many more. Edit: Also wanted to add that Riot doesn't seem to care why people who already have the skin that is getting reworked bought it, they care about selling that skin to players who haven't bought it already.