Infernal Akali: I'd like the skin I paid for please.

Edgar A Pwn·Aug 4, 2018·7 votes·3,827 views

I don't tend to like most of the reworks Riot has done over the years, however, Akali is one of the exceptions, I actually quite like this one. That said, when I tried her out in the PBE a while back, I was rather annoyed by the fact that Crimson Akali had been replaced with Infernal Akali. I haven't said anything until now because I wasn't irritated enough to make a big deal out of it, but now that I've used the skin on release, I am pretty pissed. I want to say it was about four years ago when Crimson Akali went Legacy, I decided to buy the skin because I liked the way it looked and I have an unhealthy obsession with things you can't get anymore, or at least only sometimes. I played Akali a good bit back in the day because of it, but what's essentially been done here, is that the product that I paid for has been replaced with something that I wouldn't have purchased otherwise. To put it bluntly,_ I've been forced to pay for something that I didn't want_. I'm perfectly fine with Infernal Akali existing, no matter how much I don't care for it, but I, and I assume (or maybe hope) many others, would much rather have the skin that we paid for. Redesigning a skin to "modernize" it or simply work better with the new champion is dandy as well, but I don't think outright changing a skin like this, especially Legacy skins, should be an acceptable practice.

So, as a long time player, I'd like to ask any Rioters to please discuss this at HQ and try to bring my favorite Akali skin back, and hopefully keep this from becoming a recurring issue. I believe that if this continues with other characters, it will do nothing but piss more people off.

16 Comments

KestrelGirlAug 4, 201811 votes

Crimson Akali was literally just a red recolor, which is why it was redone into Infernal.

Digital DaddyAug 4, 20186 votes

{quoted}

Crimson Akali was literally just a red recolor, which is why it was redone into Infernal.

yes exactly, they could just make a chroma pack for base akali and she'd get her crimson skin back

LatetotheRaceAug 4, 20181 votes

They fundamentally changed the skin. From the "crimson" line of skins that was unique to her. (think nightmare cho'gath for example.) Into the "infernal" skin series. ( Mordekaiser Alistar Nasus Diana ) Which, again, is fundamentally different in both a literal and metaphorical sense. It's genuinely dishonest to change a skin from one thing to another, especially if the skin in question was a legacy skin. You do NOT change legacy skins, that's why they're legacy.

Umbral RegentAug 4, 20183 votes

It's genuinely dishonest to change a skin from one thing to another, especially if the skin in question was a legacy skin. You do NOT change legacy skins, that's why they're legacy.

Except, that skin was from a time when some skins (Nightmare Cho'Gath, Deadly Kennen, etc.) were just recolors of the base skin. It may be dishonest to you for them to change a skin like that, but the issue is the skin itself brought next to nothing new to Akali, outside of a red color palette. And even then, Blood Moon came some time after, and that skin had much more going for it, so Crimson Akali had nothing unique going for it.

When Riot reworks a Champion, if they see a recolor that could have more potential if they fundamentally reworked it, then by all means, they should be free to rework it. Look at Young (formerly, Human) Ryze. It used to be just a palette swap for Ryze that made his skin a pale white hue. Now it's its own, unique thing.

And, as far as legacy is concerned...It was literally just a recolor of Akali. If having a skin that's literally just Akali with all of her green clothes turned to red is so important - ask Riot to make a Chroma.

LatetotheRaceAug 4, 20181 votes

I have no problem with modernizing or expanding upon a skin in general, I really don't. But when you change the very concept, the very base of a skin. (for instance your young/human ryze works well.) Then you begin to cause certain problems with consistency and authenticity for that skin. However Crimson akali is/was a legacy skin, which exist as kind of a time capsule harkening back to he "legacy" version/form of league itself. When riot goes and abandons that for the desire of "fancy" ideas, then it's a betrayal of the game and it's history.

If this was a random skin sure whatever, but this skin has history and it represents where league came from and how far it's come. (Skin quality specifically, or at least creativity) Just removing it is terrible, and it needs to be corrected. Riot has no respect for where they've come as a whole and this is spectacular evidence.

You can agree or not, I do not care. But try and understand that there are people who hold strong to nostalgia and history that the game holds.

Noor SakataAug 4, 20184 votes

You know her Crimson Skin was just a chroma , and that's why reworks exist

LatetotheRaceAug 4, 20181 votes

So is nightmare cho'gath, shamrock Malphite, and sanguine Garen. However, what I think you're missing is that it was a legacy skin. The "Crimson" part was significant because it was a red accent, more of a red ninja feel if you will. NOT fire, as they've malformed it into. This is unfair and truly dishonest to rework something this much, much more mind you than is allowable in the idea of updating to match the new champion.

MadSeerAug 4, 20182 votes

It's neither unfair or dishonest. It was an oversight. The skin was 100% a Chroma and it actually makes sense to make it an actual skin in the rework process. Most players will be happy to have a real skin instead of a recolor.

The oversight was not giving a red Chroma to players who previously owned Crimson Akali, it was obvious some players would be upset (kinda like how certain WoW players were upset about models that now had more than 500 polygons) and it would have been avoidable with a Chroma.

LatetotheRaceAug 4, 20181 votes

Guess what, they could have turned crimson akali, into a new crimson akali without it just being a recolor. (Impossible, I know) Instead, and bare with me, they changed the skin into something entirely different. Imagine if you went to the store and bought a dozen donuts, you were all excited because they were limited edition, and creme filled mmmmmmm.

But later that afternoon the baker came in to your house and decided that he didn't like those donuts anymore and replaced them with a dozen cake donuts. Which some people may like, but you simply cannot stand the flavor.

It was dishonest of your grocery store( riot games) to sell you those limited edition donuts (Crimson akali) and replace them with another type of donuts all together. (Infernal akali)

What the riot could have done was expand on crimson akali and flesh out the skin, while still being true to the LEGACY of the skin itself. Which they did not.

MadSeerAug 4, 20181 votes

Being true to the LEGACY of the skin would be giving a red Chroma. Also I guess that every champion rework is a dishonest move from Riot since they or their skins are not what the players have originally purchased. That's what you're saying with that doughnut argument.

You want a red Akali, I understand that. You did get an actual skin instead of a Chroma, though. It's not ideal if your favorite colour is red and the skin is orange, but it shouldn't be a cause for outrage.

Edgar A PwnAug 4, 20181 votes

"they could have turned crimson akali, into a new crimson akali without it just being a recolor. "

Noor SakataAug 4, 20182 votes

Man you should chill about it , it's not really that big , they made it better anyway , when reworks happen , skins will be reworked too , tho if you're still on it, try sending a support ticket and ask them to get your RP back , that's the only thing you can do

Edgar A PwnAug 4, 20181 votes

I should've addressed this argument in the original post: "Crimson Akali was just a recolor, effectively a chroma today."

Sure, but so was Shadow Evelynn, and that's still here, no longer a recolor. As was Nightraven Fiora, still here, not a recolor. As I stated previously, it's perfectly okay, even preferable in some cases, to redesign a skin, what I'm against is removing/replacing skins with something entirely different. Even if they just put new Akali in the same clothes as Crimson Akali, it would no longer be a recolor because she isn't wearing the same garb as before in her default skin.

MadSeerAug 4, 20181 votes

Well, they could just make it a free Chroma for people who had the skin. Problem fixed.