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Is The Skin Team Bias Against Certain Champions?

Winterkill·3/21/2017, 5:42:57 PM·5 votes·1,362 views

Let's all sit here and really think about this. Is the Skin Department picking and choosing which champions they make skins for and how much work they do on the said skins? I am probably going to get many downvotes. I am probably going to get a lot of haters for this very thread. This is a subject that needs to be discussed because it has been happening for many years now.

Annie Ezreal Jinx Lux Lulu Teemo Zed Fizz LeeSin Ekko

The above champions receive a skin every year. Some champions receive a 1350RP skin every year. These champions skins match the splash arts entirely, have good quality animations, always seem to be part of a good skin thematic, and much more. Jinx has received two 1350RP skins and one 1820RP skin since her release.

Diana Zyra Karma

Received their first 1350RP skins. Players have been waiting for years for a skin for these champions and even one skin theme for many years now. The skin team couldn't be bothered to match the in-game model of Winter Wonder Karma with the splash art. Winter Wonder Karma does not have her tattoos, the tights don't match, and somehow she was given a pair of gloves that is not present anywhere in the splash art. Dragon Sorceress Zyra on paper feels like an amazing skin, but when you really play it . . . . . she still has interactions that mention plants and it probably would have been better to distort her voice. Blood Moon Diana has been by far one of the most requested skins for years now. If the skin team is going to show her removing the mask in the splash art and telling us a story that she is possessed by the mask, wouldn't it have been a good idea to have a toggle on/off feature for the mask? Did the skin team really not think about this for the past few years this skin has been asked for?

When it comes to a Jinx, Ekko, Teemo, Lee Sin, and other champions get more than one 1350RP skin than any other champion and the splash art matches the in-game model, the theme is well represented in the VO and animations, and it just seems you care more about it than a lowly 1350RP skin for Karma, Zyra, and Diana.

Cassiopeia Viktor Yorick Heimerdinger

All still have not received a skin in years. There is no VGU excuse holding you back. There is no mini-rework excuse forcing you to ignore making a skin for these champions. Here we are in 2017 and you are making a Legendary skin for Lee Sin.

The long asked question that you still have not answered in the past years. Do you care about a lowly 1350RP skin for Karma, Zyra and Diana compared to the many 1350RP skins you created for champions like Ekko, JInx, Lee Sin, Teemo, Lulu, and Lux? You don't.

I don't want to hear excuses about marketing and how much easier it is for Riot Games to do this over this . . . . the fact of the matter is we have a bunch of skins for the same champions every single year getting all of this work done . . . and when a skin for Karma, Zyra and Diana is released as their first 1350RP skin . . . . . it's half worked on . . . half thought out . . . . and half cared about by the skin team. What makes it even worse is that they have yet to address any of it, besides the nifty excuses the Balance and Update team uses. It's a trend huh?

18 Comments

TheHappyReaperz3/21/2017, 6:52:49 PM9 votes

First off, I expected a reasonable post, then got hit with Karma bias. Sadness.

Secondly, your logic has quite a few holes in it. Diana had a skin in 2016, Infernal Diana, which is, at least imo fantastic. Then, she got another skin in 2017, Blood Moon Diana. Which was also really awesome.

The Zyra skin was great as well. New vfx, animations, as well as epic looking "plants" and abilities. Did it change all of her voicelines? Nope, why would it?

Regarding Yorick and the gang, they'll get a skin eventually. I'd much rather have the skins team spend some time, think up a good idea, and make it nice, rather than just push out some garbage because the community won't stop complaining. Specifically regarding Viktor and Cass, odds are one of them is going to get an SKT skin.

Sharjo3/21/2017, 5:53:02 PM6 votes

I don't want to hear excuses about marketing and how much easier it is for Riot Games to do this over this . . . . the fact of the matter is we have a bunch of skins for the same champions every single year getting all of this work done . . . and when a skin for Karma, Zyra and Diana is released as their first 1350RP skin . . . . . it's half worked on . . . half thought out . . . . and half cared about by the skin team. What makes it even worse is that they have yet to address any of it, besides the nifty excuses the Balance and Update team uses. It's a trend huh?

So basically you're just here to whine aye?

There's no conspiracy here; shit doesn't pan out sometimes. Schedules, technical aspects, ideas that didn't work, all stuff that can prevent skins from coming out.

Papa Andrei3/21/2017, 6:12:25 PM6 votes

Notice how alot of the ones you listed, merely have a retexture for their skins. Ezreal has about 4 skins with him just being in different outfits and no actual changes. Same with Annie, Teeto. Lee Sin and Lux.

You need to realize as an artist, these teams prefer to make skins they will have a passion for. If a skin just doesn't feel right to the team, do you want them to go ahead and make it, not having the same drive for perfection they do on other projects? Let them go at their own pace, they are the artist, they feel the pressure, they know how to sell it. We just enjoy it, we give feedback on whats great, whats bad, what can be improved and possible ideas. We are not entitled to anything they make, they do a job, thats it. Do not act like you know them better than they do.

Placentas3/21/2017, 5:49:27 PM1 votes

It has to do with technicality of the model of the champion, whether the champ are getting a vgu soon or not, who is a popular champion and then of course I am sure the higher ups of Riot decide or put pressure on the employees to make skins for specific champs.

It's a business. So ya.

Ravenhale3/21/2017, 6:04:36 PM1 votes

Knockout Lee Sin - June 2015

New Lee Sin Skin - April 2017

OP apparently doesn't think 2016 qualifies as a year.