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The Next Ultimate Skin (Part 2)

Electro522·5/4/2017, 5:18:32 AM·35 votes·23,164 views

EDIT: PLEASE READ BEFORE CONTINUING

It seems as if these posts of mine continue to get traffic even long after they were made. I suspect some people Google the next Ultimate skin, and are sent here. If you are one of these people, just know that some info might be a bit dated. This thread is my second post on this topic, and is quite dated. Most info you will find here does not match my current stance on the Next Ultimate Skin. If you would like to see my most recent stance, please read this thread. Thanks for reading!

Hello Everybody!

So around 8 months ago (damn.....its been that long?), I made a thread detailing my thoughts on the next ultimate skin. You can find the original post here.

In that thread, I went into how I think Riot selects certain champs for legendary/ultimate skins, laying out a set of guidelines that they may or may not stick to. I also laid out my prediction of the next Ultimate skin, which I thought was going to be Orianna. Unfortunately, I had made the post long after Elementalist Lux was leaked, and, in fact, just a couple weeks later, she was teased and released.

I also had the pleasure of having Kindlejack, one of the associate artists at Riot, chime in on the thread, and give some more detail on how they make skins. Also, just today (as of writing this) in fact, we had a Dev Blog come out from SUPERCAKES on "The State of Skins" which dived even more into how they decide what skins go to what champs. SUPERCAKES didn't go into anything on Ultimate skins, but she (I'm assuming......please correct me if I'm wrong) did give plenty of details which can aide this process of mine.

So, now that we have all of this new information at our fingertips, and that Elementalist Lux has found her home among the rift, lets dive in once more and see if we can accurately predict which champion will get the next Ultimate skin.

#The Guidelines

In my previous thread, I laid out 4 guidelines that I thought Riot possibly tries their best to follow when choosing a champ for a legendary/ultimate skin. Just remember that Riot does consider Ultimate skins as glorified legendary skins, so, any rules that may apply to legendary skins also apply to ultimate skins. The list is as follows:

  • The champion must not already have a legendary/ultimate skin in their line up.
  • When choosing a champ for a legendary, this is most likely the one rule Riot follows the most. They don't want to overload a champ's lineup of skins with really expensive ones, leaving all the others out to dry, and they've stuck to this rule for a very long time. The last champion to receive a legendary that already had one was Cho'gath, with the release of Battlecast Prime.
  • Champions should be at least 3 years old.
  • The youngest champ to receive a legendary so far has been Jinx, with the release of Star Guardian. The skin actually came out a little before her 3rd birthday, but it was close enough that she does fit this rule. (yes, Jinx is over 3 years old now....she'll be 4 in October).
  • There has to be a 6 month "grace" period after the champion was released or their previous skin was released before production on anew skin can begin.
  • If there is one rule that Riot would follow the least....it's most likely this one. They may come up with an idea that may take them far more than 6 months to make. That said, to avoid showing favoritism, thy do tend to stray away from champs that have recently gotten a skin.
  • Finish the team (this rule only apllies to ultimate skins)
  • I'll go into more detail on this rule further down.

I will say that, although I did enjoy Kindlejack's input on my thread.....he did essentially shoot down this entire list. There are no concrete guidelines Riot tries to follow when choosing champs for skins, and in fact, almost all of the artists on the skins team has their own personal set of guidelines that they follow that may not apply to the rest of the team. Even in the dev blog today, SUPERCAKES listed several factors that go into choosing a champ for a skin in general, and it's quite likely that not everyone on the skins team follows each guideline to a point, possibly ignoring some of them all together.

The selection process is far more simple at its core, to be honest. Generally, if Riot has an idea that they get excited about, chances are it'll be made into a skin. In my opinion, this actually improves the overall quality of the skins, because Riot isn't hindered by anything but timelines, and even then, they give estimates on how long a skin will take, and will gladly push any project back, or even shelve it completely if it simply isn't reaching their standards.

With that said, though, I still feel that these guidelines I created do hold some merit. Sure, Riot can break them at any time, but if you look at every legendary/ultimate skin, they still follow these 4 guidelines to a certain degree.

#Viable Champs

Looking at the guidelines I made, we can actually easily determine which champs are viable for not only legendary skins, but also ultimates as well. If we happen to use only the first 3 guidelines, we end up with 67 champs currently viable for a legendary skin. This number is never set in stone, always changing with champion releases, and more skin releases.

However, we aren't here for just legendary skins. No, we're here for the next Ultimate skin, and having to predict which champ will receive the next Ultimate out of 67 is quite the hurdle. This is where guideline #4 comes in: "Finish the team".

Now, what do I mean by this? Well, Riot likes to release skin lines that have the capability to host a full, real team in League. This means a Top, Jungler, Mid, ADC, and Support. The first batch of Pool Party skins follows this rule perfectly (Top-Renek; Jungle-Lee Sin; Mid-Ziggs; ADC-Graves; Support-Leona), and even the second batch does as well. If Riot does not release a full team of skins dedicated to a single theme, they will eventually finish it in the future. This is evident in the Star Guardian, PROJECT, and Blood Moon skins.

The Ultimate skins already have an ADC

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R5MvGt7J9dE/maxresdefault.jpg

A jungler

http://orig07.deviantart.net/0cf9/f/2013/203/0/a/spirit_guard_udyr_walpaper_by_patweiss-d6eojel.jpg

a support

https://static.lolwallpapers.net/2015/02/djsona-fan-art.png

and, of course, most recently, a mid laner

https://yurixy.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/elementalist-lux-loading-cards-by-kyomon.jpg

So, all this leaves us with is a top laner. I can say with 99% certainty that the next Ultimate skin WILL go to a top laner. If it doesn't, I will be extremely surprised. So, this cuts our list of 67 champs down to just 17. They are:

-Aatrox Garen Irelia JarvanIV Jax -Malphite Maokai Pantheon Poppy Riven -Shen Singed Swain Trundle Tryndamere -MonkeyKing Yorick

Now, mind you, this list changes over time. It could shrink considerably, or grow. Also, notice, I did add in champs that have recently gotten reworks (i.e. Yorick). A rework keeps a champion from getting a skin, but once the rework is released, they are immediately put back on the list (just look at Mecha Zero Sion). There are also champs I left out for that very reason (i.e. Urgot and Morde).

#The Prediction

Now, here comes the fun part. This is where we want to try and dive into the minds of the Artistic team over at Riot. Now, remember that the list above is nothing but speculation. Riot could easily throw us a curve ball, and give either Xayah and Rakan the next Ultimate skins. It is HIGHLY unlikely, but they can do it.

In order to make my prediction, I actually looked at how the past 4 Ultimates were designed.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/R5MvGt7J9dE/maxresdefault.jpg

Pulsefire Ezreal could more than likely be considered a Legendary by Riot's current standards, however, the unique tech of it changing its model when you level up allows it to keep its Ultimate status. Riot has even stated that trying to update the skin to their current standards will be a nightmare, due to the amount of unique tech and coding this skin has (not to mention, its 4 different models in 1). That said, they just did take steps to try to bring it up to par with even their legendaries, giving it new textures, particles, animations, and I believe even more voice lines surprisingly.

http://orig07.deviantart.net/0cf9/f/2013/203/0/a/spirit_guard_udyr_walpaper_by_patweiss-d6eojel.jpg

When Riot designs a champion, one of their main goals is clarity. They want both the player playing the champion, and playing against the champion, to be able to understand just what the hell is going on at any given time. Udyr does this by having a small cut out picture of an animal pop up above his head whenever he changes stances, not to mention his model shifts to the specific stance.

Well, with Spirit Guard Udyr, they took this clarity, and cranked it up past 11 until the knob broke off! Not only do you have FIVE different models (at the start of the game, he starts with an idle model), these models also transform into more dynamic models once you max level a particular stance. Oh, and lets not forget that the animals HAVE MODELS OF THEIR OWN!!! There is SO MUCH packed into this skin, it is more than well deserving of the Ultimate title, and more than likely Riot's baseline as to what the Ultimate skins should achieve.

https://static.lolwallpapers.net/2015/02/djsona-fan-art.png

This was more of an experiment than anything for Riot. They incorporated the dynamic leveling of the past 2 skins (the music becomes more pronounced and dynamic the more you level certain abilities), and added in more than one model (essentially, this skin is 3 in 1). But what makes this skin obviously stand out is its music.

Never before have we seen something able to change the music of the game. Its always been the same, and we've listened to it enough that it has become nothing more than background noise, lost within the noise of battle. But DJ Sona changed that for the better. Its too bad we don't have other similar tools in game like DJ Sona, because, lets be honest, who still truthfully listens to the in game music? It's not that its bad, its just that its been around for so long.

https://yurixy.files.wordpress.com/2016/11/elementalist-lux-loading-cards-by-kyomon.jpg

And, lastly, but certainly not least, our most recent Ultimate skin. One goal of all ultimate skins is to push Riot's tech and art to the absolute limit, which not only unlocks certain aspects of skin design they couldn't do before, but also teaches them a great deal of skin design as well. Each of these skins has allowed them to create future skins with even more interesting tech and aesthetics behind them. For example, DJ Sona's hair enabled Riot to make Arcade Ahri's tail change colors in a far more natural way (smething that Arcade Hecarim could also use for his tail). With Elementalist Lux, I suppose the goal was to see exactly how interactive they can make a skin.

In the past, we have had only small options to change the model of our skin. Neon Strike Vi can lower and raise her goggles, and Night Hunter Rengar can raise and lower his hood. Really the only skins that allowed even more customization of the model in game were Spirit Guard Udyr, and DJ Sona, being able to switch between the different models at will. Elementalist Lux takes this entire concept and knocks it out of the goddamned solar system. Sticking with the Ultimate skins unique aspect of becoming more complex as you progress through the game, this skin actually builds up energy when damaging champs. Once enough energy is gathered, you then have the option to transform Lux into a completely different model based on the element you chose twice, allowing you to choose from TEN DIFFERENT MODELS, each model of which is actually at a higher quality than most regular skins. If you don't count the unique VO that came with the entire skin, each model the skin comes with can be worth 1350 RP on their own.

Now, looking at these skins does give you a slight idea as to what kind of champs Riot looks at for an Ultimate skin.

Ezreal is the only outlier here, because he, as a champion, doesn't bring very much to the table. This, makes sense, however, since Pulsefire was the very first Ultimate skin. It was, more or less, an experiment that happened to work out.

Udyr, however, is very unique in that his stances make him unlike any other champion. I believe it was Phreak who once said that learning certain champs is easier than others due to how they perform. ADCs perform very similar to each other, essentially learning one means you've learned them all. A champ like Ryze, however, has no comparison, and thus, is more difficult to pick up. Udyr is a champ similar to Ryze in that there is no real comparison to him. Also, his stances laid a very good foundation for Riot to build off of.

Sona was chosen from a very simple fact about her: she is the only champ in the game directly associated with music (and no, Bard doesn't count). Making a DJ version of her was just easy! So easy, in fact, that they took the idea, and ran with it. The end result was being able to change the music in game.

Lux, when looked at a certain angle, isn't all that unique actually. However, I'd say that this makes sense, since they wanted a skin with just so much in it, choosing a champ with a relatively easy model to work with would speed up the process quite a bit. However, the Elemetanlist theme simply makes as much sense for Lux as the DJ theme does for Sona.

So, the champ we want to look for is both possibly unique, and has a potential idea that is easy enough for Riot to take off with. So, after all of this, I have compiled my top 5 champs for the next Ultimate skin ranging from least likely, to most.

5: Shen

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jVyrJosBbgk/VDwqU2lRXXI/AAAAAAAAbKc/FqICli7tM_w/s1600/Shen_Splash_0.jpg

When you think about it, it's surprising how all of these champs have gone so long without a legendary skin. Sure, some like Poppy and Yorick just recently got updated, but still. Shen is one of those champs. He has a decent lineup of skins, but none of them are on a truly epic scale. I'd say he's far more deserving of a legendary skin, but there could be potential for an Ultimate. I'm not entirely sure what that might be, though.

4: Riven

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ErQh30YIs5M/UcDuqecajQI/AAAAAAAAE38/9sWHEjIJ-S4/s1600/Riven_Splash_0.jpg

I had Riven on my previous list as well, so my stance on her getting a legendary some time soon still stands. despite what you may think of her, she is one of the more unique champs in the game that has almost an endless supply of fantasies that could fit her. Seeing her blade come alive, and constantly change while in battle would be awesome in my book.

3: Swain

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iWNhoie3ejU/Vw1CKbPYTdI/AAAAAAAA5yI/Q0uz1Cg_X-0VPdSoM_PUwyWK0fh04FaNwCLcB/s1600/Swain_Splash_0.jpg

Swain is not only in need of a legendary, but also a skin in general. If I recall, though, Swain might be on Riot's VGU list, meaning we may not see anything for him for quite some time. That said, there is still one certain.........ahem scaly.........concept that was supposedly shelved that they could pick back up at any time.

2: Irelia

http://i.imgur.com/lMVYUuI.jpg

See, Irelia would be my number 1 pick, however, Riot has stated several times that she is actually quite far up their list of potential VGU candidates, far enough, in fact, that we could see work started on her after either Urgot or Evelynn (this isn't confirmed, just speculation). So, don't expect anything for Irelia for quite some time. However....we could be wrong. I mean, there are SO many things they can do with her theme.

1: Yorick

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FjodByo9IyQ/V7yKtm-cfjI/AAAAAAAA9zo/kC5yv1KnvYw-MVqGo8D1jnTR4d1_eZEEgCLcB/s1920/yorick-reveal-banner.jpg

Now wouldn't that be one hell of a skin to receive after 6 years of not having one. In SUPERCAKES dev blog, she did state that they have started work on a Yorick skin. She gave no details on what it might be, but that we could potentially see it within the next year (along with others, such as Cass, Viktor and Illaoi). Well, Elementalist Lux did come out around 6 months ago, meaning, if Yorick is to see a skin around the end of that time frame, it would mean around 18 months since Lux came out.........about the same amount of time it took for Lux to come out after DJ Sona.

Yorick is quite easily the one champ that has gone the longest without a skin. 6 whole years.....nearly as long as the game has been out. So, one could argue that, as an apology gift for the lack of skins he has, Riot could very well be putting the pedal to the metal on his next skin. Besides, the number of stuff he has going on would make any skin made for him more of a hassle anyway, similar to Zyra, and the amount of stuff she has going on. So, why not go all out, and see exactly how nearly game breaking they can make his next skin?

What kind of skin could we see? Well, one aspect of the Ultimate skins is that they are all future versions of the champs. Ez is a chrono-criminal, running from the future version of Caitlyn; Udyr finds enlightenment, and actually ends up working with the Spirits, instead of having them control him; Sona gets a MASSIVE upgrade to her etwhal; and Lux masters all forms of Elemental magic. I'm not sure what kind of future version we could see of Yorick, considering he is effectively immortal, but we could see a version of him where he actually accomplishes his quest of returning the Shadow Iles to their former glory. I, for one, am all for seeing several different versions of The Maiden packed into one skin.

#Conclusion

And there you have it folks! Please remember, that all of this is just speculation. I could be right, or I could be dead wrong. Either way, it will certainly be interesting to see what Riot cooks up next.

Feel free to give your own ideas to who might be getting the next Ultimate skin, and why. I'd love to hear your guys' reasoning.

TL;DR

I predict that Yorick will be the next champ to receive an Ultimate skin. There are plenty of reasons for this that I won't go into since I just stated them all above in the article.

87 Comments

RiotKindlejack5/4/2017, 5:37:20 AM34 votes

There's a lot of impressive reasoning on show here great job! You're really thinking like a developer. Very enjoyable read.

Zach Sandwhich5/4/2017, 4:36:04 PM8 votes

Just gonna put my thoughts out there.

I personally think if we are going to get one, it will be for Shen. Reasons for this are:

  1. Swain and Irelia are on the VGU List, so probably no skins for them in the near future.

  2. Riven was on that leak, which has been right so far, with an Angelblade skin, and I don't think they'd give Riven an Ultimate skin so soon after getting one.

  3. This is probably the weakest reasoning, because Yorick does make the most sense for getting an Ultimate skin (because he has become a meme for not having a skin in forever.), but he really isn't that popular. Looking at it from a business standpoint, I don't think Riot would make an ultimate skin for a champion as unpopular as Yorick.

That's my thoughts on it, but you made a lot of good points in this post!

Tattersall5/4/2017, 9:41:06 PM5 votes

For a while now, I've had an idea for a Jax ultimate skin. First of all, he IS on your list of potential candidates, so he already fits that bill. Second, he has a mechanic that only seven champions in the game have: His attack speed is consistently and regularly changing. For reference, the other champions are Jinx, Udyr, Volibear, Olaf, Aatrox, and Ezreal.

Anyway, my idea is that Jax's model changes based on how much attack speed he has currently. I imagine it being like, a berserker theme. Jax has become an ultimate warrior by gaining some kind of power, maybe demonic (think Aatrox), in the form of a new (and real) weapon and new armor, and the more damage he does, the more this power is fed.

I imagine it like the Silent Armor worn by one version of Wonder Girl in the DC universe. The Armor is connected to the wearer, and in combat it slowly grows out of the wearer's body. http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/wonderwoman/images/9/93/Wonder_Girl_New_52.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20121208193312 https://static4.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/117518/2532488-img003.jpg https://static4.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11/117518/2532485-img006.jpg

The Armor is another being though, and if not controlled it will consume the wearer. Hence the demon theme. So yeah, model changes based on his attack speed. Not even the stacks on his passive, but his attack speed. It would be worthy of an Ultimate if Riot could make the transition between forms smooth.

Kuzja15/4/2017, 8:20:41 PM4 votes

I'd like an ultimate skin for Corki or Rumble but someone made this for Heimerdinger : http://img03.deviantart.net/f4d2/i/2014/288/6/0/league_of_legends__heimerdinger__the_white_by_diosl-d82z80z.jpg Seriously. I want to meet the guy who made this. I wanna shake his hand.

Atreus Jones5/5/2017, 5:20:41 AM3 votes

I could see a Gravelord Yorick, legendary, since the idea literally writes itself, and the only other champ with a gravelord skin, is Azir, a champ with abilties that revolve around his soldiers.

Or maybe an Ultimate Yorick skin, where yes, he does cure the Shadow Isles, but the maiden finally gets the slip on Yorick and he becomes a Herald of the Maiden, marching across the map, every so many souls Yorick takes makes the Maiden stronger and "completes her" and as she continues to becoe "completed" Yorick's form begins to change with it, being affected by the Maiden's power

ModKnightsKemplar5/4/2017, 3:15:49 PM3 votes

You have great thoughts here. I'm about to start telling you why I disagree, but know that I respect the amount of work you did, and you are most certainly spot on with a lot of your reasoning.

5: Shen needs another rework. I seriously doubt he's next on the list for that reason alone. His last rework was extremely unpopular, and now he's a generally unpopular champion. I think that because of that, they'll hold off of him.

4: Riven, I'm with you. She's likely to be next.

3: Swain needs that scaly skin, but he's so high on the VGU list that I think it will not happen until after VGU. And, like you said, that means he's out of the running for now. Riot has even said that he's not being considered for new skins BECAUSE his model and kit are too outdated.

Now, the EXCEPTION on #3 is if they release Swain's VGU WITH the ultimate skin. I could see them doing that at some point, and Swain would actually be an excellent candidate for that, since he has a #hyped skin that we all want to see and buy.

4: Irelia is also in a weird spot, gameplay-wise. Riot has acknowledged that she's a bit stat-checky, and she'll be VGU'd at some point. You agreed with that up there, so I find it weird that she made the list in the first place.

5: Yorick is just plain unpopular. I don't see how they could justify spending that much money on him when he's in the dumpster in terms of play rate. That doesn't mean he's a bad champ. But they do have to recover revenue on this project, and I think doing Yorick is a bad way to go about that, generally.

Riven, though. If I were a Rioter on the skins team, that would be my number 1 choice, FOR SURE. They would absolutely make money, not only because Riven is moderately popular, but because she's one of those champs that has a TON of mains. And those mains want to look flashy and awesome, so a large number of them would buy it for sure. That's just good business. If ANYONE had a good idea for an ultimate Riven skin (and her broken sword is RIPE for alternate fantasies about her), that would be it for me. Sold.

Mira Arya Enthe5/4/2017, 5:03:11 PM2 votes

I think since we don't have a legendary Tank it should be Shen

Golden Tager X5/4/2017, 4:37:57 PM2 votes

Jax could very well be a high priority champ for that. Think about it, what more could you want other than a Jax skin where you get to choose armor and weapons, and feel like the grandmaster at arms.

shurastick10/30/2017, 3:05:30 AM1 votes

How about illaoi??

Yadid6/1/2017, 12:44:51 AM1 votes

Riven is off the list! Repeat, RIVEN IS OFF THE LIST!

darko2110/12/2017, 10:26:49 PM1 votes

nice comment dude i appreciate your opinion about ultimate skin and i recommend ultimate skin for Shen because he my favorite champion and truly an abandoned champion from riot cu in the field of justice!

Raxistaicho5/4/2017, 5:26:31 AM1 votes

Probably nothing in this game will ever make me more bitter that Lux got the mid ultimate skin. I thought Ahri had a good shot at it :(