Riot delays launch of Ekko's Firelight skin due to fan anger

William Davis Published 14/12/2021

The next Ekko skin in League of Legends has been delayed by Riot Games following community feedback. 

It wasn’t long after players started testing the upcoming Firelight Ekko skin on the Public Beta Environment that Riot decided to push back its official release. This happens after criticism from fans towards the Arcane-based skin.

To make time for these improvements, Riot lead skin producer Katana confirmed that the skin will be delayed “for a few patches” to allow for the addition of new sound effects, which was the biggest sticking point for fans.. 

Firelight Ekko’s sound effects were the big issue with LoL fans, who thought they weren’t good enough for an epic skin that will likely be priced at 1,350 Riot Points. This was something that players instantly spotted in the Firelight Ekko skin preview, which has luckily been caught by Riot’s attention. 

“We completely agree that SFX are a standard and expected part of an Epic skin,” Riot said. 

As a bonus, Riot will take advantage of the extra time to add a unique Homeguard animation to the Ekko skin. This animation is a newer feature that is only found with a limited set of Epic skins. This adds an extra bit of value to the skin for players who really want their Ekko to stand out on Summoner’s Rift. 

“Homeguard animations are a feature that we have included on a very limited set of Epic skins when we feel it meaningfully helps sell the fantasy in a way that we couldn’t otherwise,” Riot said. 

Firelight Ekko will be another skin that celebrates the release of Riot Games’ animated series Arcane. Ekko plays a big role in that series and is the fifth champion to get an Arcane-themed skin after Jinx, Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce all received them. 

When is Firelight Ekko being released in LoL?

With the delay to the Firelight Ekko skin, Riot hasn’t given any official release date or patch for the skin quite yet. As stated in the text by Riot, it seems that it could be more than one patch delayed and, therefore, likely won’t be out until 2022. 

When the skin finally arrives, players can look forward to a cosmetic in higher quality with better voice, visuals, and even a Homeguard animation added as an extra bonus to make up for the delays. 

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