Riot updates players on how to earn League skins in 2025

M Alzamora Published 04/02/2025

Following a full rehaul of the game at the start of 2025, the League of Legends development team at Riot Games has released fresh guidance on the main skin types players can get, and how they can get them. And not everyone is happy about it.

In the years since League of Legends first came out, Riot has added nearly 1,800 different champion skins for players to customize their favorite characters with. Recent months have seen players angry at the company’s stated commitment to exclusivity as the nature of skin procurement changes. Though League now more skins than ever, many find the newer additions to cost more than they’re worth or to be overly difficult to obtain. Still, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of potential cosmetics for players to look for.

Here’s what players can look forward to spending their hard-earned RP or Mythic Essence on, and how some of that has changed in the new year and season.

Main skin types in League of Legends

League of Legends has several different types of skins for players to collect, ranging from basic cosmetics to the coveted Exalted skins.

Riot explains that a number of different and sometimes overlapping skin types will continue to be available to collect in the game. Here’s the full list of skin types in League of Legends:

Basic
Battle Pass
Victorious
Honor
Mythic
Mythic Variant and Exalted
Transcendent
Legacy/Limited

Players will recognize basic skins in LoL as ones that can be directly crafted or are easily purchasable with RP. They come in various tiers ranging from common to ultimate, with each rank up granting more features and effects. Unlike other skin categories, players can craft basic skins by collecting Skin Shards in loot and then make them permanent through the use of the Orange Essence material.

Prestige Masque of the Black Rose Katarina.

Battle pass, Victorious, and Honor skins all require a player to show a certain level of skill and dedication in League itself. To earn battle pass skins for example, players must reach certain milestones through the current season by completing missions. The awarding of Honor tokens incentivize players to show positive behavior when playing the game, and those tokens can then be redeemed for Honor skins. Importantly, Riot is getting rid of tokens after patch 25.6, and any players who have reached Honor Level 5 will receive all of the Honor skins. Additionally, players can only get Victorious skins by earning 15 ranked wins in a given season.

Mythic skins have become some of the hardest cosmetics to obtain in League of Legends. There are two types of Mythic skins in League: exclusive Prestige skins and limited availability event skins. While some Prestige skins may start in the battle pass, eventually players can only find them through the constantly rotating mythic shop. Unfortunately, Riot has removed most of the prior ways to get Mythic Essence, which has confounded and frustrated players. Now, the only way to to get Mythic skins in LoL is to purchase them directly.

Arcane Fractured Jinx skin from the Sanctum in League.

LoL’s new Sanctum mechanic now contains Mythic Variant skins and the long-promised Exalted skins. Players can spend Ancient Sparks to potentially earn rare and exclusive cosmetics that don’t enter the reroll pool. However, Riot has made clear that the Mythic Variant and Exalted banners won’t overlap. For many players, this means they’ll have to choose the skin they want to get or fork over a lot of money. It’s another example of how Riot Games is changing League of Legends skin acquisition in 2025 and beyond to further monetize the game.

Also on the more expensive side, Transcendent skins currently can only be found in the Hall of Legends. They are based off of popular esports figures like T1 mid laner Faker and are treated like collector’s edition items. Interested players have to wait for Riot to reopen the Hall of Legends to get their hands on Faker’s Ahri, and they should expect to have to spend big when those skins become available again.

Finally, Legacy and Limited skins are retired cosmetics that typically aren’t available anymore in League of Legends. Players will occasionally be able to find Legacy skins in specific events, loot, or Your Shop offers. Limited skins from exclusive moments, however, are officially off the table.

For most players on varied budgets, there’s a skin out there for them to enjoy in League of Legends. But as Riot continues to make newer skins inaccessible to all but the most dedicated players, that may continue to change beyond the 2025 LoL season.

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

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