If there’s one thing I love about the League of Legends Skarner rework, it’s his lore changes. From a purple crystalline blob to a tribal-inspired creature of nightmares, the newly appointed Primordial Sovereign looks pretty damn cool – and that’s without a skin. While Cosmic Sting has become my new favorite, Earthrune, an old 520RP skin (remember those?) from 2011, is a close second. Where it once looked pretty clunky, it’s now absolutely stunning, but it comes with a catch.
While the focal point of Skarner’s VGU is, of course, his updated abilities (which look frightening), the new and improved skins are always pretty exciting, too. Riot has confirmed, however, that several adjustments to Earthrune mean that, when Skarner re-debuts in League of Legends with patch 14.7, you’ll have to pay more for it.
As mentioned, Earthrune was one of the MOBA‘s measly 520RP skins – a category that effectively doesn’t exist anymore (the lowest RP bundle you can buy is 650RP these days in the US, coming in at $5). Now, following the rework, Riot states that it’s a ‘Deluxe’ tier skin, and that its price will be “adjusted accordingly” to fit its new design.
“We’re excited for everyone to scuttle onto PBE and try out Skarner’s VGU tomorrow, but we wanted to give you all a quick heads up,” reads a Monday, March 18 post on X (formerly Twitter). “As part of his VGU we’ve updated Earthrune Skarner to bring this skin up to par with more modern ones, so we’ll be increasing its tier to Deluxe and adjusting the price accordingly.”
“If you already own Earthrune Skarner you’re good to go and you’ll get the update for free! If you don’t have it yet but want to get it at the lower price of 520 RP make sure to pick it up before Skarner goes live in patch 14.7 on April 3.”
Judging by ‘Deluxe,’ it looks like Earthrune Skarner will be bumped up from the Standard 520RP to 750RP, given it’s effectively a new look for the champion, and not a Chroma. In terms of actual cash, that’s a $1.43 price difference – not too much, thankfully.
However, it is the first time Riot has upped a skin’s cost following a VGU, which several players have described as “scummy” in the comments. “Skins like Shadow Evelynn were brought up to modern standards, and their prices didn’t change. What is different now to justify that?”
Another comment shows a list of all of the other 520RP skins that have remained the same price following the champion’s VGU – including one of my all-time favorites, Aviator Irelia. Udyr, who was the last champion to receive a full-blown VGU, also has the 520RP Black Belt Udyr skin, which has remained at that price post-rework.
Riot has come under fire for increased monetization over the past year or so, with Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin ushering in a line of $200 chromas, and event passes slowly declining in value since Winterblessed 2023. Sure, the difference here is only a dollar, but it’s still a dollar I’d rather have.
If you’re someone who prefers to grind for those coveted Prestige skins (it’ll save you some cash), we have a rundown of the current LoL Mythic shop rotation, and a LoL tier list to help you collect all of the Mythic Essence you’ll need.
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