Are custom skins safe to use in League of Legends?

League of Legends is famed for the hundreds of skins added over the past decade, but custom skins push the envelope even further.

With over 1,600 skins and counting, Riot Games has made skins a lucrative market for League of Legends. From simple color swaps to absurdly expensive $500 overhauls, these skins have become baked into the culture of League of Legends. Still, despite how many skins there are, fans always want more. Some fans may want a new skin for their favorite champions who haven’t gotten good cosmetics as of late. Others might want to use League champions as the foundation for crossover characters, like a Chun-Li model with Lee Sin’s abilities.

Community-made skins make anything possible in League of Legends, but not without some risk.

Can I get banned for using custom skins in League of Legends?

League of Legends players in certain regions have allegedly been banned for using custom skins, though others encounter no problems at all.

Like most video games, League of Legends can be modded to the player’s liking. However, Riot Games does not officially support custom skins, and it may be even riskier with advanced anti-cheat. With the introduction of Vanguard, players may get banned if they add custom skins to their game. While custom skins technically aren’t cheating, they still modify game files in a way that Riot doesn’t officially approve of. As a result, custom skin users risk getting banned by Vanguard, LoL’s anti-cheat system.

LEBRON JAMES DARIUS – League of Legends Custom Skin

Some daredevil players have found ways to circumvent these risks, but the risks remain nonetheless. Some players from certain regions, such as Korea, report that the anti-cheat is far less lenient with custom skins. Plenty of resources online exist for adding custom skins to League of Legends for the players still willing to risk it.

Will Riot add custom skins to League of Legends in the future?

Riot has no plans to support custom skins in League of Legends and probably never will.

Although games like Minecraft flourish thanks to their modding scenes, League of Legends relies on skins as a revenue stream. Adding official support for League of Legends custom skins could potentially hamper Riot’s earning potential.

In additional, Riot may find it hard to police controversial custom skins or ones that break copyright laws. The way custom skins work right now, only the players with the skin can see it, not anybody else. Either way, it’s best to stick to fan art for players who want to see champions in a certain look.