Here are the rarest LoL skins and how they were acquired

The rarest skins in League of Legends will catch the eyes of veterans no matter how skilled their users are.

While Riot Games has definitely pumped up the price of recent releases, many of the most rare skins in the game are from the early days of League of Legends. Several high-exclusive cosmetics were only obtainable for a brief period of time, and what was once just a simple skin has turned into some of the community’s biggest sources of bragging rights. Their sheer age means that they don’t all look amazing next to recent prestige and mythic options. But for veterans of the game, nothing earns more respect than a decade-old exclusive.

Players who are looking for the rarest skins in League should look no further, as these are the most coveted of them all.

The rarest LoL skins are PAX rewards, beta exclusives, and more

Each upcoming rare skin has its own history and reasons for its rarity. Some are exclusive skins from events throughout the years, whereas others were given out to players who joined the game in its infant stages.

Without further ado, here are the rarest skins in League of Legends and how they were acquired.

King Rammus

Most players don’t know about the existence of King Rammus. Indeed, this skin is one of the oldest ones in the game. It was given as a reward to players who tested the game during its beta days. The skin is a very clear reference to Bowser from the Super Mario series. Due to the potential copyright issues, Riot is unlikely to even reference the skin ever again.

The PAX trio: Sivir, Jax, Twisted Fate

If it were ever possible to sell LoL skins, PAX skins would go for a solid amount of cash. There are three PAX skins, all of which were PAX Prime event exclusives, given only to people in attendance. Given in celebration of League of Legends’ release, the oldest of the three skins is PAX Twisted Fate from PAX Prime 2009. To this day, many consider it the rarest skin in the game. PAX Jax followed in 2010, then PAX Sivir in 2011.

PAX Sivir reemerged in 2017 when Riot released Neo Pax Sivir, giving players a slight chance to taste the old-school PAX skins.

Preorder exclusives Silver Kayle and Young Ryze

When League of Legends launched, players could buy a physical retail copy of the game. The copy rewarded 20 champions and two exclusive skins. Silver Kayle and Young Ryze were part of the retail copy, which acted as an incentive to get up and go to a game store. As LoL quickly turned into a downloadable online game, the retail copies were a limited edition.

Riot even disabled the codes for these skins in 2014, limiting the number of existing skins even further.

Black Alistar

Just like Silver Kayle and Young Ryze, Black Alistar is one of the most rare skins in all of League. Players had to order the digital version of the exclusive League of Legends Collector’s Edition to get it.

Black Alistar released back when the game launched, making it one of the oldest skins in the game. Since the game was already free-to-play, only the most dedicated supporters bought this product.

UFO Corki

UFO Corki might be the coolest skin from this list based on design, which makes its rarity all the more lamented.  The skin was a gift to players who created a League of Legends account before January 14, 2010. It was only available for this promotion and never sold in the store.

Judgment Kayle

Another old-school promotional skin is Judgement Kayle. It’s an extremely rare sight, as it was only given out to players who played a minimum of ten games back in season one over ten years ago.  Only true veterans own it, and for others to see it, they need to spot someone who still plays the game to this day. Although it wasn’t hard to get, it’s hard to be active in a game for that long and still be around.

Urfwick

Believe it or not, Urfwick was a thing way before Ultra Rapid Fire. Urfwick was initially released in 2010 as a limited sale for charity, and few players got their hands on this goofy Warwick skin. Many years later, Riot made Urfwick available in stores again, but only for people with a lot of blue essence in the bank. The skin was sold for 150,000 BE, keeping its status as one of the rarest skins in LoL.

Riot Squad Singed

Just like the PAX skins, Riot Squad Singed was a limited giveaway to attendees at Riot-sanctioned events in 2010 and 2011 including Gamescom 2010. As such, it remains one of the most limited skins in the game.  Unlike other Riot skins, Riot Squad Singed has never been sold in the shop to let the public get a piece of the rare cosmetic. Unless Riot chooses to make it available someday, this skin will stay in the vault and only pop up when a Gamescom 2010 attendee or someone who met a Rioter at the time enters a game on Singed.

Rusty Blitzcrank

The reason why Rusty Blitzcrank is so rare to this day isn’t that it was released exclusively in any way. Instead, it’s rare because the skin was a complete failure by the Riot Games design team. Rusty Blitzcrank was released in late 2009 but was only available for three months. The skin was removed because it looked too much like the original Blitzcrank skin, so it was not exactly a bestseller. While Rusty Blitzcrank was an embarrassment at the time, players with the skin are the ones laughing today.

Most early Victorious skins are incredibly rare in League

Players that put in a lot of effort to climb the ranked ladder have been rewarded with a skin since 2011. The Victorious skin line has been a tradition every year, with one new Victorious skin by the end of each season that is given out to players who reach gold rank or higher. The skin line started with Victorious Jarvan IV in 2011, which is extremely rare since most players from that era have left the game. Even Victorious Janna from 2012 and Victorious Elise from 2013 are rarely seen due to their age.

What are the most rare skins in League of Legends?

PAX Twisted Fate and PAX Jax are the most rare skins in League of Legends as they were handed out exclusively to attendees at Penny Arcade Expo events.

The Twisted Fate version is the rarer of the two, as its distribution was limited to the first 20,000 attendees at PAX in 2009. Jax isn’t much more common though, as it was only provided to attendees at PAX in 2010.

It was once possible for players to obtain one or both skins without attending the event, as attendees were given codes for the skins and the codes could be sold on a second-hand marketplace. But even if someone is holding on to an unused code from many years ago, it would no longer be usable, as the League of Legends client no longer allows skins to be acquired with these outdated codes.

It all combines to mean that no more new PAX skins will be made available, keeping them as the most rare skins in all of League of Legends.

What are legacy skins in LoL?

Legacy skins are LoL skins that are no longer available for purchase in the storefront, and this lack of availability can be for a number of different reasons.

In some cases, skins are retired from the storefront simply because they are old and no longer fit the game’s modern visual presentation. In other cases, the skins may have been attached to certain season events. Sometimes both are true, as was the case with the Vancouver Amumu skin meant to commemorate the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, it featured customization well below the established standard for LoL skins.

Seasonal skins usually return at certain times of the year. For example, Valentine’s Day-themed skins come back to the storefront in February, while Halloween-themed skins return to the LoL storefront in October. That being said, there’s never any guarantee that these seasonal skins will be brought back for purchase later on after they’re retired again.

Are ultimate skins rare in LoL?

Ultimate skins aren’t necessarily rare in LoL, though they are less common due to being particularly expensive.

Ultimate skins are meant to be more complex and flashy than typical custom skins, and they carry greater prices as a result. DJ Sona is a good example of an ultimate skin and its purpose in League of Legends. For example, the DJ Sona skin comes with its own musical soundtrack that plays in the background for any player who opts in to hear it. The greater expense of these skins means they’re harder to acquire, but they aren’t necessarily rarer than other skins in the game.