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League of Legends: Zoe Skins’ Review – StrategyZero
Nov 242017
 
Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight
Zoe, the Aspect of Twilight

What are dreams made of? There are dreams huge and small but all end up making you sleepy. It could happen at any time but who doesn’t enjoy a nice nap from time to time? You may even realise that dreamlands are full of wonders and colours. Wouldn’t it be great if all those fantastic things could appear in the real world? Which one is more real, anyway? Perhaps someone knows. Maybe Zoe can give us a hand and tell us the truth behind the Aspect of Twilight. Now, wouldn’t that be fun?

Cyber Pop Zoe
Cyber Pop Zoe Splash Art Cyber Pop Zoe Model
Category: Regular
Price: 1350 RP
Concept: Zoe as a cyberpunk schoolgirl.
Model: New model for Zoe and new glow for her hair, yoyo and jump rope.
Particles: New particles for her abilities, auto-attack, joke, taunt and recall.
Animations: New Portal Jump, high speed run and recall animations.
Sounds: New sounds for her abilities, auto-attack and recall plus new quotes when moving, upon moving for the first time and killing an enemy.
Splash Art: Neon, holograms and busy streets are clear indicators that this is a city where technology is everywhere in day to day life. So much so that shop windows offer products as strange as the people that buy them. Sadly, specifics are hard to notice. It could be said that the lights are so intense, in their effort to attract prospective buyers, that they end up concealing what they offer. In truth, the background is sketchy and lacking detail in many parts; not to say that it seems unfinished. One thing has to be admitted: the setting does capture the cyberpunk feel it aims to.
Zoe rushes through the street with her multi-colour mane of hair. A hair that doesn’t escape the effects of technology and it’s clear to see. The holographic effect is quite interesting but also dull because there’s no spectrum of colours available in her hair so it ends up focusing on blue tones. Grocery time is as good as any for her to roam the streets and her method of transport is subtly shown. It sure seems like a fun way of moving around for a carefree girl that feels right at home. Between her expression and demeanour, Zoe’s personality easily comes through. The bag of groceries does conceal her clothes a bit but the general idea can be seen thanks to sharp lines and colours. The shading may be on the dark side but Zoe’s appealing identity is communicated effectively.
All in all, this is a splendid splash art in intention. The idea is spot on and both background and portrayal have much to show. Unfortunately, the setting could be more detailed to give a better picture of this futuristic city. Zoe looks quite good but perhaps more room should be allowed for her to spread her limbs more and her hair to flow more freely. Still, as said before, the cyberpunk feel is right there. With a good layer of polish added this could be one of League of Legends’ best splash art but it does need extra work to be so.
Rating: Star clip art used in skin reviews at StrategyZeroStar clip art used in skin reviews at StrategyZeroStar clip art used in skin reviews at StrategyZero
Conclusion: Still playful and mischievous but with a base on the digital instead of the mythical Cyber Pop Zoe retains her distinct personality but adapts it into a hi-tech world without going all cyberpunk; with some inspiration drawn from Futaba of Persona 5. Even though she’s dressed in casual clothing she strikes as a schoolgirl but one that is clearly connected to binary lands as her hair demonstrates. The headphones are a good addition given her habit of listening to unheard tunes and the glasses just make her cute. Particles transform the ethereal magic into holographic displays. This gives an eye-catching look to her yoyo and jump rope despite their simplicity. With filled rectangles for trails and unfilled ones for explosions, auto-attacks and abilities have consistent and appealing looks. The downside is that yellow is a colour used too often and the result can be monotonous. The phantom icon that signals the target of Paddle Star and Sleepy Trouble Bubble is a nice touch that may aim to reference the neon looks of Pac-Man Championship Edition. Spell Thief doesn’t look very advanced, though. The ability attacks and effects on the enemy look like they could’ve been used in Classic Zoe. The pixellated emotes are a nice addition as bubbles but the ability ends up looking underwhelming despite its potential power. A great addition to support the theme is the blue screen of death seen when Sleepy Trouble Bubble makes an enemy asleep; the holographic ball is quite good as well. This also matches the game over skin seen on her death but it doesn’t have as strong a significance as the blue screen; the digital disappearance is more interesting. Portal Jump is a brief ultimate and the grid-styled portals look nice but they are simple and unassuming. For an ultimate more flair and impact is to be expected so her big moment can feel only adequate.
Sounds mostly rely on high-pitched tones and twinkling that don’t really sound digital yet manage to fit. The sounds have playful tunes and the result is pleasing. Regardless, it’s not a big contributor to the hi-tech theme at hand. There isn’t a proper digital feel so that the audio suits Zoe without adding the Cyber Pop dose.
The recall is a playful display of roller skating prowess. On its own it wouldn’t say much. However, as her high speed run shows her atop her skates it becomes a more meaningful addition. It exposes a hobby that suits Zoe very well as well as the skin’s theme. In addition to this, tieing with her joke, Portal Jump show her licking an ice cream cone which further reinforces her playful identity; intact in the skin.
On the whole, Cyber Pop Zoe is a nice skin that takes advantage of her mischievous personality and adds a layer of digital era on top. The classic personality remains and the changes can seem superficial but the adaptation is well done. This results in a playful cyber-girl that is as much a part of a hi-tech world as she enjoys the prospect. While there’s room to further realise the futuristic angle of the concept Cyber Pop Zoe is a charming skin without doubt.

Pool Party Zoe
Pool Party Zoe Splash Art Pool Party Zoe Model
Category: Regular
Price: 1350 RP
Concept: Zoe as the aspect of water.
Model: New model for Zoe and water effect for hair.
Particles: New water particles for her abilities, auto-attack, joke and recall.
Animations: New recall animation.
Sounds: New water sounds for her abilities, auto-attack and recall.
Splash Art: With the fitting background of a pool there’s a good amount of water to look at. In spite of this, the water doesn’t appear crystalline and fresh and can seem gelatinous. The dull highlights and low transparency of the surface, despite the clear colour, make the water feel muddy. It’s still good enough to pass for a cartoon pool. Besides, the many cameos all around the pool add a lot of personality to what otherwise is a simple setting.
Three champions share the spotlight. Starting from the right we find Caitlyn relaxing in an inflatable flamingo. As there’s no obvious water war in place holding the rifle seems unnecessary but could pass for a professional habit or precaution. For the most part, Caitlyn shows clear lines but murky colours which give her depiction a sketchy feel. Her look is clear enough though but a look at her rifle shows that things could’ve been much clearer.
Zoe is the next and, in mid air after a ball, she’s surely enjoying herself. Her depiction is, understandably, more comical and cartoony than other champions. However, that doesn’t solve the problem of her left leg appearing noticeably longer than her right one; perspective and position taken into account. That aside, the shading is soft for skin and swimsuit but sometimes it looks sketchy. The swimsuit ruffles are nicely detailed and while the hair appears a bit solid it does look wet and watery in its transition to liquid.
Gangplank is the final champion and he’s a busy one. Hard at work at his barbecue it seems odd to put so much emphasis on his water pistol at the absence of a water war. His appearance is cartoony and colours become dull and diffuse from to head to toe; that may make sense on the smoky grill but not in a clear top-down view. Some diffuse food appears on a plate nearby: if they are oranges they barely look round enough and the same if they are bread rolls. Still, it’s a little corner of the piece where he’s king.
Overall, this is a splash art that effectively shares room between three champions. However, their presence isn’t always as relevant and interesting as others: some are just there while others act out a role. Add to this the need for polish to better present certain elements and we have a piece that would welcome some improvements. It doesn’t stop it from being an effective and fitting portrayal, though.
Rating: Star clip art used in skin reviews at StrategyZeroStar clip art used in skin reviews at StrategyZeroStar clip art used in skin reviews at StrategyZero
Conclusion: Perhaps more easily than other skins Pool Party Zoe makes the transition into Water Zoe. Being Zoe a rather comical champion it wouldn’t surprise a good amount of goofiness in her approach to a water-based being. Thus, wearing a swimsuit and styling her abilities with many references, including the sea, gives a rather comprehensive adaptation into the Aspect of Water. The most effective and eloquent signal of the ease of adaptation is her liquid hair flowing behind her. As per the rest of her actions, they unsurprisingly fit in with a water theme; the cartoon approach clearly helps.
Particles mostly replace magic with splashes of water so that blasts and trails become bursts of water. The fact that ball games are a good choice for the beach or a pool makes her animations and classic particles suitable. This leaves the classic design untouched but without a functional need to change. The result is abilities that mainly incorporate water but work well without additional changes.
Sounds do essentially the same. There are splashes of water and a Caribbean tune for Sleepy Trouble Bubble but the classic, playful mood of the sounds is kept. It can be said that the classic base of the sounds remains but with a splash of water on top.
The new recall is a good choice for Zoe. Diving, dramatically, into a pool and emerging from another easily references the ultimate Pool Party Portal Jump. The approach could be considered straightforward but it’s very nice.
All added together, we have a skin that relies on the classic personality and mostly transfers Zoe into a water surface of changes. The core remains but Pool Party Zoe delivers a good adaptation. Delving deeper into the comic and water themes present could’ve given a more interesting skin. However, it’s certainly good enough as it is.

Conclusion

For a release skin Cyber Pop Zoe is quite pleasing in concept and effective in execution. The idea takes advantage of the classic personality and adds on top the digital era. The result is both charming and hi-tech with an identity that relies on several iconic features of the age. While Cyber Pop Zoe isn’t an impressive skin it surely is quite appealing. Fans of playful digital beings will find much to like even if there’s room to develop the identity more.

Pool Party Zoe is just as playful and comical as Classic but with a different, watery layer on top. Everything fits in but there are no deep changes to find. As a result, it can feel like a superficial adaptation but it’s also effective. Therefore, for a water-based version of Zoe that keeps her core identity this is a good choice.

  8 Responses to “League of Legends: Zoe Skins’ Review”

  1. I feel like if this is how good Riot made her release skin, then her future skins will probably be even better. I try to stick to a “one champ, one skin” policy, but dang… Liking Futaba from P5 is making it very difficult. XD But I would probably buy this skin for Zoe. Thanks for the hard work on these reviews, Zero! 🙂

    • Not at all, glad that you find it useful.

      Truth be told, Cyberpop Zoe is a good skin that benefits from her classic personality without overlapping with it. It could be better but it’s certainly an appealing choice. The Futaba reference is good but try to evaluate the skin on its own merits, detached from Futaba. They aren’t the same and you could be biased. If you like the skin for what it is then there won’t be disappointment.

  2. Did you guys note that it changes some voice lines as well?

  3. Hey there, first off I didn’t know where to post this comment so I am apologizing beforehand for being off-topic. I was wondering if you have any plans to make some loot-guidelines so to speak of. Before this preseason I feel it was worth rerolling the 520 and 750 skins and dissenchanting the rest. (talking about the shards I don’t plan on upgrading) But now, with this new values at 20% I am starting to think not even 1350 skins are worth dissenchanting. Any thoughts? I am guessing a lot of people have loads of shards gathering (since its been like 75 chests’ worth of weeks since the introduction of loot) and it would be cool to know what the optimal strategy with those is at the moment.

    • We haven’t checked the hextech crafting due to its random nature. Gambling discussion aside, we think it’s probably a mathematical problem that has to weighted with what you have versus what you could have. An problem that clouds this approach is that random percentages are most probably undisclosed by Riot. Therefore, whether we like it or not, we do return to the fact that crafting isn’t far off from a lottery.

      We don’t discard that there many be a proper analysis that could give some guidelines towards the best decision to make. They would only be guidelines but something, at least. We’ll have to investigate crafting to do so; something we haven’t done.

      One thing is sure: we don’t recommend spending a dime in anything random. Better to pay a bit more than to get the possibility of getting something for less. The bottom line is that you are actually paying for the discount. It’s just that it’s not with money but with the potential of not getting what you aim for. This, naturally, is a problem that prompts another random purchase with recurring progression.

  4. Hey Zero! Love the review on PP Zoe. Just wanted to note I think you accidentally pasted in a splash review for one of Caitlyn’s splash arts instead of your final draft for PP Zoe.

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