Summary
Period: 8th to 19th of February, 2018
New Skins: Lunar Empress Lux, Lunar Guardian Nasus and Lunar Guardian Warwick
Bundles: Year of the Dragon, Year of the Serpent, Year of the Horse, Year of the Goat, Year of the Monkey and Year of the Dog
Note: the bundles reduce their prices depending on which content you already own. In case you don’t own a champion in a skin bundle the price rises by the champion’s price.
Overview
The Year of the Dog has arrived and with it the usual assortment of items. There are new skins, old skins, new bundles, old bundles and a ridiculous amount of hextech materials specially designed to spend hundreds. Let’s ignore that last part and concentrate on the skins. The new skins are interesting but their first impression is the better part. The old skins retain their charm or lack of; in some unfortunate cases.
The bundles are more or less the usual stuff but some also include wards or icons. The price adapts to the content you own but discount don’t seem to go beyond 30% in the best of cases. As always, unless you like all skins in a bundle you save money by buying the specific skins you like.
There are new missions with all kinds of conditions for completion. Of course, grinding isn’t to be escaped so take what you can and don’t worry about what’s left. If you manage to complete all the missions you’ll get exactly 96 revel tokens to unlock one single golden chroma so choose wisely.
Chromas
Speaking of chromas, the golden chromas are simple but deliver on what they promise: golden weapons. To be fair, they also change the basic colour scheme to something darker and with more bronze; as in dull looking gold. Those that separate themselves more from the skins’ base look seem more interesting but they tend not to go far from it. There are also icons to unlock but tokens are probably better spent on a chroma. If you want more than on chroma then only money can help.
There are also new chromas for the new skins, Lunar Empress Lux, Lunar Guardian Nasus and Lunar Guardian Warwick. They are simple re-colours that seldom play much with the different colours. The base design of each skin is strictly respected. In the case of Lunar Empress Lux there are some small changes to the dress which are nice but nothing major. Still they are colourful and appealing even if consevative. However, the design can be difficult to notice in-game.
With respect to Lunar Guardian Nasus and Warwick they are essentially re-colours. It’s clear to see the nitent of each chroma and that’s exactly what you get. Strangely, except for Lunar Guardian Nasus Ruby chroma they tend to be less colourful than the base skin; thanks to the golden decoration.
Take into account that the Ruby chromas are exclusive to the bundle and just can’t be bought individually. Lunar Empress Lux has rather nice golden decorations but the eventual price, a bundle, is difficult to justify. It’s a nice extra if you like all her chromas which are rather colourful. With Lunar Guardian Nasus and Warwick the Ruby chroma is eye-catching for Nasus but too subdued for Warwick. In both cases, they are straightforward. Nasus’ Ruby chroma is a nice extra but Warwick’s could disappoint.
Lunar Revel Skins
Old and new, you can find reviews for each year’s of Lunar Revel skins here. Take into account that while most skins are legacy many aren’t so they can appear at any regular sale during the year. Those that are legacy tend to be only discounted in bundles.
Bundles
Year of the Dragon
Skins’ Price: 3900
This bundle offers regular skins that have been on sale at 50% during the year. Given the small discount and absence of any extras the set struggles to be tempting. It’s merely a collection of skins with a subtle discount. It could be an option to get both champions and skins for a bit less but with a bit of patience a lot of RP can be saved. Truth be told, there’s little reason to consider this bundle a good option; unless patience simply isn’t you thing.
Year of the Snake
Wards: Lantern of the Serpent and Banner of the Serpent
Skins’ Price: 5625 RP
This set of skins has great quality despite the Warring Kingdoms ones being somewhat overpriced. If you are after the skins the extra skins may not help. Besides, these aren’t legacy skins so they can be purchased during a regular sale. They have and will be offered again at a lower price so this bundle appeals only if you can’t wait. Still, consider that as these skins aren’t legacy you may be better off waiting for regular sales.
Year of the Horse
Wards: Banner of the Horse
Skins’ Price: 3300 RP
These are good skins with some nice features but there’s a caveat. It’s worth remembering that Lunar Goddess Diana is a regular skin and so it’ll eventually reach a discount of 50% on sale; again. If you do own it then it’s a way of getting a better price for the legacy skins. The bundles are flexible so, if you are looking to save RP, the bundle has some interest; in the right circumstances. If not, then the bundle doesn’t look like such a great option unless you like all the skins.
Year of the Goat
Wards: Firecracker
Skins’ Price: 3300 RP
As a mere convenience to catch all the 2015 Lunar Revel skins in one go this bundle doesn’t have much to attract buyers. None of these skins are legacy so they’ll arrive at a sale sooner or later; they have in the past in fact. Therefore, if you don’t mind waiting you can save a good amount of RP. The ward can be of some value to some but we aren’t talking of big saving in any case. The only reason to get the bundle now would be if you don’t have the patience to wait for the better discounts.
Year of the Monkey
Wards: Rising Dawn
Skins’ Price: 3675 RP
While these skins aren’t great they aren’t bad by any means. They have their distinct appeal but having a regular skin at such a paltry discount doesn’t help the bundle. If you do own Radiant Wukong then the bundle can save some RP in the legacy skins. If not then you’d be paying more than necessary. If patience isn’t you thing it may be a good enough offer. Nevertheless, it’s far from the ideal way if you want to save RP; which the bundles should help with.
Year of the Rooster
Wards: Crest of the Rooster
Skins’ Price: 4050 RP
Truth be told, while the skins aren’t bad they don’t realise the fantastic concepts they have in an impressive way. The ideas aren’t bad but the skins don’t capitalise on the best aspects of each concept. For skins that are supposed to feel special they don’t really hit the mark. While the discount helps a bit there’s little reason to consider the bundle unless you like the three skins. If you do, you get a single extra of subjective value.
Year of the Dog Set
Icons: Lunar Empress Lux, Lunar Guardian Nasus and Lunar Guardian Warwick
Skins’ Price: 4050 RP
As stated, these skins are nice but their first impression is better than the real deal. None do anything really novel to feel special and capture the essence of their concepts. There are some good features but surrounded by dreariness which gives the skins an uneven feel that sticks like a bitter taste. That’s not to say that there’s nothing to like but be aware of the rough areas.
Source: League of Legends Client
Which skin would you recommend for a mid laner? While the Azir one looks nice, it only has 2 stars so now I’m doubting my decision.
If any mid-lane mage can be chosen then Panda Annie and Jade Fang Cassiopeia are great options. You could also consider Lunar Wraith Morgana though it’s more expensive and doesn’t offer much more.
We don’t mean to say that Warring Kingdoms Azir is a bad skin but there are clear problems and they get in the way of enjoying the skin. You can still like what the skin offer and it’s not without things to like but there are problems you’ll have to excuse.
Umm the date is “8th to 19nd” instead of “19th” ^ _ ^
We are trying to develop the language beyond its limitations… not convincing? OK, we’ll fix it. Thanks for the correction.
When do you update skin list? 🙂
We forgot to add these skins to the skin list. Thanks for the reminder.