2024 was a turbulent year for league of legends. Additionally, game balance is the best it’s been in years (unless you’re an ADC), fewer champion releases mean there’s been less chaos, and a renewed focus on correcting older lore has made everything seem more cohesive. There are glimmers of light at the end of what feels like a twisting and confusing tunnel, but with those highs have come some serious lows. Riot Forge shutdown, two rounds of layoffs, Worlds ticket botting issues; for every win, it feels like it was a pretty bad loss.

And then there’s Ahri, the Immortal Legend MOBAhis first Hall of Legends skin. Celebrating the legacy of T1’s Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok, it was an absolute must-buy for some players. Faker’s legacy is undeniable; he became the global face of league of legends and by proxy the player many aspire to emulate. Most of us probably wanted that skin, but when Riot revealed its $300 price tag, a lot of people said “thanks, next time.”

Throughout 2024, Riot has been constantly criticized for its pivot to extremely expensive cosmetics in League of Legends. A trend that seemed to start in the game’s sister title, Valorant, which started it all Darkness Cosmic Erasure Jhinfirst $200 chroma. From there Breakout True Damage Ekko followed and in 2024 alone we saw six Mythic Variations – effectively one every two months.

In my June interview with Riot Games, game director Pu ‘PuPuLasers’ Liu he told me that “these types of products are designed for a very small percentage of our players to buy and flex”, but they assured me that they will continue to be “a small minority”. While the $200 chromas are largely aimed at avid champion fans and cosmetic collectors, the Ahri skin has appealed to the mass market. It was something that many players really wanted, but the price pushed it out of their reach.

In all of my League of Legends games this year, I’ve only seen one player use the $430 immortalized Ahri Legend skin. They were on the enemy team and as we loaded into the game both sides were quick to spit flames in the chat. As the match progressed, the toxicity increased exponentially, perhaps the result of Ahri’s opponent feeding their ass or her ability to consistently outplay them despite our jungler camped in her lane. As a viewer, it was a strange and horrifying thought experiment: players literally bullying each other over a video game cosmetic.

When the skin was revealed, the players were quick to ban Ahri en masse from protests, meaning those who owned it didn’t get that chance to bow. While this is all ancient history, we’ve seen players get bullied to no end just for having the skin, and in many ways owning it seems to make you laugh more than anything else. But I never experienced any of this hatred firsthand; I don’t own the skin. So I spoke to two players who do.

They are “Falcon” and “Saint”, two League of Legends players that we were able to verify as having the Immortalized Legend Ahri skin. When I asked why they chose to buy it, they had a pretty simple answer.

“I bought the skin because it’s like the biggest celebration of a player I’ve watched play and grow for over a decade,” says Saint. “It felt like something that, if I could afford it, I should buy.” Falcon echoes, “I respect Faker and everything he’s done; people may hate him, but he has a legacy. Coming from football, I’m like Ronaldo or Messi – Faker is that kind of person.”

But Falcon also tells me that he regretted not picking up the initial $200 Jhin chroma, which encouraged him to grab the Ahri Immortalized Legend. “It goes back to Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin,” he tells me. “Since Jhin is one of my favorite champions in the game, I wanted to get her, but when I went, I was convinced against her. Then it expired. It was a regret for me.”

Ahri is another favorite of Falcon’s, and while he originally considered doing a giveaway with the skin, he ultimately decided to keep it. “I’d say to my colleague ‘yo, that’s pretty cool, it’s a rare, once-in-a-lifetime skin,’ and she’d say, ‘hell no.’ But it’s quite simple: I bought the leather because, for me, it’s something I have that other people don’t have.”

Both agree, however, that the price of the skin was particularly exorbitant, with Saint noting that “the cost was definitely too high. I think it was definitely a lot and a bold decision on Riot’s part to make this the first big cosmetic item with a price like this. Also, because I see so much hate for the price, it was “only” a little over $400. Riot released an RP pack with the skin that made it, so you got a bunch of bonus RP, so it cost less.”

“I wanted to spend the $500 on something else,” Falcon recalls. “I had to sacrifice something for the skin. That was the coping mechanism I had to go through.”

As mentioned, owners of the skin were unable to use it for weeks as their peers protested Riot’s pricing on the Rift. As the months have passed, there is a feeling that owning the skin is taking a toll on you. You feel like you’ll immediately receive a wave of hate, or that using it will paint a target on your back, while at the same time alienating your colleagues.

I ask Falcon and Saint whether or not they had any negative experiences in the game. “Literally, the first game I played the skin I was called an insult in chat,” Saint tells me. “Since then I’ve played the skin multiple times and almost every time the enemy team lights me up the entire game. Heaven forbid you make a mistake when buying a skin. I was even told that I have no morals in an ARAM because I bought the skin.”

Falcon’s morality has also been questioned, as he recalls that “outside the game, people said, ‘You know what (Riot) is doing and they’re going to keep doing it because of people like you.’ which I think is a stupid comment to make – buying the skin doesn’t really matter to Riot.” He calls the Ahri ban campaign “despicable,” but notes that he “never received any negativity from (his) team. There will be comments towards the enemy team, but never anything particularly negative, just the cheesy “oh you bought Ahri’s skin, imagine wasting your money”.

In terms of gameplay, Saint’s experience is also somewhat negative. “People are targeting me, a random paying guy who plays Ahri and supports 1 in 50 games, as if I’m a big name streamer who needs to be killed so I can get to flashing YouTube channels. It’s kind of pathetic of them, in my opinion.”

“When I play normally with a mix of ranks, people are more childish, but in ranked nobody cares,” explains Falcon. At higher ranks like Master and Grandmaster, he notes that “I’ve met a lot of players who have Ahri skins and no one cares. I feel like when you play competitively you just play the game to win; they’re all just stuck.”

The ranked and normal disparity is perhaps unsurprising given the real grinds League of Legends ranking most likely to be avid game fans and sports enthusiasts. If you invest enough time into maintaining a Master or Grandmaster rank, I can understand why a $500 skin might feel like it’s “worth it”.

But is it really worth it? Considering the cost, the somewhat variable responses from other players to it, and all the controversy, do Falcon and Saint have any regrets? And would they buy future Hall of Legends skins even if the price stayed the same?

“I have no regrets here. I love the skin and it has been my profile banner since it was released. I already get enough flak from people for owning every skin; another skin won’t hurt that.” Falcon mirrors this, noting that “leather is good value. It’s number one; the first of its kind – has that edge.”

As for future buy decisions, both players say it depends on which champion we see added to the Hall of Legends. “If I have the money and the champion is something I can see myself playing at some point, yes. If it’s a champion I don’t want to play or for a player I don’t know anything about, I might pass,” says Saint. “I love League and it’s where I choose to spend my time and money, so I don’t mind spending on big skins like this.” “I feel like I’m mature enough to make my own reasonable choices,” says Falcon. “It would really depend on the champion; it should mean something to me.”

I’ve often wondered what would happen if the next Hall of Legends skin was for one of my favorite characters – Senna, Karma, Nami for example. While I’d be reluctant to drop $300 or $500, the urge to have something unique is hard to resist. Falcon suggests that Riot create a more expensive battle pass inspired by the esports player and their journey. This is a system I would like to see.

To me, knowing that you worked in the game to earn something makes it that much more special. I’d prefer items to be rare because of the unlock criteria rather than because of their high price. I hope Riot embraces this sentiment come 2025, otherwise I sense some disappointment on the horizon.