Riot's new League of Legends skin might be the coolest they’ve made

Back in 2012, Riot Games announced Pulsefire Ezreal as League of Legends’ first “ultimate skin,” the highest priced tier of skins they would offer at 3250 riot points—roughly $25. Ultimate skins are meant to be a much more extensive overhaul of a champion’s animations, model, and sound effects than any other skin available. Pulsefire Ezreal blew me away two and a half years ago, and today Riot announced DJ Sona, an ultimate skin for support champion Sona that makes the Pulsefire skin look like a simple recolor.

Using the DJ sona skin not only changes your character, it also replaces League’s in-game soundtrack with new music. Riot made three new songs for the skin, collaborating with popular artists Nosaj, Pretty Lights, Bassnectar, Crystal Method, Dada Life, and Renholder to produce them. Other players won’t hear the new music by default, but those on a team with DJ Sona will have the option to listen in on whichever track she’s chosen to play, which can be toggled in-game. You can listen to a “radio edit” version of one of the songs below, and all three are available on the League of Legends youtube channel along with a large selection of other songs from the game.

In addition to the new soundtrack, the DJ Sona skin has drastically different models, animations, attack effects, and sounds depending on which song is being played. Basically, this means the ultimate skin is three different skins tied together with the DJ theme. Each of her abilities looks different during each of the three songs, with visuals that match the tone of each track. DJ Sona is more than just an overhaul; it’s probably the coolest skin Riot has or ever will make.

Whether or not you think a cosmetic skin for a free to play game is worth $25 is a deeply personal decision, but this is by far the most comprehensive skin Riot has announced yet. There's no word on when DJ Sona will be available to purchase in-game, but it will cost 3250 riot points. You can find more info on DJ Sona on the skin’s official page.

Tom is PC Gamer’s Associate Editor. He enjoys platformers, puzzles and puzzle-platformers. He also enjoys talking about PC games, which he now no longer does alone. Tune in every Wednesday at 1pm Pacific on Twitch.tv/pcgamer to see Tom host The PC Gamer Show.