Riot is considering re-running $250 LoL skins despite apparent exclusivity

It's no secret that League of Legends' monetization has ramped up over the past few years. From the infamous $450 Faker Ahri skin, to the much-debated Exalted Arcane Fractured Jinx and the introduction of the gacha-esque Sanctum, "luxury" tier cosmetics are now commonplace. While part of the allure of these items is their "rarity," compounded by the fact that they're limited editions, Riot has confirmed it's considering bringing these skins back into the Sanctum's rotation - it's just a question of when.

Before we begin, let me give you a quick rundown what all of these things are. Mythic Variants (which began with Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin) are effectively recolors of existing skins, with some extra graphical bells and whistles. Exalted Skins, introduced with the aforementioned Arcane Jinx skin, clock in at $250 and are obtained via the MOBA's Sanctum, which functions like the banner pulls we see in all the best gacha games.

Riot's been relatively evasive about whether or not these cosmetics will ever return to League of Legends, with one blog post confirming that they aren't being added to the re-roll pool (where you group skin shards together and combine them to make a new, permanent skin), while remaining tight-lipped on whether we'd see them return to the Sanctum itself. Now, however, it has confirmed that we'll probably see old Exalted skins and Mythic Chromas make a return.

In a Thursday, August 6 X post, League of Legends' Director of Product Drew Levin confirms that Riot is "figuring out how and when to bring back [Mythic Variants] and Exalted [skins], but we don't want to be arbitrary about it. We want to have an easy to understand approach that feels right for players who have it and players who want it," he writes.

Having scanned several blog posts, Riot has never actively said Exalted skins and Mythic Variants wouldn't make a return, but in its Dark Cosmic Erasure Jhin release blog, it does state that "we do want to find a way to begin offering some exclusive content to players -  something that feels lucky to obtain or special to own."

Similarly, on its official Sanctum help page, it states that "each Exalted Skin is only available in the Sanctum for a set period of time before being rotated out for a new one - shoot your shot while you can!" Mythic Variants are similar, with Riot stating that they "are special versions of Mythic Skins you can only get in the Sanctum. Much like Exalted Skins, they're only available for a set period of time, so always carefully consider how you're using your Ancient Sparks." While this doesn't rule out possible returns, the temporality does imply that there's a 'limitedness' to the items.

Levin's statement has certainly divided players, with some stating that this is "the right direction," while others who have purchased luxury cosmetics claim that they feel "betrayed by Riot." Perhaps it'll do a similar thing as it did with the OG Prestige Skins when they were added to the Mythic Store, but we'll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, if you, like me, love to look good, we have a full rundown of the current League of Legends Mythic shop. Alternatively, if you're looking for some new cosmetics but don't want to splash the cash, here's a list of all of the League of Legends skins that are currently on sale.

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