Brett Moss
League of Legends’ Hextech skin line is among the rarest in the game. Most skins in this line require ten gemstones to craft, which is no easy feat. Gemstones can be acquired through Hextech Chests or occasional events, but they’re incredibly rare. Buying enough chests to get the ten necessary gemstones would require spending a very large amount of money, making the Hextech skins effectively the most expensive in the game.
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If you do find yourself in the possession of the coveted gemstones, you’ll probably find yourself asking “which is the best Hextech skin?” Well, we might not be able to help you get gemstones, but we can help answer that question. Here’s our ranking of the best Hextech skins from worst to best.
The Cursed Skins
Before we get into the actual list, let’s take a look at a few (absolutely awful) Hextech skins that couldn’t even break the top 15.
These four Hextech skins are so bad they don’t even deserve individual spots on this list. Released in 2010 and 2011, they were mostly just visual overhauls to the character models, with little to no variation in ability effects. They don’t hold a candle to even the worst Hextech skins from the last few years. It’s a good thing you can’t buy these anymore, but if you find yourself getting them randomly as legacy content, just save them for a re-roll.
15 Best Hextech Skins Ranked Worst to Best
With those out of the way, let’s get into our rankings! Our roundup begins with a Hextech skin that barely made the list.
15. Jarvan IV
Released: April 2019
Of all the newer Hextech skins, this is my least favorite. I don’t hate Jarvan IV in general, but I do feel like he’s one of the least “flashy” champions available. This really shows in his skins, as there’s not much creativity to apply here. The skin looks okay, but it’s nothing special. Definitely not worth ten gemstones (unless you really love Jarvan).
14. Galio
Released: August 2010 (re-worked in 2017)
Galio’s original Hextech skin was bad. It was a part of the same group that got tossed in the bin earlier, but it was saved by his overall rework. When Galio was changed in 2017, Riot updated his skins to fit his new, better appearance. Now his Hextech skin is quite… decent. It isn’t amazing, as it still came before most of the new ones, but it’s alright. Certainly a significant improvement from the old one.
13. Alistar
Released: March 2018
Here’s another one that I would consider just “okay.” The overall appearance of this one is pretty solid, but similar to Jarvan, there’s just not much to do with Alistar’s design. Unless, of course, you focus on him being a cow (shoutout to the Moo Cow Alistar skin). I do like the emotes on this one more than some, though.
12. Renekton
Released: December 2018
Renekton’s design isn’t all that unique in general, but I think this skin adds quite a bit to it. The steampunk style looks really cool on Renekton, and his ability animations are improved. This skin is kind of a baseline for me in terms of what Hextech skins should be at the least. It’s not amazing, but it isn’t bad.
11. Ziggs
Released: September 2020
I’ve warmed up quite a bit to this skin, as I originally wasn’t a huge fan. Riot leaned into the steampunk aesthetic heavily here, and it worked out pretty well. It’s a more focused design than some others. I do wish the emotes were better, but since the abilities look so good I can’t really complain. If you’re a Ziggs fan, this would be an excellent skin to pick up.
10. Sejuani
Released: March 2020
Sejuani has the benefit of having a really cool overall design, so most of her skins don’t have to try too hard to be good. The design of her Hextech skin is honestly gorgeous, but lacks creativity to some degree. It would have been nice if there had been more originality since you’re paying ten gemstones, but it’s still pretty good. If all you care about is the appearance of the skin, though, this is one of the better ones for sure.
9. Rammus
Released: August 2019
It’s hard for me to want any Rammus skin other than the soccer ball one, but this is definitely not a bad skin. I’m a huge Rammus fan, and I think he has lots of potential for cool skins thanks to his design and the way his abilities change his appearance (I mean, he’s balled up for half the time you play him). This skin looks cool and is a fun aesthetic to have on this type of character, so I highly recommend it.
8. Amumu
Released: September 2019
From here on out, I’d say all the skins mentioned are very good. Amumu in particular is one that really impresses me. The way Riot applied the robotic style of the Hextech skins to Amumu is really unique since he’s such a personality-driven character. They took Amumu from sad mummy to sad robot with ease, and while I didn’t expect it to work, it did. This is the perfect skin if you want to see a robot cry.
7. Swain
Released: December 2019
I love the way Swain looks in this skin. The emotes are amazing (especially the bird-feeding one), and the new visuals for his abilities are great. His ultimate is the best part about the skin, as the changes to it make sense for the character overall and for the skin line. Most of the Hextech skins have an “electric” aesthetic in some way, and Swain really takes advantage of this.
6. Poppy
Released: July 2018
Poppy’s hammer is the most interesting aspect of her character, and this is twice as true with this skin. The hammer looks amazing, and all the animations for it are almost perfectly done. The sound effects are also of note, as they blend into the steampunk style better than most champions’ do. This is a go-to skin for Poppy mains.
5. Kassadin
Released: October 2020
What makes this skin pop so much for me is the color scheme. They chose not to focus so much on the orange, but instead to emphasize the blue and black. Kassadin’s magic-focused themes work excellently in this color scheme, and each ability looks as if it were designed with care. Not only is this one of my favorite Hextech skins, but it’s also one of the best Kassadin skins in general.
4. Malzahar
Released: October 2018
This whole skin is great, but my favorite part of it is Malzahar’s face/mask. It looks like something you might see on a disturbing puppet. His minions also look great in this style, and since you’ll spend most of your time playing Malzahar with the minions right behind him, I’m glad they actually cared enough to make them look good. Everything about the Hextech style works with Malzahar, which I honestly never would have expected.
3. Nocturne
Released: June 2020
Nocturne is similar to Kassadin in regards to his Hextech skin, as Riot chose to focus on the more magical side instead of the robotic one. I think the electric elements of the Hextech skins work best on Nocturne. This unique take on the style makes Nocturne one of the most interesting additions to the skin line, and makes this skin essential for all Nocturne players. If you’re a jungler, this is the best Hextech skin to get.
2. Kog’Maw
Released: December 2017
This skin truly set the bar for what the future marksman Hextech skins would need to be like. The changes to Kog’s auto attacks are the major focus here, and they hit the mark perfectly. His character model also looks great, as the color palette works really well for this type of character. Kog’Maw has a lot of great skins, but this is one of the best.
1. Annie
Released: March 2016
When I first started playing League, which was in early 2016, I wanted this skin so badly (as did most people). It was one of the rarest skins in the game, it looked amazing, and was just generally really cool. The Annie Hextech skin is easily one of the best gemstone skins in LoL. I never did end up getting it, but I still want it. Annie is one of the most interesting champions when it comes to skin designs — not only do you get a new character model for a unique character, but you also get a new Tibbers design. Everyone loves Tibbers, especially whoever designs Annie’s skins. This is without a doubt the best Hextech skin.
High Ground View
The Hextech skin line doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon, so start saving up your gemstones! It might take a long time to get them, but they’re rewarding skins to have. Hopefully this helped you answer the question of what Hextech skin looks the best.
Happy gaming!
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