Riot Games is receiving mixed reactions from the VALORANT community following the release of the teaser for the Champions 2025 Vandal skin. The teaser does not show much, just the outline of a Vandal and the words “Champions 2025”, yet the reactions are overwhelming. Some of the community members are puzzled while others express anger or excitement.
As with any other loose teasers, most people hardly take note and this one doesn’t show much, further adding to its mysterious nature. To certain people, a lack of information does not mean silence. After the teaser was released, many players began to compare it to previous skins, especially the Exo Vandal. Someone named Exceed inflated with boldness wrote “Lmao exo, it really is the year of recycling” to which many others heaped on and wrote different variations of “this looks like the Exo Vandal” or “is this just a Prime recolor?” The urge to nitpick based on a shadow is amusing.
However, the negativity is not universal. Some participants are actually supporting the teaser, pointing out that it is literally just a teaser and the full design is not revealed yet. For instance, Ash had this to say defending the Jitterbugs, “’Ain’t that just the last vandal we got?’ ‘Exo vandal?’ Guys, ‘You haven’t even seen the designs yet, you’re literally just saying the outline of a vandal and most outlines look the same.’ Y’all complain too much.” This speaks of logic and reason and I believe everyone would appreciate this level of maturity, as in, it makes more sense to critique the skin after it drops versus bashing it before it’s given the chance.
The community is doing more of debating over the colours and effects. One member, lolocoelho, said from the concept it would be black, red, and gold with a red MVP aura which sounds amazing if true. Another community member Marqn noted, “I hope it makes music like the previous champions skins because magic is a neat feature of these high-end skins.” This is a feature many people appreciate of these high-tier skins.
The spending angle inevitably comes up. The Champions bundles have consistently been priced on the higher side, and the jokes regarding their price have already begun. Marimah responded with, “Y los 120 pavos que nos vais a clavar por esto para luego también gastar en radianita. Que guay 😎” which loosely translates to, “And the 120 bucks you’re going to charge us for this and then also spend on radianite. How cool 😎.” This is a shared sentiment. The skin doesn’t just cost money to buy, but the upgrades through Radianite Points are another layer of charge. Regardless of the spending being layered, it is clear that Riot knows how to market these items.
The teaser along with the different languages of the comments also highlights the global presence of the VALORANT community. The comments contained Spanish, Portuguese, and a language that appeared to be Turkish. Although the degree of understanding is limited and Google Translate has to put in extra effort, witnessing people’s reactions is remarkable. A player from Brazil shouted “PUTA QUE PARIU,” which is an extremely excited response. Another was complaining about having to spend more money on the same items.
On top of that, it’s already being marked as the teaser for Champions 2025— the large esports event Riot is planning for the next year. Given the expectation, teasing the Vandal and skin is part of the hype foundation, and they announced the VCT footage edits contest where the fan-made submissions can get featured in Champions in Paris. Everything is connected along with the marketing, so it is very clever.
Someone copying a bunch of really old designs which led to the spike in debate is marked for the skin. “naaaa se vr horrible, igualita a la exo, demás no tienen ya ideas para hacer skins oq últimamente todas suenan igual,” Someone expressed, which translates to “looks awful, just like the exo, they don’t have ideas for skins anymore, everything sounds the same” in English. It is a very common problem with live service games; after some time, it feels like everything is the same. As with the incision, some people were talking about the hype that this is going to be a little bit better than the ones that preceded it and will satisfy people that are looking for something fresh.
Most people’s assumption is that this skin is going to be cooler and different, which is a more hopeful assumption. It’s kind of true that Riot is doing pretty well with the Champion’s skins, as the ones from 2021 and 2022 were pretty well-received for the most part, alongside the fact that the 2023 one did have her fans, so there’s a good chance that this one is going to be fire when we get the chance to see the full thing.
With this teaser, some of the funniest memes are being generated, one user which created a post saying “kill banner pros curiosos,” in Portuguese meaning “kill banner for the curious ones,” along with a kill banner image. Though this post is random, it is hilarious. Another person said, “Give me the skin already,” which is a very fitting feeling that everyone gets some time.
Some of the VALORANT communities’ concerns revolve around the hype that is in store for everyone, and people are hopeful that Riot can design a new Champions skin that is unlike all of the batch. While some expect a cooler version, most people want to avoid the high price because there is the expectation to make the cost well justified regarding spending. If the community expects Riot to meet a lot of expectations, and they do manage to achieve it, it would impress the community During the reveal, if fans are going to be disappointed, it will be known because they are eagerly waiting; as usual, the community has a lot of opinions regarding this, as with every VALORANT thing, it is fun because every tiny thing people want to talk about is intense as it is a mess, and definitely one that’s enjoyable. Be sure to check out for more updates, and start saving those “VP” in case you want to get this skin after it is released because the worth is determined by how cool the skin is. It is confirmed to be expensive, but with the predecessors, the chance that it is worth it is higher, and there’s also the possibility that it is not.
