High Noon Leona

First time I saw High Noon Leona load into my game I genuinely stopped moving for a second. Not because I was impressed by the ADC picking Draven into my lane, but because the splash loading screen hit different. The whole Western angel-of-death vibe on a support champion just works. Been running this as my default Leona skin since it dropped in May 2022 and I dont think anything’s replacing it anytime soon.

How High Noon Leona actually plays

So this is a full Legendary skin, meaning new voice lines, new VFX, new recall, the works. Leona gets a complete overhaul and it shows in every ability. The Q – Shield of Daybreak – slams down with this burning golden energy that feels heavier than base. Hard to describe but there’s a weight to it. Like you can feel the stun landing.

W is where it gets wild. Solar flare meets desert heat. The shield effect wraps Leona in these fiery celestial particles and when it pops, the ring explosion has this dusty orange burst. Played maybe 150 games with this skin and the W pop still looks clean in teamfights. Never lost track of my own character model which happens with some skins honestly.

E – Zenith Blade – shoots out as a burning chain instead of a solar projection. The travel animation reads well against the Rift’s green backdrop, which matters when you’re trying to hit an engage from fog of war. Not gonna lie, I think the E on this skin is the single best-looking ability in Leona’s entire skin catalog.

R though. Solar Flare drops a massive celestial brand from the sky. The impact zone has this branded-earth effect like the sun itself just stamped the ground. Been using it to zone dragon pit and the visual clarity is perfect. My duo partner last Thursday around midnight said the ult looked “like a Western movie poster” and honestly thats a better description than anything I could write.

Wendee Lee on the voice lines. The new VO fits the High Noon fantasy perfectly. Leona sounds like a frontier lawkeeper with divine authority. Tough, measured, occasionally threatening. The recall animation has her drawing a celestial revolver and doing this gunslinger pose before ascending. Clean stuff.

The High Noon line and where Leona fits

High Noon is one of Riot’s longest-running skinlines and probably the most consistent in quality. Leona dropped May 12, 2022. Season 12, right in the middle of the durability update patch cycle if I remember right. Francis Tneh and West Studio handled the artwork, and they cooked. The splash captures this lone sheriff energy with divine backing. Gold and crimson palette against a desert sunset. Strong composition.

Real talk though, High Noon Leona stands out even in a stacked skinline. She fits the Western theme more naturally than some of the other picks because Leona already has that righteous warrior identity. Going from “sun-blessed Solari” to “divine frontier marshal” is barely a stretch. Compare that to some High Noon skins where champions get shoehorned into cowboys and it feels forced.

(Random sidebar: I have the High Noon splash as my Discord banner and people keep asking if it’s concept art from a movie. That’s how good it looks.)

Six chromas available for this one. Tanzanite is my pick, the deep purple completely changes the vibe from “holy sheriff” to “cursed gunslinger” and it reads so well on the Rift. Nomad does something interesting with a teal and red split that pops in lane. I’d skip Catseye personally, the yellow doesn’t differentiate enough from the base golden tones. But if you want a darker option beyond Tanzanite, Sapphire works.

How this compares to Leona’s other skins

Leona has a deep skin pool. Solar Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse exist as the obvious competition at the same Legendary price point. Could be wrong here but I think High Noon edges them out purely on VFX clarity. Eclipse skins look gorgeous in splash art and the dual-form mechanic is cool, but in actual gameplay during a 5v5 engage where particles are flying everywhere, High Noon’s warm color palette cuts through the noise better.

PROJECT Leona is solid but feels dated now. Pool Party is the meme pick. Battle Academia has its fans. Mecha Kingdoms was ambitious. But for 1820 RP, High Noon Leona delivers the most complete package. New VO that actually adds character depth, VFX that improve gameplay readability, and a thematic direction that doesn’t feel like a stretch. Permanent shop availability too, no vault rotation to worry about.

Might be overthinking it but there’s something about the way the auto attacks feel on this skin specifically. The sound design on Leona’s autos post-Q proc has this metallic ring that makes last-hitting cannons in lane (yeah I take those cs sometimes, sue me) feel satisfying. Small detail. Big impact.

Should you buy High Noon Leona?

Verdict time. If you play Leona in ranked with any regularity, this is the skin. Full stop. 1820 RP well spent for mains. The voice lines carry personality, the VFX improve your gameplay experience, and the thematic execution is peak High Noon. Spammed this in Diamond for three seasons now and I still notice new details. Season 13 I caught a unique interaction voice line I’d never triggered before during a gank top side.

Only hesitation is if you already own both Eclipse skins and love the form-switching mechanic. That’s a different flavor of Legendary and some people prefer it. Fair enough. But for pure visual quality and VO depth, High Noon Leona is the Leona skin if you can only own one. Skip the cheaper options in her catalog, save for this, and lock it in. Best support skin released that year and I’ll argue that with anyone in the bot lane specifically.