Soaring Sword Fiora

First time I saw Soaring Sword Fiora load into my game I thought someone was running a custom skin. The whole wuxia aesthetic caught me off guard back in 2017 and honestly it still holds up. Not gonna lie, I locked this in for about 40 ranked games straight when it dropped and the animations alone kept me coming back.

How Soaring Sword changes Fiora’s kit

The VFX on this skin carry hard. Fiora’s Q lunge trails this clean blue-white energy that reads way better than base in teamfights. You actually feel like you’re playing a sword saint instead of just some duelist with a rapier. The particles on her passive vitals got reworked too, swapping to these floating sword symbols that pop against the Rift background.

W is where it gets interesting. Riposte sends out this wave of spiritual energy, almost like a blade projection. Looks crisp when you parry a CC ability in lane. Had a game last Wednesday where I parried a Malphite ult at dragon and my support pinged the animation like three times. Worth it for that moment alone.

E auto resets feel snappier visually. Could be wrong here but the blade glow on the double strike seems more pronounced than base Fiora. The crit strike on second hit leaves this satisfying trail. R Grand Challenge procs light up with individual sword marks at each vital, and when you pop all four the healing zone blooms with these floating blades. Gorgeous effect for an Epic tier skin.

Recall animation is the highlight for me. Fiora sheathes her blade, does this meditative stance, then launches into this mid-air sword dance. Very wuxia movie energy. Been maining Fiora with this skin since season 8 and the recall never gets old.

Base voice lines, no changes. Karen Strassman’s VO stays the same which is fine because her delivery already fits the warrior fantasy. No VO refresh but at 1350 RP thats expected.

The Immortal Journey line and where this skin fits

Soaring Sword Fiora released September 27, 2017. Part of the Immortal Journey skinline which Riot built around Chinese mythology and martial arts themes. Jean “Curing” Go handled the artwork and they captured the vibe perfectly. The splash has Fiora mid-leap with flowing ribbons and cloud formations behind her. (Random aside: this splash was my desktop background for like six months straight.)

Immortal Journey is one of those skinlines that Riot doesnt revisit often enough. The whole set has this painted scroll quality to it. Fiora fits naturally into the theme because her kit is literally about precision swordplay and dueling. Sacred Sword Janna came out in the same batch and while that skin is solid, Soaring Sword Fiora feels like the flagship of the line.

No chromas on this one. Zero. Which is kinda disappointing for an Epic skin in 2017 but chromas werent as standard back then as they are now. The blue and white color scheme is clean enough on its own though. Might be overthinking it but I think adding chromas to this would actually dilute the aesthetic.

1350 RP puts it in standard Epic territory. Shop has it, permanent availability. You can grab it whenever.

Splitpush tested: is Soaring Sword worth 1350 RP?

Real verdict: this is a top three Fiora skin. Maybe top two depending on how you feel about PROJECT Fiora. The VFX are clean without being distracting, the theme is unique in her catalog, and the recall alone justifies the price for Fiora mains.

Where it falls short is the lack of chromas and the unchanged voice lines. At 1350 RP in 2024 you expect at least a few chroma options. But this dropped in season 7 when the standards were different. For reference, I played maybe 23 games in a row one weekend with this skin and never once felt like I wanted to swap back to base or Pool Party.

If you’re a Fiora one-trick climbing through Diamond or even just someone who plays her in the splitpush comp, Soaring Sword is worth every RP. The wuxia fantasy hits different from her other skins which lean more sci-fi or modern. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. Skip it only if you already own Pulsefire or IG Fiora and dont need another option in rotation.

Best pick for anyone who wants their Fiora to feel like a martial arts protagonist instead of a fencer. Been daily driving this one for seasons and I keep coming back to it over newer releases. That says something.