Vex Skins

Vex has one of the smallest skin catalogs in the game and honestly thats part of her charm right now. Four skins total, all Epic tier, all 1350 RP. No Legendary, no Prestige, no Ultimate. Just four solid options that each take her gloomy yordle aesthetic in a different direction. Been playing Vex since her release and I keep rotating between all four depending on my mood, which says something about how well each one holds up. Not a lot of champions where every skin feels worth using.

How Vex's Skin Collection Stacks Up

Four skins for a champion released in 2021. That's a reasonable pace from Riot. She launched with Dawnbringer as her release skin, picked up Stargazer and Empyrean in 2022, and Surprise Party rounded things out. Every single one sits at Epic tier. No budget options, no premium Legendary treatment. Just 1350 RP across the board.

Could be wrong here but I think Vex is one of the few champions where the entire catalog is the same price point. Makes choosing easier in some ways, harder in others. You cant just say "grab the cheap one to start" because there isnt one. First skin purchase for Vex is 1350 RP no matter what.

The consistency is kind of nice though. Every skin gets new VFX, new recall animation, new model work. No 750 RP texture swaps in the lineup. (Random thought: I wonder if Riot will ever give her a Legendary. Shadow as a whole separate entity with unique voice lines would be incredible.) The downside is obvious. Four skins means four choices. Champions like Lux or Ezreal have 15+ options. Vex mains dont get that luxury.

Still, quality over quantity. Each skin transforms Shadow differently and that alone makes every option feel distinct. Shadow is basically half the champion's visual identity so when Riot changes how that little blob looks, the whole skin hits different.

Best Vex Skins Ranked

Real talk though, ranking four skins feels almost silly but here we go. Played enough games on each to have strong opinions.

Dawnbringer Vex takes my top spot. Might be overthinking it but something about the light-versus-dark contrast works perfectly for a champion whose whole deal is fear and gloom. The W shield VFX in Dawnbringer is clean. Golden burst, easy to read in teamfights. Shadow gets this corrupted dark angel look that contrasts hard against Vex's bright aesthetic. Been running this in ranked since season 12 and the spell effects still feel crisp. Her Q travels with this trail of light particles that actually helps me track the hitbox better than base. Could be placebo. Probably is. Still feels real in my Diamond games.

Not gonna lie, the recall animation on Dawnbringer is also top tier. Vex reluctantly getting pulled into the light while Shadow throws a fit. Peak character writing in a skin recall.

Empyrean Vex is a close second. The Empyrean line generally goes hard on the purple-teal neon palette and Vex fits it naturally. Her E mark on enemies has this digital glitch effect that reads beautifully. Locked in this skin for maybe 40 games straight when it dropped. Shadow looks like a glitched-out program, which is a cool interpretation. The ult projectile - her R where she launches Shadow forward - has this neon trail that's easier to track than base. Good for gameplay clarity honestly.

Where Empyrean falls short is the splash. Solid composition but doesnt capture the same energy as Dawnbringer's splash. Minor complaint.

Stargazer Vex is the sleeper pick. Cosmic purple tones, constellation patterns on Shadow. The Q projectile looks like a shooting star cutting across the lane. Beautiful skin that I think gets overlooked because it dropped alongside other Stargazer skins that maybe got more attention. Took this into ranked for a couple weeks last season and got compliments in lobby chat twice. That never happens.

Surprise Party Vex rounds it out. Fun concept. Party hat on Shadow, confetti VFX on abilities. Her W pops with streamers and balloons. Its the kind of skin that makes the champion feel lighter, which is ironic given Vex's whole personality is being miserable about everything. (Sidebar for Vex mains: the passive proc sound effect on this skin is a party horn. It never gets old.) Good skin, just not my style for ranked. I'll throw it on in normals when I'm not sweating.

Skinlines and How They Fit Vex

Vex sits in four skinlines and honestly they all work for different reasons. Nightbringer and Dawnbringer is the standout. The whole light-vs-dark cosmic war theme mirrors Vex's internal dynamic with Shadow perfectly. She's the reluctant vessel, Shadow is the chaos entity. Dawnbringer captures that tension. Kinda feels like Riot designed this skin specifically for her kit's duality.

Empyrean is Riot's tech-glitch aesthetic line. Vex works here because Shadow translates well into a digital anomaly concept. The glitchy particles on her abilities feel intentional and distinct. Season 12 was stacked with Empyrean releases and Vex held her own against champions with way more skins already.

Stargazer puts Vex in the cosmic observatory theme. Quieter than Dawnbringer, more elegant. Shadow becomes a constellation entity. The skinline itself is smaller and less hyped than something like Star Guardian but the execution on Vex is solid. Not sure if it's just me but Stargazer Vex reminds me of old school Cosmic skins in terms of color palette.

Surprise Party is the comedy skinline. Fiddlesticks started it, Amumu carried it, and Vex fits the irony perfectly. Depressed yordle forced into a party. The thematic contrast is the whole joke and it lands. Every ability shoots confetti. Shadow wears a party hat. Simple concept, executed well.

Budget vs Premium: Vex Edition

This section is short because Vex makes it easy. Every skin is 1350 RP. There's no budget pick because there's no budget option. No 520, no 750, no 975 RP skins exist for her. You're spending 1350 no matter what.

That said, if I had to pick the best value? Dawnbringer. It was her release skin and Riot tends to put extra work into those. The VFX quality, recall animation, and thematic coherence all feel like they could pass for a 1820 tier skin on a good day. Fair warning though, every Vex skin delivers solid value at 1350. There's no bad purchase here.

If Riot ever drops a Legendary Vex skin, the dynamic between Vex and Shadow with unique voice interactions would be insane. Shadow could respond to Vex's complaints. They could argue during the recall. The potential is massive. But until that happens, 1350 RP is your ceiling and your floor. Been maining Vex with Dawnbringer all season and havent felt like I'm missing out on a premium option. The Epic tier treatment just works for her kit.

For players climbing ranked who want one Vex skin and dont want to overthink it: Dawnbringer or Empyrean. Flip a coin. Both have clean ability VFX that read well in chaotic teamfights. Stargazer is the aesthetic pick for people who like softer color palettes. Surprise Party is the tilt-your-opponent pick. (Unrelated but I swear the party horn passive sound tilts people more than Vex's actual fear does.)

One thing worth mentioning. With only four skins and all at the same price, collecting the full Vex catalog is actually achievable. 5400 RP total if you skip Surprise Party which might be event-locked, or around 4050 for three. Compare that to completing an Ezreal or Lux collection and its nothing. Vex mains have it easy on the wallet. For now.

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