Dark Waters Diana

First time I saw Dark Waters Diana in a loading screen I thought it was a custom skin someone modded in. The color palette is so different from anything else Diana has. Deep ocean greens, that sickly bioluminescent glow on the blade. Played against one in ranked last season and genuinely had to double-check the champion because the silhouette reads different at a glance. Not sure if it’s just me but this skin changes the whole vibe of how Diana feels on the Rift.

What the skin actually does in game

So this is a 1350 RP Epic tier skin, which means you get new VFX and a custom recall animation. Voice lines stay base, no filter either. Standard for the price point.

The model itself is where it starts. Diana trades her lunar armor for this deep sea corrupted look. Barnacles, torn fabric, the crescent blade looks like it was pulled from a shipwreck. The teal and dark green palette works surprisingly well. Her Q arc leaves this murky water trail that I think reads cleaner than base Diana’s Q in teamfights. The W orbs have this underwater particle effect, three ghostly spheres that orbit with a slight jellyfish glow to them.

E pull-in has darker particles. Subtle change but it fits. Her R dash leaves a wake effect, like something cutting through water at speed. Been running this in Diamond for maybe 40 games now and the R animation specifically feels smoother to track. Could be wrong here but the visual clarity on her ult reset windows seems better than base.

The recall is the highlight honestly. Diana summons this massive sea creature tentacle from below and rides it down into the depths. Clean animation, not too long, sells the fantasy. Played a game last Wednesday where I recalled in front of the enemy team after a triple kill and the recall animation just hit different in that context.

Bilgewater event and the Curse of the Drowned

Dark Waters Diana dropped May 31, 2018. Part of the Bilgewater: Curse of the Drowned skinline alongside Dark Waters Vladimir. Xu ‘Crow God’ Cheng nailed the splash. The underwater lighting in that piece is genuinely some of the better splash work from 2018. (Random aside: that splash has been my desktop wallpaper for longer than I’d like to admit.)

The Bilgewater line doesnt get enough credit. Riot took champions with zero nautical connection and made the skins feel natural. Diana as a deep sea entity corrupted by ocean magic works way better than it should on paper. The skinline leans horror more than pirate, which I appreciate.

5 chromas total. Obsidian goes full dark, almost void-like, and its my personal favorite for ranked because the darker particles blend less with ability indicators. Sapphire pushes the blue hard and reads almost too similar to base Diana in certain lighting. Turquoise is redundant if you ask me since the base skin already leans teal.

Should you pick up Dark Waters Diana?

Real verdict: this is a strong Epic skin that punches above its weight class. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. The VFX overhaul is thorough for an Epic, the model is distinct, and the recall animation has personality.

Where it falls short is the lack of new voice lines. Diana’s base VO is fine but it clashes with the deep sea theme. You’re this corrupted ocean entity talking about the moon. Minor complaint but it breaks immersion if you care about that stuff. Still in the shop if you want it.

If you main Diana and already own Lunar Goddess, this is the obvious second pickup. Completely different aesthetic. Been alternating between these two all season depending on my mood. Real talk though, for Diana one-tricks specifically, this sits comfortably in the top three Diana skins. The VFX clarity in lane and in teamfights gives it practical value beyond just looking cool. Spammed this in about 23 games one weekend during season 12 I think, and the skin just grew on me more each game. Skip it if you only play Diana occasionally, but for mains this is worth the RP no question.