Dawnbringer Vex

First time I saw the Dawnbringer Vex splash I genuinely did a double take. Vex. The gloomy yordle who hates everything bright and cheerful. Wrapped in golden light and celestial armor. Not gonna lie, the contradiction is what sold me on it immediately. Riot took the most anti-sunshine champion on the roster and forced her into a divine glow-up, and the result is weirdly perfect. Locked this in day one back in September 2021 and it stayed in my rotation for months.

What Dawnbringer Vex actually looks like in game

The model swap is clean. Vex trades her usual dark hoodie aesthetic for white and gold armor with these soft blue accents. Shadow, her companion, gets a full rework too. Instead of the creepy dark blob you’re used to, Shadow becomes this radiant light entity. Bright wings, glowing particles. Looks incredible during teamfights when everything is popping off.

The VFX carry the skin hard. Q sends out a wave of golden light that reads way different from base. W’s fear zone pulses with this warm celestial energy. Could be wrong here but I think the E trail looks sharper than most Epic skins at 1350 RP. The ult is where it really shines though. When you mark someone and Shadow dashes to them, the golden streak across the Rift is so satisfying. Been running this in Diamond games and the visual clarity is actually better than base for tracking your passive.

Recall animation is new. Vex reluctantly sits on a throne of light while Shadow celebrates around her. Classic Vex energy. She hates it. Perfect character moment. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, but honestly the base voice is already great so thats fine.

The Dawnbringer line and where Vex fits

Jennifer Wuestling nailed the splash. The composition puts Vex front and center looking thoroughly annoyed by her own divine power, which captures the whole joke of the skin. Released September 23, 2021, same patch Vex launched if I remember right. She came out of the gate with this skin available alongside her base kit.

The Nightbringer and Dawnbringer skinline is one of Riot’s stronger thematic universes. Yasuo, Riven, Yone, Kayn all got entries. Vex fits as the reluctant hero angle. The whole line plays on cosmic duality and Vex being dragged into the light side against her will is genuinely funny. Played maybe 30 games that first week and every lobby someone would comment on how weird it was seeing bright Vex.

8 chromas total. Tanzanite is my go-to, the deep purple pulls the skin back toward Vex’s natural vibe while keeping the Dawnbringer VFX. Lifebringer has this unique teal and gold combo that reads really clean against the Rift. Ruby exists for the red fans but I think it clashes with the celestial theme personally. Shop has it, permanent availability at 1350 RP.

Should you pick up Dawnbringer Vex?

Real verdict: this is a strong Epic. Not the absolute best Vex skin (competition is slim since she doesnt have many yet) but it stands on its own. The VFX upgrade alone justifies the price. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get.

(Random aside: the loading screen art is genuinely my favorite part, something about annoyed Vex in golden armor just cracks me up every time.) Kinda feels like Riot understood the meme potential here and leaned into it. The skin doesn’t try to make Vex cool or edgy. It makes her uncomfortable. And that works.

If you main Vex or play her in your mid lane rotation for ranked, grab it. Spammed this in Diamond last season around 2 AM on a Tuesday and the skin just felt smooth. The ability particles read well in lane and in late-game teamfights when you’re looking to ult into the backline. Skip it only if you’re waiting for a darker thematic Vex skin down the road. For now this is the Vex skin if you can only own one.