Dreadnova Gangplank

First time I saw Dreadnova Gangplank load in, season 7 I think, I genuinely thought Riot dropped a Legendary. The mech armor, the glowing orange cannon, the whole space pirate vibe. Took me a solid thirty seconds to realize this was an Epic. Not gonna lie, that first impression still holds up after years of playing Gangplank on and off in Diamond.

What Dreadnova actually brings to the table

The VFX carry this skin hard. Gangplank’s Q shoots this condensed energy bolt instead of a bullet, and the impact feels heavier somehow. Placebo? Probably. But I swear my cs improved the first week I used it. His W heal gets a tech-styled overlay, nothing crazy but clean. E barrels keep the core silhouette but the explosion goes full sci-fi with orange plasma bursts across the ground. Looks incredible in teamfights when you chain two or three barrels into the backline.

The R is where it really pops. Cannon Barrage drops these orbital strikes instead of cannonballs. Massive orange energy blasts raining down on the Rift. Used it last Friday in a dragon fight and my support actually typed “nice ult vfx” in chat. Thats not something that happens with base Gangplank.

Recall animation is solid too. Gangplank pulls out some kind of mech console, punches in coordinates, whole thing feels like he’s calling in extraction. Short and punchy. No new voice lines though, Matthew Mercer’s base VO stays. Voice pack is base only. Honestly the base Gangplank voice is already good enough that I dont mind.

(Random aside: the walk animation with the mechanical leg looks way better in this skin than it does on most other GP skins. Something about the armor weight just sells it.)

The Dreadnova line and where this fits

Dreadnova Gangplank dropped January 12, 2017. Early season 7. Kelly Aleshire nailed the splash, the composition with GP standing on what looks like a destroyed spaceship deck is probably my favorite Gangplank splash outside of Captain.

The Dreadnova skinline is one of Riot’s smaller sci-fi lines. Dreadnova Darius exists too but honestly Gangplank wears the theme better. The space mercenary fantasy fits a pirate champion naturally. Dreadnova as a concept is mech suits meets intergalactic warfare, and GP’s kit translates perfectly into that setting.

6 chromas total. Obsidian is the standout for me, goes full dark metal and the orange accents pop harder against the darker armor. Tanzanite has this purple glow that reads really well in lane. Been running Obsidian exclusively for maybe 40 games now and keep coming back to it. The Rogue chroma with pink accents is interesting but kinda feels like it clashes with the whole military mech aesthetic.

Should you buy Dreadnova Gangplank?

Real verdict: this is a strong Epic. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New VFX on every ability, a good recall, and the model itself looks premium. Could be wrong here but I think this competes with skins twice its price on some other champions.

The competition in GP’s skin pool is real though. Captain Gangplank is free and has lore weight. Pool Party exists for the meme factor. FPX Gangplank has the Worlds prestige. But if you want Gangplank to look threatening, like genuinely intimidating when you walk into lane, Dreadnova is the pick. Spammed this in Diamond for two weeks straight back in season 12 and the skin just commands a different energy in lane.

Still in the shop. Might be overthinking it but I feel like this skin flies under the radar compared to newer releases. Most Gangplank one-tricks I run into are on Captain or FPX. If you main GP and want something that stands out in the loading screen, Dreadnova deserves a spot in your rotation. Top pick for Gangplank mains who lean toward the sci-fi side of things. 1350 RP well spent for mains, skip it if you only play him when he’s meta.