Empyrean Vex

First time I saw the Empyrean Vex splash I thought Riot finally figured out what to do with this champion’s aesthetic. Vex’s whole deal is gloomy teenager energy, and dropping her into the Empyrean line felt like a risk. But honestly not gonna lie, it works. The neon-cosmic vibe clashes with her personality in a way that reads as intentional rather than forced. Been running this in Diamond for a solid stretch after it dropped and the skin grew on me fast.

What Empyrean Vex actually brings to the table

New VFX across the board. Her Q shoots out with this trailing energy that has a cleaner read than base, which matters in teamfight chaos when you’re trying to land poke through a crowded lane. The W fear zone gets this rippling cosmic effect that I think looks better than base Vex by a wide margin. Crisp.

Shadow gets the full treatment too. When you proc your passive and Shadow dashes forward, there’s this burst of Empyrean particles that actually makes it easier to track in a messy fight. Not sure if its just me but the visual clarity on the mark feels improved over default. Could be placebo. Could be real. Either way I’m not complaining.

Her ult is where this skin earns the 1350 RP price tag. The R projectile trails Empyrean energy across the Rift and the reset dash has this satisfying pop of light on contact. Locked in this skin for maybe 40 games in a row one weekend and the ult VFX never got old. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, but the recall animation is new and fits the cosmic theme. Vex sits down in this little dimensional rift thing with Shadow – cute without being over the top.

(Random aside: my duo partner who mains support saw this recall and immediately asked if Vex had a new legendary. Nope. Just a well-executed Epic.)

The Empyrean line and release context

Empyrean dropped November 3, 2022. Late season 12. Horace ‘Hozure’ Hsu nailed the splash – the composition puts Vex floating in this void-like space with Shadow looming behind her, and the color palette is all electric blues and purples with hot pink accents.

The Empyrean skinline launched alongside some heavy hitters. Empyrean Jhin and K’Sante were the headliners, and Vex kinda flew under the radar in that batch. Shame, because this is arguably the best Vex skin if you care about visual polish. The Empyrean aesthetic translates well to mage kits specifically.

9 chromas total. Tanzanite is my go-to, the deep purple gives the whole skin a darker edge that fits Vex’s personality better than the base neon. Pearl goes the opposite direction, wasnt expecting to like it but the white-on-cosmic contrast is clean. Neon Flare does something wild with red and green that shouldn’t work but kinda does in game. Ruby and Sapphire are fine, standard chroma fare. Shop has it permanently so no rush on grabbing it.

Should you buy Empyrean Vex?

Real verdict: if you play Vex with any regularity this is the skin to own. Dawnbringer exists as an alternative but I keep coming back to Empyrean. The VFX clarity alone makes it worth considering for ranked. Last Tuesday around 2 AM I was spamming Vex in a late night session and the Empyrean particles just read so much better when you’re tired and your eyes are glazing over. Small thing. Big difference.

1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New VFX, new recall, solid splash, 9 chromas if you want variety. Kinda feels like one of those skins where Riot put in slightly more effort than the price demands. Skip it if you only play Vex once a month, but for Vex mains and one-tricks this is S-tier. The Empyrean fantasy landed here better than it did on half the champions in that batch, and at Epic tier pricing you’re not overpaying for the privilege. Been daily driving this since season 13 started and dont see myself switching anytime soon.