High Noon Sion

First time I saw High Noon Sion load in, my reaction was just: yeah, that works. Sion as an undead cowboy gunslinger carrying what looks like a locomotive engine as a weapon. The concept sounds ridiculous on paper but Riot nailed the execution here. Been running this in my Diamond games since it dropped in season 12 and honestly it just fits the champ’s personality. Big, loud, unstoppable. Thats the whole point.

What High Noon Sion actually brings to the table

So this is an Epic tier skin at 1350 RP, which means you get new VFX and a new recall animation. Voice lines stay base, no VO refresh. The particles are where the money goes on this one.

The Q charge-up has this dusty orange glow with embers rising from the ground. Looks clean in lane, reads well in teamfights. Not gonna lie, the fully charged Q slam feels heavier with the High Noon effects compared to base. Could be placebo but the visual weight sells it. The W shield pops with a kind of fiery aura, nothing too flashy but distinct enough that your support can actually see when you have it up during an engage.

E is where I think the VFX shine the most. The shockwave has this trail of dust and fire that reads perfectly on the Rift. When you hit a minion and the slow field expands, the orange particle spread looks great against the green of Summoner’s Rift. In my ranked games I’ve noticed enemies actually dodge this more consistently, might be because the hitbox reads clearer. Double-edged sword there.

The R though. The ult. Sion charging down a lane as this undead train conductor with High Noon effects trailing behind him. I took this into a game last Thursday around midnight and ulted from mid straight into bot lane for a gank. My ADC pinged question marks then realized what happened when we got the double kill. The ult VFX has locomotive smoke and sparks that make the whole thing feel like a runaway freight train. Massive.

Recall animation is solid too. Sion does a cowboy standoff pose before the teleport. Short, clean, no filler. Exactly what you want when you’re recalling under pressure after shoving a wave.

The High Noon line and how Sion fits

High Noon Sion released May 26, 2022. Late into season 12 when the skinline was getting expanded pretty aggressively. Jiunn Kuo and West Studio handled the splash, and they captured something genuinely menacing. Sion standing in what looks like a destroyed saloon, engine-axe resting on his shoulder. The color palette is warm golds and deep reds against a smoky background.

The High Noon universe is one of Riot’s more consistent themes. Demons, angels, cowboys, the whole supernatural western thing. Sion slots in naturally as this hulking undead enforcer type. Kinda feels like he could be a boss fight in a western RPG. The skin shares the patch with other High Noon releases from that cycle, and I think Sion quietly ended up being one of the better ones in the batch.

9 chromas total on this one. Obsidian is my go-to pick, the dark tones make Sion look like he crawled out of a coal mine and that reads intimidating in lane. Citrine pushes the gold tones harder which works with the western theme. Nomad is interesting because it goes ice-blue and red, completely flips the color story. (Random aside: Nomad chroma Sion with the ult running at you looks like a haunted ice cream truck and I mean that as a compliment.)

Should you buy High Noon Sion?

Real verdict: if you play Sion in any capacity, whether top lane tank, support Sion, or the full lethality AD Sion build that keeps showing up in my solo queue games, this skin delivers. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. The VFX upgrade alone makes abilities read better, the model is clean, and the thematic just works.

Sion doesnt have a massive skin catalog compared to some champs, so your options are limited. Mecha Zero is the Legendary alternative at 1820 RP with the full VO package, but if you want something that looks great without the premium price tag, High Noon Sion is the pick. Been daily driving this for months and I keep coming back to it over Worldbreaker and Blackfrost. Shop has it, permanent availability, no vault nonsense.

Maybe just my experience but I think this skin actually makes Sion feel better to play. The visual feedback on Q charge especially. Could be wrong here but the animations feel slightly snappier even though they’re mechanically identical. For Sion mains climbing through ranked, for people who pick him as a counterpick into melee tops, for the psychopaths running him jungle – worth it. S-tier Sion cosmetic, might be overthinking it but I’d put it right behind Mecha Zero in the overall rankings. Hard to argue against 1350 RP for this level of execution.