Hired Gun Lucian

Hired Gun Lucian was the first skin Lucian ever got, dropping alongside his champion release. Not gonna lie, back in August 2013 this felt like the coolest thing. Dual pistols, tactical gear, the whole package screamed action movie protagonist. Been running this skin on and off since season 4 and it still has a certain charm even though Lucian’s skin catalog got way deeper since then.

What Hired Gun actually brings to the table

For a 975 RP Standard skin, Hired Gun Lucian punches above its weight class. You get new VFX on the abilities and a unique recall animation, which wasnt common at all for this price point back in 2013. The Q laser reads slightly different with a more militaristic blue tint. W and E have subtle particle shifts that give the whole kit a cleaner, more tactical vibe compared to base Lucian.

The recall is where the personality shows. Lucian does this weapon inspection thing, very spec-ops energy. Simple change – huge impact on how the skin feels in lane. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, but honestly TJ Storm’s base performance carries hard enough that it doesnt matter.

Model-wise you get Lucian in full tactical loadout. Black body armor, military-style holsters, the guns look chunkier and more grounded. Kinda feels like they pulled reference from every early 2010s action game protagonist. Playing this skin in bot lane specifically, the auto attack animations feel snappy. Could be wrong here but I think the autos read slightly faster visually even though the timing is identical. Had a ranked game last Wednesday where my support kept commenting on how clean the double-shot passive looked.

The Legacy line and release context

Hired Gun Lucian released August 21, 2013. Season 3. Alex ‘alexplank’ Flores nailed the splash, the dual-wielding pose against that dark backdrop captures the skin’s energy perfectly. Part of the Legacy skinline, which is basically Riot’s grab bag of standalone concepts that dont fit a thematic universe.

Shop has it. 975 RP, permanent availability. Zero chromas. You know what surprised me? The fact that Riot never went back and added chromas to this one. Feel like a desert camo or all-black variant would print money for them. (Random aside: the splash has been my Discord avatar for like two years and nobody has ever recognized it as Lucian.)

For context on where this sits in the Lucian lineup, you’re looking at a skin that predates Project, High Noon, Pulsefire, all of it. This was THE Lucian skin for over a year. Season 4 Diamond ADC mains locked this in every game. I think there’s some nostalgia factor that keeps it relevant even now.

Should you buy Hired Gun Lucian?

Real verdict: if you main Lucian and want every skin, 975 RP feels fair for what you get. The VFX and recall hold up. But if you’re picking just one Lucian skin, High Noon and Project both outclass this in every category. Spammed this in Diamond last season for maybe 23 games in a row one weekend and the reactions were split. Half my duo partners said it looked dated, other half appreciated the clean simplicity.

Best use case is when you’re tired of flashy Legendary skins and want something grounded. Hired Gun Lucian reads well in teamfights because the particles aren’t overloaded. Your backline peel looks clean, your ult VFX track smoothly, and the engage/disengage patterns are easy to read for your team. Skip this if you already own Pulsefire or High Noon. But for Lucian one-tricks building the collection, its a solid early pickup that still holds up better than most season 3 skins. Standard pricing, above-average skin.