Prestige High Noon Talon

First time I saw Prestige High Noon Talon load into a game I thought someone was running a custom skin. The white and gold color shift from the base High Noon version caught me completely off guard. Been maining Talon on and off since season 8, and this Prestige variant hit different from the moment it dropped in May 2022. Not gonna lie, the splash alone had me grinding tokens that week.

What the Prestige version actually changes

So if you already know base High Noon Talon, the Prestige edition keeps the same western gunslinger fantasy but swaps the darker palette for white leather, gold accents, and this bright celestial energy on the blades. The coat goes from dusty brown to clean ivory. Huge shift. Talon’s blade arm gets this golden shimmer that reads really well in teamfights, especially when you’re diving the backline and everything is chaos.

The VFX got the Prestige treatment across the board. Q proc flashes gold instead of that fiery orange, and honestly its easier to track in cluttered fights. W rake sends out these pale golden blades that fan out clean. Could be wrong here but I think the return damage particles are slightly brighter than base High Noon, which helps you confirm the second hit landed. E vault animation keeps the spectral horse trail but in white and gold. Looks crisp going over walls during a gank or when you’re escaping through the jungle.

R is where the skin earns its keep. The shadow blades that circle Talon before converging all carry that golden energy. When they close in for the burst, there’s this flash of white light that I think looks better than any other Talon ult in the game. Played maybe 40 ranked games last month with this skin equipped and the ult VFX never got old. In one game around 3 AM on a Wednesday I ulted into a 4-man clump at dragon pit and my duo said it looked like an anime finisher. Fair point.

The recall animation stays thematic. Talon does the quick-draw duel sequence from base High Noon but the golden particle effects during the standoff moment feel more polished. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, which is standard for Prestige skins. Travis Willingham’s voice work from the original carries over fine.

The High Noon line and how Prestige fits

High Noon is one of Riot’s strongest skinlines and Talon fits the assassin-gunslinger archetype naturally. The base High Noon Talon already nailed the cowboy blade fantasy. Jennifer Wuestling handled the splash art for the Prestige version and she captured this golden hour lighting that makes Talon look like he just walked out of a Sergio Leone film but make it celestial.

Released May 12, 2022, right in the middle of the High Noon event pass. This was a Mythic tier skin, meaning you had to grind event tokens or get lucky with Mythic Essence later. No chromas on this one, which makes sense for Prestige skins since the whole point is the exclusive colorway. The availability is technically still there through the Mythic shop rotation, so its not impossible to grab if you missed the initial event.

(Random sidebar for Talon one-tricks: the gold blade particles on this Prestige version actually feel slightly different in terms of visual timing on the W return. Probably placebo but I swear the animation reads faster.)

How it stacks against other Talon skins

Talon has a solid skin lineup now. Enduring Sword is the go-to for a lot of mains, Withered Rose has its fans, and base High Noon is genuinely excellent. Prestige High Noon Talon sits in a weird spot because its basically the same skin with a premium color swap. Real talk though, the white and gold version just looks cleaner on the Rift. The darker High Noon base can blend into certain map areas, especially around bot lane river, but the Prestige pops against every background.

Kinda feels like this is one of the better-executed Prestige skins Riot has put out. Some Prestige versions feel lazy, just a gold tint slapped on. This one actually commits to a full palette shift that changes how the skin reads in game. The golden VFX on Q poke in lane and the ult burst in late-game teamfights both look distinct from the base version.

Been daily driving this over Enduring Sword for two seasons now. In my Diamond games specifically, I notice maybe one other person running this skin every 15 or 20 games. Its rare enough to feel special without being one of those skins nobody recognizes.

Should you chase Prestige High Noon Talon?

Verdict time. If you main Talon and you already like the High Noon fantasy, this Prestige is the definitive version. S-tier Talon cosmetic. The golden VFX on abilities look premium, the splash is gorgeous, and the white coat design stands out in every game. Special pricing through Mythic Essence means you cant just impulse buy it, which adds to the exclusivity.

Skip this if you dont play Talon regularly. The Mythic Essence cost is steep for a champion you pull out once a month in ARAM. But for Talon mains who want the best-looking version of their champion? Keep coming back to this one. Three things stood out after 200+ games: ult VFX, the coat design, and how clean the W particles track. Not sure if it’s just me but this skin genuinely makes me play more confidently in lane. Might be overthinking it but the visual clarity on ability hitboxes feels slightly better than default High Noon. Worth the grind if you can still grab it from the Mythic rotation.