PROJECT: Katarina

First time I saw PROJECT: Katarina loading in, I thought Riot finally figured out how to make an assassin skin that doesnt look like a cosplay gone wrong. The cybernetic aesthetic just fits her kit. Clean lines, neon accents, a recall animation that actually feels like it belongs in a sci-fi universe. Locked this in immediately back in 2016 and kept it in rotation for months.

What the skin changes on the Rift

The VFX overhaul carries this skin hard. Her Q daggers get that signature PROJECT orange-red trail, and watching them bounce between minions during lane phase feels way more satisfying than base. Shunpo has this digital distortion effect on arrival. Quick flash of particles. The E reset chains in a teamfight look genuinely clean with the new effects layered on top of each other.

Not gonna lie, her W is where I noticed the biggest visual upgrade. The daggers spinning around her have that holographic blade look, and when they land the ground effect reads better than most Epic skins manage. Been playing this in Diamond ranked for multiple seasons now and the W circle is actually easier to track in chaotic fights compared to some of her other skins. Could be wrong here but I think the contrast against most Rift terrain is just sharper.

Ult is solid. The Death Lotus channels with those projected blade fragments spiraling out, and the hit confirmation particles pop nicely against darker team comps. Played maybe 40 games one weekend spamming Katarina in solo queue and the ult VFX never got old. (Random aside: my duo partner who mains ADC genuinely started banning Katarina because he said watching the ult from the receiving end gave him anxiety.)

Voice lines stay base, no new VO here. Standard for an Epic tier skin at 1350 RP. The recall animation is new though. Katarina interfaces with some kind of PROJECT terminal, blade drawn, very on-brand for the skinline. Simple change – huge impact on the feel between fights.

The PROJECT line and release context

PROJECT: Katarina dropped August 1, 2016. Season 6 if I remember right, back when the PROJECT lineup was still one of Riot’s flagship skin series. Esben Lash Rasmussen nailed the splash. The composition puts Katarina mid-leap with the city grid behind her, and it reads as both threatening and stylish without being over the top.

The PROJECT skinline at that point already had Yasuo, Fiora, Lucian, and a few others. Katarina fit naturally into the roster. The cybernetic augmentation theme works for an assassin who’s literally throwing blades at people. Some champions feel forced into PROJECT but Katarina is one of those picks where you look at it and think yeah, this makes sense.

No chromas on this one. Kinda feels like a missed opportunity honestly. An obsidian or white-blue variant would have been sick for a PROJECT skin, but Riot never circled back to add them. Available any time in the shop if you want to pick it up, no vault rotation or loot-only nonsense.

Is PROJECT: Katarina worth 1350 RP?

Real verdict: this sits comfortably in the upper half of Katarina’s skin catalog. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. The VFX package does the heavy lifting and the model itself looks great with the augmented armor plating and that visor. Last Tuesday I was in a game where three people in champ select complimented the skin in chat, which almost never happens in Diamond.

If you’re a Katarina one-trick you probably already own this. If you’re picking between this and Death Sworn or Blood Moon, I think PROJECT edges them out on visual clarity alone. The ability effects read cleanly in teamfights and the color palette stands out without being distracting. High Command and Bilgewater are fine budget options but PROJECT: Katarina is the skin that actually feels like an upgrade to her gameplay experience. Top pick for Katarina mains who want something techy without going full anime. Been my go-to Katarina skin since season 7 or 8 and I dont see that changing unless Riot drops something exceptional for her next.