Ruined Draven

First game I played with Ruined Draven was a 3 AM ranked session back in January 2021, right when it dropped. Locked in Draven, saw the green mist rolling off the axes, and immediately knew Riot understood the assignment. Not gonna lie, the Ruination event had some questionable lore decisions but the skins that came out of it? Mostly bangers. Ruined Draven sits comfortably in that category.

The axes hit different with Ruination VFX

So what actually changes here. The model gets the full Viego corruption treatment: cracked armor with glowing green veins running through it, spectral mist leaking off Draven’s shoulders. His axes are the star. They pulse with that sickly green Ruination energy and leave trails when you catch them. Spinning Axe on Q has this ghostly particle effect that reads cleanly in lane without being distracting. Thats a big deal for Draven specifically because you need to track your axe landing spots in teamfights.

W activation gives Draven a brief green surge. Subtle but noticeable. E throws out corrupted axes with dark mist trailing behind them, and the R global is where it really shines. Two massive spectral axes ripping across the Rift with green energy. Seen it snipe people from bot lane to mid more times than I can count.

The recall animation is new and fits the Ruined theme perfectly. Draven does his usual showboating but with that corrupted edge. Voice lines stay base, no new VO, which is expected at the Epic tier. Erik Braa’s original Draven voice still carries enough personality that it doesnt feel like a miss.

Been running this in Diamond for a while and the auto attack animations feel smooth. Could be wrong here but I think the axe catch indicator is slightly easier to read with the green glow compared to some of his other skins. Might be placebo. Either way the gameplay clarity is solid.

Ruination lore and the splash

Released January 21, 2021. Right in the middle of the Ruination buildup before the Sentinels of Light event blew up that summer. Xiao Guang Sun and West Studio handled the artwork, and they cooked. The splash shows Draven mid-throw with Ruination energy consuming him, axes wreathed in green flame. Strong composition.

The Ruined skinline covers a bunch of champions who got corrupted by Viego’s mist. Draven fits the fantasy surprisingly well. His ego is already so massive that seeing him corrupted by an obsessive king’s magic feels almost natural. The Ruined line gave us some great skins across the board and Draven’s version holds up years later.

(Random aside: the Ruined Draven splash was my Discord avatar for like six months straight and nobody questioned it.)

8 chromas total for this one. Amethyst is my pick, the purple corruption energy reads way better than green in my opinion. Cursed is the event-exclusive chroma with black and gold tones, real clean if you managed to grab it. Pearl goes for a frosty white look that almost makes it feel like a different skin entirely. The rest fill out the usual color range but those three stood out to me across maybe 40 games last season.

Worth the 1350 RP?

Real verdict: Ruined Draven is a strong Epic skin. 1350 RP feels fair for what you get. New VFX on every ability, solid recall, clean model. You’re not getting new voice lines but at this price point that’s standard. Shop has it, permanent availability, no vault nonsense.

Where it sits in the Draven skin ranking is interesting. Mecha Kingdoms goes harder on the fantasy. Fright Night is creepier. But Ruined Draven has this clean aggressive energy that works perfectly for spamming ranked. Been maining Draven with this skin on and off since season 11 and it still holds up in my rotation.

If you’re a Draven one-trick you probably already own this. If you’re picking up Draven and want one skin that covers the “dark and edgy” slot in your collection, this is the one. Fair warning, the green VFX can blend into Summoner’s Rift terrain on certain parts of the map, specifically around dragon pit where the lighting gets weird. Minor issue. Not a dealbreaker.

Skip it if you already have Debonair or Fright Night and dont need another Draven skin in the pile. But for 1350 RP, Ruined Draven delivers above average for the price. Top pick for Draven mains who like the darker aesthetic.