True Damage Ekko

True Damage Ekko dropped alongside the GIANTS music video at Worlds 2019 and the hype was unreal. Ekko voiced by Thutmose in a hip-hop crew with Akali, Yasuo, Senna, and Qiyana. November 10, 2019. Watched the video at like 1 AM, bought the skin immediately, queued mid. That order exactly. No regrets on any of those decisions. My duo was asleep so I solo queued three games that night just to test the skin and won two of them. Ekko felt different with this one equipped.

Street style meets time manipulation

The model puts Ekko in this streetwear outfit. Hoodie, oversized jacket, sneakers, graffiti-style bat replacing his usual Z-Drive weapon. Jeremy “Jermu” Anninos did the splash and it captures the urban music vibe perfectly. Ekko looking confident, bat over shoulder, city lights behind him.

Timewinder on Q throws the bat out in an arc with neon graffiti trails. The return trip paints a line of color back to Ekko that lingers briefly on the ground. Feels expressive. Parallel Convergence on W drops a zone with a bass-drop effect when it activates. The stun field has these sound wave ripple particles instead of the usual clock aesthetic. Different enough from base that it can catch people off guard – seen enemies walk into the W zone because the visual reads differently than what they expect from Ekko.

Phase Dive on E dashes with a neon blur and the empowered auto after has a bass impact sound effect. Small touch, big feel. In lane trades pre-6 the E auto with Lich Bane proc is already satisfying on base Ekko but True Damage makes it feel like you are dropping a beat on someone’s head. The bass hit on the empowered auto is genuinely one of the best sound effects in the game.

Chronobreak on R is the showpiece. Ekko rewinds through time with graffiti paint trailing his path across the Rift, then slams back to his ghost position with a massive neon explosion. The color palette on the rewind trail shifts depending on which chroma you are using. Every R feels like a music video moment. Tower dove a Syndra mid last week with this skin, took the kill, and R’d back out with the graffiti trail painting a line right back through the tower. My support pinged the thumbs up emote four times.

Umar “Thutmose” Ibrahim provides the voice for this skin. Not the usual Ekko voice actor. Completely different vocal performance that leans into the musician persona. Confident, laid-back, dropping bars between ability casts. Could be wrong but I think this is one of the only skins in the game where a real musician voices the champion variant.

Chromas and True Damage details

True Damage Ekko comes with 8 chromas: Ruby, Amethyst, Freestyle, Turquoise, Catseye, Emerald, Pearl, and Obsidian. Freestyle is the standout, changes the graffiti effects to a warm orange-gold palette. Obsidian goes murdered out black which works well with the streetwear aesthetic. (Random aside: the Freestyle chroma was originally tied to a Twitch Prime promotion I think? Or maybe it was the Prestige version. Memory’s fuzzy on that one.)

Released November 10, 2019 at 1820 RP. Legendary tier. Part of the True Damage skinline. Still available in the shop.

Worth picking up for Ekko players

Ekko has Sandstorm, PROJECT, and Pulsefire as alternatives but True Damage is the Legendary with the full voice rework and it shows. The Thutmose voiceover gives this skin a personality that none of the others match. If you play Ekko mid or jungle regularly, True Damage is probably the pick.

At 1820 RP with 8 chromas giving you variety, this is a strong package. The R animation alone makes me want to play Ekko even when hes not meta. That rewind graffiti trail across the map never stops looking cool. Played maybe 150 games on this skin across multiple seasons and the novelty hasnt worn off. Honestly if you told me this was the last Ekko skin Riot ever made I would be fine with it. Thats how good it is. Peak Ekko cosmetic, no debate needed.