Riot Games has responded to player criticism by making all classic skins the default option in the upcoming League of Legends Classic mode. The decision to initially offer these nostalgic cosmetic items through earned tokens or direct purchase on the Public Beta Environment (PBE) sparked significant backlash from the community.
League of Legends Classic aims to recreate the MOBA experience from 2013 and earlier, featuring a reduced champion roster and restored older character kits and builds. However, upon its PBE launch, players were presented with modern champion models, voiceovers, and spell effects by default. The classic skins were intended to be unlockable, leading to a prominent Reddit thread accusing Riot of offering a "not so classic" mode and calling the monetization of these skins "genuinely wild."
Within days of the feedback, Brian "FeralPony" Feeney, a Riot developer, addressed the community in a video blog on July 16. "Feedback received," Feeney stated. "If you're on PBE, you probably already noticed that all classic skins are unlocked for all champions that have one." These skins have now been implemented as the default appearance for their respective champions, replacing the more contemporary visuals.
Mode Design Philosophy
Feeney also touched upon player concerns regarding the mode's "greatest hits" approach to combining elements from various historical patches. He explained that this decision was driven by a desire to appeal to the broadest player base possible, citing player surveys where sentiments about the "best" era of League of Legends were nearly identical regardless of when a player started. "The answers were almost identical. League was classic the year they started playing, League was best the year after they started, and League was too old before they started," he noted. Riot plans to allow players to vote on new patches to be implemented into the mode once it officially launches on standard servers.
Other Riot developers have also taken to social media to assure players that further changes are being made to enhance the mode's older aesthetic. Senior VFX artist Sirhaian mentioned on X that it has been an "interesting" experience to essentially reverse years of their own work to achieve the desired classic look.