So if your bird honey happens to be a Xayah main, you better start looking at new cosmetics! But which skin should you choose? That’s a rather difficult question to answer, but I’m going to attempt it anyway. For this ranking we’re looking at all of Rakan’s skins, taking into account their price, appeal, style, and a bit of my own opinion.
7. Sweetheart Rakan
Released: February 12th, 2018 Price: 1350 RP It’s sort of ironic that the one skin which heavily focuses on romance is the worst of them all, in my eyes. And that’s because it simply does way less than you would think! In terms of particles, this skin just throws in a few hearts here and there. But it’s nothing too flashy or noticeable – unlike other Sweetheart skins. Sure, you get to slow-dance with Xayah with your joint recall. But that’s pretty much the only thing that’s lovey dovey about this skin. The character model is kind of all over the place. And the splash art isn’t even the most romantic one out of the bunch! That said, this skin does make for some good meme material. But that’s beside the point. For a skin that’s supposed to be all about love, Sweetheart Rakan is rather tame, and just can’t stand on its own against some other choices here.
6. SSG Rakan
Released: July 20th, 2018 Price: 1350 RP Okay, there’s a lot to say about this skin. Where do we even start? The character model is just okay. It’s your plain old Rakan, but he happens to be blue. And in terms of animations, this is all over the place. The Q is absolutely brilliant, especially once you hit it and those blue lights stars counting down the heal, the W has some team flares, and the E and R are standard but blue. Up until this point, I wasn’t all that impressed with this skin. Even the splash art is sort of iffy. However, the joint recall is just magnificent. It has both you and Xayah pick up a trophy to an applauding crowd, which is the best thing to see after you wipe the opposing bottom lane. The solo recall isn’t as impressive, but I won’t hold that against the skin as a whole. So overall, this is sorta mediocre in some departments, and absolutely brilliant in others.
5. Arcana Rakan
Released: April 14th, 2022 Price: 1350 RP The best way to describe this skin is “wasted potential”. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves and look at the positives first. Both the character model and the splash art for this skin are really good. You feel like a proper mystical being and the color palette is immaculate. Plus, the animations for your basic abilities are top-notch. I especially like the Q animation as it finally manages to make the ability feel impactful and important. Not many skins can say the same. And the W, while a bit telegraphed, is really good as well. I especially like the symbol it leaves behind, as it makes it feel like more than just a really strong hop. And now for the bad stuff. The backing animation is just way too dull for my taste. And if that wasn’t bad enough, this skin also doesn’t even have a unique backing animation for when you’re with Xayah. This is especially insulting as the Arcana skin line usually has the coolest backing animations in the game. So, backing is terrible all around. I also don’t really vibe with the ult as it just feels like a recolor of the base animation. The skin does have some nice chromas, but it can’t make up for the blunders present. Overall it’s a somewhat okay skin that probably disappointed all Rakan OTPs.
4. Cosmic Dawn Rakan
Released: April 18th, 2017 Price: 1350 RP I have to say that Cosmic Dawn Rakanhas the best splash art out of any Rakan skin. He and Xayah just look like they’re about the either destroy the universe, or give life to a new one – and I totally vibe with that thematic. When it comes to the skin itself, it has some really nice features for sure. But you can also sort of tell that it’s among the older ones. All of your abilities have a healthy dose of star particles, because space, and I honestly think the W with this skin is among the easiest to land. So that gets metagame points. The backing animation is also superb and gives you a sense of power that most Rakan skins don’t even get close to. That being said, the character model is just okay here. I like the direction, but his face does look a bit weird. So it’s a brilliant theme, offering a great backing animation and splash art with some decent animations – but a meh character model.
3. Star Guardian Rakan
Released: September 12th, 2019 Price: 1820 RP Don’t get me wrong, if you’re looking for a skin that offers the most polish and cool ideas, this is the one. In fact, if I didn’t take price into account, this would probably be at number one. So let’s see what 1820 RP will net you these days. The character model here looks very noble yet powerful, with the added perk of even transforming when you hit your Q or back to base. You go from your usual dark and gritty color scheme to a much lighter design, which is quite cool. You also get some bonus horror points when using your ult, as it looks less like a charm and more like a terrify. When it comes to being lovey dovey, you also get a new joint recall and even a joint dance – both of which have some really funky music and rather dynamic animations. Lastly, when it comes to brand new content, you get a new voice-over, a new homeguard animation, new emotes, and a new death animation. With all of that being said, I think the skin is just slightly overpriced. I prefer the old death animation, and the emotes here seem a bit random. Also the basic ability animations aren’t that better here than in other skins – which is why I nerfed its ranking a little.
2. IG Rakan
Released: April 23rd, 2019 Price: 1350 RP This might sound like peak irony, considering this is the only Rakan skin where he and Xayah can’t match – but hear me out. IG Rakan just seems like the go-to skin if you’re a Rakan one trick pony. Since the design isn’t based off of his relationship with Xayah, it’s just made to look cool on its own. So it’s in style every game. The W has some nice IG flares, the E looks nice too, and the R makes you feel like you just joined the dark side. And if we’re talking about metagaming points, the Q is nearly impossible to see coming. I also just love the backing animation here, as it just seems like a response to the SSG backing animation, this time having Rakan alone with the trophy and unable to lift it. We love us some continuity jokes, so more points there. I think if you want to climb the ladder moreso than flex your relationship status, this could be the Rakan skin to go with.
1. Elderwood Rakan
Released: December 10th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP This is just a case of theme diff. See what I did there? The Vastaya have always been an interesting point in the League of Legends lore. And I feel like this is the only skin that explores that theme a bit further. We get to see Rakan as a dude completely enthralled with nature. His W literally makes vegetation grow, his E and R have butterflies all over the place, and his backing animation (both individually and with Xayah) just looks mystical. He also gives Xayah a rose in a very Chad manner, so bonus points there. Even with the character model, this skin takes things to new heights by making Rakan seem more wild and fantastical than ever before. This might just be me nerding out. But no other skin feels this right on Rakan – which is why it has to take the #1 spot. Note: this content was created under Riot Games’ “Legal Jibber Jabber” policy using assets owned by Riot Games. Riot Games does not endorse or sponsor this project.
