LoL developers have swapped one of Garen’s old graphics.
League of Legends is a game that has been on the market since 2009. During this time more than 1,300 skins have been released and more than 160 different heroes have been created. No one is likely to be surprised by the fact that things released many years ago simply get old and require regular updates to keep up with new developments. This is also the case with skins that, years later, are no longer as fresh as those released in the last few months.
Some such skins get new effects or a completely new model on the occasion of ASU or VGU. Sometimes the model itself isn’t so bad yet, and it’s the splash art that most reveals the skin’s age.
In the past, Riot has replaced many old graphics. Sometimes with big announcements, and sometimes completely secretly. It turns out that one of Garen’s skins was quietly changed on PBE.
Rugged Garen’s new splash art
The Rugged Garen skin was released on August 15, 2011 and costs 750 RP. Its current splash art isn’t particularly ugly (and older LoL players know that some graphics could be truly nightmarish), though you can see from it that it hails from an earlier era, when the approach of graphic designers was quite different.
It turns out that Riot has rather unexpectedly changed the splash art for another one. The change is only visible on PBE, and for now it is impossible to preview the full graphic. It’s hard to say why exactly this skin was refreshed. As we know, both Garen and quite a few old characters each have several skins that need updating.
Some players are wondering if Riot plans to replace the graphics of other skins, or if the change was a one-off. Perhaps in time, LoL fans will notice more updates on PBE.