It Isn't Just the Splash - Issues With Frostblade Irelia
There seem to be a lot of individual posts focused on different specific attributes of the problems surrounding this skin, so I hope to consolidate those in one place and hopefully get some exposure. I'll start with my own thoughts, but please contribute your own in the comments and I will update the OP with them. My goal here is to try to gather a consensus regarding this skin in the hope that Riot might see our feedback and consider revising the skin, *even if those tweaks don't get finished until after the re-work release*.
As a note, overall I think the rework is looking very solid. The gameplay of the new Irelia looks fun, the VO and animations are very solid, and the other skins all look very good with a few nit-picks. Frostblade Irelia, however, seems to have fallen by the wayside and is in a very disappointing state. This is a shame, because based on what I have seen in games over the years, it seems to be the most popular skin. That doesn't mean it should be better than the others, but I do think that it should be up to par and thus deserves a second look by Riot before release.
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The breakdown:
* **The Outfit** - The new Frostblade outfit looks completely different from the old one, and I don't believe that this is a welcome change among most. The most egregious offender here is the absolutely massive fur scarf, which is both distracting and covers up the rest of the skin. The fur dominates the appearance of Frostblade Irelia, and it really detracts from the overall look. The old Frostblade skin featured a sleek and somewhat futuristic body suit, while this one seems to feature more casual winter clothes. Now, a "snow day" style skin isn't a bad idea, *but that isn't what Frostblade was, and it isn't what we paid for*. The fur needs to go (or at least be cut down to a meager fraction of current volume) and I'd really like to see the overall outfit look more like the original sleek suit, which had a nice fluid feel. The "armor" style sleeves and chest are simply out of place when compared to the old skin.
* **The Hair** - This isn't all bad, but it is a major departure from her old hair. The most common complaint I see is regarding the color choice - the reddish hue seems very out of place, certainly compared to the old skin. To be fair, it looks better in-game than it does in the splash, but at the same time that isn't saying too much. I believe that making the hair a little less red and/or a little darker would preserve the look and feel of the old skin much better. There is also a single "spike" of hair that sticks up from all the others and looks very out of place. Maybe we could give Irelia a comb so she could fix that?
* **The Colors** - There is a major color palette swap with the reworked skin, which not everyone is a fan of. The old Frostblade skin's primary colors were a sharp cobalt blue, a darker navy blue, and gold/brass armor accents. The reworked skin features blues which are not nearly as deep. The colors seem washed-out by comparison, with the "bright" blue portions seeming much less bright. The dark blue portions of the suit have also been replaced with (again) a purplish color. These color changes make the skin "pop" a lot less, and it is further diluted by the abundance of washed-out gray armor bits and fur. Once again, the dominant fur collar overwhelms the colors of the skin with a giant white blob. Again, cut off all this fur and bring back the brilliant blues of the old skin. Cut back on the red hues and return the darker portions of the suit to their deep navy of yesteryear. The omission of the gold/brass armor accents is something I am less certain about, as refreshing the other colors may look good - it may be sorely missed by some people, though.
* **The Blades** - When the new skin was first revealed, the asymmetry of the blades was something I immediately noticed and was a huge fan of. They really look like a core component of her new visual style and I think those sleek, curved, asymmetric blades look fantastic both while static and in motion. I was crushed when I saw that the Frostblade blades did not follow this visual style update. The symmetrical blades just look out of place, and I can't help but imagine how great they would look simply as icy-blue reskins of the new Infiltrator's blades.
* **The Overall Style** - On a more abstract note, when considering the overall look and feel of the skin *it seems like the visual style was not preserved*. I have seen a lot of complaints saying that the skin more closely resembles Winter Wonder Karma, Snow Day Syndra, or Winter Wonder Orianna and I can't help but agree, This goes back to the outfit to some extent, and I think that correcting the other specific issues would take care of this overall critique.
* **The... Assets** - At the risk of getting deep into meme territory, I'll be blunt here: there is a reason that everyone (including Riot) referred to this skin as "Frostbutt" Irelia. That reason has been nerfed in the splash art, and cropped out in the first iteration. Riot seems to be aware of the cropping issue and seems willing to fix it, but there are still widespread complaints that the *assets* in question are meager by comparison to the old version. It has been noted, however, that these are in a healthy state in-game.
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Overall, I hope Riot can take a look at these issues and address them. The Irelia rework in general looks outstanding and it would be a terrible shame if this specific skin's deficiencies held back the success and general public opinion. All the other skins look very good (especially Aviator), though there are a few issues like "cardboard" hair that seem to be generally agreed upon. Once again, please contribute any feedback you have below and I will do my best to incorporate it into the OP.
As a final note, in the event that Riot is not receptive to our requests and feedback, I encourage everyone to vote with your wallets. If they set the precedent of reworking skins to be vastly inferior/different to their original designs, one has to wonder about the wisdom of spending money on a skin that could be changed at any time. I for one plan to open a ticket requesting a refund/swap of Frostblade if no changes are made, and I encourage others to consider doing the same **if** Riot does not address our concerns. This cuts both ways, though - if they do address them then I hope the community will consider opening up the wallets to reward that.
Cheers, and happy Wednesday everyone!