The story was brilliant and led to all the featured champions feeling more alive and interesting. Therefore, a skin that heavily leans towards Arcane and lets us relive the series is automatically S tier.
New backing animation looks incredible
Even if you haven’t seen Arcane, I doubt that you could dislike this backing animation. The steam-punk aesthetic, the hoverboard, the absolute swag… It all fits in rather perfectly – and it makes for a really cool addition to an already cool champion.
Unique and cool design for your passive procs
While I wasn’t blown away by all the new ability animations, I was really impressed with the passive procs. The second hit resembling graffiti art fits in perfectly with the underground/urban theme, while also being very easy to spot and keep track off.
Really good chroma selection
I don’t always care all that much about a skin’s chromas. But I do think Riot nailed them with Firelight Ekko. All the color palettes are very distinct and intricate, adding a lot of value to each chroma. And if you ask me, Obsidian just makes Ekko look like an evil overlord – which is right up my alley.
What We Don’t Like
No mask toggle
At this point, it really seems like Riot is afraid of giving the people what they want, and it’s starting to tick me off. The mask plus hood combo is what makes this skin so cool. And it just seems cruel not to incorporate it completely. Sure, it does come up for your backing and homeguard animations. But not having the ability to manually put it on makes this skin feel a bit lacking.
Not extremely flashy
This could be a pro or a con, depending on who you ask, but there were definitely a few missed opportunities. Having your hoverboard pop up after you proc your passive, or when you use your E, would have made Firelight Ekko feel way more dynamic and fleshed out. Not to mention that the W could have been made to resemble the crystals from Arcane. The absence of these features doesn’t automatically make the skin bad – but it does put into perspective how minimalistic some of the design choices are.
No additional voice lines or a voice filter
Having a voice filter for when you have your mask on would be nice, but not having new voice lines just seems like a crime. Arcane lovers are the main demographic for this skin – and the fact that Firelight Ekko makes no reference to the show is just sad. I wasn’t expecting True Damage levels of additional voice lines. But they could have at least included one for each main character.
Base Model & Splash Art
Character Model
Splash Art
Ability Animations
Passive
Q
W
E
R
Backing Animation
Chromas
Aquamarine
Citrine
Obsidian
Pearl
Rose Quartz
Ruby
Tanzanite
Turquoise
Bottom Line: If you loved Arcane, then Firelight Ekko is a brilliant skin to get. The new backing and homeguard animations make you feel like a real badass, and pay homage to the series in a nice way. However, there is a sense of wasted potential, with only the passive procs being significantly different. And since there’s no voice filter, no new voice lines, no togglable mask, nor any more frequent inclusion of the hoverboard, Firelight Ekko doesn’t have too much to offer in terms of flashy effects.
