It truly was a simpler time. And although we can’t give Diana a twenty page passive and eight usable abilities, we can at least make her look a bit fancier. She has a pretty decent catalogue of skins – and in this ranking I’ll do my best to pick out the best-of-the-best.
8. Infernal Diana
Released: April 20th, 2016 Price: 1350 RP Infernal Diana is one of those skins that isn’t particularly bad, but it feels slightly overpriced and underwhelming in terms of design. I mean, the whole idea is just “Diana, but on fire”. And Riot really didn’t try to make it any more than that. The particles themselves are really nice and clean, making her pop out on screen quite a bit. And the character model is rather well-made. But it just seems like a 975 RP skin and nothing more. The splash art is pretty cool though. So all in all, unless you’re a pyromaniac or a recovering Brand main, I would advise going for a different skin.
7. Dark Valkyrie Diana
Released: August 7th, 2012 Price: 975 RP Dark Valkyrie Diana is also pretty simple in conception. But given its age and price, I can’t really hold that against it. It’s just a slightly more evil-looking Diana with some really nice purple recolors. I especially like how she looks when her passive is ready, as it feels a lot more impactful than it does in the base skin. Also, it’s worth pointing out that the character model isn’t just a recolor here – but rather it features a brand new set of pretty cool-looking armor, with dark feathers being the main theme. Overall this skin is rather solid – but it definitely can’t keep up with the more modern and innovative skin releases.
6. Dragonslayer Diana
Released: January 30th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP When it comes to the character model design, this skin has one of my favorites. Her armor looks fierce, her blade looks demonic, and that horn on her forehead makes the entire skin feel extremely badass. That being said, I wasn’t as impressed with the animations. Nothing about them really screamed “Dragonslayer”, except the Sauron eyes featured on your W & when you hit a five man ult. Okay, there’s also her recall animation and her Q mark… but neither are all that amazing. In fact, the Q mark is a bit too “in your face” if you ask me. I’m not saying that all of her animations are ugly or clunky. But they do feel slightly uninspired. Plus, Diana’s skin catalogue is pretty amazing overall. So I had to start being nitpicky at some point.
5. Dark Waters Diana
Released: May 31st, 2018 Price: 1350 RP Yet again, I have to give Riot massive props when it comes to the character model design. This skin is truly a gem. But it wouldn’t be this low if it was perfect, so let’s talk about that. Just like with the previous skin, Dark Waters Diana’s new animations seem a bit off. They’re all well-polished and have some distinct sound effects, but they make it so I don’t even feel like I’m playing Diana. In fact, it just makes me think I somehow crossed into a parallel dimension where Nami is an assassin. If you don’t really care much about a champion’s original fantasy, they you may well love this skin to death. But I overthink this stuff, and thus must nerf the ranking slightly.
4. Blood Moon Diana
Released: February 9th, 2017 Price: 1350 RP I feel like the Diana fanbase has a pretty unified opinion about this skin: “The idea is amazing, the theme fits her perfectly, but god why oh why does her hair look like that?” And that might seem like a pretty small issue compared to the overall badassery of the skin. But man, it truly is an eyesore. Even though the splash art is just perfect, the backing animation is eerie, the ult gives off mad Infinite Tsukuyomi vibes, and the character model looks like a figure from terrifying legends… a Diana main just can’t fully love this skin. If you don’t mind the jumbled mess of a wig, this can easily be in your number one spot. But for now it’ll have to fall here in our ranking.
3. Lunar Goddess Diana
Released: January 28th, 2014 Price: 975 RP Lunar Goddess Diana is one of those skins that’s extremely simple is concept, but it does the job just well enough to get a lot of praise. It basically takes Diana’s original champion fantasy and makes it slightly brighter and more distinct. You’re still all about the moon, but you also have some flower petals now! Your character model outline is still pretty much the same too, but you have a much more colorful dress and a hint of royal vibes coursing through your veins. And you even get a slightly better version of your recall animation. And that’s about it. Everything is just slightly better than the base skin. And considering this is only a 975 RP skin, you can’t really ask for much more than that!
2. Battle Queen Diana
Released: December 10th, 2020 Price: 1350 RP Battle Queen Diana is kind of an exception to my whole “champion fantasy” rule. But it’s just too cool not to praise. Nothing about this skin seems related to the moon – but rather it just makes you feel like a demonic queen of some sort that channels her power through magic crystals. Your Q and E now feature small summoning portals, your ult has red crystals instead of the iconic moon symbol, and your backing animation looks like some weird ritual. Even your character model outline looks nothing like Diana, as you’re actually wearing a dress. All of that being said, the skin lowkey sort of slaps once you stop comparing it to the base skin. I also saw online that a lot of people absolutely drool over the Prestige version of this skin, so I had to cut it quite a large bit of slack.
1. Sentinel Diana
Released: July 8th, 2021 Price: 1350 RP The Sentinel skin-line is pretty stacked in general. And this design is no exception. Plus the Sentinel color scheme and overall theme fit in so well with Diana, that Riot even gets some cohesion points thrown on the table. The character model is extremely well-made and detailed enough to make you feel like you’re playing a brand new champion – especially if you look at the face. All while her new particles give off some spooky yet righteous vibes, which is a nice fit for Diana. I especially like the new ult. It doesn’t do away with the base animation, like Battle Queen, and instead it just adds some details to make it feel a bit more impactful. Overall, this is by far the cleanest skin in Diana’s entire catalogue. It fits in perfectly with her champion fantasy, and it really just looks cool. So if you ask me, this is the best Diana skin worth nabbing. 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.
