In Valorant the developers recently introduced a package with extremely elaborate skins – the “Elder Flame Ultra Edition.” These turn your weapons into living dragons and cost a lot of money. Since then, there has been a controversial debate within the community about the legality of such prices. MeinMMO author Jürgen Horn struggles between frugality and the desire for cool loot.
Which skins are we talking about? Recently, Riot Games unveiled a truly epic skin bundle. It is called “Elder Flame” and it transforms four weapons – Judge, Operator, Vandal and Frenzy into bizarre, living dragon monsters. They move, make sounds, and voraciously consume ammo packs. This excites some fans, while others are downright disturbed by the animations.
However, the price has left most fans aghast. Because the Elder Flame package costs around 95 euros and that seems way too much for many players. Although it is assumed that individual items will also be available separately, that has not been confirmed yet.
Here at MeinMMO, readers and authors largely express disbelief over the price: Most of you do not want to spend so much money on virtual items.
15 Döner … or the skins?
This is how I feel about the topic: For me, Jürgen Horn – author and skin fashion expert at MeinMMO, the skins evoke mixed feelings. Because of course, 95 euros is a lot of money, with which I could easily buy 15 good Döner. But then these are just totally awesome dragon skins that eat ammo and breathe fire!
I somehow really need to have them. Because in the end, it’s really neither particularly overpriced nor bad that these skins exist.
Good reasons for the skins
This is why the skins are not that expensive: The whole package is quite a hefty sum at around 95 euros. It is also hard for me to justify spending so much money. However, I can convince myself.
Keep in mind that it is a bundle. It consists of four skins as well as a new knife skin and the option for new finishing animations. So you get a total of 6 items. And even if you only count the four weapons, they would still cost around 23 euros each.
There are legendary skins in Fortnite that cost almost as much and look less cool. And even in other games with cash shops, prices of 20 to 30 euros for mounts or pets are not uncommon.
So it’s not as if Riot crossed an invisible line with their prices.
These arguments are presented against the skins: I have mostly read two arguments that are supposed to speak against the skins – aside from the high price.
Other players were outraged that these expensive skins would tempt kids and teenagers to steal their parents’ credit cards to buy skins. This could then lead entire families into financial trouble.
Of course, it is terrible if the young ones steal money to buy expensive things. But is it really the fault of the game or the developers who offer such an offer?
Valorant is rated for ages 16 and up. If you have not taught your children at that age that they should not infringe on their parents’ property, in my opinion, you have failed in your parental duties.
Another argument against the skins is often that the hustle and bustle of the dragons is supposed to be distracting from the game. That may certainly be true at first, but in the end, the dragons do not distract from the game more than colorful effects and the use of skills do.
Only for professionals who play in high-stakes tournaments are FPS essential, and therefore the dragon skins should not show up much there.
This is how I justify the purchase: Finally, I am still bothered by the point that many players want to play a free-to-play game like Valorant, but hardly want to spend any money. Moreover, there is still complaining when skins are expensive.
Let’s be honest, no one is forcing you to buy anything in the game. There are no gameplay-relevant things in Valorant that you must buy. Even the basic Battle Pass is available for free.
Nevertheless, the (further) development of a game like Valorant costs a lot of money, and a large team must be paid to constantly deliver new content. Which is also free. I think it is completely okay for every player who regularly plays Valorant to invest a few euros into the game. And if it’s the Battle Pass for 10 euros, which contains a ton of skins and knick-knacks.
If you really love Valorant and find the skin beautiful, you can actually invest 95 euros with a clear conscience. Because that corresponds to the purchase price of a typical AAA game, including the season pass. That’s quite fair, right?
And if you won’t spend any money in a free-to-play game, you don’t have to – I have no problem with that. But then please don’t look down on those who really like and want such skins.
Conclusion: I’m still wavering between a skin and the package
I love skins and other stuff and spend more money a year on virtual clothes and mounts than I invest in real clothes or my car. Therefore, the dragon skins obviously have an open door with me. I saw them first and immediately thought, “How awesome, I have to have that.”
The high price is – as explained above – relative. The whole bundle offers enough to justify 95 euros. Moreover, I want to stand out in the game and show off. And what better way to stand out than to use a wriggling dragon as a weapon? Therefore, I will at least buy one skin from the bundle, if not the whole package once it is available. Who knows when such a deal will come again.
Who wants to know how I as an initial Valorant skeptic ended up loving the game should read this article of mine on MeinMMO. Have fun! And if you have a different opinion on the topic of skins or do not share my arguments, feel free to write it in the comments. But please remain polite!
