Valorant: The rarest skins in the game

Released in 2020, Valorant is known for constantly introducing new skins, be it through collections in the shop, battle passes, events, or collabs. However, while some are common and we see them regularly - both in the shop and in-game by other players - others are extremely rare, and you probably won't have another chance to get them later.

We've put together a list of the most exclusive weapon skins in Riot Games' FPS. Do you have any of them? Check them out!

Of today's list, the Vandal and the Arcane Gauntlets are the most popular since they're a more recent set and, as part of a collaboration with the animated series that became a hit among Riot Games fans, were highly purchased by users. You probably have, or have seen, someone with these skins.

But expectations point to them never returning, which is why the Arcane set’s worth mentioning here. Even while selling a lot, the content was limited to those who purchased between November 7th and December 5th, 2024; the set wasn't even available for a full month.

As the months go by and 2024 gets further away, some players who’ve purchased the skins may stop playing as often, while new users - who won't have the chance to acquire them - join Valorant. This will make, in the long run, the Vandal and Arcane Gauntlets quite rare.

To celebrate the Champions, a tournament held in Valorant's competitive scene, Riot Games releases a line of skins exclusive to that period every year. That means if you didn't get that year's Champions collection - during the very few days it's available - you won't have another opportunity.

Because of that, eventually, all sets will be considered rare. But today, the most valuable are those from 2021 and 2022 - back then, there were fewer active players than today. The biggest highlight of all these existing collections is the Karambit Champions. On top of being exclusive to 2021, the knife is considered one of the most eye-catching in the community, being highly coveted to this day - but with no way for new players to get it.

It's already normal to see service-based games offer a Battle Pass system, where players accumulate XP by completing matches and/or missions to reach higher levels and get rewards along the way.

Valorant already arrived in June 2020, with this mechanic, and players who purchased Battle Passes from the first Acts certainly have some of the FPS's rarest skins - as long as they’ve earned enough XP to progress along the track.

In many games, the skins offered through this system never return to the store, making them exclusive to that period. And, since the Valorant community in 2020 was much smaller compared to today, it's hard to find a fan who already played back then, invested money to get the Battle Pass, and then completed the track to get the skins.

The most sought-after collection by players is the Ruin, available in Episode 1 Act 3 - released in October 2020. The minority that got to the end of the pass were consecrated with the Ruin Dagger, the most talked about of that time.

But it's also worth highlighting at least one skin that was part of the first edition of the Valorant Battle Pass: .EXE. The weapons that got this skin were Odin, Ghost, Judge, and Vandal.

Despite being more recent than the sets mentioned in the last topic, the Wayfinder Shorty is considered, by many in the community, the second rarest weapon skin in all of Valorant!

That’s because it was only available for a few weeks in early 2022, and just to Amazon Prime subscribers through the Prime Gaming website. Since there was no other way to get it, not even in-game, it became limited to that select group.

And, since Amazon Prime subscribers aren't necessarily part of the FPS community, the Wayfinder Shorty became a relic.

Arcane Sheriff, like the Vandal and the Gauntlets mentioned in the first topic, arrived to celebrate the release of Arcane, the Riot Games animated series. However, some peculiarities make it probably the rarest skin in the game.

Unlike the other Arcane collection, which came with the second season of the animation, more recently and when Valorant was getting more popular, Arcane Sheriff was part of the series' official launch: in November 2021!

At that time, there were fewer active players in the FPS, and even though Arcane was a success right off the bat, it still wasn't as massive as it got in 2024. Another factor was the ongoing debate surrounding the uncertain economic climate, generating greater concern and caution among some fans about spending money on skins.

Stepping away a bit from the limitations of just mentioning weapon skins, it's impossible to discuss cosmetic rarity without mentioning the Valorant Beta. If we've spent some of this article mentioning the game's lower popularity in 2020 or 2021 as an argument for the rarity of a specific skin, imagine how much this factor weighs on the FPS's Beta period.

To partake in this opportunity, fans had to be watching Valorant streams on Twitch even before its official release in April 2020, keeping a Riot account linked to the platform. And they still had to rely on luck to get an access key for the game.

When you finally got the privilege to log into Valorant, you'd find a free track, but one that required a lot of XP to earn some exclusive items.

In it, there were some titles, cards, and a weapon charm - all Beta-themed. Below, you'll find a table created by Valorant Wiki | Fandom that better explains the rewards and the XP required to earn them.

As if the teeny tiny number of players who had access to this content wasn't enough, not everyone reached 300k XP before the game's official release to receive the charm, the final item in the track.

Valorant, in just five years, is already full of exclusive and valuable skins - be it through Battle Passes, collabs, or the Beta period. Did you know them all? Have you seen or do you own one of these? Feel free to leave suggestions, feedback, and interesting facts in the comments.