We’re not short of Valorant skins since the inventory is massive, but unlike its competitors, in-game cosmetics aren’t always available in the shop. Riot’s FPS game has a small store that features only four skins at a time that swap every day. So, players must always have money stacked to buy their favorite skin in case it appears in random rotation. It’s a fun system, but it no longer works for Valorant, according to the players.
Valorant skins typically cost an arm and a leg, but collectors are still willing to pay the big bucks for their favorite weapon skins that don’t seem to enter the rotation. Now, skin enthusiasts are discontent with the system that keeps them waiting for eons. Many have been waiting for patch 1.0 Prime skins that remain scarce.
“I’ve been waiting a month already for the Oni melee, but it’s never in my rotation, and it’s starting to piss me off. It’s kind of strange because Nebula knife is in my shop every other day, and it was featured two weeks ago,” one of the Valorant players complained.
Is Valorant store rotation actually outdated?
Valorant store rotation is undoubtedly not in its best form in 2022. In Project: A, the store made sense when the game had around 4-5 bundles. But Riot’s FPS is now stacked with over 60 bundles, which means about 270 weapon skins. It’s nearly impossible to have decent rotations through the four store slots, and players are finally feeling the negative effects.
In a way, Riot’s Valorant store toys with the concept of FOMO (fear of missing out.) Players who save up for Ion 2.0 end up buying an equally sought-after skin in their store, even if they don’t actually want it. Ion may not appear for the next three months, but the store would tempt these players to spend their money on something else in the meantime.
“I just want a Phantom Oni skin. I couldn’t buy it last time because of some issues but you would think such a popular skin would be in the store all the time. At this point I will just buy whatever Phantom skin comes next,” another Valorant fan said.
The store model is rooted in artificial scarcity, leading players to believe that their favorite skins are scarce. When, in reality, Riot has purposefully created a tiny store that can not accommodate a decent number of skins. Whatever the case, players no longer find this model exciting. Many have to wait for as long as six months to buy a single weapon skin due to the increasing number of cosmetics.
So now, the players are calling out Riot to add maybe two more slots into the store or tweak the rotations to make it less random. Riot hasn’t yet paid attention to community concerns regarding the store, but it would be nice to have some change in the dormant store.
Valorant devs have explained what goes into making weapon skins, and it may convince you to pay over the odds. But, if you can’t afford the lavish items, there’s always Valorant Night Market to cop off skins at cheap!