Top 10 banned skins

We all have one thing in common: we love skins. But some skins can destroy the competitive idea of a game just by their existence. Today we present you 10 skins that have been banned. Enjoy!

10. Gil Pyron Costume (Street Fighter 5)

Our list starts with the Pyron costume of the Street Fighter 5 character “Gill”. In March 2020, Capcom Pro Tour banned lots of skins from competitive games, Gill’s Pyron costume was one of them. It is probably the worst design of any skin in the entire game, simply due to the fact that the skin is extremely distracting while playing. The flicker of heat coming off Gill makes his attacks very difficult to see. Also, with characters that can set him on fire, you can’t see if Gill is actually burning or if it’s just his costume.

9. iBlitzcrank (League of Legends)

The following skin was a real fan favorite when it was released in 2013. Now when you look at why this skin is banned, it all boils down to his Q ability, the Rocket Grab. The hitbox of his hand that pulls the opponent in is much harder to see with the skin, as it is a lot narrower. In addition, the hitbox of this hand is a pure disaster. You should never feel safe against iBlitzcrank. Especially with such an ability, which can decide about victory and defeat of a whole match, you should display the hitbox as accurately as possible. Unfortunately, this is not the case with this skin, which is why it is banned in League of Legends Esport.

8. R. Mika Default Costume (Street Fighter 5)

Mika’s Default costume looks a bit provocative at first glance, but it’s nothing special compared to other skins in gaming. The American TV channel ESPN, which broadcast EVO 2016, where among other things Street Fighter 5 was played, saw it differently. The skin was probably too salacious for the potential young audience for the broadcaster, and the Japanese Fuudo, who played R. Mika with their default skin, got a message from the referees to please change his skin before the next match. The curious request was communicated to the Japanese player by means of a translator. However, the baffled Fuudo complied with the request and was able to play the final without any problems.

7. Nyx (Rainbow Six) 

Rainbow Six Pro Nyx caused a lot of controversy during the Rainbow Six NAL. The organizers of the tournament set a No Skin rule, which he broke three times during the tournament. The No Skin rule actually states that any changes to skins, scoreboards and crosshairs are strictly prohibited, but Nyx played 3 operators with banned skins at once. Nyx’s team lost the games and he apologized on Twitter saying he used an old cloud file that still had the skins enabled. Whether you can believe the apology is up to debate. The fact that he broke this rule is reason enough to land on our list.

6. Sweet tooth sol (Smite)

Skins are banned from video games for all sorts of reasons. The following reason is particularly curious. In the MOBA Smite, Champion Sol’s Sweet Tooth skin was banned. The skin actually looks too cute to do any damage. However, it was banned in April 2020 because the skin’s visual effects, particle effects, and especially audio lines were, and we quote, “too intense.” The game developers downgraded the three effects at some point, so the skin was allowed again. However, the damage to some players’ eardrums was irreversible.

5. Ember Rise Skins (Rainbow Six)

Skins, as we all know, serve the purpose of standing out from other players in appearance. But what if your skin suddenly doesn’t make you stand out from your surroundings? That’s exactly what happens when you equip the Ember Rise skins in Rainbow Six Siege. With these player skins, operators literally melt into walls and are barely recognizable to enemy players. You don’t know if you’re looking at a wall or into the face of an operator. In addition, the skins make it even harder to tell which operator you’re actually fighting. It was quickly clear that ESL would ban the skin series in Pro League, and so it came to pass 6 weeks after release.

4. Elementalist Lux (LoL)

Another League skin has crept into our list: Elementalist Lux. As one of the most expensive skins in the game, you naturally expect a lot for your money. At least in terms of animations and hitboxes, this skin actually gives you a slight advantage over Lux’s other skins. A lot of her animations just look way too similar in the Elementalist Lux skin, so you can’t tell which ability she’s casting. This, in turn, gives such an unfair advantage that the skin has been banned throughout Pro-Play. You can still exploit it in Ranked Queue, of course, and take advantage of the confusing animations. Aside from this fact, the Elementalist Lux is one of the most impressive skins in the game, and while it has a hefty price tag at just under 25€, it’s all the more beautiful to look at.

3. Magneto, King of Spain (Marvel vs. Capcom 3)

We have already presented a curious reason why a skin was banned in a fighting game. But the following one eclipses everything. In Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, there was a skin for the superhero Magneto that was a 1-to-1 likeness of the former King of Spain, Juan Carlos the 1st. The Spanish royal family decided without further ado to sue Marvel because of the resemblance, so the skin had to be removed from the game again. The same incident happened a few years earlier, when Marvel used the exact same image in one of their comics. Even then, the Royal Family threatened to sue. Why Marvel decided to try the whole thing again in their video game remains a mystery.

2. Justicar Syndra (LoL)

Another time a League skin is represented. With over 1300 skins, it’s no wonder that some skins make mistakes. But the Justicar Syndra is the most controversial of them all. Normally Syndra’s balls are purple, but with the Justicar Syndra they are yellowish transparent, making them extremely hard to see. Since it’s already hard to see their spells in a 1v1, it gets even more chaotic in teamfights. As cool as they look, their balls become almost invisible on Summoners Rift’s underground. Playing against obscure spells is one thing, but nearly invisible spells are a lot more frustrating, and thus rightfully #2 on our list.

1. CSGO Player Skins

On the 1st place of the skins that are banned are the CSGO Player Skins. The first time in the history of CSGO the T and CT Models got skins. However, within a few days of the release of Operation Shattered Web and thus the Player Skins, they were already banned from competitive CSGO. The problem with the skins is that they literally merge with their surroundings and enemies become completely invisible. As if that wasn’t enough, some of the skins’ hitboxes are smaller than the standard models, which gives them an immense advantage in Counter Strike. Thus, the skins disappeared from Pro Play as quickly as they arrived. In normal matchmaking, the skins are still available, making CSGO pay to win, at least to a small degree.