The Classic skins have always been the favorite of almost all VALORANT players, Casual and Professional alike. Here, we’ll be ranking the skins from worst to best.
The Classic is the starting pistol in VALORANT. It is a basic weapon and is free for players at the start of each round. It is mostly used in pistol rounds and eco rounds. It takes 2 shots to the head to kill an enemy with this weapon. But the Classic has a deadly surprise up its sleeve, the ability to shoot a 3-round spread with its alternate fire. This makes it a popular choice to 1-shot enemies at close range, even those with full armor.
Skins in VALORANT are merely decorative and do not offer any real in-game advantages vs. the default skin. Although compared to other games like CS:GO, which only offer recolors of the same exact weapon, the devs at Riot went a bit overboard with the skins in VALORANT as they completely altered the look of the weapon, added special VFX, GFX, and one skin turns your weapon into a literal dragon!
While choosing a good Classic skin for yourself, you should determine if you like the theme of the skins, the looks, the inspect/equip animations, the finisher, and the firing sounds. Unlike other games like CS:GO, which has individual pricing for skins, the skins in VALORANT come at a fixed price, depending on their collection. Select Edition skins cost 875vp, while Premium and Exclusive Edition skins cost 1775vp and 2175vp, respectively.
Best Classic Skins in VALORANT 2023: A Complete Tier list
Since the game’s release, Riot has released more than 33 different Classic skins in VALORANT as a part of weapon bundles, agent contracts, and battle passes. Since battle pass skins are obtainable only during their respective act and cannot be obtained later in the store, we excluded those from our top 10 but included them in the tier list. Battle pass skins are occasionally good, but they aren’t usually better than skins from featured bundles and some agent contracts, so our top 10 will remain unaffected by their exclusion.
| Tier | Classic Skins |
| S-Tier (Best) | Glitchpop, Prime, SPECTRUM, RGX 11z Pro |
| A-Tier (Good) | Forsaken, Radiant Crisis 001, Gravitational Uranium Neuroblaster |
| B-Tier (Average) | VALORANT Go! Vol. 2, Goldwing, Undercity, Prism III, Sakura, Pistolinha, Songsteel, Final Chamber, Reverie, Striker |
| C-Tier (Underwhelming) | 9 Lives, FIRE/arm, Infinity, Premiere Collision, Kingdom, Red Alert, Smite, Spline, Surge, Kohaku & Matsuba, Snowfall |
| F-Tier (Not Recommended) | Shimmer, Cryostasis, Avalanche, Finesse, Galleria |
Top 10 Best Classic Skins in VALORANT
Among all the Classic skins released in VALORANT so far, here are the top 10 ranked according to the basis of looks, animations, and VFX:
10. Undercity Classic
The latest skin bundle to be added to the game is the Undercity skin bundle, which comes with this Classic skin. Unfortunately, it’s another “Green screen” skin which is one of the most unpopular ones in the community. On top of that, it costs 1775 VP and includes no VFX, GFX, Finisher, or even color variants.
- Rarity: Premium Edition
- Price: 1775 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: No
- Color Variants: No
9. Goldwing Classic
Even among the top skins in this collection, the Goldwing Classing shines out, despite being a Select tier skin. The elegant appearance of the skin is due to the combination of gold, black, and a touch of red. As there are no upgrades or or color variants, we’ll just rest this skin to number 9 at this moment.
- Rarity: Select Edition
- Price: Battle Pass
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: No
- Color Variants: No
8. Valorant Go! Vol. 2 Classic
The VALORANT Go! bundles bring in weapon skins themed after certain agents in the game. In Vol. 2 of the bundle, a classic skin is included sporting a 3D image of Viper, perfect for all the lineup mains out there.
- Rarity: Exclusive Edition
- Price: 1775 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: No
- Color Variants: No
7. Gravitational Uranium Neuroblaster Classic
More like meme skin, the Gravitational Uranium Neuroblaster classic skin is a space-themed skin. If you like Jetson’s theme and have a good sense of humor, you can definitely pick up this skin. It also features VFX, GFX, Finishers, and Color Variants.
- Rarity: Premium Edition
- Price: 1775 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: Yes
6. Radiant Crisis 001 Classic
Sporting a Borderlands vibe, the Radiant Crisis 001 Classic comes with a cartoonish graphic along with captions of its sounds like a comic book. It also includes VFX, GFX, and a finisher.
- Rarity: Premium Edition
- Price: 1775 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: No
5. Forsaken Classic
The Evil twin of the Sovereign skins, the Forsaken Classic, takes on an ancient runic appearance filled with dark green magic. It has a Sovereign alternative colorway and a cool-looking finisher.
- Rarity: Premium Edition
- Price: 1775 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: Yes
4. RGX 11z Pro
The skin’s modern design and the fact that it comes in three different colors make it a popular option among skin collectors. The skin may be upgraded to one of three other levels as well. Nonetheless, the orange shadings, in particular, elevate the skin to the level of a work of art.
- Rarity: Exclusive Edition
- Price: 2175 VP
- How to Buy: Store only
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: Yes
3. Glitchpop Classic
If you’re into Cyberpunk or Neon themes, then the Glitchpop 2.0 Classic is the one for you. Coming in at a bit more expensive price of 2175VP, this futuristic skin has great GFX, VFX, and a sky-wide finisher.
- Rarity: Exclusive Edition
- Price: 2175 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: Yes
2. SPECTRUM Classic
“A collection of weaponized color and sound that elevates the way you experience the game, taking you from a player to a performer” – Zedd on SPECTRUM
The Spectrum line of skins was Valorant’s first collaboration with the artist Zedd, including the SPECTRUM Classic. The Spectrum Classic offers satisfying firing animations, RGB lights, and an insane finisher. Also, did we mention that you can listen to sick tracks by Zedd during the inspect animation?
- Rarity: Exclusive Edition
- Price: 2675 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: Yes
1. Prime Classic
The Prime Classic is one of the oldest and most coveted skins in VALORANT. Although quite plain in looks compared to the newer skins, the Prime Classic has the most satisfying firing sounds along with cool GFX and a very unique reload animation. Some players even claim that the Prime Classic increases their accuracy by a substantial amount, although it is the placebo effect. Regardless, we have the Prime Classic as our #1 Best Classic skin in VALORANT.
- Rarity: Premium Edition
- Price: 1775 VP
- How to Buy: Store, Night Market
- VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
- Color Variants: Yes
So this wraps up our top 10 Classic skins in VALORANT. Note that, like all lists, this is subjective, and your personal rankings might differ from the ones we have here. You can also take a look at the best skins for other weapons in the game:
Best Phantom Skins | Best Vandal Skins | Best Operator Skins | Best Ghost Skins | Best Spectre Skins
