Many VALORANT players, casuals, and professionals alike consider the Phantom Skins their favorite skins of them all. In this article, we’ll rank them from worst to best.
The Phantom is an Assault Rifle in VALORANT priced at 2900 in-game credits and is one of the most popular buy-round choices. The Phantom can one-shot headshot enemies at close range, but at medium to long range, it only hits for 140 with a shot to the head. But that aside, the Phantom is still versatile and is excellent for spraying with its 30-round magazine, especially through smokes, as it does not have any bullet tracers.
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 offers 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 Phantom 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.
Read More: Best Ghost Skins in VALORANT: All Skins Ranked from Worst to Best
Best Phantom Skins in VALORANT 2023: A Complete Tierlist
Since the game’s release, Riot has released 49 different types of Phantom skins in VALORANT as a part of weapon bundles, 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 15 but included them in the tier list. Battle pass skins are occasionally good, but they aren’t usually better than skins from featured bundles, so our top 15 will remain unaffected by their exclusion.
| Tier | Phantom Skins |
|---|---|
| S-Tier (Best) | Champions 2022, Ion, Protocol 781-A, Spectrum, Reaver, Chronovoid |
| A-Tier (Good) | BlastX, Glitchpop, Prime 2.0, RGX 11z Pro, Ruination, Singularity, Oni |
| B-Tier (Average) | Radiant Crisis 001, Rush, Abyssal, Soulstrife, Undercity, Xenohunter, Piedra del Sol, Sarmad, Task Force 809, Team Ace, Tigris |
| C-Tier (Underwhelming) | Hue Shift, Kingdom, Aero, Celestial, Galleria, Nebula, Prism, Silvanus, Smite, Spline, Winter Wunderland, Valorant Go! Vol. 1, Doodle Buds, Spline |
| F-Tier (Not Recommended) | 9 Lives, Kohaku & Matsuba, Reverie, Serenity, Infinity, Lightwave, Artisan, Velocity, Avalanche, Minima, Snowfall, Recon |
Top 15 Phantom Skins in VALORANT 2023
Among all the Phantom skins released in VALORANT so far, here are the top 15 ranked according to the basis of looks, animations, and VFX:
15. Valorant Go! Vol. 1 Phantom
The first Valorant Go! Bundle featured weapon skins themed after cute chibi versions of the agents. The Valorant Go! Vol. 1 Phantom is a Reyna-themed skin, perfect for all the Reyna mains out there.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: No
Color Variants: No
14. Radiant Crisis 001 Phantom
Sporting a Borderlands vibe, the Radiant Crisis 001 Phantom comes with a cartoonish graphic along with captions that sounds like a comic book.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: No
13. Oni Phantom
Up next, we have the Oni Phantom, which has been a signature Phantom skin ever since its release. Everything about this skin, from the beautiful color variants, firing sound, and finisher, are all amazing.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
12. Singularity Phantom
The Singularity Phantom is a weapon infused with the power of Radianite and is constantly deforming and reforming around it. It features a cool equip animation and finisher but there have been reports of some players finding the spraying animation distracting.
Rarity: Exclusive Edition
Price: 2175 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
11. Ruination Phantom
The Ruination series of skins are part of a collaboration with Riot’s other hit game, League of Legends. The Ruination Phantom comes in an ancient theme of the Ruined King and has a smokey aura coming out of it. It also offers beautiful color variants.
Rarity: Exclusive Edition
Price: 2175 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
10. RGX 11z Pro Phantom
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, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
9. Prime//2.0 Phantom
After the release of the first Prime bundle and how well it was received, Riot released the Prime 2.0 bundle, which included a Phantom skin. It has a futuristic appearance similar to the old prime skins with that signature reload animation.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
8. Glitchpop Phantom
After the release of the first Glitchpop bundle and how well it was received, Riot released the 2nd Glitchpop bundle, which included a Phantom skin. If you love futuristic neon/Cyberpunk aesthetics, then the Glitchpop Phantom would be a perfect match for you.
Rarity: Exclusive Edition
Price: 2175 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
7. BlastX Phantom
The BlastX Phantom is a Nerf-inspired skin for the Phantom. It has a plastic appearance and shoots out bullets in the form of nerf darts. The firing sounds are similar to the real toy, and the equipped animation looks like unwrapping a present. The BlastX Phantom is overall a really fun skin to use, especially with that finisher.
Rarity: Exclusive Edition
Price: 2175 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
6. ChronoVoid Phantom
ChronoVoid Phantom is one of the best skins now. The skin has three different color variants and 3 upgrades, making it preferred by even the pros. Also, the sound from ChronoVoid weapons is very satisfying.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
5. Reaver Phantom
The Reaver series of skins is one of the most popular skin bundles in VALORANT, with the Reaver Vandal and Reaver Operator gaining much popularity along with the Reaver Phantom. The skin has one of the most unique reload animations, with the player reloading the magazine without touching it as though using some sort of dark magic. The firing sounds, skin color variants, and finisher put this Sheriff’s skin in our top 5.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
4. Spectrum Phantom
“A collection of weaponized color and sound that elevates the way you experience the game, taking you from a player to a performer” -Zedd
The Spectrum line of skins was Valorant’s first collaboration with the artist Zedd, and the Spectrum Phantom is the most popular out of that bundle. The Spectrum Phantom 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 inspection animation?
Rarity: Exclusive Edition
Price: 2675 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: Yes
3. Ion Phantom
The Ion Phantom is a futuristic version of the Phantom which has a very sleek and minimalistic appearance. Although it has no color variants, it has unique GFX aspects that can be unlocked, as well as having a satisfying firing sound.
Rarity: Premium Edition
Price: 1775 VP
How to Buy: Store, Night Market
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: No
2. Protocol 781-A Phantom
The Protocol 781-A bundle has been the latest bundle to be added to VALORANT, and it is the second Ultra Edition skin bundle right after Elderflame. The Protocol 781-A Phantom features a futuristic military vibe.
Its unique feature is that the gun has an AI that actually has voice lines. It’s as though the gun has a mind of its own and is self-aware. The finisher is also really cool, where it spawns a mech that shoots at the enemy.
Rarity: Ultra Edition
Price: 2475 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: No
1. Champions 2022 Phantom
The Phantom has a golden and red color scheme like its previous ancestor. But the design is different, and it looks like the weapon is made of precious Ruby and Gold, which looks absolutely stunning to the eye.
Rarity: Exclusive Edition
Price: 2675 VP
How to Buy: Store only
VFX, GFX, Finisher: Yes
Color Variants: No
Read More: Best Sheriff Skins in VALORANT: All Skins Ranked from Worst to Best
So this wraps up our top 15 Phantom skins in VALORANT. Note that, like all lists, this is subjective, and your personal rankings might differ from those here.
