Lunar Revel 2025 Guide: Skins, Rewards, Lore & Legacy (LoL)

Lunar Revel is LoL’s annual celebration of the real-world Lunar New Year – a time of fireworks, family reunions and symbolic animals of the Chinese zodiac. In-game, this seasonal event has grown from a small set of dragon-themed skins in 2012 into one of the biggest cosmetic celebrations on the calendar, with cinematic trailers, event passes, missions, prestige skins and unique music themes.

In this updated 2025 guide we’ll walk through:

• How the modern Lunar Revel events work in LoL
• The evolution of Lunar Revel thematics from 2012 to 2025
• Best and most iconic Lunar Revel skins to look at in 2025
• How to grind missions, tokens and rewards efficiently
• When LoL elo boosting or even Marvel Rivals boosting can make sense if you mainly care about enjoying seasonal events instead of sweating ranked
• A large legacy section that preserves the original detailed breakdown of the classic 2012–2017 Lunar Revel skins, icons and wards

Whether you are a new player who only knows the recent Mythmaker and Porcelain lines or a veteran who remembers buying Dragon Fist Lee Sin the week it came out, this page collects everything in one place.

What Is Lunar Revel in LoL in 2025?

Lunar Revel is the umbrella name Riot uses for LoL’s Lunar New Year celebrations. Every year around late January or early February, the game receives:

• A themed skin line (or several related lines) with an Asian-inspired fantasy style
• An event pass with missions that grant tokens, orbs and prestige / mythic currency
• Event-specific chromas, icons, emotes and borders
• At least one cinematic or music piece – for example the “Lunar Revel 2023 Skins Trailer” and “Lunar Revel 2024 Official Theme” on the official site

Thematically, the event continues to mix Runeterran champions with traditional imagery from Lunar New Year: paper lanterns, red envelopes, powerful guardian beasts, and the current year’s Chinese zodiac animal. If you want a quick overview of real-world traditions behind the holiday itself, you can check the Lunar New Year article on Wikipedia, then come back here to see how those ideas are translated into LoL.

From a gameplay standpoint, Lunar Revel is first and foremost a cosmetic and progression event. It doesn’t usually introduce a permanent game mode, but it’s one of the best times of year to:

• Pick up a new main with a fresh skin
• Complete missions while spamming ARAM or standard queues
• Convert your playtime into tokens and event shop rewards
• Push ranked rating to finish the split with a stylish new look

Lunar Revel Evolution: From 2012 Dragon Year to 2025 Cinematics

The very first Lunar Revel in 2012 focused on the Year of the Dragon and introduced a compact but iconic set of skins like Dragon Fist Lee Sin and Jade Dragon Wukong. Over the next few years Riot kept returning to the event and – by the end of the “classic” 2012–2017 cycle – 21 champions had received Lunar Revel-themed appearances, which you’ll find in detail in the legacy section below.

As the game grew, the Lunar New Year celebrations expanded as well. Later years added whole new lines that are spiritually part of Lunar Revel even when they carry different names, such as:

• Lunar Guardian / Lunar Empress and additional Firecracker skins in the late 2010s
• Lunar Beast (2021), which gave champions a futuristic, festival-streetwear spin on Lunar New Year
• Porcelain and more Firecracker skins around 2022, mixing Chinese ceramics motifs with champion designs
• Mythmaker and related skins for Lunar New Year 2023, accompanied by the official Lunar Revel 2023 skins trailer
• Lunar Revel 2024 with the “A Prince’s Wish” cinematic and an official music theme that leaned heavily into dragon imagery and celebration vibes

By 2024 there were already dozens of Lunar New Year-related skins listed across the various lines in community compilations and skin trackers – far beyond the original 21 from 2012–2017. Riot treats Lunar Revel as one of the main yearly tentpole events now, on the same level as Worlds or Spirit Blossom in terms of production value.

In 2025 Riot continues that trend with new Lunar Revel content and another cinematic, “The Bridge Between”, which once again connects Runeterran champions with a spirit-world take on Lunar New Year celebrations. The exact details of the new skins and missions differ from year to year, but the structure remains familiar: earn event currency by playing, then spend it in the event shop before it expires.

Modern Lunar Revel Structure: Passes, Tokens, Orbs & Mythic Essence

If you mainly remember the 2012–2013 era when Lunar Revel was just about buying standalone skins, the modern event will feel much richer. Today, most Lunar Revel celebrations in LoL use the standard event framework:

Event Pass and Free Track

Every Lunar Revel features an Event Pass you can buy for RP. Owning it unlocks a premium mission track that layers on top of the free missions everyone can complete. Typically you can expect:

• A free track with a handful of orbs, event XP, icons and blue essence
• A paid track that grants a large pile of event tokens, bonus orbs, and usually some milestone rewards like prestige points or mythic essence shards

The exact numbers change from event to event, but the pattern is consistent: play games, complete missions, and watch your token count climb up, especially if you have the pass and enjoy grinding.

Tokens, Event Shop & Orbs

Tokens are the main temporary currency. You earn them by:

• Playing normal, ranked and ARAM games
• Completing daily and weekly missions
• Finishing “milestone” missions from the event pass

Tokens can then be exchanged in the event shop for rewards such as:

• Event orbs that contain random skin shards
• Exclusive borders and icons for this year’s skins
• Prestige or mythic currency to work toward ultra-rare cosmetics
• Little bonuses like blue essence, orange essence and emotes

Because these currencies expire when the event ends, efficient players usually try to convert all remaining tokens into orbs or essence before the shop closes.

Mythic Essence & Prestige Skins

Modern Lunar Revel events also interact with the mythic essence system. Event passes often include mythic essence milestones, and some Lunar-themed skins have had prestige editions that you can unlock either directly with tokens or by grabbing enough orbs and rerolling skin shards.

In other words, if you’re a collector, Lunar Revel is an excellent time to stock up on mythic or prestige cosmetics – but only if you are ready to put in the games or to purchase a pass and combine it with a lot of playtime.

Best Lunar Revel & Lunar New Year Skins to Consider in 2025

There is no official tier list of Lunar Revel skins – it’s entirely subjective – but some cosmetics have become community favorites because of their visuals, SFX and thematic execution. Here are a few standout categories to pay attention to in 2025:

Classic Dragon-Era Favorites

• Dragon Fist Lee Sin – timeless kung-fu fantasy, clean yet impactful SFX, and a strong early-Lunar-Revel identity.
• Guqin Sona – a beautiful take on Sona using the traditional guqin instrument; the audio design still holds up very well.
• Dragonblade Riven – flashy abilities and weapon animation, especially appealing if Riven is one of your comfort picks.
• Panda Annie – beloved for its playful Tibbers rework and heavy fireworks theming; one of the best value legacy skins from early years.

Warring Kingdoms Power Fantasy

• Warring Kingdoms Garen – dragon whirlwind, jade blade and war banner effects turn every spin into a mini-firework show.
• Warring Kingdoms Jarvan IV – three-kingdoms general fantasy with a heavily detailed armor set and impressive particle trails.
• Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao – spectacular in team fights thanks to updated SFX for Crescent Sweep and other abilities.
• Warring Kingdoms Vi / Katarina / Nidalee – each offers a sharp, festival-warrior fantasy with different playstyles represented.

Firecrackers, Porcelain & Mythmakers

More recent Lunar New Year lines lean into specific motifs:

• Firecracker Jinx and other Firecracker skins explode with loud, fireworks-driven SFX and bright projectiles.
• Porcelain champion skins (like Porcelain Lissandra, Lux and others) use delicate ceramic patterns and creature guardians.
• Mythmaker skins bring a mythological, almost spirit-realm twist, which you can see in the official Lunar Revel 2023 skins trailer on leagueoflegends.com.

2024–2025 Highlight: Cinematics & Music

Since 2024, Riot has given Lunar Revel the same treatment as major story events, with dedicated cinematics like “A Prince’s Wish” and an official music theme for Lunar Revel 2024. In 2025 they follow up with a new cinematic (“The Bridge Between”) that continues to position Lunar Revel as more than just a skin sale – it’s a yearly celebration of Runeterra’s ties to Lunar New Year.

If you care about story, music or high-quality trailers, Lunar Revel is now one of the best times of the year to dive into the broader LoL universe and its lore, not just the in-client shop.

How to Prepare for Lunar Revel: Practical Tips

Because Lunar Revel revolves around missions, tokens and optional passes, a bit of planning can dramatically improve how many rewards you walk away with. Here are some practical tips for 2025:

1. Decide Early If You’ll Buy the Event Pass

If you have limited time to play, buying the pass on the last week of the event is almost always inefficient. Instead:

• Check the mission list on day one and estimate how many games you can reasonably play per week.
• If you expect to play regularly – or you’re already grinding ranked – buying the pass early maximizes value.
• If you are a very casual player, it might be smarter to skip the pass and just enjoy the free track.

2. Stack Multiple Missions in ARAM or Co-op vs AI

Many Lunar Revel missions don’t require victories; they simply ask you to earn gold, CS, damage or match completions. Spam ARAM or even co-op vs AI games with friends to:

• Clear several missions in parallel
• Earn event XP for both free and paid tracks
• Make progress without the stress of high-stakes ranked games

3. Use a Small Champion Pool That Has Good Skins

Events are more fun when you like how your champion looks. Pick 3–5 champions that:

• You enjoy mechanically
• Have at least one Lunar Revel or Lunar New Year-adjacent skin, or other strong cosmetics
• Cover different roles so you can adapt to fill requests in draft

If you don’t yet own the Lunar Revel skin you want, consider using event tokens, the event shop or rerolls from orbs to target it during the event window.

4. Manage RP and Blue Essence Before the Event Starts

Before Lunar Revel hits the client:

• Craft and disenchant excess skin shards to stock up on orange essence.
• Convert champion shards into blue essence so you can unlock new picks cheaply.
• Decide upfront how much RP you’re comfortable spending on the event pass and any skin bundles.

Planning like this helps avoid impulse purchases and lets you focus on the Lunar Revel skins you truly care about.

When Boosting Makes Sense During Lunar Revel

Not everyone wants to spend the whole event sweating ranked. Some players simply want to log in, queue up a few normal games in beautiful Lunar Revel skins and enjoy the atmosphere, fireworks and new music. If you’re one of those players, you might not want to grind out the rating you need for the rest of the season.

This is where professional LoL elo boosting can be useful. On Boosteria, high-ranked players can help you:

• Reach a specific ranked division before or during the event, so you can relax afterwards
• Climb quickly through placement games and avoid the most chaotic MMR ranges
• Play duo queue with you if you prefer to stay on the account while getting expert help

Because ranking up yourself during a limited-time event can be stressful, many players choose to secure their desired rank first and then use the rest of Lunar Revel to simply enjoy missions, skins and casual games. If you like that approach, explore the LoL boosting options on Boosteria to see what fits your goals and budget.

Events Beyond LoL: Marvel Rivals & Multi-Game Boosting

Lunar-style events and seasonal passes are not unique to LoL. Hero-based games like Marvel Rivals also use timed events and reward tracks. If you like bouncing between titles during big celebrations – LoL for Lunar Revel, Marvel Rivals for its own hero events – it may make sense to use a multi-game boosting platform.

On Boosteria you can already find dedicated services for Riot’s MOBA as well as newer titles. If you want to focus on enjoying new heroes, maps and seasonal cosmetics instead of grinding rating in every game you touch, you can browse Marvel Rivals boosting prices to see how a pro pilot or duo partner could help you maintain competitive ranks there while you’re busy grinding Lunar Revel missions in LoL.

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Legacy Section: Classic Lunar Revel 2012–2017 (Lore, Skins, Icons & Wards)

The following section is preserved as a legacy overview of the original Lunar Revel cycle from 2012–2017. Some details (like which skins are currently available in the store) may have changed since then, but it’s a great snapshot of how the event looked in its early years.

The Lunar Revel event is dedicated to the real Asian holiday – Lunar New Year. In LoL Riot Games started to celebrate this event from 10 January 2012. With every new Lunar Revel were added new champion skins, icons for summoner and ward skins; also some consumable items changed their name and in-game skin. However Riot Games never created a special in-game mode, and this is grievously.

So let’s go straight to the Lunar Revel Overview!

LUNAR REVEL | LORE

According to the legend there was a time when all land was choked by darkness under the grip of two fell Queens. Both Queens had their sigils – Wolf and Serpent. In one gray day a traveler arrived and discovered an ancient evil. He managed to break through the Queens’ disguises and now he saw all their evil nature that they tried to hide.

The traveler’s patience was blown up and he revealed his true form, and the power that poured from him destroyed the fragile shells of the Queens and the Dark Spirits showed the world their true faces.

And the traveler rushed on his enemies and lured them deep into the brutal sea, so that the consequences of their struggle would not be so destructive. And only rare flashes of the divine energy were visible.

And at the sunset of this day, the glow was broken down into the clouds, and the last year became next. While the darkness is still hidden beyond the human eye, people are no longer afraid of the night. The traveler has brought shining hope for the whole Runeterra.

LUNAR NEW YEAR | LoL

As Lunar New Year is an Asian holiday, all backgrounds and thematic skins are made in Asian style. Every Lunar Revel is dedicated to the animal of the Chinese zodiac, and it is reflected in skins, backgrounds and splash arts. As you may know, 2012 was the Year of the Dragon, so three of four initial skins were made in the dragon theme in the name and design.

By the end of the 2012–2017 cycle, 21 champions had received Lunar Revel skins. Unlike many other events in LoL, Lunar Revel skins were originally released as permanent additions to the store, but in 2014 Riven’s and Tryndamere’s skins were classified as Legacy Skins, while Diana’s remained as a permanent skin in the in-game store.

LUNAR REVEL CHAMPION SKINS | LoL (2012–2017)

2012 Lunar Revel Skins (Year of the Dragon):

• Dragon Fist Lee Sin – Permanent
• Guqin Sona – Permanent
• Dragonblade Talon – Permanent
• Jade Dragon Wukong – Permanent

2013 Lunar Revel Skins (Year of the Snake):

• Panda Annie – Permanent
• Jade Fang Cassiopeia – Permanent
• Dragonwing Corki – Permanent
• Warring Kingdoms Jarvan IV – Permanent
• Warring Kingdoms Xin Zhao – Permanent

2014 Lunar Revel Skins (Year of the Horse):

• Lunar Goddess Diana – Permanent
• Dragonblade Riven – Legacy
• Warring Kingdoms Tryndamere – Legacy

2015 Lunar Revel Skins (Year of the Goat):

• Firecracker Jinx – Legacy
• Warring Kingdoms Katarina – Legacy
• Warring Kingdoms Nidalee – Legacy

2016 Lunar Revel Skins (Year of the Monkey):

• Lunar Wraith Caitlyn – Legacy
• Lunar Wraith Morgana – Legacy
• Radiant Wukong – Permanent

2017 Lunar Revel Skins (Year of the Rooster):

• Warring Kingdoms Azir – Legacy
• Warring Kingdoms Garen – Legacy
• Warring Kingdoms Vi – Legacy

LUNAR REVEL SUMMONER ICONS | LoL (2013–2017)

Every year Riot Games released a few new icons for Summoners in Lunar New Year’s theme.

2013 Lunar Revel Icons:

• Red Envelope
• Lunar Revel Shopkeeper
• Lunar Revel Urf
• Glowing Lantern
• Snake Scroll

2014 Lunar Revel Icons:

• Year of the Horse
• Icon of the Lunar Goddess
• Icon of the Warring Kingdoms
• Icon of the Dragonblade
• Chosen Path: Truth
• Chosen Path: Power
• Chosen Path: Freedom
• Path of Truth
• Path of Power
• Path of Freedom

2015 Lunar Revel Icons:

• Firecracker
• Year of the Goat

2016 Lunar Revel Icons:

• Shadow Wolf
• Nightshade Serpent
• Monkey King
• Lunar Guardian

2017 Lunar Revel Icons:

• Year of the Rooster
• Jade Warrior
• Jade Emperor
• Jade Demon
• Mark of Fortune

LUNAR REVEL WARDS | LoL

In 2013 for Lunar New Year Riot Games decided to add two ward skins to celebrate the Year of the Snake. These wards were free for all during the event.

In 2014 Riot created another two ward skins for the Year of the Horse. All Lunar Revel ward skins were free to use during the event, but to use them after the festival you needed to buy them for 640 RP each.

Then Riot decided to take a break and the next ward skins were released only in the 2017 Lunar Revel.

Full list of Lunar Revel Wards:

• Lantern of the Serpent Ward
• Banner of the Serpent Ward
• Banner of the Horse Ward
• Gong Ward
• Rising Dawn Ward
• Crest of the Rooster Ward

Riot Games also changed some casual items into something more interesting:

• Elixir of Fortitude was transformed into Red Ginseng Kettle
• Elixir of Brilliance was transformed into Blue Lasi Kettle
• Elixir of Agility was transformed into Green Tea Kettle
• Health Potion was transformed into Phoenix Burn
• Mana Potion was transformed into Dragon Dumpling
• Oracle’s Elixir was transformed into Oracle’s Lantern

DRAGON FIST LEE SIN | LUNAR REVEL LEE SIN SKIN AND SPLASH ART

Dragon Fist Lee Sin looks like a typical kung-fu master. He wears sunglasses to emphasize his blindness. This blind monk looks cool by himself, but he gets a few new animations – taunt and standing idle. Also, he gets new animations for Resonating Strike. However this skin does not get any new particle effects, and only sound effects were changed. In action this skin looks great so take it as soon as it becomes available.

You can buy Dragon Fist Lee Sin skin for 975 RP during the Lunar Revel event in LoL.

GUQIN SONA | LUNAR REVEL SONA SKIN AND SPLASH ART

This time Sona is dressed in a traditional Chinese dress and armed with a Guqin instead of her usual Etwahl. As you can see by the marks on her dress she is preparing to take part in the Lunar New Year celebration. Riot added a new walking animation and new sound effects that fit the guqin’s sound. But she did not get any new VFX at all. All these enhancements really look fancy, so if you like Chinese themes then this Guqin Sona skin must be in your must-have list.

UPD: This Guqin Sona skin was updated in 2014 so check carefully before you buy.

You can buy Guqin Sona skin for 975 RP during the Lunar Revel event in LoL.

LUNAR REVEL LOGIN SCREENS | LoL

Between 2012 and 2017 Riot Games created six login screens for the Lunar Revel in-game event, mostly based on splash art of various champions, but they are all still gorgeous. Just look at them yourself:

• Lunar Revel 2012
• Lunar Revel 2014
• Lunar Revel 2016
• Lunar Revel 2017

RIOT GAMES ABOUT ORIGIN OF THE LUNAR REVEL

In one of the early years Riot Games released a great article where they spoke about the creation of Lunar Revel and the problems they faced when they created this event. If you are interested in the history of how skins were created, what difficulties the developers overcame, or just want to look at concept arts and draw inspiration from their work, check out their editorial “Light Over Dark: Creating Lunar Revel’s Triptych”.

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