The Operator is the most expensive weapon in Valorant. Luckily, its skins are the same price as any other weapon, allowing you to ball out and get the best one that fits your taste. But it can still be difficult to decide what skin to buy for the Operator.
To help you out with your decision, we’ve collected 10 of the best Operator skins in Valorant.
Infantry
Date Released: March 16, 2021
Price: 875 VP
Colors Available: Default
Special Effects: None
The first entry on our list belongs to the Infantry Operator. It’s the cheapest skin on our list, coming in at only 875 VP, which is on par with some of the many great cheap CS:GO skins.
The Infantry Operator transforms the standard Operator into an old bolt action rifle used during the early world war days. It does have some pretty basic inspect, reload, and pull-out animations, but there’s no denying that it’s a pretty clean-looking skin. And it’s also really cheap, making it perfect for the budget Valorant players out there.
Cryostasis
Date Released: December 6, 2022
Price: 1775 VP
Colors Available: Default
Special Effects: Finisher, VFX
This next pick may come as a surprise because it’s one of the less popular skins around. The Cryostasis Operator has an angled and mechanical look that gets more and more frozen the longer it’s unused. Ice and frost will start to break off once you fire a shot.
The Inspect, pull-out, and reload animations are all pretty standard. However, they do have quite unique sound effects that sound very metallic, which are honestly better than the standard Operator. The finisher is also very cool, pun intended, where the victim gets frozen in place. It’s definitely one of the underrated skins by the Valorant community.
Prelude to Chaos
Date Released: June 22, 2022
Price: 2175 VP
Colors Available: Green, Silver, Blue
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher
The Prelude to Chaos Operator is one of those skins that’ll have you checking your Valorant store every day just to get it, and it deserves a spot here! It has this futuristic clean look that feels like a dark distant cousin of the Ion skin line. Purple and black look so great, especially with the gold accents. Once you upgrade the animations, it’s all over.
Both the inspect and the reload animation focus on the ball of energy found in the middle. It gets replaced when reloading and levitates when inspecting. It’s just a joy to watch. The gunfire SFX is also very satisfying, going up first and then slowly down as the shot gets further away.
Reaver
Date Released: October 27, 2020
Price: 1775 VP
Colors Available: Silver, Red, Black, White
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher
The Reaver Operator is of the safest options out there if you’re still unsure which skin to buy. It has a classic dark purple and silver look that almost anyone will love. It also features a variety of color variants that are just as good as the base model.
The Reaver Operator doesn’t have any special inspect or pull-out animations, but the base shadowy look is more than enough to add some spice to your game. The finisher also comes in quickly with shadows and the enemy getting pulled down by various arms through a hole. The Reaver skin line also features a Vandal and a Phantom skin, making it great if you’re looking to get a matching collection.
Magepunk
Date Released: November 16, 2021
Price: 1775 VP
Colors Available: Blue, Green, Red, Yellow
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher
The Magepunk Operator brings bits of magic and alchemy to Valorant. It has this industrial look with a bronze, black, and brown finish. It’s then topped off by bulb-like chambers that contain electric charges. The electrical charges inside the weapon are the only thing that changes colors when using different color variants.
It doesn’t have a unique pull-out or a inspect animation, but it does have great sound effects, like the weapon is being charged. It also has a deep, nearly thunderous SFX for its bullet shots. The Magepunk Operator also has a crazy finisher where the enemy gets trapped in a bulb chamber before getting electrocuted to dust.
RGX 11Z Pro
Date Released: April 27, 2022
Price: 2175 VP
Colors Available: Green, Blue, White, Yellow
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher, Kill Counter
If you like RGBs and gaming PCs, then the RGX 11z Pro Operator is the perfect skin for you. The skin was literally designed with gaming in mind. You can see it from the angular finish, the green base color, and the cycling RGB lights that surround the weapon. It also has an active in-game kill counter as a finishing touch.
The pull-out and the inspect aren’t anything too special. However, the sound effects that come with them are just perfect for the gamer aesthetic. They also nailed the techy and deep-sounding gunfire sounds. Finally, it also has a pretty solid finisher where three pillars spawn, trapping the victim and exploding before leaving a holographic outline of the enemy.
Sentinels of Light
Date Released: July 20, 2021
Price: 2175 VP
Colors Available: Pink, Green, Purple, Golden
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher
The Sentinels of Light Operator is an exclusive skin from the League of Legends X Valorant event. All of its design elements are directly inspired by League of Legends lore. One of its most unique elements is that the sound effects are direct audio bits from the LoL champion Akshan.
It has a “heroic” vibe to it with its silver, gold, and black color theme. The small details from the relic stones, the flowing stored energy, and the shadowy yet comforting mist are all satisfying to look at. The SoL Operator also features a beautiful finisher where the enemy is first corrupted by Viego before being purified with the Sentinels mark from above.
Origin
Date Released: June 8, 2021
Price: 1775 VP
Colors Available: Black, Green, Red, White
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher
The Origin Operator comes next, and let me tell you right now, it’s a must-buy. The Origin Operator has this elegant and simple look to it with a gold and black theme. It also features a ton of moving circles whenever you use the weapon.
One of the best aspects of the Origin Operator is, by far, the inspect animation. The inspect has the weapon levitating between your hands with the parts separating from the weapon. However, it also has a cool finisher where various circles spawn on top of the enemy’s head before surrounding their body, beaming them, and teleporting them to a different place.
Elderflame
Date Released: July 7, 2020
Price: 2475 VP
Colors Available: Red, Blue, Black
Special Effects: VFX, Animation, Finisher
In 2nd place, we have the Elderflame Operator. It’s a bit more expensive than most of the skins on our list, but it’s definitely worth it. A lot of work was put in by Riot on this skin, and it definitely shows. It feels like you’re actually holding a real dragon in your hands and using it to kill enemies.
It has a solid pull-out animation where the dragon spreads its wings before stretching out. The reload is also pretty amazing, where the dragon gently grabs the magazine from you. The Elderflame also has a satisfying fire sound with a subtle fire-breathing animation and molten fire dripping from the dragon’s mouth after every shot.
Araxys
Date Released: January 10, 2023
Price: 2175 VP
Colors Available: Purple, Black, Silver, Default
Special Effects: Sound Effects, Animation, Finisher
The number one spot on our list belongs to the Araxys Operator. The Araxys Operator has a bronze, light blue, and black color combination. It looks sleek and futuristic thanks to its reactive shell-like armor.
The pull-out simply looks amazing, with the fragments expanding and levitating through electric beams. The same can be said for the inspect where the weapon almost opens up. The finisher is just perfection. It has the final enemy disintegrated, and all enemies you’ve killed during the round gets beamed up by a laser. It’s definitely one of the best skins in Valorant that you can buy.
Conclusion
The Araxys Operator takes the throne of the best Operator skin in Valorant. It just does everything right. It has insane animations, clean sound effects, a sleek design, and a crazy finisher. What else could you be looking for in an Operator skin?
If the Araxys isn’t your thing, make sure to check out the rest of the list. There are some pretty sick skins on there.
