How to Upgrade VALORANT Skins in 2026

Are you wondering how to upgrade your VALORANT weapon skin in 2026? We’ve got you covered. Whether you want to unlock a new color variant or flex with a Tier 4 Finisher animation, here’s a full guide on how to unlock your cosmetic’s full potential.

What Does it Mean to Upgrade a VALORANT Skin?

When you buy a weapon skin in VALORANT, you just buy the base cosmetic. Usually, you pay for this in the in-game shop with VALORANT Points, Riot Games’ premium currency. However, the flexing grind doesn’t end once you pick up a new skin: you can upgrade many VALORANT items with better graphics and new color chromas.

Upgrading a skin can unlock fresh animated VFX, like flames coming out of your weapon. It can also unleash a unique Finisher animation, which pops up on the map after you win a round.

Most VALORANT bundles with a Vandal or Phantom in them are upgradeable. For example, the Champions skin sets are a pretty safe bet.

(Video Credits: @Meox via YouTube)

Does Upgrading VALORANT Skins Cost Money?

What are Radianite Points (RP) in VALORANT?

Upgrading VALORANT weapon skins and cosmetics costs Radianite Points (RP). This is a premium currency that won’t buy you specific weapons or items, but will help improve the ones you have.

How to Get Radianite Points (RP) in VALORANT

You can usually only get VALORANT Radianite Points through paid methods. The most popular ways to grab this currency are:

• Using the Battlepass
• Paying for it with VALORANT Points

The Battlepass usually gives players small amounts of RP if they purchase the Premium track. This costs 1,000 VP, or about 10 USD. Typically, you’ll get 10 RP per Battlepass tier. Most VALORANT weapon upgrades also cost 10 RP a pop, so think of each reward as a voucher for one improvement.

You can also exchange VALORANT Points (VP) for RP in the in-game currency shop. You can access this by clicking on the little R logo inside a circle on the top right of your home screen. A pop-up should come up, showing you the currency conversion prices. Sometimes, Riot Games discounts this, so make sure to keep checking. At the time of writing, you can get 20 RP for 1,600 VP (about 20 USD).

If you don’t have enough VP to convert, you can buy it by clicking the little V icon on the top right of your screen. You can also gift your friends VP, as VALORANT sells gift cards with codes to redeem online.

How to Upgrade VALORANT Weapon Skins

To upgrade your favorite VALORANT skin, follow this quick tutorial:

• Open VALORANT and go to the Collection tab. You can find this with the little button that looks like a backpack near the top right of your home screen.
• Make sure you’ve already bought the weapon skin you want to upgrade.
• Pick the weapon with the skin you want to upgrade. For example, if you wanted to upgrade the Reaver Vandal, pick the Vandal.
• On the left side of your screen, you’ll see a list of skins. If you’re having trouble finding the skin you want, click the Filter button on the top right. Click ‘Hide Unowned.’ This should make it easier to find.
• Click the skin you want to upgrade.
• On the bottom left of the skin display, you should see two bars: ‘Levels’ and ‘Variants.’
  • Clicking on ‘Levels’ will let you upgrade the weapon’s tier. For example, upgrading to Level 3 might unlock specific VFX, and upgrading to Level 4 might unlock a Finisher animation.
  • Clicking on ‘Variants’ will let you unlock new color chromas for the weapon.
• Select which level and variant you want to upgrade to. Click and confirm the purchase.
• Congrats! You’ve upgraded your weapon skin. You can now flex on enemies with style.

It’s important to note that upgrade prices stack. Even if you just want the Finisher animation on Level 4, you’ll have to upgrade all the levels before it, costing more RP.

Stay tuned for more VALORANT esports and in-game news, plus plenty more handy guides!