Fortnite is driven by cosmetics, and it’s clear Epic knows that. As the key monetization tool, Epic has historically been very careful with how it features different items, and in particular, skins. Certain skins just haven’t shown up since launch, and with a now much higher playerbase, that makes them rare. We gathered up the 10 rarest Fortnite skins out of the game’s entire history. Although it’s unlikely you’ll ever be able to earn any of these skins again, Epic has brought a few of them back for a day or two, so always keep checking the store.
Before getting to all of that, though, let’s talk about what a “rare” Fortnite skin is, exactly.
What makes a Fortnite skin rare?
Judging the rarity of Fortnite skins is no easy task. With physical collectibles, the rarity of a particular item usually goes up with limited production runs and a process of naturalization. For digital goods, however, there’s no inherent scarcity. Epic Games and other free-to-play publishers create their own scarcity, only listing certain items on the store when they want to. That means that, although fewer people may have purchased a particular skin, that skin may be less rare than one with higher sales.
Basically, it’s a wash. The skins we’re deeming as “rare” either come from timed promotions with other companies or, in most cases, high tier Battle Pass rewards that haven’t shown their face since. The longer a skin stays out of the store, the rarer it gets, even if the skin itself isn’t all that impressive.
Further reading
Recon Expert
- Price: 1,200 VBucks
Recon Expert is about as boring as it gets when it comes to Fortnite skins. It was added to the store only a month after Fortnite: Battle Royale launched — you know, back when Fortnite was a different game — and for whatever reason, Epic decided never to put it back into rotation. It showed up once in October 2017 when it debuted, then twice more in November. Epic brought the skin back a few months ago for a very limited time, too.
Although Recon Expert carries some clout in the Fortnite community — essentially proving that you’ve been playing the game for a long time — it’s really not too special. After it showed up as a featured item for two consecutive days in May of this year, a lot more players are running around with Recon Expert now than before. Regardless, it remains a novelty for those who have been playing Fortnite for a while.
Renegade Raider
- Price: 1,200 V-Bucks
Another old skin with clout, Renegade Raider was a reward in Fortnite Season 1. After reaching level 20, you could buy it in the shop for a mere 1,200 V-Bucks. A similar tale to Recon Expert, though, Epic never brought Renegade Raider back, and unlike Recon Expert, hasn’t since. It remains one of the rarest skins in the game, despite being relatively simple. Apparently, the design is an homage to the Tank Girl comics and, more specifically, the Lori Petty-led 1995 film adaptation.
Black Knight
- Price: Seasonal reward
Black Knight led the charge in Fortnite’s Season 2 Battle Pass promotions, sitting at the top of that season’s rewards. Bundled with it was the Black Shield Back Bling, which is equally as rare as the outfit. Same story as the above two: Black Knight was a part of the Season 2 Battle Pass, and Epic hasn’t reintroduced it to the store since. This was back when the Battle Pass topped out at tier 70, so it’s likely that Black Knight is slightly less rare than the Battle Pass skins that came in the following seasons.
Dark Voyager
- Price: Seasonal reward
Dark Voyager came immediately after Black Knight, sitting at the 70th tier of the Season 3 Battle Pass. Although it’s still difficult to obtain, there were a lot more players running around with Dark Voyager in Season 3. This is the season where Epic decided to shift the Battle Pass from 70 tiers to 100 tiers, so a far greater number of players likely earned Dark Voyager (anyone who plays Warzone knows how tough those final few tiers are). Still, Season 3 was many moons ago, and Epic hasn’t brought Dark Voyager back into the fold since. The player base has grown a lot since Season 3, too, making this skin all the rarer.
Aerial Assault Trooper
- Price: 1,200 V-Bucks
Aerial Assault Trooper is another Season 1 skin that’s rare simply because it’s old. All the more frustrating, it wasn’t even expensive. The price was the standard 1,200 V-Bucks, but you only needed to reach level 15 to unlock it in the Season Shop. It’s unassuming, much like Recon Expert and Renegade Raider, but because Epic hasn’t ever reintroduced it, the skin remains a status symbol in the game. Like a lot of Season 1 skins, this one is heavily inspired by a character in Fortnite: Save the World. In this case, the outfit is modeled after Commando Spitfire.
Galaxy
- Price: Promotional reward
The absolute rarest skins in Fortnite are the ones that come from promotions with other companies, and that’s the case with Galaxy. The name should tell you everything, but Galaxy came as a part of a promotion between Epic and Samsung. The Android beta for Fortnite was exclusively available on Samsung devices, and during the beta period, you could redeem the Galaxy skin if you purchased a Samsung Note 9 or Galaxy Tab S4.
Samsung eventually replaced the Galaxy skin with Glow. The difference was, however, that a lot more devices were eligible for Glow, and players had plenty of time to redeem the skin. Because of the strict requirements with Galaxy, it might be the rarest outfit in the game. After all, earning it would mean buying a flagship Samsung device during the Fortnite Android beta, and even with Fortnite’s massive player base, that’s likely only a small fraction of people.
Ghoul Trooper
- Price: 1,500 V-Bucks
Ghoul Trooper, unlike the previously mentioned skins on this list, has shown up in the store a lot. It was released as part of a Halloween promotion in October 2017, and Epic continued to feature the skin throughout November. Epic brought the skin back for Halloween last year, selling it between October 31 and November 2. Players who bought the skin in 2019 didn’t get the whole package, though. Ghoul Trooper has three styles: Default, Zombie, and Pink. The Pink style is only available to players who purchased Ghoul Trooper in 2017, and like a lot of old skins, that makes the Pink Ghoul Trooper, in particular, rare.
Skull Trooper
- Price: 1,500 V-Bucks
Epic introduced Skull Trooper alongside Ghoul Trooper during Halloween 2017. It was featured in the item shop on every day that Ghoul Trooper was, splitting the pool of players between two very expensive skins. Although Skull Trooper has shown up in the shop since 2017, the Purple Glow style is exclusive to those who picked it up on launch. Skull Trooper itself is a rare enough skin, given its high price tag and limited availability, but the Purple Glow style is even rarer.
The Reaper
- Price: Seasonal reward
The John Wick Fortnite skin isn’t that rare. It showed up in the shop in early 2019 and has resurfaced multiple times since. The Reaper skin, however, is very rare. It was a reward for reaching tier 100 of the Season 3 Battle Pass, making it even rarer than the Dark Voyager skin. The Reaper skin certainly looks like John Wick, though the official John Wick skin has a much clearer resemblance to Keanu Reeves. This one, although clearly inspired by Reeves’ likeness, is much more subdued. The Reaper is all the more rare considering there is an official skin now. With Reeves perfectly programmed into the game, Epic will probably never bring The Reaper back.
Ragnarok
- Price: Seasonal reward
Ragnarok is the most recent skin on this list, showing up in Season 5 as the final reward for the Battle Pass. After The Reaper, Black Knight, and Dark Voyager skins, players quickly learned that the showcase Battle Pass rewards were a big deal. Ragnarok itself is rare, though not nearly as rare as its Stage 5 style. In order to unlock all of the styles, players had to reach 500,000 XP in Season 5. For some context, the maximum amount of XP you can earn in a match is well shy of 1,000, and that’s including the 300 XP you earn for placing first. Although XP multipliers in the Battle Pass can help players along, those with the Stage 5 Ragnarok skin have hundreds of high-ranked matches under their belts.
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