Canon Skins

In general, as stated here and here, most skins in Paladins are not considered canon or part of the lore, and are largely either "What-If"s or alternate universes. However, there are a few skins that have certain degrees of canonicity to them.

Canon Skins

These skins are completely canon to the lore and have no current conflicting information regarding their canonicity. This category includes:

• Seal Guardian Vora - As shown in the card A Broken Path and A Change of Faith, Vora's reveal trailer, and Yagorath's reveal trailer, this skin depicts Vora prior to becoming corrupted by the Darkness. Though Vora canonically wouldn't be able to perform certain abilities like Tendril and Harbinger's Wrath in this state due to not being corrupted.

• Guild Skye - As can be seen here, this skin has appeared in an official lore video. No other evidence is currently known that contradicts the canonicity of this skin. It is unknown why Skye took up this appearance.

• Exemplar Corvus - As revealed here, one of Corvus' available skins at the time shows what he looked like prior to joining the Magistrate, meaning this is likely Corvus during his time at the Outer Tribunal. While not explicitly mentioned as being this skin in particular, as Corvus' other skins are a "what-if" Abyss version and an Echo skin, it leaves only this skin remaining.

• Beach Bunny Rei - This skin appears in Rei's card Rest and Relaxation and features Rei in beach attire.

• Kingdom's End Azaan - This skin appears in Azaan's card Solemn Watch.

• Forgemaster Azaan - This skin appears in Azaan's card Flames of Wrath.

• Deadly Pallor VII - This skin appears in VII's card The Fear. It's unknown if this is an appearance VII took up, or is literally supposed to be one of the previous assasins of the Outer Tribunal VII's recolors were mentioned as being.

• Crash King 47 and Crash King 48 - These skins appear in Betty La Bomba's teaser trailer, seemingly being constructs made in the image of Bomb King for Betty to torment and destroy.

• Sun Born Lillith - This skin appears in Lillith's cards Blood Canon, Charmed, and Sheer Ascent, showing what Lillith looked like prior to becoming an Abyssal vampire.

• Spirited Kasumi - This skin shows what Kasumi looked like when she was alive.

• Abyss Cultist Vatu - As can be seen in Caspian's teaser trailer, this skin shows an Abyssal Cultist, though obviously in-universe, this skin would lack most Vatu elements such as his voice.

• Remix Pepper - A world class vulpin DJ from an alternate universe. Pip accidentally led to her entering the Realm after one of his alchemy experiments went wrong. She ended up sticking around in the Realm, notably being attacked by Yagorath alongside Pip and Moji, though beyond this, what Pepper's been doing remains unknown. Pepper is one of the few Echo skins to be explicitly fully canon.

• Salt - Pepper's best friend, who similarly to her, is also a vulpin canonically present in the Realm alongside her friend, though how Salt managed to get to the Realm is unknown.

Partially Canon

Parts of these skins are confirmed to be somewhat canon, but not completely. They are as follows:

• Honor Guard Vora - Appearing at the start of Vora's reveal trailer, this skin is used to represent a number of Vora's fellow fallen warriors. This was most likely done to save on resources, so while this skin does not depict a canonical version of Vora, it can be thought to possibly represent some of the other warriors of Io to a limited degree.

• Ska'drin Ash - When first released, Ska'drin Ash was noted to have a few lines towards Mal'Damba, revealing a potential connecting between the Ska'drin and Wekono. It was later revealed here and here that this skin is partially canon, and that Wekono is at least acknowledged by the Ska'drin.

• Abyssal Lord Drogoz - The main antagonist of the Rise of Furia event, Abyssal Lord Drogoz has appeared during an in-game cutscene, Raum's card Apocalypse, as well as Soul-Stealer Furia's splash art. As mentioned here, the skin is an Echo, and as implied by several dev statements and teasers, this skin is meant to be the Abyssal dragon from the Rise of Furia lore cinematic. Though this skin isn't explicitly a canon Abyssal Lord, most likely only meaning the actual canon character the skin represents isn't named Drogoz (based on previous statements) and may have a slightly different design (based on the Rise of Furia cinematic). Regardless, at this point in time, this skin is clearly at the very least a partially canon skin, being the only current Echo to be partially canon.

• VII's Recolors - As mentioned here, VII's various recolors are meant to represent former assassins of the Outer Tribunal prior to VII.

Echo Skins

Echoes are skins intended to represent a completely different character from the base champion in the form of a skin. While these skins show unique standalone characters, they're not inherently canon unless specifically mentioned. Currently confirmed Echoes are as follows.

Echo Skins

• Pyre-Lord Magnus - A servant of the Pyre, though he's specifically not canon.

• Remix Pepper - A world class vulpin DJ from an alternate universe. Pip accidentally led to her entering the Realm after one of his alchemy experiments went wrong. She ended up sticking around in, notably being attacked by Yagorath alongside Pip and Moji, though beyond this, what Pepper's been doing remains unknown.

• Salt - Pepper's best friend, who similarly to her, is also a vulpin intended to be canonically present in the Realm alongside her friend.

• Abyssal Lord Drogoz - The main antagonist of the Rise of Furia event, Abyssal Lord Drogoz has appeared during an in-game cutscene, Raum's card Apocalypse, as well as Soul-Stealer Furia's splash art. As mentioned here, the skin is an Echo, and as implied by several dev statements and teasers, this skin is meant to be the Abyssal dragon from the Rise of Furia lore cinematic. Though this skin isn't explicitly a canon Abyssal Lord, most likely only meaning the actual canon character the skin represents isn't named Drogoz (based on previous statements) and may have a slightly different design (based on the Rise of Furia cinematic).

• Ripjaw Buck - Nothing is currently known about Ripjaw beyond the fact it's an Echo skin. It's thought to potentially originate from the same world as the Pirate's Treasure skin, though this is merely speculation.

• Mei Zhin - This skin is cosmic powered entity from another universe.

Potential Echo Skins

These skins fit the definition of those intended to represent a completely unique character, but have to yet to officially be confirmed as Echoes.

• gen:LOCK Skins - With these skins clearly being intended to be the actual cast from gen:LOCK, they naturally fit the definition of Echo skins.

• RWBY Skins - As with the gen:LOCK skins, the RWBY lineup is also clearly intended to be the actual cast from the show, naturally fitting them into the definition of Echoes.

• Rambo Viktor - Just as with the other crossover skins, this one clearly being intended to be Rambo himself has this skin fit the definition of an Echo.

• Steel Forged Terminus - As explained here, this skin is meant to be a Magistrate soldier who was vaporized by Furia during one of the Resistance's assaults, only for Furia to later decide they didn't deserve such a fate and placed his soul into a suit of armor. This all makes it rather hard for this skin to be an alternate version of Terminus specifically, so it would fit the definition of an Echo.

• Avatar Androxus - As mentioned here and shown in the skin's teaser, Avatar Androxus is meant to be a player with the in-game name of "g0dsl4y3r" playing as Androxus, making it unlikely for them to actually be Androxus himself, especially as the skin's voiced by a woman.

• The Harlequin Raum - This skin was originally envisioned as being an Echo named "Astrid", and in general being designed as an entirely new character separate from Raum. Despite this, the skin was never confirmed to still be an Echo.

"What-If" Skins

"What-If" skins are as the name implies, skins showing an alternate timeline variant of certain characters showing how they'd turn out if they made different choices or existed in different timelines. While logically every skin that doesn't fall into any other category listed here would be considered a "What-If", the following are the only skins explicitly confirmed to be "What-Ifs".

• Abyssal Acolyte Covus - As revealed here, this skin is a "What-If" version of Corvus that has fully embraced the Abyss.

• Omega Skins - As confirmed here, the Omega skins are a "What-If" version of the characters from a far-flung future version of the Realm.

• Lost Future Skins - As mentioned here, the Lost Future Event Pass is based on the idea of an alternate timeline where the Darkness spread almost completely undeterred.

Potential "What-If" Skins

These skins are notable examples of ones that fit the description of a "What-If" scenario, but have not yet been officially confirmed to be "What-If" skins. They are as follows:

• Legionnaire Atlas - As revealed here, Legionnare Atlas is an alternate version of Atlas from a better future where the fight against the Darkness was more successful, so there was no reason for this version of Atlas to go back in time.

• Battlesuit Skins - These skins come from a completely different world compared to the regular Realm; set in the far future where the Imperial Magistrate and Paladin Defense Force fight over control of Realm Alpha. Despite the different setting and each of the skins having a different backstory compared to their original counterparts, still introduce themselves as that character.

• Wild West Skins - The various teasers for these skins reveal a bit of information on the characters, such as their various titles and crimes unique to the skins. However, in-game, they all introduce themselves with the same name of the base champion (though Khan adds "Bandit Bot" to his introduction), pointing more towards these skins being a "What-If" version of the characters from a slightly futuristic wild west version of the Realm, rather than completely unique individuals.

• Pirate's Treasure and Dark Depth Skins - These two sets of skins appear to originate from the same pirate themed world.

• Cuddly and Code Green Skins - These skins are living toys originating as part of someone's toy collection in another reality. However, it's unclear if Cuddly Yagorath is owned by the same person, or if she even originates from the same reality.

• Radiant Star Skins - These skins come from a world where various characters go to school, but also fight evil with the power of love and friendship.

• Darkness and Dragons Skins - These skins appear to come from another reality where a war between dragons and dragon hunters ravages the Realm.

• Abyss Hunter Academy Skins - These skins come from another reality where one can enroll in the Abyss Hunter Academy in order to learn to fight the Abyss.

• Dark Drake Azaan - This skin seems to come from another world where dragons and leipori are at odds, while the Abyss and Pyre somewhat merged into a new faction known as Dark Pyre.

• Logically most skins.

Possibly Canon

These skins have either appeared in official lore related media, or have otherwise been confirmed to be canon, but for one reason or another, are currently questionably canon. They are as follows:

• Day Walker Vivian / Knightmare Fernando / Death Speaker Ying / Full Moon Viktor - The four confirmed Abyssal Echoes. As part of the Dark Tides event, they would appear as bosses, and would occasionally utter lines implying Dredge had summoned them. As the Abyssal Echoes and Dredge's capability of summoning them has not been mentioned since, it is unknown if this ability, and the Echoes by extension, are canon. It was later stated they're not technically canon, but still might be canon in a way. It's assumed this means the concept of Abyssal Echoes is canon, but the actual skins aren't canon Abyssal Echoes.

• Aurora Furia / Outlaw Sha Lin / Dragonborn Moji / Overlord Khan - The various skins from the Dragon's Call event. These skins (aside from Overlord Khan) appeared in the Dark Tides lore cinematic, with the Paladins 1.4 Update Show additionally describing the various skins, with the Aurora skin stated to be a powered-up version of Furia (timestamp 1:04:10), the Outlaw skin being an older version of Sha Lin who's been through a lot more (timestamp 55:35), the Dragonborn skin being a more mature version of Moji (timestamp 59:30), and the Overlord skin being a younger version of Khan who's wearing an older version of his armor and has his personality cranked up to 11 (timestamp 51:40).

• However, it was later said the developers wished they hadn't said those things regarding the skins, though they weren't explicitly deconfirmed. Despite this, the fact that Furia, Moji, and Sha Lin have all appeared in the lore following this event in their default appearances seems to imply the skins have been quietly decanonized. However, this doesn't address Overlord Khan, and it was later said that Dragonborn Moji in particular was "theoretically lore", which could imply it, as well as Aurora and Outlaw, are now intended to be "What-If" skins, though this too hasn't been confirmed. It does seem at the very least, due to the champions appearing since Dark Tides in their default appearances, that the skins' presence in the Dark Tides cinematic is no longer canon.

Trivia

• The idea of potentially creating uniquely playable Echo Champions, has been brainstormed, with the idea being to use an already existing champion as a base, replace most of their art assets with a new character, and change their abilities a bit.
• For several years, the definition of an Echo skin was incredibly confusing and unclear, with them apparently still being a huge debate internally due to "concerns it clashes with player experience/identity with the base champions". Click on "Expand" if interested in reading more on the matter.

Echo Skin Definition

Echoes seemed fairly simple at first. It was said that Echoes are alternate versions of a champion from another reality... which did little to differentiate them from What-If skins. The only notable distinction between the two seemed to be that Echoes were also supposed to be skins that represented completely standalone characters who weren't the champion in question from another world... despite that being the exact opposite of what they were initially described as.

At first, Magnus seemed to be his own canon character and not an alternate version of Corvus, only for it to later be said that he first wasn't canon, and then that he is actually an alternate version of Corvus, putting him into the first description of what an Echo is. Pepper meanwhile was first stated to be an alternate version of Pip, only for her to later be treated as her own separate character that's just the same species as Pip, putting her in the second description of an Echo. Ripjaw never received enough information to place him in either definition. Salt would logically have fallen into the second definition due to being incredibly unlikely she was an alternate version of Io... yet for some reason introduces herself as Io instead of Salt. Finally Mei Zhin was stated to be an alternate version of Zhin which would classify it as the first definition, yet at the exact same time, everything about the skin was different from Zhin, which would logically fit the second definition.

Eventually, one of the developers was asked about what Echoes are, with the answer not exactly clearing things up and largely only making it even more confusing. This answer said that "Echoes are kind of AU ideas, like Magnus is Corvus if he went to the Pyre rather than the Abyss", which points to the first definition, but a later statement in the same response said that Pepper isn't Pip and that they're two different vulpin, pointing to the second definition, though it wasn't commented on if Pepper is still considered an Echo. What's even more confusing is that the same response also said skins along the lines of a Darkness corrupted champion would be more of a "What-If" than a full alternate universe Echo, which ended up being true, as the Lost Future Event Pass skins were classified as "What-Ifs", despite this explanation going against what was previously stated about Magnus, who would logically be a "What-If" skin as well based on the description.

Finally, after several years of confusion, another developer was asked about Echoes, with this answer being much more straightforward. Echoes are skins intended to be completely different characters, rather than an alternate version of the base champion. Because of this, previous statements about certain Echoes, notably Magnus, Pepper, and Mei being alternate timeline variants of Corvus, Pip, and Zhin, aren't considered canon.

It's unknown why Echoes remained confusing and took so long to be explained. It's also not know why several skins that clearly show standalone characters (notably the gen:LOCK skins or Steel Forged Terminus) aren't officially considered Echoes, despite fitting the definition.