Every time Riot Games announces and launches the Night Market in VALORANT, players once again hope for a miracle. After all, this is where you might snag your dream skin at a discount — maybe that long-desired Phantom or Vandal will show up in your lineup? But all too often, the result is the same: six cards featuring only outdated or unappealing skins you never asked for. Why does this happen? And is there even a point in hoping for something good?

Restrictions

For some, this may be a surprise; others already know: there are significant restrictions on which skins can appear in the Night Market — and there are several. The main reason you’ll likely never get your dream skin on sale: the Night Market never includes knives priced above 3550 VP or skins costing more than 1775 VP.

And most truly desirable items are precisely those expensive knives or skins that exceed this limit. As a result, the pool of available items is heavily narrowed, leaving few high-quality or sought-after options. There’s also another rule: a collection is only eligible for the Night Market if more than two Acts have passed since its release.

Limited Selection

Due to the reasons above, most skins in the Night Market are underwhelming. As of June 2025, 56% of all collections fall into the Select and Deluxe tiers, while only 44% are Premium. Select and Deluxe are entry-level tiers, and skins from them often lack appeal for most players, even despite the lower price. Compared to Premium or higher, they rarely feature extras like sounds, color variants, animations, etc.

Moreover, even some Premium collections available in the Night Market aren't anything special. Considering all this, your odds of getting “trash” in your lineup are about 60% — and that’s not even accounting for your preferences or favorite weapon types.

Low Odds

We've already discussed that the chance of getting an uninteresting skin is about 60%. But there’s more: weapon type plays a crucial role. Even if you’re lucky enough to get a good collection, it might be for a weapon you never use. For example, in my own June 2025 Night Market:

I received 5 decent weapon types out of 6, but only two out of six skins were actually worthwhile. One was an Odin with a 33% discount, the other a Xerofang Vandal with just 18% off. In the end, only two out of six had any value — and even then, I’m not interested in Odin, and 18% isn’t enough to justify a purchase.

Inflated Expectations

New VALORANT players or those unfamiliar with the Night Market rules often have unrealistic expectations. They hope to see skins like the RGX 11z Pro Karambit, or items from Evori Dreamwings, Primordium, Elderflame, and other unique lines discounted by up to 49%. But as noted above, those won’t appear — their prices are too high. In rare cases, Riot may make an exception and add slightly over-the-limit items, but that’s not the norm.

In the end, because of the wide variety of amazing skins in VALORANT, players hope to see at least one in their Night Market cards — but instead, they often get 3–4 Select-tier items.

Disappointment and Hopelessness

All of this ultimately leads to disappointment. Players open their cards and see nothing worthwhile — but the hype leading up to the Night Market, plus the fact that it only happens once every 2–3 months, stirs emotions. Then comes the psychological trigger: the tempting “-%” icon next to an item, which can reach up to 49%, makes players consider buying something to add to their collection. This often results in an impulse purchase.

All of this leads to the conclusion that getting exactly what you desperately want is an incredible stroke of luck. And that’s why you end up disappointed — and ultimately spend your money on whatever random skins the system gave you.