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Skarners "Crystal Spire" should be a unique item to Skarner that allows him to place it

Archenz··115 votes·3,556 views

That way, we won't be enforcing the meta on Skarner to be stuck with the Jungle Role.

Top-lane Skarner can buy a Spire, walk to lane, and either: place it by his turret to have the added security of preventing dives; or he can place it in the middle of the lane so he can gain the buff while laning (but face the risk of having his Spire disabled by the opponent).

Jungle Skarner can buy a Spire, walk into jungle, and either: place his Spire in his own Jungle so he can clear camps efficiently; or put it in the enemy's jungle as he attempts to counter-jungle (while facing the risk of being caught and/or having his Spire disabled by the enemy jungler).

Things to consider:

Should it be a Consumable that is limited to one purchase at a time (like Kalista's Black Spear)?

Should it be a Trinket that can be combined with a Totem/Lens/Orb (like Old Rengar's Bonetooth)?

Should it be a personalized item that can be upgraded with gold (like Viktor's Hex Core)?

And, How many Spires should Skarner be allowed to place on the map at one time?

EDIT - Another idea from the comments: It could also be implemented in a similar way to Azir's Sun Disc, where you'd use your Passive to place the Spire down at a certain location. (Thanks /u/The_Givurr)

_Added from Reddit for Visibility _

36 Comments

46104328_DEL7 votes

Perfect. Gives Skarner his Rock, and let's him keep his everything. I'd still like his crystal venom on a passive, but still. Edit: THough they also need to back off on his nerf a bit. Upvote for great justice @Riot

Archenz3 votes

Thanks! Liking without commenting is a crime! Really hope they buff him. I like that guy, I use him as a secret weapon.

The Quinndred4 votes

You know.. That's a brilliant idea.

Archenz1 votes

Not my idea, but the guy who made it was pretty brilliant. Nice job brand, who ironically mains brand :P

The Quinndred1 votes

I don't think it's as much irony as it is a coincidence.

Archenz1 votes

It's ironic that a squishy high damage fire Mage, gave the best idea for a tanky bruiser fighter arachnid .

Don't know think its ironic xD

Edit: I worded it badly, it is coincidence that that brand mains brand, but what I meant by ironic was that he Mage gave the best idea for the Tank xD

46104328_DEL2 votes

{quoted}

It's ironic that a squishy high damage fire Mage, gave the best idea for a tanky bruiser fighter arachnid .

Don't know think its ironic xD

Edit: I worded it badly, it is coincidence that that brand mains brand, but what I meant by ironic was that he Mage gave the best idea for the Tank xD

No worries. But after testing what Riot did to Nidalee... Well, I think they WANT to die.

DiamondMatthew4 votes

I believe a good way to fix the problem is if skarner can move the Spires with his ult.

Full details below

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/fr/c/gameplay-balance/mP1VadRf-rito-how-to-make-skarners-new-nerf-into-an-actual-buff

Archenz1 votes

Repost your thread, I don't know why but when i click it, it takes me to a spanish boards page where i dont have an account :/

EU Francis boards

Verxint3 votes

Hot damn this is brilliant. +1

Edit: Honestly, if Azir can have a passive that's actually an active, why not just give Skarner one as well? That way he can manage multiple points without having to recall and the total number of spires can scale with his level. That would actually feel like a real passive and not a gimmicky dominion.

aaronconlin3 votes

Sounds great. I think as he gains levels he can gain access to more spires (maybe start at 1 and go up as you reach ult upgrade levels) that way it progresses throughout the game as you try to control objectives

Ultîma3 votes

They should also do-away with the fact that a captured spire offers a momentary burst of vision for the enemy. This would make Skarner the only champion in the game with a passive that can be used against his team - a completely insane concept. Skarner needs more power added to his kit; not more reasons for him not to be played.

LostFr0st3 votes

OP, I would like your opinion (and anyone else's :D) on the following possibility which could also possibly fit into Skarner's lore:

Since his kind in the old lore were connected to crystals kinda telepathically, and all of the towers and the nexus know when each other fall, it got me thinking that Riot could incorporate the crystals that are already part of Skarner's team's base into his passive, kind of like point runner.
There is already one present at the apex of each tower, and the nexus is just one big crystal; Skarner is supposed to be territorial right?

This would both help Skarner when counterganking and when defending the objectives that truly matter, namely his crystals on the towers and the nexus itself.

He is, after all, the crystal vanguard.

-LostFr0st

Recuro2 votes

I made a thread suggesting the same thing but it didn't get much attention, still I love the idea

LostFr0st1 votes

O wow, sorry then :( I'll link it to this one so people can read your iteration of it too:

http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/5hxr0IsG-skarners-new-passive-should-apply-to-turretsstructures

-LostFr0st

skyfall6192 votes

I like that idea dude

Archenz1 votes

Thanks man, with this passive he can still be a zone control champion. He just chooses where that zone should be :D

46104328_DEL2 votes

Blatant visibility post. This needs to be seen by Reds.

MafdetEgypt1 votes

This is an awesome idea. It would let Riot give Skarner the crystals that they so desperately want, and they can give him back his previous passive. And make him less nerfed, since he'd otherwise still be pretty useless in the battle.

Recuro1 votes

I really do like this idea, though I do feel it might be a tad too strong if he could have it in the middle of lane where his lane opponent doesn't really have much room to play around it. If anyone is interested I just made a thread suggesting that the spire aura could exist around turrets/structures.

46104328_DEL1 votes

{quoted}

I really do like this idea, though I do feel it might be a tad too strong if he could have it in the middle of lane where his lane opponent doesn't really have much room to play around it. If anyone is interested I just made a thread suggesting that the spire aura could exist around turrets/structures.

That's a good one to, but it has the downfall of making him a garbage jungler. Really, they shouldn't touch him. But if they must, then it's the best option.

Recuro1 votes

He could still have the jungle spires, although they might need remove a couple of them if they did this. I also suggested giving him spires around just inhibs if having them around every tower makes him too strong

46104328_DEL1 votes

{quoted}

He could still have the jungle spires, although they might need remove a couple of them if they did this. I also suggested giving him spires around just inhibs if having them around every tower makes him too strong

Personally, if they want this, I'd say make the benefit from them global, to make him decent.

Erotic Terrorist1 votes

So much this. the passive would actually be somewhat viable.

Blue Moon Wolf1 votes

I would prefer this immensely. then all we need is mord to keep his abilities as they are so he can solo lane as well as go bot (with the addition of the dragon of course) and everyone will be... well garen's apparently still suffering, but at least everyone can do multiple roles again. :L

Sire Hippington1 votes

either let his passive change his wards into crystals that not only give vision as usuall, but also boost him like the pbe 'stones'. This would make him a controll jungler that not only thrives in objective, but vision controll, and he wouldn't feel castrated if playing outside the jungle... or a unique 'sightstone' that gives better stats(upgradeable as viktors hexcore) and allows to place crystals...

ModAcademy Kayn1 votes

Ha, I upvoted and didn't comme... fuck.

Archenz1 votes

gg ez, nub 2 ez 5 me gee gee no re

Ironclad Dragon1 votes

I really like the idea, but it has some problems. One, if it's a one time use, that means if you mess it up or the game goes differently from what you planned, it'll be wasted. If it were a trinket, it'd have to be a pure stat buff. How would you be able to use the trinket function and its own unique function? I personally like the idea of it being an exclusive but retrievable item to Skarner (toss it down, buff area, cooldown on picking it back up), but that poses a problem when later you have full build. You wouldn't be able to pick it up then. :(

mvmlego1 votes

Thank you for making this thread. My thoughts on the subject are as follows:

  1. By Riot's own definition of a juggernaut, Skarner is not a juggernaut because he is not immobile, and unlike Nasus (the textbook juggernaut according to Riot), Skarner will either be somewhat lacking in offense or defense based on how he's built (which is only fair, considering his mobility/chasing potential).

  2. I began playing Skarner shortly after his kit was reworked to its current state. I remember that in the update article, Riot was emphasizing how the changes were enhancing Skarner's gameplay identity as being "sticky", i.e. having great chasing potential. That is what differentiates him from all of the juggernauts; he doesn't need a gimmicky passive to do it for him. So, with Skarner's gameplay already being unique, why is it that they decide to not only change his kit further, but throw his entire gameplay identity out the window? Now, his gameplay identity is supposed to be built around objective control. What is this? Why do a rework that enforces an identity, and then do another rework that completely changes his identity one year later? I'm sick of Riot's design philosophy not being self-consistent.

  3. As for the OP's idea: me gusta. Wo xi huan! Your idea adds an extra layer of strategic gameplay with Skarner, and if Riot wants to re-define Skarner's gameplay identity around zone control, your idea seems like the way to do it. I would likely suggest modifications/specific numbers for this idea if I knew the following:

  4. Really, it should be number one, but: how is the planned change to Skarner's kit interacting with his current kit? Is it purely an addition to his current kit, or is it replacing his innate ability, his Q's stacking feature, or something else entirely? If someone has a answer to this, would they please link to a specific, official source? The original article wasn't all that clear.

Archenz1 votes

Hey, good post! One thing, udyr is technically immobile even though he super fast. So is skarner, for riot immobile means NO GAPCLOSERS. Not no movement speed buffs. Because garen and mord both have movespeed buffs.

mvmlego1 votes

So, regardless of what Riot's proposed changes to Skarner are, this is what I think Skarner should be if Riot is bent on incorporating the Crystal Spire concept into his kit:

His current innate ability, Crystallizing Sting, should become a passive component of his Q. The stacking portion of crystal slash, as well as the bonus magic damage, should be moved to be a conditional element of his passive (see below).

Skarner's innate ability should be Crystal Spire. Crystal Spire is a unique, level-based trinket exclusive to Skarner. He can place the Crystal Spire as one would place a stealth ward. It grants vision superior to a stealth ward (a 1500-unit radius or the ability to see around corners). Like the greater stealth totem, it can hold up to two charges, and the rate at which it recharges is one charge per 120 seconds. However, these spires last indefinitely, and their placement has a cooldown of 30 seconds. At level 1, Skarner can only have one Spire placed at once (placing too many Spires will uproot previous ones). At levels 5, 9, 13, and 17, the maximum number of Spires he can have placed at once increases by 1, for a maximum of 5. While in range of the Crystal Spire, Skarner gains his current Q's bonus on-hit magic damage, as well as its ability to stack bonus attack speed and movement speed. If an enemy stands on a Crystal spire for four seconds, then they capture the Spire, and its vision and bonuses are nullified. Skarner (and allies?) can recapture Spires by standing on them for four seconds. Moving outside of the spire's range causes all bonuses to fall off after two seconds.

I know I'm a bit late to this discussion, but let me know what you think. I applaud Archenz for starting this thread, and I'm hoping Riot will take notice.

Thresh Outta Fux1 votes

I just googled and found this thread. It needs to be necroed. This thing is the tits.

Akenero1 votes

He could ult the spire to move it around, no limit, and half ult cd?

Thresh Outta Fux1 votes

{quoted}

He could ult the spire to move it around, no limit, and half ult cd?

I would rather have it work with a Sightstone or trinket, and instead of Wards he will place Spires. This way, he can have no more than 3, while at the same time being able to place them wherever he wants.

So in essence, building Sightstone-related items on Skarner would be a good idea, and give more vision to the entire team. However, they don't expire unless he places a 4th Spire. They only grant vision to the team that has them captured. Spawning a Spire leaves it uncaptured for 5-15 seconds, and then either himself or his opponents can capture them. Time before being able to be recaptured is based on level, same as Warding Totem. Vision of spires on map is the same as Rek'Sai's tunnels. You can only see the ones you have discovered.

Thresh Outta Fux1 votes

Le bump.

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