So Skarner's getting a rework to make him more unique...

Hellioning·Aug 1, 2015·39 votes·2,358 views

...Didn't this happen already? Am I the only one having deja vu? This is, like, the third rework he had. What makes him so hard to deal with?

32 Comments

XonraAug 1, 201517 votes

Basically, he was reworked at a time when Riot didn't like champions going all over the place, while still claiming they didn't want to force the Meta. Top Skarner was becoming a thing, and a good thing.

They claimed he was causing issues, and his sticking power was "a bit too much for his power in general" and so on and so forth.

His rework was pretty decent after about 4-5 buffs. He was played in a single LCS game, and while it might be a coincidence, he was instantly added to the next patch (some of his changes completely skipped the PBE, because I have had a PBE account for a long while now).

The nerfs put him in a pretty bad place, and they haven't significantly touched him since.

Basically the previous rework was poor, and it took Riot over a year to admit it without actually admitting it.

I'm sorry but, reworking a champion (that didn't need a rework coughs Olaf coughs) then reworking them a second time, means the first time was bad.

So yeah <_< They just won't admit that his initial playstyle was actually good, and honestly the pre-rework Skarner would work well in the current meta and jungle. Sadly the currently Skarner does not, and is overshadowed by the likes of Rek'Sai and Shyvana for tanky, initiating, damage dealers. On the cusp of being tanks, but still being able to output damage.

BlkGolemAug 1, 20155 votes

...Skarner is literally my freelo jungler, why does anyone think he is bad?

Silents429Aug 1, 20155 votes

{quoted}

...Skarner is literally my freelo jungler, why does anyone think he is bad?

It doesn't work that way, a champion can be broken but still be usable.

Dextix LTAug 1, 20152 votes

Because everyone else can do his job better.

DanLikesBaconAug 1, 20153 votes

Ikr? I have an 82% winrate on this MFer and everyone is whining that Skarner sucks...

Troll for TrumpAug 1, 20151 votes

Yes by all means rework darius and garen.

Flying BuntcakeAug 1, 201510 votes

Current skarner has issues dealing damage, while also being tanky, while also not getting kited to death.

CryocasmAug 1, 20157 votes

[{quoted}](name=Flying Buntcake,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=9EgWzHqy,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2015-08-01T06:02:02.920+0000)

Current skarner has issues dealing damage, while also being tanky, while also not getting kited to death.

While also trying not to go oom with a single rotation of spells trying to keep from being kited While also waiting till the next game for his abilities to come off of cooldown.

Flying BuntcakeAug 1, 20153 votes

cough cough insane ult cd cough cough

BlkGolemAug 1, 20151 votes

Actually, no he doesn't I play him all the time and played him before rework and he was pretty good even then. I have no trouble doing damage and yet being pretty tanky. It's probably because of the skarners who buy iceborn instead of trin force. If you want a slow, frozen mallet is the best item in the game and I buy it on skarner.

DanLikesBaconAug 1, 20151 votes

item 3025 item 3110 item 3800

DanLikesBaconAug 1, 20151 votes

Skarner is a champion that when behind does horrid damage, when even does meh damage, but when ahead does bullshit amounts. So he isn't too much of an issue with damage and this part of him needs to be careful. When he's ahead he can be an insane threat. And Skarner should be able to be kited. If he wasn't he would just build trinity force and facetank the enemy carries and kill them. Skarner is much better off as a peeler that sticks with his team and using his kit for protection purposes.

The WhamboozlerAug 1, 20158 votes

The saddest part is, he didn't need the rework in the first place. Old skarner was unpopular and underplayed, but he had a small, dedicated handful of players and a fair winrate. If he got to you, your life was pain... if he didn't... you won. He had counter play... he had obvious strengths and weaknesses... he was sub-par compared to the uber-strong junglers out there, but he wasn't crap. He didn't need to be changed.

They changed him... and pretty much crippled him... and now they're already talking about changing him again. And I know they won't sit down and say "yeah, that rework was awful and you told us it was awful and we're sorry". They'll spit some BS at everyone and tweak him in a new way that will probably STILL leave him unviable and underplayed and then they'll ignore him again.

XonraAug 1, 20152 votes

{quoted}

The saddest part is, he didn't need the rework in the first place. Old skarner was unpopular and underplayed, but he had a small, dedicated handful of players and a fair winrate. If he got to you, your life was pain... if he didn't... you won. He had counter play... he had obvious strengths and weaknesses... he was sub-par compared to the uber-strong junglers out there, but he wasn't crap. He didn't need to be changed.

They changed him... and pretty much crippled him... and now they're already talking about changing him again. And I know they won't sit down and say "yeah, that rework was awful and you told us it was awful and we're sorry". They'll spit some BS at everyone and tweak him in a new way that will probably STILL leave him unviable and underplayed and then they'll ignore him again.

He was actually becoming popular and being played funny enough. Numerous pros were saying he was becoming a pretty good pick in top and were practicing him in scrims.

He needed some tweaks, but not a rework.

It is no where near as completely clueless as the Olaf rework. Olaf was being played, in the LCS rather regularly, and in solo queue....then he got a rework that made him significantly weaker for a very long time (I still say his pre rework version was much better).

Did Olaf need nerfs? yes. Did he need a rework? No

Did skarner need buffs? Yes. Did he need a rework? no

Sadly it is far too late for both.

The EcdysiastAug 1, 20151 votes

If a champion has a small, dedicated handful of players, that's when the champion needs a rework.

They're supposed to aim for champions actually being played, not for letting old champions confuse people that see them maybe once every 150 games, and get destroyed because the five people who play that champion know the champ as well as a Diamond 5 Riven main.

DanLikesBaconAug 1, 20151 votes

Skarner will always be unpopular and underplayed. I like the current Skarner, but I miss the old kit and wish it was back. With champions like Kalista I dont think that Skarners old kit can really be considered overpowered... There are so many dashes now and if they removed the slow on his E and give back its heal Skarner will need to get in range again.

MLDzXnRRRAug 1, 20154 votes

He is not popular at all, I hope they will make him playable

GhostOfShrimpmasAug 1, 20154 votes

Well, he launched with two skins, then recieved two reworks. Since then, he's recieved two more skins, so he's due for two more reworks.

DanLikesBaconAug 1, 20151 votes

lol

Solidair3Aug 1, 20153 votes

his ult is what makes him so hard to deal with. Say what you will, you can't deny that it is without a doubt one of the best ultimates in the game.

B1naryB0tAug 2, 20151 votes

It's one of those nice ultimates where you choose someone on the enemy team to just not play the game.

BrickRocketAug 1, 20152 votes

Scruffy took skarner's slow and moved it to another ability and nerfed everything else about him. That was the rework.

BlkGolemAug 1, 20152 votes

I get that Skarner has like the tenth lowest pick rate, but as a Skarner main I think he is op. I hate the meta that lets champs like Lee Sin be picked nonstop for seasons on end, but what people don't realize is that Skarner was already good before rework and is even better now. He can duel well against even Lee Sin early if you get the jump on him, and he can do great damage with some items, can never stop sticking to a champ, and can be very tanky. His ult is invaluable to just delete someone on the enemy team. Skarner is great, just underplayed, and as I like non-meta picks, I'm kinda okay with it. But I don't think he needs another rework.

sp441Aug 1, 20151 votes

If I'd hazard a guess, it's because his selling point is very hard to make well-balanced.

He's supposed to be sticker supreme, as soon as he gets to you, he ain't getting out. The problem is that he's constantly flip-flopping between being completely obnoxious and impossible to escape from or a minor nuisance.

The Bíg TicketAug 1, 20151 votes

Skarner is a very good duelist, but if you itemize for that you will get rekt in teamfights. He can do decent damage with just a Sheen into tank but then he falls off lategame cause he doesn't scale with tank items and like someone else said he gets kited very easily.

He is not really that weak but kinda hard to pull off successfully.

ErockandrollAug 1, 20151 votes

They changed him up half a dozen times, but not driven by the need to make him unique.

One complaint I keep hearing is that Riot keeps nerfing Melee perma slows while ignoring Ranged ones. My only guess for that is that Ranged Perma Slows are used more defensively rather that offensively, making them less oppressive.

I don't actually know Scanner that well, I should think he would either need better dueling power or better tanking power. Depending on what the people actually want him to do. Perhaps they should give him Slow resist, or some other anti kiting tool to help him catch opponents.

MistralAug 1, 20151 votes

I love Skarner but he is tough to play. His ult, while amazing, doesn't make up for how silly you feel trying to kill someone without it.

Tomate CruAug 1, 20151 votes

URF! Skarner needs URF back!

It was so fun playing with him back then...

XaviorZeroBlazerAug 2, 20151 votes

I thought I was the only one, people would look at me funny when I picked him in URF

CelebrimborrAug 1, 20151 votes

10000000 movement speed scarner op

DirkTarTarAug 2, 20151 votes

As long as they keep his Suppress, I'm happy. Long live the Skarner Malzahar Urgot Warwick Kalista comp of ragequitting.... Urgod top Malz mid WW jungle Kal adc Skarney supp

It's awesome :)

Sire HippingtonAug 2, 20151 votes

a rework happend in the past, but not to make him more unique the main aim was to remove his 'unhealthy' permaslow + shield with off-stats atatched to it, randomly gutting his lane viabillity, his unique mechanics besides ult and his ap-builts on the way...