@Meddler, Whats on Skarners plate?

Rinky Dinky·Jul 31, 2015·1 votes·13,173 views

Im very interested in what changes you will be making.

I mean honestly, I thought he was in a pretty decent spot.

25 Comments

RiotRiot ScruffyAug 1, 20157 votes

The general way you play him will feel very similar (though with some pretty major QoL improvements in the new passive area). The changes are gonna be more focused on giving him a more unique contribution to his team/playstyle. Effectively expect that most of his current skills will remain in tact.

Next week will answer all of the questions when he's on PBE for testing.

Linna ExcelAug 1, 20155 votes

Most of his skills remaining the same won't help him. All he does is spam Q and his ult telegrapghs too much for not enough payoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEz_pnUngss

Rinky DinkyAug 1, 20152 votes

He skills remaining the same will be fine if they move things around.

5 Stacks GGAug 1, 20151 votes

will Darius rework also be on the pbe next week? pls I need to know

RiotRiotRepertoirAug 1, 20152 votes

They should all go to PBE at the same time barring unexpected complications with one of them.

SolideusAug 1, 20151 votes

This already happened; Garen and Darius chopped each others heads off. Gangplank was just the beginning. Disabled cuz DED.

ExecutorDillAug 1, 20151 votes

{quoted}

They should all go to PBE at the same time barring unexpected complications with one of them.

Why is there no sign of Shen? :(

StaconaAug 1, 20152 votes

He had the unique 'scorpion trap' playstyle which made him an insanely good peeling tank, then you ruined him and made him extremely mediocre and not fun at all to play as and made him worse to play against with mobility and a powerful ranged slow--- no one looks at a scorpion and goes "hmm.. it must move super fast and strikes is rapid succession" scorpions try to aim for the heart with one fatal blow which his ultimate reflects on this but the rest of his kit screams meh, not interesting, and not at all a scorpion

XonraAug 1, 20151 votes

{quoted}

He had the unique 'scorpion trap' playstyle which made him an insanely good peeling tank, then you ruined him and made him extremely mediocre and not fun at all to play as and made him worse to play against with mobility and a powerful ranged slow--- no one looks at a scorpion and goes "hmm.. it must move super fast and strikes is rapid succession" scorpions try to aim for the heart with one fatal blow which his ultimate reflects on this but the rest of his kit screams meh, not interesting, and not at all a scorpion

As someone who played almost nothing but Skarner jungle a few years back, I agree full with this.

He went from feeling like the scorpion man who would get on you and do his intended purpose and style.

Now he feels like the champs I want to love, but know there are easily a dozen champs that do what he is supposed to do better. His ult is all he has that is unique, because even Olaf can stick to people better, just about everyone clears faster, and his ganks are pretty lackluster if you don't flash and ult, as you can pretty easily be kited if you don't have ult up.

Des BladerAug 1, 20152 votes

Will this be like last time he was updated, where afterwards he played pretty nice (probably a bit on the strong side) then he gets hit with a hammer a few times to where he is today where he is getting another change?

UltîmaAug 1, 20151 votes

Will Skarner have a bit of a visual update as well?

His lore currently attaches him to Shurima, and there's really no way to tell that from his crystalline look right now. He's depicted as a tomb guardian - any chance we'll see a bit of that in the future to make his visual match up to his character? Right now he's just a scorpion made out of gem-stones....

XonraAug 1, 20151 votes

{quoted}

The general way you play him will feel very similar (though with some pretty major QoL improvements in the new passive area). The changes are gonna be more focused on giving him a more unique contribution to his team/playstyle. Effectively expect that most of his current skills will remain in tact.

Next week will answer all of the questions when he's on PBE for testing.

Can it just be reverting his rework completely to what it was before he was nerfe-er I mean "reworked" because he was being played top lane so much, which is pretty much par for the course for champs to change lanes now.

Would be nice to just have the old Skarner back to where he was before Riot realized diversity in roles and lanes is a good thing, instead of back when Soraka, Lulu, and Skarner were slapped on the wrist for daring to go to other lanes (even though Lulu still works to an extent as anything but a support).

He was already good at jungling and great at sticking to people.

Now he is decent at sticking to people, decent at jungling, and great at going oom and walking at people until his abilities go off of cooldown as they just kite him.

ProfDrDeathAug 1, 20151 votes

Cool with that.

As long as you don't touch his base AD in any shape or form...please? I really like that Skarner has the ultimate synergy with Sheen items.

Btw, would it be far-fetched to add a slight AP ratio to his passive? AP bruiser Skarner with Runeglaive sounds interesting to me...

Super JanembaAug 1, 20151 votes

Are there any chance the slow on his Q will return, and him receive a brand new E. I played Skarner a lot last season and if a ranged champion can perma-slow without it costing any mana why can't Skarner get it and a changed E?

CarniverousAug 1, 20151 votes

Next week will answer all of the questions when he's on PBE for testing.

I really hope so.

Also, new passive? Like, replacing the one I like so much? Or new, as in his current one is the new one compared to the old?

FadedpfJul 31, 20153 votes

I don't think skarner is in a good spot. Everything is a massive cooldown except his Q. He has a hard time getting in range for ult or maybe its just me his ult range seems smaller than it is. His E also a very slow skill shot.

DEADLIFEAug 1, 20154 votes

Skarner's fine. I mained him to Challenger a few months ago on my main account. He is not suitable for competitive play, but is quite viable in solo queue.

XonraAug 1, 20151 votes

{quoted}

Skarner's fine. I mained him to Challenger a few months ago on my main account. He is not suitable for competitive play, but is quite viable in solo queue.

He is okay, but there is really no reason to choose him over just about anyone else. Rek'Sai does what skarner does but a hell of a lot better, minus his grab ult, which can just be cleansed out of or some such.

I still love Skarner, at least aesthetically, but I just can't justify picking him over so many other champions right now outside of "because I want to play him" compared to not playing him "because I want to win easier".

DEADLIFEAug 1, 20151 votes

Sure there is. I pick him because I like winning, and he helps me win. I see him as such:

Quick and easy clear. Shield, movement speed steroid, and a spammable AOE wrapped up in a very straightforward, mechanically simple package. W to a camp, start tapping Q, and begin to watch the lanes. This is a luxury many junglers don't afford me, as their camp clear mechanics carry a bit more complexity.

Excellent snowball potential. Skarner has strong synergy with Sheen, and all melee Sheen champions have intense snowball potential. Skarner has the tools to reach this point consistently, due to his quick clear and all-but-guaranteed level 6 ganks.

Quick, with good single-target lockdown. A fed Skarner is similar to a fed Udyr in many aspects. You can get around the map doing things faster. Farm faster, move faster, kill faster. This is an amazing quality in solo queue.

Playstyle simplicity. This can be seen as either an advantage or a disadvantage. Can Lee Sin potentially do many more things than Skarner? Of course. Is your usual solo queue Lee Sin going to be capable of doing those things on a consistent basis? Nope. Similar to Amumu, Skarner has a very simple focus come midgame - use your ult to start a favorable fight. I'm not a player suited to making complex in-the-moment decisions, so a driving goal like this helps give structure and purpose to my play in the midgame when you typically see many junglers fade in impact, not knowing what to do.

Are there downsides? Yes, many. And as you say, Rek'sai is objectively a better jungler. There really aren't many if's or but's about that. But so what? Skarner is not Rek'sai Jr. He's a different champion with a different kit and very different qualities. If you look past "what champions are top 3 in their roles right now" you may very well find one of the "worse" champions is exactly what you need to win. :)