About Skarner...

Annual Skarner rant?

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This was scheduled for the day after it being uploaded, but just saw the news of Skarner being the rework of 2022. I didn't vote for him, but I've continued playing Skarner through all of his previous reworks (which are quickly detailed in this video), so here's to hoping I can continue yet again, and not have to suffer another Aatrox.

0:00 Skarner Intro
0:28 What 'was' Skarner?
1:45 Skarner Nerfs and Changes
2:53 Juggernaut Reworks
3:47 First Skarner Rework
4:05 Skarner's Upcoming Rework
4:46 Skarner Rework Wishlist & Ideas
6:41 Final Thoughts
8:04 Outro

See my AD Thresh Itemisation Guide on MOBAFire:

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#Season12 #LoL #Skarner

[CryoBeat]

Just learned (AFTER making this video) that Skarner's been confirmed as the Rework Poll winner.
Let's hope "winner" is the correct term, and we don't get another Aatrox.

[Bowblax]

I hope riot keeps Skarner's offensive capabilities too but considering the Q change and them saying they want to "build him from the ground up" im doubtful they will keep him as a juggernaut

[RedRoomDisco]

I can see why you posted this today. Heres hoping you like the next iteration of Skarner

[light]

we just have to pray for Skarner at this point, just hope that riot does a good job

[theenduriangamer]

Personally, I can see 2 ways of reworking him without totally gutting his identity.
1 - Focusing in onto Territorial Control. Replacing his wards with place-able spires, as an example, which fade over time or can be destroyed, but are harder to find. Build in some self-healing or shielding as well, leaning hard into a "King of the Hill Juggernaut" play-style.
2 - Focusing on him being a Lockdown champion. Abilities which slow, but hit like a truck with some AD and AP scaling; abilities which likely make it harder for you to "get him off me". Slows, Attack speed reductions, hell maybe even a short-duration unstoppable.

[sqentontheslime]

I have a difficult relationship with the rework poll.
Honestly, his ult is one of my least favourite part of his kit since sometimes it feels like I’d be forced to go tank to use it, I love his Q and building ad and attack speed and Ad to boost it (at least, when ad ratio was noticeable)
In spite of this, I still felt I should vote for him in the poll, hopefully they do well at keeping the *potential* for bruiserhood, even if they seemingly wanted to prioritise his R.
And while I would miss his gameplay, I also play a lot of raw tanks, so maybe, even if they balls the adaptivity aspect up, I still might enjoy him.
(Also I hope he’s playable top)

[stone]

I always thought Skarner should be able to place his crystal spires. Make his E able for him to create a small zone that buffs him in some way. I always imagined his W could still be a shield, but he could activate it twice. The second cast would shatter his shield, dealing damage around him and giving him a burst of move speed. If he's in range of one of his planted spires, the spire would explode, stunning enemies in the area around it. This would give Skarner the ability to buff himself as he moves, making him a great duelist if he stands his ground, as well as giving him good zone control for objectives. Placing spires at choke points to keep enemies away, or placing them by himself to take the objective faster or prevent people from jumping on it.

[willdyer]

I'm just dreading the "big changes to his visuals and lore". To me that makes it feel like an Aatrox situation, because they're making it sound like all they're keeping is his name and ultimate. I can't help but feel like this is maybe because of arcane or Sera, they can't keep hextech as Skarner's family's soul now they have good guy champs who need it or something along those lines

[chrisvanderheiden]

I had really hoped it was going to be shyv, both because I personally feel like she needed it most, but also because I too really like where skarner is right now

[xrfwksn]

A cool idea I just had for Skarner's spires is that the radius of the spires grows throughout the match, and by the late game, they cover the entire map so he can ALWAYS have the buff.

[hyuga]

Skarner is one of those characters who i never found appealing but after watching videos about him he started to grow on me, also cause his lore has very nice potential if they expand it. Personally, i hope they keep his offensive capabilities like you said as well as his general theme, sure crystal scorpions isnt exactly something super special or unique but like, crystal scorpions could be really fucking huge if they really put thought into it. I mainly play Bruisers soooo if they made him a bruiser id be happy with that, i do hope they dont retcon anything, cant let Seraphine and the Piltovians get away with what they did to his people >:(

[Dindosh]

Damn feelsbadman, I don't play and I've never played skarner. But I know you like it very much and I've watched the video where you explained why you didn't really want a rework and I really liked your point. As soon as I learned about the rework I thought immediately of your reaction to it. Let's hope for the best rework yet, our scorpion needs it.

[MrOuter]

So, I think I agree that the big problem with Skarner is the Crystal Spires. So much of his power is locked up in them that fighting without them puts you at a major disadvantage. I disagree with Riot that the Crystal Scorpion fantasy isn't enough to carry a champ, I personally love him for exactly that reason, but I do feel that his visuals could use a bit of polish.

Now as much as I agree with you, it's disappointing to see versatile options disappear (Was sad to see Gunblade go and Rageblade lose its AP, for example), I do feel that Skarner doesn't really have any clear directions to go with him beyond that "Min-Max the ult" gameplay style. (I would emphasise, clear directions. I appreciate he's a versatile champion who can build in multiple directions, but he's not like Kai'sa or Kayn where that's upfront as part of their identity.) All of his numbers are just a bit too low to make any particular direction appear satisfying aside from the whole "Tank-Ult" build.

Perhaps a way of taking him would similar to Kayn. Once you reach an in game milestone, you get the option of a one off permanent transformation into a variant that optimises for a particular style (In my first idea I thought tie it to bonus stats, like Kai'Sa, but you could also link to the Spires/replacement). For sake of argument, let's say the variants are an AD variant, an AP variant and a Tank variant; if you take the AD variant, your Q deals more damage, amplified further on E marked targets; if you take the AP variant, charged Qs slow and have a larger AOE; if you take the Tank variant, you get bonus Armour/MR on W and movement speed towards E marked targets. Of course, since he's being fully reworked from the ground up, the moveset will likely be different, but I think that's a way of giving him a clear mechanical identity without losing the versatility of current Skarner.

Fingers Crossed Riot don't fluff the rework of our Scorpion Boy, because he's been needing help for ages.

[smugron]

Skarner has always been a champ I enjoyed but his current playstyle feels janky. In my opinion, he should become a true juggernaut. A lot of damage and tankiness since he is a Brakern, a gigantic and ancient crystaline scorpion, but also have some cc. I hope they keep both the bruiser and tank buildpaths he has.

[JoeyBonzo]

That take on the passive is a great idea, and honestly one I hadn't thought of before. Just hoping with you that they don't change him into a completely different champion. Regardless, I think I'm gonna try to grind out my m7 on him before he gets reworked

[LunicornSZRK]

"Having my favorite champion removed from the game"
I lost old Yorick, old Malzahar (played him ad), old Mordekaiser and old Aatrox. I really miss them

[Party_Bones]

Giving an active minigame passive would be an interesting direction! I really enjoy the existing champs with those kinda of mechanics. Personally I'm thinking about how turrets attack with big magic crystals, maybe centering it around reclaiming those on the map from both enemy and friendly destroyed turrets for either an in-lane crystal effect or some kind of temp buff/stacking perma buff from interacting with a destroyed turret for the first time.

[stareovi]

I just hope that Skarner remains that champion through wich I can express my inner psycho that just wants to go fast and build speed. It would be sad to lose him

[perseus]

i really apreciate this kind of league essay videos, i can watch them while playing games and doing homework :)

[carnage]

Thank you so much for giving an actual in-depth analysis on this champion. It's wonderful to see that there are people who actually, well, KNOW the champion.