In the constantly evolving world of League of Legends, champion reworks bring noticeable changes that can alter the metagame. The recent changes in Skarner are but the latest example of this.
Skarner's rework has breathed new life into the character. Once counted among the least popular League of Legends champions, this scorpion has now to piqued the interest of players ever since his new kit became available.
Post-rework, players have recognized Skarner's increased potential in the top lane. This newfound prowess led developers to introduce a hotfix, a minor update to mitigate his dominance and maintain the game's balance.
The tweaks aim to tone down Skarner's aggressive trading on the top lane via his W skill while simultaneously enhancing his jungling efficiency to ease new players into this role.
Matt Leung-Harrison, a game designer at Riot Games, announced on Twitter the changes for Skarner, highlighting the adjustments made for both the top and jungle roles.
From these updates, the developers decreased Skarner's mana growth and increased his W skill's mana cost, therefore limiting his resource to engage opponents.
This effectively nerfs his trading potential in the top lane, as Skarner can no longer continuously use his skills to trade with opponents without careful mana management.
In contrast, Skarner's role in the jungle has been empowered. His Passive and Q skills now deal more damage to monsters, allowing swifter jungle camp clearing.
Skarner's E ability, which is primarily used to engage opposing champions in ganks, also sees a cooldown decrease to enable him to traverse the jungle and execute ganks more efficiently.
Hotfix Changes to Skarner Explained
Skarner's hotfix aims to balance his performance in the top lane while enhancing his jungle proficiency. Below are the exact changes introduced in the April 6 update:
Base Stats:
- Mana growth decreased: 60 >>> 45
Passive: Threads of Vibration :
- Monster damage cap increased: 75-250 >>> 100-300
Q: Shattered Earth/ Upheaval :
- Monster damage cap increased: 100-400 >>> 150-450
W: Seismic Bastion :
- Mana cost increased: 40-60 >>> 50-70
E: Ixtal’s Impact :
- Cooldown decreased: 24-16>>> 20-16 seconds
The developers will likely continue monitoring Skarner's gameplay following these changes. While further alterations may be made as he adapts to his updated roles in the Rift, these will probably be slated for future patches as the Mid-Season Invitational is fast approaching, and the focus will likely shift towards preparing for the tournament.