Hi everybody, Rob 'I am Lam' Lam here to share with you a comprehensive breakdown of the new Skarner rework that is looking to hit Live servers in the near future.
When it comes to League of Legends, I am fanatical about the competitive scene and all the work that has been accomplished on the eSports scene by RIOT, fanatical but unbiased.
As a neutral viewer I like to appreciate each match for it's own quality and style, from stand-out individual performances of mechanics to exceptional team tactics and execution.
As a player, I didn't begin until introduced some way through Season 2 with Fiora the login screen I first recall and I have battled with constraints through University, employment, horrific internet and outdated hardware to play this game that captures my attention at all turns.
I won't claim to be a genius at this game, as my pretty horrific Ranked statistics would suggest I am rather awful, and mainly due to my own jitters and nerves that surround anything competitive be it a cricket match, Call of Duty GameBattles or a League Ranked game.
However my strength lies not in my ability to play, but my technical analysis of predominantly data and to extract conclusions, though made of opinion, that are as logical as I can guarantee.
For RiotScruffy, let us dive into the Skarner rework that is currently on PBE...
So RIOT stated that the current Live iteration of Skarner isn't in a good place, where he can either be completely useless, or a relative monster.
The main concern being the obnoxious perma-slow on his Q once he gets onto a target. IF he can get onto his target.
His E was also a point of concern as it wasn't thematic and widely regarded as something that didn't contribute to his kit.
He has always been an exceptionally fast jungler but with the advent of the Season 3 jungle, where each camps power was placed into the Large Monster and away from the small minions, it slowed Skarner down and made it much more painful for him to stay in the jungle farming.
This has not changed in Season 4 and even worse, vision changes with the introduction of trinkets, means his early game power with his relatively high damage is much more difficult to capitalise on with ganks from a good flanking position.
Now lets get into the changes and some more general thoughts.
[Q] has had the rather obnoxious slow component removed and moved the Attack Speed buff from Live W to it, albeit in a slightly different form with similar but lower actual % values whilst being much more reliable as it cannot be easily removed just by breaking a shield.
- This is a very welcome change, enabling Skarner's signature speed farming to return as it gives him much more power against solo targets and the buff is retained throughout clearing a camp. The AS Buff also works well with his passive, again improving his clear speed and, once W is levelled, his sustain in the jungle.
[W] has had the aforementioned Attack Speed buff removed, the speed buff has been changed to a ramping speedbuff up to a maximum % higher than that of the Live flat %'s and Shield Flat and Scaling Values have been increased. Cooldown was also reduced by 2 seconds.
- The Flat value increase and cooldown reduction are good news and are needed to offset the loss of E's small heal in terms of sustain. AP Scaling doesn't affect Skarner's usual build and is of little consequence. Unsure as to why the speed up has been changed into a ramping buff when it's a relatively low % amount, but the overall increase is much needed in terms of chase power.
[E] has had the heal removed and a long slow attached to it. The range has been increased and mana cost reduced. However, missile width has been halved and speed lowered and, of great significance, the cooldown has been increased by 4 seconds! (40% increase)
- So this is now Skarner's main ganking tool, a relatively strong slow attached to a line skill shot that passes through minions. A great addition that allows Skarner to close gaps, however it has been made much easier to dodge and the 4 second increase in cooldown which is a flat value no matter the spell rank is painful.
[R] now roots targeted champion as cast/windup begins. Voice over for 'Feel my sting' will now only happen on a successful grab rather than start of cast.
- Glad to see them make Skarner's Ultimate ultimately more reliable now you won't be forever stutter stepping as you try to cast it when at the edge of range a la Ryze. The VO change surely would've happened by itself with the new root mechanic ensuring the grabs once the cast/windup begins but guess you can't be sure so better safe than sorry to stop people hearing the grab and VO go off then have nothing attached to Skarner's stinger.
This is an extremely quick overview that will be explored further in the next few posts!
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