The long-awaited Skarner update for League of Legends has been revealed and early impressions seem positive with players today declaring they’re excited to get their hands on a champion many are already calling “streamlined” compared to his past life.
Across the board, League players are keen to get their hands on Skarner both for his simplicity and his looks. “Skarner bursting out of the walls like a goddamn horror movie monster is fantastic,” one player said in a March 18 Reddit thread, referencing the champ’s new E, Ixtal’s Impact, and its ability to charge through terrain. “That E range is massive, like a Poppy E on steroids,” another said, keen to pick Skarner into a melee-heavy lineup.
While there was some backlash to the champ’s VGU reveal, primarily from League fans who were concerned that the update was in development for two years and felt underwhelmed by the result, the majority are keen to get their claws on the Primordial Sovereign.
Leading from the front, League caster Clayton “CaptainFlowers” Raines also spoke for over three hours about the Skarner VGU while streaming on Twitch where, amongst the excitement and eagerness to take the Primordial Sovereign into the Summoner’s Rift, he also shared important advice on how to approach using the new champ. “The one thing I personally will miss is early game he isn’t the same level of duelist as he currently is right now,” CaptainFlowers said, while providing a crude Microsoft Paint drawing of a gank example.
CaptainFlowers explained that Skarner’s power budget was poorly distributed with too much weight on his Crystal Slash and Impale. But, following the reveal of his new abilities, his kit now includes more tools for ganking, meaning you’ll “have to be careful about which fights you take—it’ll take some relearning.”
The same goes for Skarner’s new and “improved” Impale, which has a significant charge-up time but can grab up to three units. “The windup time is fucking slow,” CaptainFlowers said, adding an opponent hit by Impale without setup is “probably playing on a Guitar Hero controller or a steering wheel.” The potential reward of landing a multi-champion stun, however, can’t be topped and after finessing and practice, it’s more than possible.
League fans are always excited for something new, especially when massive changes are made to an existing element of the game, but there’s something about Skarner’s rework that has many Summoners curious—whether that be playing the champ or beating it.
Eager fans won’t have to wait long now; Skarner’s VGU goes live in League on April 2.
