League of Legends released a new micro patch that serves as a hotfix following Skarner's VGU rework last week to address some balance issues.
The unexpected patch, which is now live in the game, is almost entirely centered around balancing the champion Skarner. The lead gameplay designer on League of Legends, Matt Leung-Harrison, said that the update focuses on buffing Skarner in the jungle while also nerfing him in the top lane.
League of Legends Micro Patch
(Photo : Riot Games / Screenshot taken from official website)
The micro patch's actual changes include reducing Skarner's mana growth from 60 to 45 and increasing his monster damage from his passive and Q abilities to make jungling a little bit easier. The champion's W ability mana cost was also raised and the cooldown of his E ability has been reduced.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter Leung-Harrison said that Skarner is outperforming in the top lane compared to the jungle when at low mastery. He noted that in high master, the roles are relatively balanced among players, according to Forbes.
He added that despite the champion's low average win rates, he is still quite strong but needs a few optimizations that need to be learned. Leung-Harrison said that another thing they heard was that his Q felt heavy in pulling the rock and standing still. They are now threading the needle between impactful and adding sufficient counterplay.
The lead gameplay designer noted that they want this particular ability on Skarner to hit for a lot of damage and have the champion channel for a bit in order to get it out. Another developer at Riot Games, Riot Pehrek, said that the micro patch also includes a few bug fixes that are related to the recently reworked League of Legends champion.
Skarner's VGU rework was released alongside the game's 14.7 patch and players' initial reaction to the change was mostly positive. A lot of players enjoyed the new look that was given to him despite needing a bit of time to learn his new abilities.
The production lead for Skarner, Lexi Gao, said that the champion's visual rework was needed because his themes did not align well. He noted that some players who love scorpions had no affinity for crystals and vice versa, said IGN.
Skarner's VGU Rework
He also explained that the champion is considered a significant character in the story of Ixtal, which is the Mesoamerican region of League of Legends. Gao said they drew a lot of inspiration from totem poles and how people in the past used to worship them.
Gao noted that Skarner's identity was mainly focused on his gameplay, saying that players generally know the champion because of his "impale" or the famous "drive-by Skarner." While the champion's appearance and story have significantly changed, his gameplay has largely stayed true to his core.
However, there were still some adjustments made and many players will have to practice Skarner in order to utilize his full kit. His passive is known as Threads of Vibration and gives the champion's attacks and other skills the ability to apply Quaking to enemies hit.
After they receive three stacks of Quaking, they take % Max HP damage over time. Skarner's Q ability is Shattered Earth/Upheaval. He takes a large chunk of rock and uses it to empower his next three attacks. This adds bonus damage, range, and attack speed.
His W skill, Seismic Bastion, gives Skarner a shield and he slams into the ground that releases a shockwave to damage and slow nearby enemies. The champion's E skill, Ixtal's Impact, has him charging forward, ignoring terrain, to grab the first enemy champion or large monster. This damages them and stuns them if they collide with terrain.
Finally, Skarner's Ultimate has him impaling up to three enemy champions, damaging and suppressing them for a short time. The champion gains bonus movement speed during the duration of the suppression and the enemies are carried with him until the end of the effect, according to PCGamesN.
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