League of Legends Reveals New Look and Abilities for Skarner Rework

Riot Games has fully revealed the new look and abilities that the champion Skarner will boast as part of the scorpion's upcoming rework. For a prolonged period of time, those in the LoL community have been making it known that they wanted to see Skarner's kit, appearance, and lore updated for the modern game. Now, Riot is finally ready to make good on those requests as the revamped version of Skarner is now slated to roll out in mere weeks. 

Announced this morning, Riot revealed that the Skarner VGU will hit League of Legends with patch 14.7, which is expected to drop on April 3. Prior to this time, Riot fully unveiled the new in-game visuals for Skarner. Rather than continuing to boast a purple design, the former "crystalline scorpion" has an appearance that is now primarily blue/gray with its base skin. Skarner also happens to now feature three stingers rather than one, which ties directly into how his Ultimate ability functions. Beyond altering these visual elements, the backstory and lore tied to Skarner have now been tweaked as well. 

"The ancient brackern Skarner is revered in Ixtal as one of the founding members of its ruling caste, the Yun Tal, and is devoted to keeping Ixtal safe from the rest of the world by maintaining the region's isolation," says Riot's new description of Skarner. "As more members of the Yun Tal begin to question this decision, Skarner grows increasingly paranoid and will do anything to keep Ixtal and its people safe—no matter the cost."

When it comes to Skarner's new abilities, you can find the full breakdown of his updated kit attached below. 

Skarner Abilities

Passive – Threads of Vibration

• Skarner's attacks, Shattered Earth, Upheaval, and Impale apply Quaking to enemies. Enemies with three stacks of Quaking take % Max HP damage over time.

Q – Shattered Earth/Upheaval

• Skarner rips a rock out of the ground and uses it to empower his next three attacks with bonus damage, range, and attack speed. His third attack slams the rock into his target, slowing and dealing significant bonus damage, ending the effect. Skarner may re-cast Upheaval to throw the rock as a projectile that explodes on the first enemy hit, dealing the same damage and slow, ending the effect.

W – Seismic Bastion

• Skarner gains a shield and slams into the ground, releasing a shockwave that damages and slows nearby enemies.

E – Ixtal's Impact

• Skarner charges forward, ignoring terrain, and grabs the first enemy champion or large monster he collides with. He may then carry them a short way, damaging and stunning them if they collide with terrain.

R – Impale

• Skarner impales up to three enemy champions, damaging and suppressing them. Skarner gains bonus movement speed for a short time and carries them with him until the end of the effect.