Skarner Mechanics Preview
reetings Summoners!
Today, I wanted to give a little sneak peek into the gameplay behind Skarner, the Crystal Vanguard.
The idea behind Skarner is to get on people, stay on them, and really capture that inevitability of being run down by a predatory creature. Additionally, we wanted to avoid an instant gap closing mechanic so there's appropriate counter-play.
The primary way Skarner accomplishes this mission is through his ability Crystal Slash and his passive, Energize. Crystal Slash does a quick, point-blank AOE and empowers the ability if it hits. Empowered casts will do bonus damage and slow (making successive uses really useful for sticking to his target). His passive causes his spells to cool down faster each time he auto-attacks - a natural combination with the empowered Crystal Slash.
Properly utilizing Skarner's passive is central to his gameplay as a whole. For example, Skarner's ability Crystalline Exoskeleton puts up a shield that grants additional movement and attack speed while it's up. The bonus attack speed will help greatly decrease the cooldown time of his abilities, leading to additional Crystal Slashes or more uptime on this steroid.
Skarner's marquee ability is Impale. This ultimate causes him to skewer an opponent with his tail and drag them around for a few seconds. The positional manipulation of the ability can turn a teamfight by peeling an enemy off of a wounded ally, or dragging a greedy enemy into a tower.
Players have been asking for another monster champion for a while, so we're happy to deliver Skarner, our own weaponized arachnid.
