Skarner’s journey since his rework in League of Legends Patch 14.7 has been a rollercoaster. He has undergone three additional adjustments since then, and now he’s going to be nerfed again in Patch 14.9, which is going live on May 1.
Since Skarner’s rework went live, the Primordial Sovereign has been nerfed in Patch 14.8 because he was considered too overpowered, and again in a hotfix for Patch 14.8 on April 18 for similar reasons. That rushed balance-change onslaught continues today, with League balance head honcho Riot Phroxzon confirming on X (formerly Twitter) on April 22 that the updated brackern is just about to get whacked again.
When a champion is reworked in League, they will either fall into two categories: So overpowered that they dominate the Rift or so weak they struggle to shape up to the meta. In Skarner’s case, his win rates remained low when his rework went live in League Patch 14.7. The only good thing about his rework was his visual update, which included new emotes and the beginning of the Crab Rave internet meme. (And it’s a bop.)
Crab Rave aside, you may be wondering why, after so many nerfs and adjustments, the Primordial Sovereign is still not landing on the Rift how they want him to. And it’s a mix of optimizing him based on his stats and abilities and how he’s being played.
From what Riot Phroxzon mentioned, they’ve found that Skarner in the jungle with specific items is just simply too powerful when played correctly. Once he hits level nine, the brackern gets a very substantial power spike that sends him over the top and the best players are dominating on him now that they’ve figured all that out.
Although the League balance boss didn’t list particular abilities or stats to be nerfed, the developers hope it will be enough to ensure Skarner is still viable in the jungle—they see that as his primary role—while also still being a primordial pain in the top lane.
Until the full patch details are released, we won’t know how extensively he will be nerfed or if these changes will be enough to alter the jungle meta in May.
However, as Patch 14.8 is the MSI 2024 patch, the pros will have access to overpowered Skarner, so hopefully, we get to see at least a few pro games with the Primordial Sovereign. And maybe we’ll get some Skarner gameplay tips.
