Skarner underwent significant rework in Patch 14.7, drawing close scrutiny from League of Legends developers ever since. Following a noteworthy surge in his win rate in solo queue after adjustments in Patch 14.8, Skarner is now slated to receive several nerfs in the upcoming Patch 14.9.
Released on April 17, Patch 14.8 immediately bolstered Skarner’s performance following many tweaks to the scorpion champion. However, it seems more changes are in the pipeline, as hinted by League content creator Spideraxe.
Skarner nerfs coming in LoL Patch 14.9
- P health damage reduced from 7% – 12% max HP to 7% – 10%
- Q health ratio reduced from 6% bonus HP to 5%
- W base damage reduced from 50 – 150 to 50 – 130
Shortly after the adjustments went live, Spideraxe discovered additional alterations added to the PBE servers and shared them on X. It appears that Skarner is already lined up for three nerfs, targeting his passive, Q, and W abilities.
Regarding his passive, the health damage it inflicts is set to decrease from 7-12 percent maximum health to 7-10 percent. Consequently, Skarner will deal considerably less damage with his other attacks, which rely on his empowered passive. Additionally, the health ratio of his Q ability has been reduced from six to five percent bonus health, while the base damage of his W ability has been diminished from 50-150 to 50-130.
While it’s premature to definitively label Skarner as overpowered in solo queue at the time of writing, his initial statistics for Patch 14.8 are certainly impressive. Presently, he boasts a 52.53% win rate in the jungle, according to U.GG, accompanied by a substantial 26.5% ban rate and a 8.2% pick rate. This marks a significant improvement from Patch 14.7, where his win rate languished at 42% by the update’s conclusion.
Given such a substantial climb in the rankings, it’s unsurprising that Riot Games is swift to respond. However, these impending changes should not be taken for granted, as Patch 14.9 is still two weeks away, with a scheduled release date of May 1.