It’s only been a day since Skarner’s massive visual and gameplay update dropped on League of Legends’ live servers, but the Primordial Sovereign is already dealing with some growing pains.
Runeterra’s favorite scorpion currently has the lowest win rate of any champion in League through Patch 14.7, holding an abysmal 37.3 percent win rate through Platinum ranks and higher, according to stats aggregate U.GG. Besides jungle, Skarner has also been played in support and top lane to similarly disappointing numbers as players begin to experiment and experience his new abilities and playstyle.
In Patch 14.7, Skarner has been revamped from top to bottom with a whole new set of skills and a new look after staying the same since his original release in 2011. He also has five unique skins in the game, which is one of the lowest counts among the entire League champion roster. He truly was one of the least-favored picks in the game, but now, he has a ton of new tricks in his claws.
There is, however, a period when new champions and champion reworks release where their win rates start off in the dumps since most players are still trying to figure out how to play them as efficiently as possible.
Briar, for example, started off her journey in League with one of the worst win rates in the game before she saw a few hotfixes as players slowly learned how to use her abilities. Now, she has found a nice spot in the solo queue meta with a much more respectable win rate. Similarly, Skarner will need time to settle into his place in the meta.
His ability set looks broken at first glance, but players still need to figure out when they can engage, how they can use his ultimate, and when to back off to live another day. Skarner needs to become tanky enough to soak damage, while still finding angles to get a pick, kickstart a teamfight, or tunnel through a wall to steal an objective.
