Skarner’s visual and gameplay update launched in League of Legends patch 14.7 on April 2, 2024. It replaced the crystal-focused scorpion’s old identity with an earth-linked protector rooted in Ixtal, and redesigned his abilities around terrain, crowd control and a multi-target version of Impale.
What changed in Skarner’s lore?
The rework moved Skarner from Shurima to Ixtal and recast him as an ancient Brackern protector. Riot’s official champion page describes him as a colossal Brackern revered in Ixtal and one of the founding members of the Yun Tal, the region’s ruling caste: Skarner, the Primordial Sovereign.
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Riot’s March 2023 development article explains the thinking behind the change. The team explored the Brackern as ancient earth elementalists whose knowledge existed before civilization and influenced the people of Runeterra. It chose Ixtal because the region’s elemental-magic theme better suited that direction than Skarner’s former Shuriman setting. The article describes the team’s design intent at the time, rather than serving as a complete account of every detail in current canon: “/dev: Searching for Skarner’s Sting”.
The visual direction kept the scorpion and emphasized Skarner’s heroic, lawful character, while dropping the crystal theme. Art director Larry “The BravoRay” Ray described the choice this way: “In the end we decided to amplify his good/lawful character archetype and scorpion fantasy, completely omitting his crystal theme.”
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Riot’s official Wild Rift patch page adds that Skarner lives beneath Ixaocan, listens to vibrations in the earth, and has grown paranoid as some Yun Tal question Ixtal’s isolation. That account is from Wild Rift and should not be read as evidence of the PC version’s release timing: Wild Rift patch notes 5.1.
What are Skarner’s new abilities?
The reworked kit is built around Quaking, a passive that rewards repeated hits, plus abilities that let Skarner use the ground and terrain to control fights. Riot’s official Skarner Abilities Rundown and champion page describe the shipped abilities.
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Passive — Quaking
Skarner’s attacks and abilities apply Quaking. At maximum stacks, affected enemies take magic damage over time based on a percentage of their health. Riot’s ability rundown names attacks, Shattered Earth, Upheaval and Impale as ways to apply stacks.
Q — Shattered Earth / Upheaval
Skarner pulls a boulder from the ground to empower his attacks, then can throw it as a projectile. The two names describe the stages of this ability: Shattered Earth is the empowered state, and Upheaval is the throw.
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W — Seismic Bastion
Skarner gains a shield and sends out a damaging shockwave that slows enemies.
E — Ixtal’s Impact
Skarner charges through terrain. If he collides with a champion or large monster, he can carry the target into a wall, dealing damage and stunning it.
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R — Impale
Skarner’s tails suppress enemy champions and drag them as he moves. During development, Riot described its goal as shifting Impale from a dependable single-target pick tool toward an area-of-effect teamfight ability. Game designer Jacob “Riot Llama” Crouch said the fantasy was “moving from being a single target pick tool to being a teamfight tool to give it some extra ‘oomph’ and playmaking ability.” That quote explains the design aim; the champion page describes the released ability.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.When did Skarner’s rework come out?
The update went live in League of Legends patch 14.7. Riot’s patch notes, dated April 2, 2024, announced Skarner’s VGU and linked the ability rundown, champion biography, trailer and theme: Patch 14.7 Notes. Riot’s development article introducing the direction was published earlier, on March 17, 2023.
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How did Riot adjust the kit after launch?
The launch version was not the final balance snapshot. Riot’s patch 14.10 notes later listed changes to Q, E and R. Among them, Impale received a shorter cast time, while Skarner lost his unstoppable status during its windup. Riot explained that displacement effects could interrupt the windup after that protection was removed, though Skarner could queue other skills during it: Patch 14.10 Notes.
Those notes establish that the kit changed after release; they are not a complete guide to current cooldowns, damage or balance. The ability descriptions above explain what the rework does, not a claim about its latest numerical tuning.
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