One of the most-anticipated events each year in League of Legends is the annual full Visual Gameplay Update for an old champion, here’s what we know about the 2023 Skarner rework.
Skarner is the next champion to get a full redesign from aesthetic to the story to gameplay, which Riot Games calls a Visual Gameplay Update. Each year, League of Legends players get the chance to vote for one of several outdated champions most in need of an update. In 2022, fans selected Skarner as the next VGU.
Here’s everything we know about the Skarner rework and what fans can expect.
Skarner rework coming in 2023
After Udyr’s rework hit Summoner’s Rift in 2023, Skarner is next on the list. Skarner is an old and very simple champion, with the most unusual aspect of his kit being the zone-capture mini-game made by his crystal spires scattered throughout the map. The new update will give him a brand new theme, kit, and story. In the season-start video, some new images of possible forms for Skarner were highlighted. These ranged from more traditionally scorpion-like to even more alien forms, and there’s no solid news just yet on which option Riot Games will go with.
If the timing is similar, the VGU can be expected sometime in the fall of 2023. Though Riot Games has said that the rework was somewhat delayed from what they expected when they began working on it.
Skarner rework abilities
There’s been no official confirmation of what Skarner’s rework will have for abilities. However, Riot Games has expressed interest in keeping his iconic ultimate. Skarner is one of the very few champions in the game who can lock down a target and reposition them against their will by dragging them along with him.
This is an incredibly powerful tool, like an especially flexible Blitzcrank hook in some ways, and his kit would have to be designed around its high-impact usage if it stays. Details aren’t clear, but it certainly seems like Skarner will look and behave wildly different from the polypod juggernaut that fans know.
