Xerath and Skarner Reworks: Better or worse?

[quote=OTGBionicArm]So, this patch rolled the two reworks for some of the most underplayed champions. [[Xerath]] was completely overhauled and [[Skarner]] mostly got things moved around in his kit. I thought I'd make a thread to discuss the changes and general things about their new kits like itemization and skilling orders. I'll start with my thoughts; [[Xerath]]; Possible improvement. I'm not sure if the kit is actually any better than his old one, but it's sure a hell of a lot more fun to play then the old kit's "drop everything and that person dies" kit. He really felt like a living artillery. His waveclear is still retarded, if not even more so, and his mana sustain is now very high with his new passive. Build I tested: Max Q then W then E, 21/0/9 masteries and Sorc shoes, Dcap, Athenes, void, Zhonyas, Abyssal scepter. Runes were Hpen, Armor, MR and AP Quints [[Skarner]]; I'm actually a bit sad on this one. It feels and looks like nerfs across the board, and I'm nott he only one who's said this. He feels sluggish now, and he can't even lock targets down with his Q anymore. His mana costs still blow and overall he looks to be in an even worse state than he was previously. Build I tested: used [[Ghost]] instead of [[Flash]], Maxed Q then W then E, 9/21/0 masteries, Ninja Tabi, Golem, iceborn Gauntlet, Randuin's, Spirit Visage, Blade of the Ruined King. Runes were Hpen, Armor, MR, and AD Quints[/quote]

[quote=utopus]When i saw you play as Xerath, his kit kind of felt like AP kog'maw. You stay WAAAAY back, and pick people off. It seems like now, he's much more susceptible to assassins, since they have an easier time sneaking past a front line, and getting up close and personal to people. I think riot just kinda deleted skarner. Not gonna lie - in that game we played, the skarner contributed nothing. I'm not even sure why riot decided to nerf him. His kit wasn't particularly powerful to begin with[/quote]

[quote=Satella][[Skarner]]: Olaf'd. I complained about this on the PBE forums multiple times and Riot has never responded despite my post being upvoted significantly every time. [[Xerath]]: OP burst and roam because of his numbers and the fact that W has a bullshit 80% slow. Got a lot of utter shit matchups against popular mids though ([[Katarina]], [[Yasuo]], [[Riven]], [[Zed]], [[LeBlanc]]), so I'm not too concerned. Rework made him generally more viable but less unique and fun to play as a champion IMO. But I guess I enjoyed tossing E on people and have them act like headless chickens trying to predict my Q while I auto them.[/quote]

[quote=OTGBionicArm]@Utopus, Riot has recently said something like "we didnt intend to nerf Skarner, only to fix his gameplay issues" or something silly. @Satella true but aside from Kat, those champions generally give mages a hard time. :p[/quote]

[quote=utopus]Riot? Making a statement like that? Why am i not surprised. at all.[/quote]

[quote=DillButt64]E change is good, it makes more sense to stun someone before you unload your combo on them rather than point and click one skill then having to hit a skill shot for a stun(brand is still weird for me for that reason) i miss the spell pen he got from his old W but i guess having another real damage skill makes up for it, plus him getting all of his range without it is good too i feel like his Q is too strong though, he should have to charge it up for more damage instead of just getting full damage with it no matter how long he charges it[/quote]

[quote=OTGBionicArm]But Dill, if he didnt just get the full damage, any melee would fuck him up harder cause they know he'd have to WoW Blood elf animation cast that shit for 2 seconds to do any damage to them.[/quote]

[quote=DillButt64]doesnt that add counterplay? you get close to the long range artillery to kill him and in return if he can stay away from you he gets extra damage ALSO doesnt Varus have a similar skill that does more damage the longer you charge it? idk if it does more damage the longer you charge it im not a varus player so i might be wrong[/quote]

[quote=OTGBionicArm]varus is an entirely different role, so I think it's still unfair to compare them even if the abilities are similar in function.[/quote]

[quote=DillButt64]long range damage dealer kind of applies to both of them regardless of what kind of damage they apply and what lane they go to, you get in the face of a ranged adc and it dies, you get in the face of a long range artillery mage and it dies why should it be ok for one to be at a disadvantage for damage when someone is close range when another can still do full damage on an uncharged skill when someone is beating on him at melee range when the fantasy of him is "long range artillery mage"[/quote]