How to Play Skarner Jungle: Tips & Power Spikes (26.20)

Max order: Q > W > E
First item: Mosstomper Seedling0.2 min
Gold vs lane at 15: −344
Win rate 1k gold ahead: 77.8%
Win rate 1k gold behind: 31.8%

Overview Build Runes Abilities Stats Counters Synergies Matchups Arena ARAM Tips Guide

Skarner Power Spikes (Patch 26.20)

Jungle

When Skarner Jungle gets stronger, in the order it happens in a typical ranked game: ability unlocks from the most common skill order, item spikes at the median minute players finish them, and the game length Skarner wins most.

Lv 3
All three basic abilities at level 3
Skarner's full combo is online — the first point where trading all-in is realistic.
Lv 6
Ultimate rank 1 at level 6
The biggest early spike: look for a kill or a roam as soon as Skarner hits it.
Lv 11
Ultimate rank 2 at level 11
Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Skarner can start or win.
Lv 16
Ultimate rank 3 at level 16
Lower ultimate cooldown means more fights Skarner can start or win.
0.2 min
First item at 0.2 min
Mosstomper Seedling is done — Skarner's first real damage or durability spike.
11.1 min
Two items at 11.1 min
Mosstomper Seedling + Heartsteel: the window to group and take objectives.
20.0 min
Three-item core at 20.0 min
Mosstomper Seedling + Heartsteel + Unending Despair completes Skarner's core build.
30 min
Strongest in games of about 30 minutes
Skarner wins 55.5% of games that end around this point.

Item timings are medians: half of players finish later. Fall behind in farm and every item spike moves back with it.

Skarner Jungle Laning Plan

Skarner plays an even lane: no extreme in gold, leads or scaling, so the matchup decides how hard to push. On average Skarner Jungle is 344 gold behind the lane opponent at 15 minutes and ahead in only 39% of games. A 1,000-gold lead at 15 turns into a 78% win rate; a 1,000-gold deficit leaves 32%. Skarner averages 0.11 solo kills by 15 minutes.

Skarner win rate by gold at 15

1,000+ gold ahead77.8%
Ahead63.2%
Behind39.5%
1,000+ gold behind31.8%

Lane matchups that decide the plan

Respect these lanes

Viego−631 gold at 15

Skarner Mid and Late Game

What Skarner does better or worse than other champions after laning, from this patch's ranked games — percentiles where 100 is the highest of every champion.

Play to these strengths

Skarner soaks damage well (percentile 98): stand between the enemy and your carries.
Skarner brings crowd control (percentile 84): start the fight or follow up on a teammate's engage.
Skarner wins 10.0 points more in short games than long ones: group, take objectives and end before the enemy scales.

Mistakes to avoid

Skarner is not a damage carry (20/100): don't take fights expecting Skarner to win them alone.
Skarner falls behind in CS (21/100): last-hit the waves you can, items still matter.

These expert Skarner tips are generated by MetaBot's advanced analysis of thousands of Skarner games. Learn the best strategies, ability combos, and gameplay tactics to master Skarner and climb the ranked ladder. Follow these tips to maximize your Skarner performance.

Skarner is able to soak a lot of damage, making them much more viable in the frontline taking damage to protect less tanky teammates.
Skarner secures less objectives than most champions. Your value may be better oriented towards helping other champions secure objectives.
Skarner tends to have a lower vision score than other champions. Make sure you are working to place wards and clear enemy wards.
Skarner has a much higher early late game win rate than their late game win rate. Take advantage of this by playing aggressive early on and trying to snowball through kills.
Skarner has a low base attack speed, which can make last hitting in the early game more challenging. It can also make percentage attack speed items scale less effectively than they do on other champions.

Playing Skarner

Basic attacks apply Quaking. Stick to your target and re-apply it for maximum damage.
Capturing Crystal Spires before attempting neutral objectives or team fights around them improves Skarner's performance in said fights dramatically.
Impale is extremely powerful when you use it to position an enemy so your allies can attack them.

Playing Against Skarner

Ixtal's Impact can be stopped by any stun, root, or knock-up. Save a key cooldown if he's coming for a gank!
Impale can be dodged. Use Flash or another ability to get out of reach.
Skarner's sustained damage can eventually take you down. Be careful not to ignore him.

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How to Play Skarner FAQ - Patch 26.20

When does Skarner power spike?

Skarner's spikes in a typical ranked game: All three basic abilities at level 3; Ultimate rank 1 at level 6; Ultimate rank 2 at level 11; Ultimate rank 3 at level 16; First item at 0.2 min.

Can Skarner come back from behind?

Skarner wins 40% of games when behind in gold at 15 minutes (over 410 games), against 63% when ahead — so a lost lane costs Skarner games, but it is not decisive.

What is Skarner's first item?

Most Skarner players finish Mosstomper Seedling first, at a median of 0.2 minutes.

Which lanes are hardest for Skarner?

By gold at 15 minutes, Skarner falls furthest behind against Viego. Play those lanes safe and scale.

How do you play Skarner Jungle?

From this patch's ranked data, Skarner wins by playing to these strengths: front-line for your carries; start fights with crowd control; end the game early.

Skarner How to Play: Tips & Power Spikes