1/15 PBE Update: Xerath Rework and New VFX, Skarner Rework Returns, and more!

Xerath Rework Returns to the PBE

"Summoners!
We've got the Xerath kit update (with some minor visual updates) back on PBE for you. Here's the TL;DR: 

Q is now a Vi/Varus style channel while moving spell with great range 

W is now a circle AOE spell with what we refer to as a "sweetspot" mechanic (think Leona's ultimate)--additional damage and slow in center 

E is now a skillshot stun 

R is now full on siege mode: immobilize yourself to shoot three super long range missiles. 

-- 

What we're particularly looking for in terms of feedback: 

• Does the ultimate feel good for Xerath and for his enemy? Is it overly stressful to try and dodge it?
• Does Xerath ever hold shots in his ultimate or does he always fire them off rapid-fire?
• How safe is Xerath in lane?
• And finally, what about Xerath in odd positions? Jungle Xerath? Support Xerath? Go crazy! (but don't troll your fellow testers) 

Thanks very much for your feedback! 

To pre-empt some of the more common comments we see on these threads, here's a quick Q&A: 

Does this come with a full visual update? 

Xerath is getting a kit overhaul, focused on bringing his mechanics up to modern standards of what is fun in LoL. There is a low level of visual support, mainly particles (VFX), but this is NOT a full visual update. 

Why remake Xerath anyway? He's perfectly fine and I'm currently on a 23 game winning spree in Diamond I. 

Sorry George, but this remake is not aimed at pure power. Also, when we talk about how fun a champion is to play, we're not just talking about how fun it is to play as the champion, but also how fun it is to play against that champion. Take Morgana. Dodging Dark Bindings in lane is fun. Positioning behind minions so you're save from them is fun. At the same time, landing that clutch binding is super fun for Morgana. Fun for everyone! Yay! Now, Xerath: putting an E mark on a dude and bursting him to kingdom come from outside of his vision is tons of fun for Xerath once the Xerath player has achieved the level of mastery that allows him to survive and farm to the point where he can do this. For the enemy? Not so much. 

This is the core concept of counterplay, which we think is crucial to the success of our game. Champions that take away your ability to act in the game make the game worse in the long run, even if they're super fun to play. 

Why don't you remake X, Y, or Z instead? 

Trust me, we have a very long list of champions we want to update eventually. Sion, Poppy, Yorick... We're getting to them one at a time. Xelnath had a couple of great ideas for Xerath and felt very strongly about the champion. When he moved over to helping with the vision and support gold changes for the 2014 season, I took over Xerath and gave it that last 5% of polish. There's lots of work on similar reworks going on (Skarner being one of them) and you'll see them as soon as they're ready. 

Thanks again!"

Kit & Abilities

Every 12 seconds Xerath's next basic attack restores X mana. Overwhelming
Power restores double X mana if attacking champions. ( Non-linear progression from 30 at level 1 up to 195 at 18 )

90 /100/110/120/130 Mana || 9/8/7/6/5 sec Cooldown 

First cast: Xerath charges Arcanopulse, gradually decreasing his Movement
Speed while increasing the spell's range. 

Second cast: Xerath fires Arcanopulse, dealing 80/120/160/200/240 ( .75 AP ) magic damage to all
enemies in a line 

While chargin Arcanopulse, Xerath cannot attack or cast other spells. If Xerath does not fire the spell, half the mana cost is refunded.

60/70/80/90/100 Mana   || 14/13/12/11/10 sec Cooldown
Xerath calls down a blast or arcane energy, dealing 60/90/120/150/180 ( .6 AP ) magic damage and applying a 10% movement speed slow to all enemies within the target area.
Enemies in the center of the blast take 96/144/192/240/288 ( .97 AP ) magic damage and are slowed by 40/45/50/55/60%.

60/65/70/75/80 Mana  || 13/12.5/12/11.5/11 sec Cooldown
Xerath fires an orb of raw magic. The first enemy hit take 80/110/140/170/200 ( .45 AP ) magicdamage and is stunned for between 0.75 and 2 seconds. The stun duration
lengthens based on how far the orb travels.

100 Mana || 135/120/105 sec Cooldown
Xerath ascends to his true form, becoming rooted in place and gaining 3 Arcane
Barrages. This magic artillery deals 140/190/240 (.3 AP )  magic damage to all enemies hit. If
Arcane Barrage only hits a single target, it deals 75% extra damage. 

The root ends after 6 seconds, when all shots have been fired or when manually
deactivated by issuing a move command. If Xerath does not fire off a single
Arcane Barrage, half of the cooldown of Ascension is refunded.

Ranges of rank 1, rank 2, and rank 3 ult ( source )

Skin Particles

Skarner Rework back on PBE

"Hey all! The Skarner rework is up on the PBE in preparation for his release. I'll keep the changes up to date here, and we really would appreciate all of your testing feedback. 

Base Attack speed lowered by 1% 

Q
-When target is hit, applies an attack speed buff for 5s that stacks up to 3 times for 8/10/12/14/16%
-Slow removed from Q (moved to E)
W 

-Cooldown lowered from 18s to 16s
-Attack speed component removed
-Max movepseed increased to 20/24/28/32/36 and ramps up over 3s
-Duration remains at 6s
-Shield value increased from 70/115/160/205/250 to 80/135/190/245/300
-Shield AP ratio increased from 0.6 to 0.8 

E
-Mana cost reduced from 50/55/60/65/70 to 40/45/50/55/60
-Cooldown increased from 10s to 14s
-Heal removed
-Targets hit are slowed by 30/35/40/45/50 for 2.5s
-Missile range increased 800->1000
-Missile width reduced 120->60
-Missile speed lowered 1800->1600 

R
-Impale now roots targeted champion during the windup animation
-VO for “feel my sting” etc will happen on successful grab instead of cast start
-Scruffy"

Balance Changes

• Lunar Rush ( R ) now lists "All other enemies will have the Moonlight debuff removed regardless of whether they were the target of Lunar Rush." [ This is already how it works on live - just a tooltip update. ]

• Cannon Barrage ( R ) tooltip now reads 6 second duration from 7. [THIS IS A TOOLTIP FIX - SEE HERE FOR MORE INFO ]

• Null Sphere ( Q ) damage reduced to 70/90/110/130/150 from 80/115/150/185/220
• Nether Blade ( W ) reworked - Now reads:

Passive - deals 10/20/30/40/50 ( 0.2 AP ) bonus magic damage on hit.
Active - next basic attack increases Nether Blade's damage to 40/80/120/160/200 ( +.8 AP ) and restores 4% of maximum mana. Mana restore triples against champions."

• Nether Blade ( W ) mana cost reduced to 0 from 25 mana
• Nether Blade ( W ) cooldown reduced to 9/8/7/6/5 seconds from 12 at all ranks 

• Force Pulse ( E ) damage reduced to 80/110/140/170/200 from 80/130/180/230/280

• Taste Their Fear ( Q ) damage reduced to 50/80/110/140/170 ( 1.3 bonnus AD ) from 70/100/130/160/190 ( +1.5 bonus AD )
• Evolved Enlarged Claws ( Q ) % damage lowered to 6% ( 1.8 bonnus AD ) from 8%. ( 2.0 bonnus AD )
• Leap ( E ) cooldown lowered to 20/18/16/14/12 from 22/20/18/16/14
• Leap ( E ) AD ratio reduced to .4 from .8 
• Void Assault ( R ) movement speed increased to 50% from 40%
• Void Assault ( R ) now also allows Kha'zix to ignore unit collision while stealthed
• Evolved Active Camouflage ( R ) damage reduction increased to 60% from 50%

• Caustic Spittle ( Q ) active has been reworked into a skill shot. Tooltip now reads "Launches a corrosive projectile that deals 80/130/180/230/280 ( +.7 ) magic damage to the first enemy hit and reduces it's armor and magic resist by 5/10/15/20/25 for 4 seconds." 

• Command: Protect ( E ) no longer grants bonus MR ( still grants armor )

• Rework is back, see above.

• Crescent Sweep ( R ) now lists a maximum of 600 damage vs monsters. 

• Bouncing Bomb ( Q ) mana cost increased to 70/75/80/85/90 from 50/60/70/80/90
• Hexplosive Minefield ( E ) back do dealing reduced damage to minions who take damage from consecutive mines.