Red Post Collection: Pool Party Skins Discussion, Skarner Changelist, World Champ Ticket reminder, and more!

This late night ( or early morning! ) red post collection features a slew of discussion on the new Pool Party skins, a tentative changelist for Riot Scruffy's set of Skarner updates, a reminder on the availability of World Championship tickets, and Scarizard clearing the air on some misunderstood Talon comments.

Continue reading for more information!

Pool Party Leona & Skin Talk
Pool Party Leona popped up in the PBE patch earlier today and many summoners have noted it looks quite a bit different from what we originally saw during the art demo at PAX East.

While it was made very clear that the PAX version was simply a concept art and would likely not appear in game "as is", IronStylus explains:

"So, here's the deal with the Leona skin. 

1) I did that design live, with a lot of feedback from the audience, and mentioned that it all could change. We did a few options, (bikini's, pool noodles, one-piece suits, etc) However, it was known that all things may change. That particular concept, while fun to do live, and take live feedback/options, simply wasn't the right fit for the game 

2) Things always have to be adjusted and accounted for with game-angle in mind. That means, despite how the concept might have looked straight on, it means nothing if the in-game read is bad. I tried doing a 1-to-1 version of this skin in the 3/4s game view, it didn't look good. Then I did one similar to what you see, but kept it pretty damn yellow, and it wasn't enough. Once we added the blue trim, some other accents and materials, it popped and served what we're all 100% focused on: the in-game read. 

I understand the personal taste aspect, but believe me, I was a fan of the original, I was a fan of the intermediary, and I'm a big fan of how it came out.

(It's also going to be super awesome to see done in cosplay!)

The sunglasses are also just for the recall, as a note."

When asked about the timing of these skins, he noted:

"This was a ton of content, all done simultaneously. That means a LOT of time and resources. We've got some custom particles and animations, so that's even more stuff to do. The Pool Party event was proposed.. I want to say.. not too long after we did the demo at PAX East. So, Beginning of April? That's actually a TON of stuff to cram into that small of a window. So, no backup, just a lot of work on 5 simultaneous skins. That means concept/iteration, model/texture, animation, VFX, splash and more.


I'd say we did something really epic in a short amount of time considering!"

As for that five simultaneous skins comment, he elaborated:

"We were working on a backup also in case something went awry with one of the skins. It was simultaneously developed but is currently very unfinished. We wanted to make sure we were going to have a full team comp and there were concerns that one of the skins was more risky. Hence the backup in case that had happened."

When asked how many champions were considered for pool party skins, he shared:

"A TON. 

Here's the good news about events/themes like this. They're essentially infinite in how many champions the theme can be applied to. Every little easter egg that's in the Pool Party Ziggs splash was considered, including more. You'll note TONS of champions with the potential for Pool Party skins in the various splashes.

These are types of skin themes which are universal. Sometimes we might get carried away with certain ideas for "funny" or trolly skins that might be more specifically NA related, but these, in my opinion, strike the balance and are globally appealing. It's a very universal and fun theme. And man.. there are SOOOO many options!"

He also made a brief comment on Scorched Earth Renekton, saying:

"To my knowledge, due to the Pool Party event popping up and the Life Guard Renekton skin being a fan-requested skin for so long, this seemed liked the perfect opportunity to switch things. Yes, SE Renekton is cool, but this was a really great opportunity to get something that people had wanted to see for a long time. Plus, it's a silly skin. We're desperately in need of those if you haven't noticed ;D"

For those concerned about other champions getting skins, IronStylus reminded everyone:

"Every champion needs skins, and every champion has a skin in development! Those that won't be getting skins soon are those champions slated for Relaunch priority."

Tentative Skarner Changelist

( Note: This is an on-going discussion on future Skarner changes. Read up on the previous posts here: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4, 5)

Riot Scruffy is back with a complete changeslist for his tentative Skarner plans.

"Hey all. This thread has been so incredibly helpful, you all have been having huge impact on this Skarner rework so far. We are getting more and more happy with each new version and I wanted to provide an update of where we are at. Skarner feels like a much more reliable pick with these changes, and I think he will gain a lot of his old glory back when you all have a chance to play him. 

Overall, his ability to engage in ganks, mid game skirmishes, and late game team fights is increased. He is still able to brawl and 1v1 very well and his jungle clear times are slightly improved. The E is an essential part of his kit now, and it has opened up a lot of interesting new plays that Skarner can make. One of the most important things is that, for us old Skarner players, he still feels like the Skarner we know and love.

Full changelist: 

Base Attack speed lowered by 1% 

Crystal Slash (Q)
-Mana cost reduced from 20/22/24/26/28 to 16/18/20/22/24
-When target is hit, gives skarner an attack speed buff for 6s that stacks up to 3 times 4/5/6/7/8%
-Slow removed (moved to E) 

Exoskeleton (W)
-Attack speed component removed (moved to Q)
-Cooldown lowered from 18s to 14s
-Max movepseed increased to 24/28/32/36/40% and ramps up over 3s
-Duration remains at 6s
-Shield value increased from 70/115/160/205/250 to 75/125/175/225/280
-Shield AP ratio increased from 0.6 to 0.8 

Fracture (E)
-Mana cost reduced from 50/55/60/65/70 to 40/45/50/55/60
-Heal removed (power moved into W shield)
-Targets hit are slowed by 30/35/40/45/50% for 2.5s
-Missile range increased 800->1000
-Missile width reduced 120->90
-Missile speed reduced 1800->1700 

Impale (R)
-Impale now roots targeted champion during the windup animation
Anything not mentioned in the changelist is the same. Numbers are still not locked down so don't sweat the small details.

-Team Scarner"

When asked for more info on his w's ramp up, he noted:

"Right now it ramps up from 20% lower than the max movespeed over the 3s. Also, it updates every 0.25s, but your math is correct for the assumptions you made."

As for the removal of the slow from his Q, he elaborated:

"Yes, I'll clarify because this is in many people's opinions the most significant loss to his kit. There are a few major gains to the new slow pattern compared to the old.
-Skarner is still able to get to and stick with a target. This is key to Skarner's ability to play the game (as a melee) and we definitely would not remove this from him. 

-Targets are not slowed permanently without any means of escape. The new slow will give him about 50% slow uptime without much cooldown reduction. This allows for both Skarner and his target to make meaningful plays. A target with a moveblock has to be smart about using it or Skarner will be able to reapply slow or catch up. Skarner players can also be smart about coordinating their slow with other CC from their team or even with a slow->ult->slow combo by themselves. 

-The new slow application has more interest for both Skarner and the target. The slow on a line skillshot nuke adds a lot of thought/skill to Skarner play and feels really good to hit. New opportunities of when and how to use the slow are opened up and it gives the needed variety to his kit. Skarner is taking some risk to cast the slow, but if he lands the skillshot there is an appropriate reward.

From the many people internally that we have had playtest the new Skarner, they all seem to agree that this pattern is more interesting and fun. I hope you feel the same way when you have the chance to play him."

World Championship Tickets available Saturday, August 24 at 12:00PM PDT / 21:00 CEST.
After being delayed due to technical problems, tickets for the upcoming S3 World Championship are being made available on  Saturday, August 24 at 12:00PM PDT / 21:00 CEST.

Here's the announcement, taken from Lolesports:

"Editor's Note - Aug 20: We're pleased to announce that tickets will go on sale Saturday, August 24 at 12:00PM PDT / 21:00 CEST. From all of us at the LCS, we once again thank you for your patience during the recent delay and look forward to seeing you at the upcoming Championship games! When the sale begins, this page will be updated with direct links to buy tickets for the available days."

 Be sure to bookmark this page for easy access to the purchase links once they go online.

No Talon Rework on the horizon
After a comment on Talon having low counter play was misunderstood, Scarizard swooped into the forums to dispel any rumors that Talon was getting a rework.

"Quote:

I don't like how your sentence started of with "I don't know' when you should know. But I don't think you have the right to even say you main a character just because I started off as him and such. I honestly don't think you are doing a great job with your work with Rengar nor do I think you showed any other good example in the past few weeks. It's sad to know I know much more than Talon than a person who works in this game nor this industry. The fact that so many stated against you on your "work" with rengar just shows. I'm sorry but this is how I really feel and I'm actually glad that you responded. Thanks

What i meant with my 'i don't know' is nowhere in my post did the words 'We are looking at Talon' 'I am reworking Talon' 'Talon is going to receive a Rework' ever appeared. I know why you thought that - because you quoted me as giving an example of him as a champion with low counterplay, but if Talon was a champion that Live wanted to rework/update in some way, i would have said so (I recently posted in a Taric thread that Live Design is interested in him but needs to clear far more stuff off our plate to get there). We don't have plans to rework talon, there's nothing to get up in arms about. 

I don't think it's sad that you know more about Talon than me - You play almost nothing but Talon. It's obvious and expected that you have a greater understanding of his specific matchups, buildpaths, and situational strengths than i do. I'm just saying that i mained him for almost a year and loved playing him and can attest to him being fun (Made it from 1100 to 1600 S1, then 1300 to 1800 S2 playing almost exclusively Talon). I'm not trying to make this a contest ?_? just saying i'm with you when i think Talon's a super cool character.

Quote:

I wish people like Scarizard and Xypherous and Phreak would stop saying "he has a high win rate." Yes he has a high win rate in normals, a place where people suck and don't run armor runes.

Talon has one of the higher winrates in our game in every region, ranked and unranked, in a wide range of elos. He isn't -just- good in low elo normals D:"