Talk:Swain/@comment-24191440-20150226065611/@comment-24055932-20150303152138

skill cap (not to confuse with skill) is the difference between the skill floor and the skill cap. So the difference between a 100 game Plat I Swain and a 0 game Plat I Swain. In detail, that means how hard it is to master the unique skill set of a champion (i.e. how much you can improve).

Good examples for high skill cap champions are Riven and Xerath. Both have special combo chains to optimize their damage, minimize their combo time, and other special uses for the spells to maximize their utility. On top of that, both champions got weaknesses implanted in their core that they have to play around (CD & Melee, Mana & ultra low mobility). When confronted with a situation, small differences in behaviour can significantly change the outcome.

Good examples for low skill cap champions on the other hand are Xin, Graves and Pantheon. They have a strong early game, autohits or ultra-cheap AoE skillshots, and in general it's harder to deny their combos than to pull them off.

Now let's take a look at Swain: There's a pretty clear optimal combo with R,E,Q,W (I think about 90% of his engagements will work out in this exact order). Q,E and R are autohits, so all the skill involved is clicking them (and maybe a champion). Even his itemization is static to an ugly extent - RoA and Zhonyas practically are burned into his item set. He also has almost no possiblities to sneak an engagement or to play around flash.