League of Legends - Trumped up Rock, Paper, Scissors
It was mentioned that we are ready for the $5,000,000 tournament.
I do like how much better our team looks. But:
I would like to get a second AP mid that is as strong as my Ziggs right now. That could be either Veigar or maybe Nidalee?
I haven't seen it much, but I like Singed or Nasus solo top. I like them being strong. We have other champs that we can put solo top as well.
So, we have at least 3 solo tops we can use.
Jungle: Noc, Fiora and the plethora of champs Stranger has jungled with.
Mid: Ziggs. Does MF count here? I like having an AP nuke to pick from. I personally think we are weak in the middle.
Bottom: Since Singed moved top, we don't have a good feel for bottom now. Naut with a ranged carry wasn't doing well tonight. Or so it seemed. Correct me if I'm wrong. Not that it's a bad combo. It just wasn't working out. My bottoms would be: Nidalee. Urgot (He has value, but not sure we've found his full potential with our team yet), and many more. But, do we have a solid mix down there yet?
I vote we mix things up a bit. Get Fiora out of the jungle for a few turns. Make sure we still have strong backups. Keep Gordon solo top. Get a new AP mid in there. Can be someone we know, or a new champ. Figure out what to do on bottom. Have a few combos in mind.
I do like how much better our team looks. But:
I would like to get a second AP mid that is as strong as my Ziggs right now. That could be either Veigar or maybe Nidalee?
I haven't seen it much, but I like Singed or Nasus solo top. I like them being strong. We have other champs that we can put solo top as well.
So, we have at least 3 solo tops we can use.
Jungle: Noc, Fiora and the plethora of champs Stranger has jungled with.
Mid: Ziggs. Does MF count here? I like having an AP nuke to pick from. I personally think we are weak in the middle.
Bottom: Since Singed moved top, we don't have a good feel for bottom now. Naut with a ranged carry wasn't doing well tonight. Or so it seemed. Correct me if I'm wrong. Not that it's a bad combo. It just wasn't working out. My bottoms would be: Nidalee. Urgot (He has value, but not sure we've found his full potential with our team yet), and many more. But, do we have a solid mix down there yet?
I vote we mix things up a bit. Get Fiora out of the jungle for a few turns. Make sure we still have strong backups. Keep Gordon solo top. Get a new AP mid in there. Can be someone we know, or a new champ. Figure out what to do on bottom. Have a few combos in mind.
***NOTE: This only applies to Summoner's Rift.
More than anything else, the first issue that needs to be resolved is our fifth. Talking about ranked and tournaments is pointless without 5 consistent guys (or more).
The next issue that I think needs to be resolved once and for all is our roles/positions/lineups.
I'm CERTAIN we've beat this horse to death, resurrected it, and then beat it to death again, but I think instead of worrying about everyone being able to do everything, I think we need to stick with what we're good at and build from there.
Stranger was right about us all finding our niches. He's loving the tank/support role and doesn't like AD Carry. So why would we ever think it'd be a good idea to have him ready to play that role if needed? If we plan correctly, it would never be needed.
For example, I don't think anyone is going to argue that I need to stick to AD Carries and Teemo. Gordo is our tanky initiator. Scooty is our role filler, but mostly the other AD/AP carry. That makes Cake our AP nuker.
If we each have a handful of characters we're familiar with for our specific roles, the draft becomes nothing more than helping us choose who to play as the role we're filling.
That's not to say we're stuck in these roles permanently. We can mix things up, but I think we need to stick with variations on those themes.
If I'm being really honest, I think we need to build around Stranger and Gordo. Each game one of them should go top, and the other bot. I also think they need to add a few more characters into their Nautilus, Singed, Nasus mix just in case their characters get banned or picked. That way, we keep our strategy intact so there's no scrambling during champ select. I know Gordo has Galio, and I thought Stranger had Sejuani...? Maybe Stranger could peek at Rammus, Amumu, Leona, or Taric during their next free week?
Stranger and Gordo don't get all the kills, but I think them filling the tank/support/initiator role has made all the difference in the world. I think they've been the key to our recent winning ways more than any other factor.
I realize this pigeonholes them a bit, but let's be honest, they're good at it. I know Stranger's having fun and prefers this role to others we had him in, and I believe Gordo enjoys it or he wouldn't do it.
I never thought Gordo was an abysmal failure at Gangplank, but I'd much rather see him rocking Nasus solo top than Gangplank at bot. I'm sure he'd rather see me in the jungle with Fiora than mid with Heimerdinger.
So, in my humble opinion, I think Stranger and Gordo are our foundation, and solo top and the bot lane are their domain. They own that shit, and sometimes they let us play there too.
So where does that leave the rest of us? Mid and jungle are ours. That's where Cake, Scooty, and myself can mix things up...to a point.
I'm not an AP guy, so my mid would be limited to ranged AD carries, which is fine. Beyond that, don't expect to see Fiora unless I'm jungling. I'll probably do more AD ranged carry stuff with the likes of MF, Caitlyn, Varus, Ashe, etc.
I think Cake needs to continue learning mid, and adding new characters to the mix. How about Morgana, Cass, Karthus, and Malzahar? I can tell you from experience that Cass is a real bitch because of her poison. She doesn't need kills, just keep harassing the enemy and make them constantly run back for healing.
The third in the jungle/mid/bot mix would be Scooty. I don't have to point out to anyone that jungle Yi is his most dominant character, but I know he doesn't want to be pigeon holed there. Thus, I think he needs to learn a few AP nukers to mid with so Cake can go bot or jungle.
So we get our tanks to know a handful of guys each, stick one each in top and bot, then the other three of us can fill jungle, mid, and bot with our guys. We mix it up with variations on that. This should be our strategy for ranked games, and practice for ranked games.
If anyone gets totally bored and wants to do something completely different, then we play a normal game, and everyone does whatever. Who cares if we win or lose, just have fun. However, when it's time for business, we do all the stuff above.
Thoughts?
More than anything else, the first issue that needs to be resolved is our fifth. Talking about ranked and tournaments is pointless without 5 consistent guys (or more).
The next issue that I think needs to be resolved once and for all is our roles/positions/lineups.
I'm CERTAIN we've beat this horse to death, resurrected it, and then beat it to death again, but I think instead of worrying about everyone being able to do everything, I think we need to stick with what we're good at and build from there.
Stranger was right about us all finding our niches. He's loving the tank/support role and doesn't like AD Carry. So why would we ever think it'd be a good idea to have him ready to play that role if needed? If we plan correctly, it would never be needed.
For example, I don't think anyone is going to argue that I need to stick to AD Carries and Teemo. Gordo is our tanky initiator. Scooty is our role filler, but mostly the other AD/AP carry. That makes Cake our AP nuker.
If we each have a handful of characters we're familiar with for our specific roles, the draft becomes nothing more than helping us choose who to play as the role we're filling.
That's not to say we're stuck in these roles permanently. We can mix things up, but I think we need to stick with variations on those themes.
If I'm being really honest, I think we need to build around Stranger and Gordo. Each game one of them should go top, and the other bot. I also think they need to add a few more characters into their Nautilus, Singed, Nasus mix just in case their characters get banned or picked. That way, we keep our strategy intact so there's no scrambling during champ select. I know Gordo has Galio, and I thought Stranger had Sejuani...? Maybe Stranger could peek at Rammus, Amumu, Leona, or Taric during their next free week?
Stranger and Gordo don't get all the kills, but I think them filling the tank/support/initiator role has made all the difference in the world. I think they've been the key to our recent winning ways more than any other factor.
I realize this pigeonholes them a bit, but let's be honest, they're good at it. I know Stranger's having fun and prefers this role to others we had him in, and I believe Gordo enjoys it or he wouldn't do it.
I never thought Gordo was an abysmal failure at Gangplank, but I'd much rather see him rocking Nasus solo top than Gangplank at bot. I'm sure he'd rather see me in the jungle with Fiora than mid with Heimerdinger.
So, in my humble opinion, I think Stranger and Gordo are our foundation, and solo top and the bot lane are their domain. They own that shit, and sometimes they let us play there too.
So where does that leave the rest of us? Mid and jungle are ours. That's where Cake, Scooty, and myself can mix things up...to a point.
I'm not an AP guy, so my mid would be limited to ranged AD carries, which is fine. Beyond that, don't expect to see Fiora unless I'm jungling. I'll probably do more AD ranged carry stuff with the likes of MF, Caitlyn, Varus, Ashe, etc.
I think Cake needs to continue learning mid, and adding new characters to the mix. How about Morgana, Cass, Karthus, and Malzahar? I can tell you from experience that Cass is a real bitch because of her poison. She doesn't need kills, just keep harassing the enemy and make them constantly run back for healing.
The third in the jungle/mid/bot mix would be Scooty. I don't have to point out to anyone that jungle Yi is his most dominant character, but I know he doesn't want to be pigeon holed there. Thus, I think he needs to learn a few AP nukers to mid with so Cake can go bot or jungle.
So we get our tanks to know a handful of guys each, stick one each in top and bot, then the other three of us can fill jungle, mid, and bot with our guys. We mix it up with variations on that. This should be our strategy for ranked games, and practice for ranked games.
If anyone gets totally bored and wants to do something completely different, then we play a normal game, and everyone does whatever. Who cares if we win or lose, just have fun. However, when it's time for business, we do all the stuff above.
Thoughts?
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
These fucking AI cheat.
Playing 1v5 custom game. I attack 2 that are rushing a turret... 3 more come out of he weeds where they were hiding.
I attack 2 that I have been traveling to hit... been watching them for about 10 seconds.... I get there, and a 3rd splits off where she had been hiding under another champion, perfectly hidden, exactly moving and going where the other champ went.
It's bullshit. Fucking cheaters.
Playing 1v5 custom game. I attack 2 that are rushing a turret... 3 more come out of he weeds where they were hiding.
I attack 2 that I have been traveling to hit... been watching them for about 10 seconds.... I get there, and a 3rd splits off where she had been hiding under another champion, perfectly hidden, exactly moving and going where the other champ went.
It's bullshit. Fucking cheaters.
"Be bold, and mighty forces will come to your aid."
Have been practicing as Veigar. Not doing TOO bad now. Still a bunch of champs I don't know how to counter, but a good number that I do. Getting better with the multi-spell combo too. Stun, W, Q, deathfire, R. I'm sometimes going too fast and will be out of range for one of them so it gets skipped as I go right to casting the next spell. So, some games I end up with more assists than kills.
Yes. That's not the exact order I do things in and I'm probably hitting multiple targets still right now too. There's a lot going on with this guy is all I'm saying. Still have work to do on him learning ranges, spell speeds, etc. But yes, I normally try to lead with the stun, then W which has a delay, deathfire which lanes just before the W hits. At this point, I spam my Q and R trying to hit the moving target. I have managed to insta pop a few times, so that was cool. Just not consistent. In many cases, my Q, W and deathfire or Ult are enough to kill someone. So, the perfect thing would be to only use DF or my ult, but not both as it's over kill.
Over all, still working on him, but getting better.
Over all, still working on him, but getting better.
From today's patch:
Darius
•Hemorrhage (Passive) bonus Attack Damage ratio reduced to 0.3 from 0.4
•Noxian Guillotine will now only refresh its cooldown when it deals the killing blow
•Apprehend pre-pull animation modified to be more readable for enemy Champion
•Fixed a bug with Hemorrhage applying Rylai's Crystal Scepter slow and Spell Vamp effects
We'll know the nerf worked if we stop seeing Darius in every single game we play.
Edited By Leisher on 1338899905
Darius
•Hemorrhage (Passive) bonus Attack Damage ratio reduced to 0.3 from 0.4
•Noxian Guillotine will now only refresh its cooldown when it deals the killing blow
•Apprehend pre-pull animation modified to be more readable for enemy Champion
•Fixed a bug with Hemorrhage applying Rylai's Crystal Scepter slow and Spell Vamp effects
We'll know the nerf worked if we stop seeing Darius in every single game we play.
Edited By Leisher on 1338899905
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
The reason I made a point of posting Darius' nerf is because he was a fun killer. Ridiculously OP, and you couldn't beat him.
Want to know how to tell when a character's OP? You see him in EVERY game you play.
If Tryndamere got nerfed multiple times, Darius needs the same treatment. Darius doesn't have CC, but he has tons of lane sustainability, huge damage, and tons of damage resistance.
I will look into Draven.
Want to know how to tell when a character's OP? You see him in EVERY game you play.
If Tryndamere got nerfed multiple times, Darius needs the same treatment. Darius doesn't have CC, but he has tons of lane sustainability, huge damage, and tons of damage resistance.
I will look into Draven.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
Considering Darius can pull in all enemy champs in front of him, I'd say he's got some decent CC. The only games that are any fun is when it's a first time Darius, or both teams have one. . . and the one on your team is the better one.
Veigar can't lane against any champ that has flash abilities. Kat, Kass, Ez, etc, etc. They jump in and out of his stun circle. Kat is RIDICULOUSLY OP against Viegar. Ziggs being able to keep a better distance from her gives him a fighting chance. As soon as I move in close enough to drop my stun circle on Kat, she flashes right on top of me and takes me for 75% of my health. If I don't go heal, she'll flash and do it again after the <30 second cool down on her abilities. On the bright side, I can insta pop many champs. Was popping Trynd before he had a chance to rage. So, he has the hardest hitting combo that I've used, but, he also very easily countered with flashy champs.
So, you've been warned. . . if there's a flashy enemy in mid, I'm going bot and someone else is taking mid. And before you say it. . . . the flashy ones will flash in under my turret, rip me up and flash out before the turret hits them twice. Wait 20 seconds, repeat, and I'm dead. My only defense is to spam my spells like crazy. But then I'm out of mana in no time and even more vulnerable.
Veigar can't lane against any champ that has flash abilities. Kat, Kass, Ez, etc, etc. They jump in and out of his stun circle. Kat is RIDICULOUSLY OP against Viegar. Ziggs being able to keep a better distance from her gives him a fighting chance. As soon as I move in close enough to drop my stun circle on Kat, she flashes right on top of me and takes me for 75% of my health. If I don't go heal, she'll flash and do it again after the <30 second cool down on her abilities. On the bright side, I can insta pop many champs. Was popping Trynd before he had a chance to rage. So, he has the hardest hitting combo that I've used, but, he also very easily countered with flashy champs.
So, you've been warned. . . if there's a flashy enemy in mid, I'm going bot and someone else is taking mid. And before you say it. . . . the flashy ones will flash in under my turret, rip me up and flash out before the turret hits them twice. Wait 20 seconds, repeat, and I'm dead. My only defense is to spam my spells like crazy. But then I'm out of mana in no time and even more vulnerable.
I've never been a fan of Veigar. I realize he drops bombs, but he is the truest definition of a glass cannon.
I think there are far stronger AP mid characters to choose from like Cass. Swain would be interesting now too. I realize Gordo has played him in the past, but I like Gordo's tank stylings far more. Cake could give Cass or Swain a test during his next free week.
For our tanky guys, and I realize he just got nerfed, Darius might be a guy to grab. He does limited AD, you can build him as a tank, he's got that ridiculous refreshing ult that does true damage, etc. The latest patch video did indicate they were keeping an eye on him, so I think more nerfs might arrive, but he's someone to keep an eye on. Lots of tanky + lots of damage.
I honestly was going to buy Draven today, but the patch was delayed. I figure it'll be fun to play a ridiculously OP champ for two weeks.
I think there are far stronger AP mid characters to choose from like Cass. Swain would be interesting now too. I realize Gordo has played him in the past, but I like Gordo's tank stylings far more. Cake could give Cass or Swain a test during his next free week.
For our tanky guys, and I realize he just got nerfed, Darius might be a guy to grab. He does limited AD, you can build him as a tank, he's got that ridiculous refreshing ult that does true damage, etc. The latest patch video did indicate they were keeping an eye on him, so I think more nerfs might arrive, but he's someone to keep an eye on. Lots of tanky + lots of damage.
I honestly was going to buy Draven today, but the patch was delayed. I figure it'll be fun to play a ridiculously OP champ for two weeks.
"Happy slaves are the worst enemies of freedom." - Marie Von Ebner
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
"It was always the women, and above all the young ones, who were the most bigoted adherents of the Party, the swallowers of slogans, the amateur spies..." - Orwell
A critical hitting Blitzcrank?
I'm not sure I agree with the Tanky Darius. When I was laning with him as Ashe, he got all the kills. I had 0 kills and like 17 assists or something. And fighting against him, he's always been able to beat up my champs very easily.
I'm a fan of Veigar because of his nuke. Being able to snipe one of their carries is huge. I'm glad I was Viegar in tonights game instead of Ziggs. I was able to burst all of their tanks down in less than a second. I never killed them, but I put them within 1 hit from death. We didn't have to hack at the tank for 5-7 seconds. Boom, done. And his spells refresh so quickly that I can keep doing it. Once I've burned my ult and my deathfire, my burst damage goes down. But my Q cools down in 2 seconds and does 500+ damage. Plus that large area stun. Between Gordon slowing/flipping, Stranger landing an unprecedented number of anchors and my circle of stun, we were able to chase down pretty much anyone wanted to. Team fights though, I was doing a truck load of damage with my E dropping from the sky doing AOE, etc.
Yes, he's definitely a glass cannon. But he's firing nukes. Which is cool. And really, he'll only get better for us. I still miss click a ton of spells.
Laning against Nidalee suuuuuuucked. And she came out there KNOWING she was going to own me. Right off the bat. Ran right past the minions and just started spearing me. The extra support from the jungler helped a ton. We didn't kill her much, but it helped me stay in my lane. Almost have to make the middle area a constant stop. Even if we don't kill, it keeps her cautious.
As far as Cass goes, laning against her sucks big time. But how is she late game and in fights? I can't remember the last game where Cass was a dominant force. I'll be giving her a try though. Once I get to know her, I might be able to figure out how she'll fit into our team.
And again, this was the best game I've seen Stranger play Naut in. Well done. From now on, THAT'S how you play Naut!
I'm not sure I agree with the Tanky Darius. When I was laning with him as Ashe, he got all the kills. I had 0 kills and like 17 assists or something. And fighting against him, he's always been able to beat up my champs very easily.
I'm a fan of Veigar because of his nuke. Being able to snipe one of their carries is huge. I'm glad I was Viegar in tonights game instead of Ziggs. I was able to burst all of their tanks down in less than a second. I never killed them, but I put them within 1 hit from death. We didn't have to hack at the tank for 5-7 seconds. Boom, done. And his spells refresh so quickly that I can keep doing it. Once I've burned my ult and my deathfire, my burst damage goes down. But my Q cools down in 2 seconds and does 500+ damage. Plus that large area stun. Between Gordon slowing/flipping, Stranger landing an unprecedented number of anchors and my circle of stun, we were able to chase down pretty much anyone wanted to. Team fights though, I was doing a truck load of damage with my E dropping from the sky doing AOE, etc.
Yes, he's definitely a glass cannon. But he's firing nukes. Which is cool. And really, he'll only get better for us. I still miss click a ton of spells.
Laning against Nidalee suuuuuuucked. And she came out there KNOWING she was going to own me. Right off the bat. Ran right past the minions and just started spearing me. The extra support from the jungler helped a ton. We didn't kill her much, but it helped me stay in my lane. Almost have to make the middle area a constant stop. Even if we don't kill, it keeps her cautious.
As far as Cass goes, laning against her sucks big time. But how is she late game and in fights? I can't remember the last game where Cass was a dominant force. I'll be giving her a try though. Once I get to know her, I might be able to figure out how she'll fit into our team.
And again, this was the best game I've seen Stranger play Naut in. Well done. From now on, THAT'S how you play Naut!