League of Legends

[eclipse]

I am high-level silliness. Or at least that's how today's game with Ezreal went.

1. Went to last hit some minion, steal Brand from Vi via Shiv chain lightning.

2. Would've whiffed a Q if Darius hadn't chosen that moment to pull. Wound up getting a completely random kill.

EDIT: The next genius that tries to support Koggie with Leona's gonna get an earful.

Edited January 18, 2013 by eclipse

[Kiriane]

Wards? Who needs wards?

In all seriousness, who cares about wards when nobody watches the mini map anyway? Besides, low elo scrubs are the easiest thing in the world to predict, even easier than easy bots, and I know the AIs inside out at this point.

I am probably the biggest proponent of warding you'll ever find, and this is my take on low elo warding.

[Raven]

If you keep a keen eye on the minimap you can kinda see which direction a player is traveling before they disappear into the fog.

[Zanarkin]

buy boots 3pots instead of dorans ring at start

watch the minimap, i would honestly say this is more important that wards but really they're about equally as important, have a lot of map awareness

I have found that boots don't help much though, i can get away most of the time from ganks because people are silly and stand there in my range doing nothing for a few secs and all of a sudden start to move towards me (honestly that happens way more than it should). Not only that, Heimer has one of the slowest movement speeds and a boot is not going to do much if my opponent and his teammate have boots as well. Surprisingly though i can usually get away fast enough to get near my tower early game (probably because they don't have cc). The reason i used to buy Doran rings is partly because it helps him with his mana regeneration (because he is using mana like a mofo). Heimer pushes very hard (which in higher elo i would assume is very bad since he becomes even more suceptible to ganking) and he loves mana regen at the start. I have started buying 2 faerie charms at the start along with some health potions or mana potions (or a combination of the two) (haven't decided which one i should consistently buy). His passives helps him heal very quickly so thats why i sometimes go for the mana potion.

What i'm getting at is that i never really feel an urge to buy boots early game. I have tried to improve my watching of the mini map and warding as well. Though sometimes i get too focused on my lane.

[peener weener]

paraphrasing: you're relying on your opponents being bad and managing mana badly

movement speed is honestly not that big a deal, he sure is in the slowest tier (coupled with champs like ashe, corki and anivia) and honestly it does not make that much of a difference. boots 3pots is tried and true to ensure safety earlygame: it means you move around better and have some sustain. with the introduction of season 3 there are a bunch more ways to start off the game, but boots 3pots yet reigns. repeat it with me like a motherfucking mantra: boots 3 pots.

also, pushing isn't something that you can't control.

[Silvercrow]

Starting Doran's Ring is like the single best way to lose lane (unless you're master yi)

If you're really struggling with mana management and ganks you can try starting Bottle + Ward, it may help you out a bit

[BK-201]

If you're dying to ganks, buy wards and use them!

Fiddles is the king of CC. He screws over certain people with channels hard (hello Karthus, here's a crow, STFU). I have yet to see anyone use a Zhonya's Crowstorm, but I imagine it's pretty painful.

Well Karthus channel should be done when dead :p. Also, Zhonya crowstorm is in place which is the tradeoff for invincibility.

[Esau of Isaac]

I have found that boots don't help much though, i can get away most of the time from ganks because people are silly and stand there in my range doing nothing for a few secs and all of a sudden start to move towards me (honestly that happens way more than it should). Not only that, Heimer has one of the slowest movement speeds and a boot is not going to do much if my opponent and his teammate have boots as well. Surprisingly though i can usually get away fast enough to get near my tower early game (probably because they don't have cc). The reason i used to buy Doran rings is partly because it helps him with his mana regeneration (because he is using mana like a mofo). Heimer pushes very hard (which in higher elo i would assume is very bad since he becomes even more suceptible to ganking) and he loves mana regen at the start. I have started buying 2 faerie charms at the start along with some health potions or mana potions (or a combination of the two) (haven't decided which one i should consistently buy). His passives helps him heal very quickly so thats why i sometimes go for the mana potion.

What i'm getting at is that i never really feel an urge to buy boots early game. I have tried to improve my watching of the mini map and warding as well. Though sometimes i get too focused on my lane.

While Heimer is slow, boots add at least some extra speed which is helpful with zoning characters and dodging pesky skillshots. Just as important is a healthy supply of potions to heal you for when you are inevitably hit. Especially for a character like Heimer who can't take a hit, it's imperative that you have some health potions to keep a strong lane presence. It will allow you to keep yourself close to full health so you can harry your opponent and keep their cs down.

[Shinori]

Heimer is terrible.

[Psych]

Okay, I have about 4300 IP and I'm looking at who to buy next. I've somehow become a support main and except for a few non supports here or there I like, I don't really know who to get next. I'm liking Kayle and Zilean, but I want to buy a 3100, 4800 or 6300 since I have a lot of points. The only thing is, I don't really want Lulu? Any other supports I should get? I already have Nami, Zyra, and Karma, but I guess I could get Lux.

Basically, I'm wondering whether I should buy Lulu or wait and maybe save up for Thresh, since his pull seemed really cool.

[Zanarkin]

Heimer is terrible.

Your point?

Boots and pots. Got it.

Also Thresh seems incredibly ridiculous with his armor+ability gaining passive. Although i was reading online and the addition per soul doesn't seem like a lot. He still sounds like a really tough guy specially in a really drawn out game.

[BK-201]

1 Armor + MR for collecting a soul, how many deaths do you typically see and are able to reach said body in a certain timeframe per game? There are plenty of these unlimited scaling units but none of them actually become overpowered over it, the point is, it takes a very long time to reach a point where it significantly outstrips other champions' abilities to build.

[Kiriane]

The other point of note is that Thresh's armour doesn't scale with level at all. He's completely dependent on his passive to get more. (Most champions gain about 100 armour naturally over levels 1-18.) At least, this is how I saw it.

There are all of 3 unlimited scaling units on live right now. Veigar, Sion, Nasus. With Sion it isn't a main draw, with Nasus - where it is - the counter is "wipe him out early game" and it works well, with Veigar you get maybe 200 out of your endgame 700 AP from farming if you're a 1800+ Veigar.

Oh, and...supports, right. Do you already have the "normal" ones? If you call support you might be requested to take one of them. The ones you didn't say you have are Janna, Sona, Soraka, Taric, Alistar, Blitzcrank, Leona, Lulu. I also enjoy my support Fiddlesticks, Maokai, and Cho'Gath. Among others.

[eclipse]

Nasus' problem is that he wants to farm early so that his Q becomes amazing, and any top lane with a brain isn't going to let him do that (never mind the "kite all day" issues). I have him, and am practicing top lane (badly) with him, but unless I see something like five AD champions, I probably wouldn't play him in a very serious setting.

Support prices:

Cheap tier - Soraka

Viable tier - Alistar, Janna, Taric

Effort tier - Blitzcrank, Lux, Sona

Sad wallet tier - Leona, Lulu

[Kiriane]

Lulu is frightening. Really. So is Leona. If your wallet can handle it, they're right up there with Karthus and Ezreal in terms of absolute effectiveness.

I'm also not really a huge fan of support Lux. It works, and fairly well at that, but not a lot of ADCs know to adjust to her style and she doesn't fit well with a lot of ADC champions either.

[peener weener]

Nasus' problem is that he wants to farm early so that his Q becomes amazing, and any top lane with a brain isn't going to let him do that (never mind the "kite all day" issues). I have him, and am practicing top lane (badly) with him, but unless I see something like five AD champions, I probably wouldn't play him in a very serious setting.

Support prices:

Cheap tier - Soraka

Viable tier - Alistar, Janna, Taric

Effort tier - Blitzcrank, Lux, Sona

Sad wallet tier - Leona, Lulu

you forgot zyra and nunu and a bunch more

[Esau of Isaac]

you forgot zyra and nunu and a bunch more

Yeah, but the "main" ones are Soraka, Sona, Leona, and Taric. I guess Nunu's pretty often used too. Alistar's good too but he's always banned so he's not usually a choice.

I would guess Soraka's the most overall effective and easiest to use, but I personally like Sona the most. She can give and take well with many partners.

[peener weener]

i see more nunu than soraka nowadays tbh

[eclipse]

IIRC, Psych has Nunu, and Zyra is in Sad Wallet tier.

I'm having a bit too much fun with Leona as support, even if there's a bunch of carries that don't mix with her.

[Kiriane]

Yeah, I missed Nunu in that listing, my bad.

[Psych]

The other point of note is that Thresh's armour doesn't scale with level at all. He's completely dependent on his passive to get more. (Most champions gain about 100 armour naturally over levels 1-18.) At least, this is how I saw it.

There are all of 3 unlimited scaling units on live right now. Veigar, Sion, Nasus. With Sion it isn't a main draw, with Nasus - where it is - the counter is "wipe him out early game" and it works well, with Veigar you get maybe 200 out of your endgame 700 AP from farming if you're a 1800+ Veigar.

Oh, and...supports, right. Do you already have the "normal" ones? If you call support you might be requested to take one of them. The ones you didn't say you have are Janna, Sona, Soraka, Taric, Alistar, Blitzcrank, Leona, Lulu. I also enjoy my support Fiddlesticks, Maokai, and Cho'Gath. Among others.

IIRC, Psych has Nunu, and Zyra is in Sad Wallet tier.

I'm having a bit too much fun with Leona as support, even if there's a bunch of carries that don't mix with her.

I have Galio, Karma, Morgana, Nami, Sona, Soraka, and Zyra. I figure after Thresh I would get the rest of the cheap ones, so Janna, Kayle, Zilean and Nunu.

Luckily, my friend who usually mains carries has found that Karma and Jayce and Zyra and Graves work really well together, so we're trying to see who else we combo with well.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Psych

[Kiriane]

If you enjoy Karma Jayce you may want to try J4 Leona. Or J4 Pantheon, or Leona Pantheon, or any other combination of bruisers with strong early games and gap closers, or a combination of Karma with one of the listed (not Leona though, she fills much the same role as Karma in that she's the supportive one of the pair.) Kayle is another one with an insane early game who does very well in a kill lane - pair her with a high cc champion to really abuse her damage.

[Zanarkin]

Don't forget that Alistair is free! Also how exactly does a support work? I mean, aside from the support champs that can heal and regenerate mana, what do some of the other supports do?

[Wen Yang]

Leona support makes your gankers VERY happy.

I usually run her as tank/support, either supporting bot or soloing top depending on team, and let's just say that people usually really REALLY hates it when they get ganked on my lane.

Triple stun FTW.

Basically, there are several ways supports work. The most common is the CS-less healer.

These guys won't last hit, letting the AD carry take every last hit if possible, while keeping them healed up from harassment.

I personally prefer playing an aggresive support. The kind of support that proactively threatens the other side from getting too close to the guy you're supporting. If they ignore the threat, make it a reality. After getting triple-stunned by a tower people usually become wary of getting too close to these types.

Edited January 19, 2013 by Kopfjager

[eclipse]

I have Galio, Karma, Morgana, Nami, Sona, Soraka, and Zyra. I figure after Thresh I would get the rest of the cheap ones, so Janna, Kayle, Zilean and Nunu.

Luckily, my friend who usually mains carries has found that Karma and Jayce and Zyra and Graves work really well together, so we're trying to see who else we combo with well.

Okay, thanks~!

Nunu goes well with an intelligent Kog'Maw player (more Bio-Arcane Barrage FTW), a Vayne who wants to blick lane ASAP, and Caitlyn in general. Janna's all-purpose (meaning that I can't think of too many carries she clashes with), Zilean's not someone I see often on my side, and I have yet to see a good Kayle support (stealing my CS and kills is not cool).

Don't forget that Alistair is free! Also how exactly does a support work? I mean, aside from the support champs that can heal and regenerate mana, what do some of the other supports do?

Off the top of my head (stuff I've seen). . .

(note that I'm probably wrong on a lot of these, so corrections welcome)

Alistar - Repositions people forcefully, heals, and refuses to die

Blitzcrank - Forces one person out of position, stuns, self MS/AS boost, and steals kills with his passive lighting barrier. Oh, and has way more HP than displayed (hello Mana Barrier)

Cho-Cho - Knock-up with slow, silence, damage, OMNOMNOM

Fiddlesticks - Lots of silence, fear, life drain on one target, fuck Crowstorm, innate MR reduction

Janna - Short knock-up, messes with MS (slows opponent or speeds up ally), shield, heal with enemy knockback; her passive makes your team move a little faster

Kayle - From what I can tell, she has a slowball, briefly turns herself into a ranged attacker, some sort of buff (heal and something else?), and limited invulnerability

Leona - Boosts own armor/MR briefly, stun, stun, stun, and drags herself to her target (which means that if you have a passive carry, it's not gonna end well)

Lulu - To be honest, I'm not sure what she's fully capable of; what I've seen are shields, massive poke, and generic stat boost

Lux - Snare, slow, shield, laser

Malphite - pizza slicer of slow, AoE damage, I think that's a self AS buff that deals damage (can't remember), and a dive

Nami - bubble, heal/damage bounce thingy, additional damage on basic attacks (or something like that), wannabe Sona ult that knocks up and slows instead of stuns

Nasus (yes, I do this) - damage that scales infinitely, very painful slow, armor/MS shred and damage over time in an AoE, self-buff that gives additional HP and damages surrounding enemies over time

Nunu - self-heal by munching on a minion, MS/AS boost, slowball, major AoE slow field with massive damage if he gets the full channel off (as in, you will probably get kills off of it, and it scales at 250% AP)

Sona - lags my computer (seriously. . .uh, several buffs/debuffs and a very painful ult)

Soraka - shreds MR, silence/restores mana, heal with armor, mass heal, innate MR increase

Taric - heal, armor/MR shred, stun, damage and AD/AP boost; one of his abilities passively boosts defenses, IIRC

Zilean - uh, bombs, something that messes with speed (see Janna's entry), something else, and a revival ult

Zyra - HOLD PEOPLE IN PLACE WHILE HURTING THEM