League of Legends (Old)

[theelkspeaks]

I play league, on NA, same name as here, and I'm not that good. Was Silver V last season but thanks to the Yi Rework and support items rework, am much worse this season (used to main AP Yi mid and Sona support). Got placed in Bronze V to start the season after some poor games and poor luck in my first ten of this season, made it up to a promo series to Bronze II but lost, and have been fluctuating in the Bronze III-IV range ever since. Recently demoted to Bronze IV after a horrible losing streak (7 games in a row and counting) . I tend to be a low-death player (ignore the Vayne travesty in my match history) but often low-kill as a result of playing safely.

Current mains in order of preference:

Syndra, Tristana (ADC), Nami, Ziggs, Miss Fortune, Lucian.

I like long range champs without too-excessive micro; I'm better at builds/decision-making/countering than I am at actual mechanics.

I play on a 3v3 team with two friends from another site I'm active on, where I main Ziggs and Syndra. Currently 3-2 and in Bronze II, lack of overlapping schedules makes it hard for us to get more games in.

Welcoming champion suggestions! Also feel free to add me on NA and hit me up for a game sometime! I love Dominion and ARAM too! *goes back to grinding soloqueue and trying to get better*

Those are all pretty OP champions right now, though the nerfbat is coming for Lucian.

Sona's still really strong; she's top 10 in ranked team Diamond right now, and just started getting picked in LCS in the last two weeks or so. Enjoy her now before her rework comes -- though they just buffed her PBE rework slightly, so maybe she'll end up in an OK place.

I think the viability of tank supports in season 4 (especially early game) is what's made Sona so much harder to play for me this season, and why I've switched to Nami (and Morgana to a lesser extent).

I started playing Trist around the release of Yasuo (had been maining MF pretty thoroughly before that) as a way to synergize with Yasuo's ult, and she's a really fun champ to play. The recent itemization changes make me fear for the inevitable nerf though.

I really need a good safe jungler and top laner to play, most of my champ pool in those roles is either out of date or situational (I sometimes get away with a mage (Ziggs or Syndra) top if the matchup is right, but otherwise have to play an old tank like Amumu, Malphite, Volibear, or Shen, and often get bullied by the Wukong/Pantheon type. Jungle wise it mostly comes down to Tiger Udyr or Amumu for me, but neither of those is really happy in this meta either.) I'm trying to pick up Irelia, but it's not going great so far.

[KaleiÐoscøpe]

Aoe engages in the jungle are really good right now with Quill coat: Malphite and Amumu are really good and I can safely say Zac is OP as fuck now in the jungle

[KaleiÐoscøpe]

And Nasus in bronze is a trophy in the toplane. Nobody knows how to deal with him there

[Papa Zito]

Got placed in Bronze V to start the season after some poor games and poor luck in my first ten of this season, made it up to a promo series to Bronze II but lost, and have been fluctuating in the Bronze III-IV range ever since. Recently demoted to Bronze IV after a horrible losing streak (7 games in a row and counting) .

Welcoming champion suggestions!

There's no one champ that will get you out of Bronze. Likewise, there is no one build that will get you elo. There are no magic bullets in this game. One of the biggest myths I've seen in my climb is the thinking that if some player could just get that ONE perfect build, that ONE perfect champ, then everything will be gravy and it's Diamond time! Riot has done a fantastic job of making sure this never happens. If you want to get back to Silver record your games via your favorite method and then watch them. Note your mistakes and don't do those again. Watch a few pro streams and note how they position, the decisions they make, their item choices and warding patterns. (suggest you look for Geranimo type streamers vs Dyrus type streamers)

gl hf dd

[theelkspeaks]

Got placed in Bronze V to start the season after some poor games and poor luck in my first ten of this season, made it up to a promo series to Bronze II but lost, and have been fluctuating in the Bronze III-IV range ever since. Recently demoted to Bronze IV after a horrible losing streak (7 games in a row and counting) .

Welcoming champion suggestions!

There's no one champ that will get you out of Bronze. Likewise, there is no one build that will get you elo. There are no magic bullets in this game. One of the biggest myths I've seen in my climb is the thinking that if some player could just get that ONE perfect build, that ONE perfect champ, then everything will be gravy and it's Diamond time! Riot has done a fantastic job of making sure this never happens. If you want to get back to Silver record your games via your favorite method and then watch them. Note your mistakes and don't do those again. Watch a few pro streams and note how they position, the decisions they make, their item choices and warding patterns. (suggest you look for Geranimo type streamers vs Dyrus type streamers)

gl hf dd

Yeah, I'm not looking for a get-elo-quick magic bullet in asking for champion suggestions, just asking for tips on who's worth learning to play well and either fits well with the playstyle I already have (for example learning Syndra for her similarities to Ziggs) or fills gaps I need filled (I don't really play any early-game junglers and should probably learn one). Finding champs who are on the strong side is useful too.

Any suggestions for good streamers for learning to ward better, especially as ADC and mid?

[KaleiÐoscøpe]

I prefer watching Scarra play because he explains a lot why he does certain things, even if he did them bad.

[Iecerint]

I think it's much more important to play a champion well than to play an "OP" champion.

[AngryPidgeon]

I think it's much more important to play a champion well than to play an "OP" champion.

Sssshhhh, we don't want to start an uproar with these blasphemous preachings.

[Papa Zito]

Yeah, I'm not looking for a get-elo-quick magic bullet in asking for champion suggestions, just asking for tips on who's worth learning to play well and either fits well with the playstyle I already have (for example learning Syndra for her similarities to Ziggs) or fills gaps I need filled (I don't really play any early-game junglers and should probably learn one). Finding champs who are on the strong side is useful too.

I'm not seeing a huge difference in what I said and what you're saying.

Find champs you enjoy playing and stick with them. It doesn't matter how "OP" they are, your own skills, game knowledge and twitch reactions are much more important. Also fun fact: champs rise and fall in popularity, so even if you pick one or more who are currently not in vogue (aka "OP") chances are they will be at some point.

Any suggestions for good streamers for learning to ward better, especially as ADC and mid?

Specifically for warding? You'll probably want to watch a support streamer, like Krepo or Eroticles. They don't always get the role they want so you'll sometimes see them play

adc

marksman or mid as well.

[animorpherv1]

I think it's much more important to play a champion well than to play an "OP" champion.

Agreed - while I believe you should be able to play multiple different types of champions decently (ex. learning Lux vs. learning Kassadin), having some champions that you can play proficiently just makes everything easier/more fun.

EDIT: When you want to pick up a champion, it's best to look at champs you like to play and ask yourself why, as well. Looking at those examples can give you a base to work from, so you can pick other champions with better efficiency and NOT waste ip.

[theelkspeaks]

I think it's much more important to play a champion well than to play an "OP" champion.

Sssshhhh, we don't want to start an uproar with these blasphemous preachings.

That's how I feel about MF (and used to feel about Karthus, though I've liked him a little less lately than I used to - even if not in vogue, they're solid picks that I know what I'm doing on).

[RayFrost]

I really need a good safe jungler and top laner to play.

If you enjoy playing them, some fun top lane / jungle picks are lee sin (both), wukong (jungle), nasus (top), renekton (top), and if you feel like being a dick you can go lulu top.

[Iecerint]

The one warding challenge/trap I run into is how to ward when no one else is warding and you are playing defensively. You can't run out and ward baron when you don't have at least some vision cover and/or an entourage, but I sometimes convince myself that I can do it safely after I see 2 in bottom lane or whatever, but then I get caught on occasion.

I have to get used to either encouraging others to help ward our own jungle at those times, or else requesting an escort in those situations.

[mykonian]

I think it's much more important to play a champion well than to play an "OP" champion.

Or do both and practice support Gragas! Been spamming him for a month now, hasn't gone boring yet (and I feel like I have play in most if not all matchups)

[BROseidon]

Learn Malz.

He's super fun, has crazy overtuned damage, and nobody knows how to play vs him.

In all seriousness, just get good at stuff you enjoy..

[theelkspeaks]

Learn Malz.

He's super fun, has crazy overtuned damage, and nobody knows how to play vs him.

In all seriousness, just get good at stuff you enjoy..

I was playing him during early 2014 pretty regularly, I really love Malzahar! (I actually discovered him in Snowdown Showdown and decided to play him SR as well) Any good tips you'd like to share for playing him? I tend to use my E for safe farming in lane, and try to stay as far back as I can, and use a tanky AP build (ROA -> Hourglass -> Void -> Deathcap, for example)

[Ser Arthur Dayne]

I hate RoA on Malz.

I just go Liandrys, Rylais, Deathcap, Void, Hourglass/or some other item like Banshee's depending on the situation.

[Ser Arthur Dayne]

I feel Liandrys + Rylais is core.

[Ser Arthur Dayne]

I think I hate RoA on most champions because its build path sucks.

Catalyst is a terrible item and cripples your early game unless you're just trying to survive for late game like Karthus.

[animorpherv1]

I think I hate RoA on most champions because its build path sucks.

Catalyst is a terrible item and cripples your early game unless you're just trying to survive for late game like Karthus.

Catalyst is amazing as an item early. The sustainability this item gives is worth a health pot and 2 mana pots every level - allowing you to stay in lane longer (and spend less $$$ on pots). You buy Catalyst into RoA and not the Blasting Wand because Catalyst is a good laning item.

[Ser Arthur Dayne]

No I mean it's a terrible item if you have any intention of doing anything else besides surviving lane.

[ActionDan]

fuck this game and it giving me BSODs every time. Fuck, at least get better graphics than dota if you want to shit on my driver.

[ActionDan]

try implementing a pause button too while you're at it. getting BSOD'ed twice in once game is shittastic

[BROseidon]

RoA is good on Malz. You don't need the early AP *that* much given that:

1) You're gonna be farming/shoving the lane until you take mid turret, which will likely be around/after you get RoA, and

2) Your numbers are so overtuned that you can nearly full->0 the enemy midlaner w/o AP unless they start chalice, and even then you still do a shitton of damage.

My build on Malz right now is RoA->Boots 2->Liandry's->Deathcap/Void->Void/Deathcap->Usually the game's over, but normally one of BVeil/Morellonomicon/Zhonya's depending on what I'm dealing with. I want to start trying to mix Rylai's in there, but that would probably replace RoA (Liandry's is too good b/c of the pen and burn, Void and DCap are for optimal damage output, which you really want on Malz).

The big thing with Malz during the laning phase is that most people don't know how to lane against him. You can, even in plat, get off a safe full spell rotation on the front line of minions, and the enemy midlaner won't know how to punish it. Against champs like Ziggs/Lulu/Ahri who want to push the lane back against you with their abilities, stand off the wave so they have to choose between going for harass and going for waveclear. You don't have to make that choice, given that you can often get off a malefic visions after you've cleared their wave, or they'll eat it a lot from it bouncing off the wave. Once you hit 6, you'll often have them low enough that e->ult will be lethal, because holy shit that does unfair amounts of damage.

As the game progresses, the big things about Malz are that he has really insane damage numbers and he's easy as fuck to catch out. Don't roam for ganks unless you have really good vision; if you get caught by 1 person, you can probably delete them with q->e->w->ult->q, but if you run into 2 people you're SOL. Additionally, you can apply enough pressure to mid that the cost of them roaming is too high. When the enemy midlaner roams, blow a full combo on the wave to get a voidling, since they take out turrets pretty quickly. Ward to avoid ganks, since Malz is super gankable and you should be expecting ganks from as soon as you start pushing, especially pre-6.

In team fights, you need to sit back near the adc (remember to stand far enough off so that malph ults, etc, don't completely fuck you up). Hit their front line with qs and es, and use w if you dont think you'll catch someone with an ulti during the CD (the space control is nice, and other people can CC people on it). As soon as someone dives too deep on you or the ADC, just ult them. You should be far enough back to avoid CC unless they have a heavy dive comp. You do ridiculous amounts of damage even without having W below them, and with other people wailing on the target, you can delete most people relatively easily.

Last point is that Malz takes objectives super fast. Pool, voidlings, and your insane damage means you melt objectives faster than anyone other than maybe Cass and Karth. You can get barons and drags in that would otherwise be relatively unsafe b/c of this.

Oh yeah, and take barrier. You win extended trades with just about everyone, so it's more important to have the extra health than the extra burst from an ignite.

[BROseidon]

For reference, Malz's AP ratios are:

.8
.01/second as % of their max health
.8
.52/second (so 1.3 total)

Malz has a combined AP ratio of 2.9 + .01% enemy max health/second. For comparison's sake, Syndra, who is probably the meta champ that plays closest to Malz, has a max 3.19 AP ratio (transcendent bonus on Q+all 7 balls on ulti). Is the W's ratio worth .29?

If the target has 2.9k health, Malz does more damage if they sit in W for 1 second. Granted, the tradeoff is that Malz is standing still, and this isn't taking cooldowns into effect, but the point is that Malz has very high damage numbers.

Ori's AP ratio on her full combo is 2.2, and it's 1.9 if you don't land the damage from shielding someone.