I think Riot needs to do something about the chat when the Que pops. I will often see persons A and B call the same position very quickly. And while I say that person A called it first, person B insists their claim is first in the chat (which may be true, but this is online gaming and people aren't very used to acquiescing even if a third or fourth party backs up someone else). Case in point, yesterday 4 people call mid while I go for top quite plainly. One quickly decides to call ADC. One person grumbles for a bit but decides to jungle with Shaco. The third is pretty angry and now says he is taking top b/c he picks before I do. Then at the beginning of the match I go to give a soft leash. The ADC does as well and (accidentally?) gets the blue. Shaco rages by going AFK for 5 mins and just spamming chat. Then the next 13 minutes he just suicide runs down the middle into the enemy team and their towers. What a waste of 30 minutes.
There is zero benefit to playing ranked unless you think somehow you're going to break and "go pro." If you end the season at a certain level you might get a pretty skin (last years was fucking Janna, YAY a support skin!) Or boarders around your loading screen splash art. Whoop-tee-fucking-doo. It is the most retarded thing ever. I'd like to play rank and get to a higher level just to do it, but it is quickly becoming the most frustrating task ever. There carrot isn't enticing enough like Call of Duty or other games. There are no achievements. Its for the thinnest e-peen ever in gaming. They should have something like higher leagues get more IP per win or something. I think that'd actually improve the community. Because of right now, out of my last 15 games, 9 or 10 of them ranked, I've won one of them. Two of them were plainly my fault, but the other five, my team just shit the bed. We had people constantly get caught out of position, people doing their own thing, people not counterpicking or counterbuilding appropriately. Shit just has been getting fucking messy. Went from trying to Qualify for Bronze I to middle of the pack Bronze III in a weekend. Fucking depressing. Oh, technically the real tangible benefit to playing ranked is that if you get to the higher levels, your game will be better because you in theory, won't be playing with tards and children. Otherwise, I'm actually seeing worse play in ranked than I remember seeing in Draft play. I might take the week off, there are so many tweaks they need to make. Fix Garen, Fix Riven, Fix Kha'Zix, make more carries besides Cait, Draven, Ez, Vayne and sorta Ashe viable. It is currently so frustrating and I can't find a way to get better to win games. Also the bigger problem is in ranked games. Unless you're picking one of the currently top Champions, if you're a first or second pick, you're going to get countered. If you're a bottom pick, you're most likely not going to get what you want because people call pick order. Its fucking ridiculous. Anyway I'm done ranting, I need a break from this game. Which means I'll cave and probably giving it a go tomorrow, because this shit is pure crack cocaine.
I've got 10 more levels till I hit 30. I need to play with people who aren't mouth breathing retards. I think we need to shed some light on the idiot board through LoL supremacy. Do it for the kids!
I swear this game is going to give me an ulcer. How the fuck does an opponent go 12/1/0 before we hit the 15 minute mark? How after posting a ridiculous 0/7/1 you can even say anything besides "I'm fucking horrible at this game"? Oh no, it's this guys fault, he's an OP champ, stfu noob I'm pro... I hate when video games get my blood pressure into heart attack ranges.
Read through the thread. Don't buy runes. Horde IP for Champions. Take a look at Mobafire builds to get your feet wet. Don't bother reading the guides except for "Skill Order" "Masteries" (as you grow), "Item Builds" and "Skill Combos" don't read anything else besides that. Also, don't listen to anyone like "That champion is broken, that champion is UP, no one uses him because he's xyz." Riot has said many times, people freakout over champions, think they've been nerfed, or upped, even though nothing changed. Hecarim is a recent example. He was one of the least utilized champions for months just because the devs talked about changing his stats, same with Vladimir. Otherwise, everyone is an asshole, you will hate them, and this game will emotionally affect you due to the fact it you are feeding hours into this game. It'll say 20 minutes on the game clock, but you'll look at your real clock and notice 25-30 have burned off. Welcome to League of Legends. That feeling/rage/hatred/wishes for all these children and Latin Americans to burn in a firery hell of doom, the 10th circle as they call it, being anally raped by sandpaper condom T-Rexs....makes wins feel so much better! If I ever see enough of you fuckers on. I'll grab you for a full five pre-made.
Tips for the person above: 1. CS > all. Aim for 80 CS at 10 minutes. Pros do 100. Watch streams online and see how they move their character to position themselves to get the last hits with minimal risk of counter-harass. Watch how they deny the opponent creeps by anticipating their movements and threatening harass when your own creeps get low. Practice a lot. I'm not the most skilled player, especially in the last couple of months b/c I have cut down my play a lot, but I can compete with people with better twitch and strategy because I'm a better last hitter than others at my elo. I'm almost always top farm in the game and that covers many of my other weaknesses. 2. Don't buy into the bullshit about picks, counterpicks, their team is so strong omg, we're fucked, etc.. The way your champs build matters way more than which champs you have. There are some faceroll champs (Darius), but once you figure out their game it is pretty easy not to feed, even if you don't win definitively. People freak the fuck out in champ select b/c they've seen Voyboy or someone else rave about how strong Riven is top. The people you play with below like Gold III or IV are not good enough to abuse the slight power disparities between OP and UP champs. 3. Note the timers on objectives and start mobilizing your team for them 60-90 seconds ahead of time. Ward 2 minutes ahead of time. I liken giving orders in this game to herding a group of retards. Everyone else who is playing has a slow computer or a slow brain or both, so make it easy for them. Give them warnings on baron and type directly to characters you need in the teamfight and tell them to move towards the location of the impending engagement. 4. If you're getting owned, build HP. I tend to counter with armor or MR first, and sometimes that is the right choice, but more HP gives you better survivability vs. the rest of their team as you move into midgame and roaming/ganking phase. 5. Buy defense, generally. Even on hard carries like vayne or trist, if you aren't raping, building a QSS or something else defensive is going to benefit you so much more than another BF sword. 6. Base as infrequently as you are able. If you watch pro streamers they only go back to base when they have exactly enough for an item that is going to significantly boost their sustainability in lane or their value in teamfights. Don't go back for a cloth armor and more pots unless its an emergency - you miss farm, xp, and the opponent gets free on both. 7. Master the tower aggro ranges - If you have an adc like Trist or Cait with a long auto attack range, knowing exactly how far you can push in and tap the opposing champ can help to establish an advantage. 8. Learn to last hit under tower. Easy 500-600 gold every game I see people miss b/c they can't do simple addition. 9. Ward. Your teammates are too dumb to do it, so you have to, even if you're AP or ADC. Just buy one every time you go back and drop it somewhere. You have to save them from themselves. 10. Learn to play all five roles. I am often a better choice for adc than the person who calls it on my team, and it can be frustrating, but just remember that they could be playing something they have admitted they are worse at, and the outcome would likely be even worse for your team. Protect your team member's weaknesses by being flexible in champ select. 11. Add up the damage on your combos and know to within ~10 hp how much you can do at which levels. Then get familiar with how much reduction each point of MR is worth. I still find myself guessing or "playing by feel" when I hit my combos and you should never do that - you should know before the combo hits how much it will do and whether it will yield a kill. This is something I still need to work more on, but I've heard many pros mention it as crucial to elevating your game. Good luck. MOBAs are frustrating as hell because you are so vulnerable to baddies on your team but its great when you get 4 other skilled people and put together a strategy that everyone buys into and executes. I won a 4v5 ranked the other day.
I've been tooling around with Garen as he's the exact kind of champ I enjoy playing and I FINALLY figured out how to build him where he is insane throughout the match. The online guides are all wrong for him, or at least they don't play up to his strengths. Warmogs, Atma's, Frozen Mallet, Sunfire Cape...He's not meant to be a tank, yet people build him to take hits and do as little damage as possible. I'm ushering in a new era for Garen. Cool down reduction runes to 10% Armor Pen and Damage for the rest Heavy damage and armor masteries Flash and Exhaust Ninja Tab Spirit Visage Blood Thrister Cleaver Randuins Whatever you feel like for the last one. I've been doing Infinity/Warmog/Merc Scim depending on who we are up against and who is fed. I will say I hardly get to do a full build as the games barely last long enough. The best thing about Garen...he doesn't use mana. Time is all you need for his abilities. By endgame, Q and E pop every 5 seconds and my ult comes back in just over 30. Kiting is no longer an issue as my Q speeds me up and pops quick enough to cancel out slows when I'm chasing someone down. The only thing that still gives me a bit of trouble is stuns, but there isn't much you can do about those. I've been crushing souls again and it feels good to not stand in a fight and feel like you are hitting the other guy with sunshine and Christmas mornings.
He is correct in 95% of everything he said. It's some pro level shit. The counter stuff is debatable. A champ with a Ranged poke (Pantheon) vs a Champ without and no gap closer (Nasus) is going to be an interesting fight. Riven vs. Nasus is also going to be a tough fight. Not "OMG game is over because this champ counters THIS champ all the time." There is a rock paper scissors aspect at all levels, but it doesn't mean the game is over. Counter building is definitely something that needs to happen more than anything else. But I definitely want to highlight 6 as much as possible. In addition, people don't realize how many games they inadvertantly fuck up because they win a pretty solid team fight, look at their gold and think "OMG, time go to back and shop" leaving a tower, leaving a dragon, leaving opponents blue/red. If you kill 2-3 of their team, on their tower/pushed lane, take the tower. People are too quick to B and leave a major objective, then the opponent comes back, and instead of playing defense because their tower was just taken, they take your tower while still at base. That extra skillpoint in a skill is usually a bigger difference early on than getting a longsword or a few pots. This is something I need to work on and will try to work on this weekend. The main thing you can do when playing the game to reduce stress is 1) Take 5-10 minutes after disappointing losses. 2) If you're like PStation up here, realize that not everyone is trying to go pro. Some people are just playing for shits and giggles, to relieve stress, to have fun. Even in ranked, some people are playing ranked not to join MLG, but just get the Gold Border, just to get the free skin that comes with, just to get the icon. They want to be good, they want to win, but its still just a game to them. They will turn it off and not think about it. Hell, if some switch flipped on, and I went to Diamond D 1 I wouldn't go pro, go to play videogames professionally. I'm a closet nerd, I don't talk to any real life friends about this game, my girl doesn't know about this game and so help me god will never know. So just think about the motivations of the people playing and communicate to them accordingly.
I don't really get stressed over games at all, if I get frustrated at all I find something else to do. Been playing with Olaf for the majority of the games so far and once I get past the first few weak levels he starts to smash some shit. Biggest problem I've had is getting someone down to the tiny bit of health then being side swiped by someone else because my team mate has pissed off.
This was something I myself had to learn as I am generally very passive. You have to learn when to not abandon your teammates b/c someone retreating could be the difference between a death on their side and one on yours. WARDS: Can't emphasize it enough. Green ward costs 75g for 3 minutes of security which you can earn back with about 3 creep kills. Learn how towers kill minions. Melee minions take 3 tower hits so let the tower hit them twice (down to a sliver) and then last hit it. Ranged minions take 2 tower hits so you hit one, let the tower hit it, then finish it off. These are the general rules. If your champ isn't strong enough, you may have to finish off the minion with a spell instead of an autoattack. Pings and MIAs: If your opponent leaves your lane, warn your teammates. And pay mind to the warnings from your team. Buffs and neutral monsters: new players generally don't realize the value of the red and blue buffs. They make a big difference though. And wolves, wraiths and golems are great for quick cash. Take advantage of the free champions each week. Great way to see who you like and who you'd like to buy next with your IP. Remember to use your masteries with each new level. You'll only have part of a tree filled, but it's an advantage over someone who does nothing and let's them go to waste. Potions and elixirs can help you stay in lane longer or be the edge in a fight.
I swear to god if I have one more 13 year old smug know-it-all douchebag tell me how to play/your build is wrong/why did you go attack that tower, you are going to hear a report on your nightly news about mass killings due to video games. If I go down in a hail of gunfire, make sure they know it was entirely justified. A few more LoL complaints: You've just killed 2 champs and their turret is completely unguarded, "Hey, we should recall and leave this turret standing here. I'd hate to upset the natural habitat of their land." Let's make a HUGE fuss about who gets to go in what lane before the match starts and then stay there approximately 7 minutes before it's time for team fighting. When the above happens and everyone gets wiped, spend 5 minutes explaining why you didn't "come help your team". I know one of the big elements of the game is getting kills, but why don't people understand you can go 20/0 and still lose if your nexus is destroyed? This has been my day today.
I regret to inform you, that unless you're playing with 5 man pre-mades every single game, that is going to happen quite frequently. You have to not let it bother you. I've lost quite a few games (mostly in ranked) where we got backdoored by a Xin, Shaco, or Jax and lost while being up double digit kills because people chase for the wrong reasons. That first tower complaint is the worst, or there are 5 people in the middle of the lane, you have full health, but you're going to B, lose two towers, because "I have 1k gold." Just like the strategy and timing of when to stay and go is simple, but people fuck it up all the time. Then other times gets so goddamn aggressive when they shouldn't be, its annoying.
For those of you frustrated by LoL, we over here at DOTA2 will welcome you with open wounds (Naix rim shot!). I've wanted to try LoL, but I am absolutely too hooked by DOTA. Its such an incredible game that every other game or console I have has been collecting dust for the past 3 months because if I'm not playing, I'm watching the pro's (if you want to get a taste of pro DOTA, watch any recent Na'Vi match. Dendi is God. Don't watch the Chinese, because they're so good it makes everyone else feel bad). Have any of you tried DOTA and went back to LoL? If so, convince me to give it a shot. I'm certainly open to it with some prodding.. If any of you do play DOTA, add me- dchavok
Is DOTA2 free to play? As dumb as that question is, given I know I'm pretty sure I've broken the $100 mark in two years with LoL on skins and 2 additional rune pages, I might give it a try. The only thing I've heard about DOTA2 is that it is graphically more demanding (an issue for my laptop CPU at this point which randomly decides to work or not) and that the game is more punishing for mistakes. I already feel punished playing LoL due to the community, but that's another story. I haven't played DOTA, so I can't make an argument for LoL.
I would argue that after iG and LGD there's a bit of a dropoff. It sucks that EHOME disbanded, although they were always treated as a black sheep, and while DK can beat most foreigner teams, but they seem to be able to never match up for the top two. EG seems to be getting better, although they seem to crap the bed at the worst possible times (See: G-League final last year). Mouz seemed to be climbing but it'll be interesting to see how they deal with KuroKy moving to Na'Vi. Speaking of which, Na'Vi might suffer a dropoff in results for the time being losing ARS-ART and LightofHeaven. Light especially seemed to be the all purpose player you could plug in anywhere.
Have you watched any of the recent Na'Vi games? They're crushing people. They haven't lost a game since picking up Funn1k and KuroKy. They've beat NTH, EG, AL.Main, and ROX.kis. They look better than ever, to be honest. It seemed as if Ars-Art just didn't care and his play had definitely dropped off. He's going to be doing some commentating for JoinDOTA now. Light....we'll see what happens there. I'll be interested to see how that works out. Parker- Yes, DOTA is free to play. You need a Beta key, since its still technically in beta, but they're ridiculously easy to get a hold of. You can pay for different things in game- new hero gear, different wards, skins, announcers, couriers, etc. Also, when big tournaments come around you can pay for a 'ticket' which gives you access to the live game within DOTA instead of streaming it from a Twitchcast. Personally, I really like the English announcers (TobiWan, Ayesee, and Draskyl), so I usually go the route of streaming it from JoinDOTA.com. You can also drop the video settings super super low to accommodate any computer set up. I run an Alienware laptop, so I don't have an issue running the high settings, but my crappy internet connection won't allow for it.
Define hero gear and couriers? And by annoucners I assume you're talking about the pre-voiced computer voices? How much do those cost? Also what do you have to pay for with money vs what can pay for with in game points? In LoL the only thing you can't buy with in game currency (IP) are Champion Skins and boosters to gain more IP per win. Also, I am apparently the only person who doesn't like to watch someone else gaming. The only time I stream is when I'm waiting for a friend so I don't have to message him "Are you done yet?" every two minutes he's in game. That's time I could be playing. I don't care about professional gaming. As nerdy as I get with this game, I just can't do it. As soom a I see something in the game, I want to go try it out. If I see a cool build I'm just going to run and try that build out. Especially if I'm sitting right at my computer with the game ready to go, I just don't understand it.
Couriers are used to fly items you buy from the store or your bank to your hero, so you don't have to leave your lane or jungle to upgrade or buy your items. In-game announcers, yes...most of the heroes voices are used as announcers and they include the Counter-Strike godlike/holy shit/monster kill announces. You can also buy battle point boosters. The more battle points, the quicker you level. The way the DOTA queue's work is based upon your battle points and skill level, so that high level players aren't queueing and playing with beginners. You can also play bot matches now, which don't count for battle points, but allows you to play with bot teammates against a bot team to practice heroes, strategies, laning, etc. By gear- its completely a judgment call, but they release new gear sets for heroes. There's no gain in buying the gear, its just if you decide you want to personalize how your heroes look. For example, if you run with a Sniper, you can buy a new cape, pants, shirt, belt, shoulders, etc. No in-game gains, just for personalization. Also, they have opened gear creation to the community, so if you want to create a new gear set for a hero, you can do so and submit it to Steam. Every once in awhile they'll run contests too and the winners get their gear featured in the shop and other prizes. The thing is, you really don't even have to bother buying any of it. As you win games, they give you these items. Depending upon how you do (I have no idea how the game decides who gets what), at the end of the game they'll just gift you items. I didn't like watching games at first, but now that I understand the game, how the meta game works and whatnot, its exciting to watch these matches, try to figure out what the drafts and bans will be, what items they'll pick up, how the laning will work, etc. I often watch pro games just to see the builds they're using so I can try them in games.
The gear thing sounds cool, it wouldn't work in LoL because they're really anal about their character lore and perfectly honed themes (which they're working on perfectly honing.) They do skins from top to bottom, it'd be nice to work with specific pieces of certain skins, but what they go for, it'd make people look goofy as shit. Also the courier thing takes a huge dimension out of what I know to be strategy in LoL. Knowing when to go back to the store and know when not to is a huge part of LoL. Also punishing players for going back too much is also a part. If there was a way to remotely buy items, it would definitely fuck people up in the middle of team fights given what some of the items do. That's interesting as fuck to think about though. I also just realized that since I don't plan on ever putting Steam on my computer, its probably why I'm avoiding DOTA2. I have too many PS3 games to get through and I'm now a console person with the exception of League and the hacked version of Mass Effect 3.