League of Legends XXXVIII: Featuring Mumble, The Giant Halibut

[McDouggal]

If an AI opponent is retreating at half health from a 1v1, it's actually retreating. If a human opponent is doing so, even odds that it's a gank. Treat it accordingly.

[Godskook]

Any good resources for making that transition from Co-op vs AI to PvP?

Our Mumble server, run by Djinn&Co.

[TheShrike]

More possibilities for x8y'asfu's passive. Bo, I don't care to look up his name.

[Kairaven]

So... anyone up for a Pentakill premade once Pentakill Olaf is released?

I have PK Morde



also, anyone want to group up seeking for ranked gold? Solo queue increases my ignore lists.

[mrcarter11]

I can offer to play the regular pvp format, but I've no experience with ranked games. Still an offer though if your really sick of solo queue.

[Chess435]

I'd join you guys, but I'm like 950 Elo.

[mrcarter11]

I'm not actually playing, and I have no idea what my elo is.

[TechnOkami]

I'd join you guys, but I'm like 950 Elo.

Dude, we won't care how bad you are. We'll give you pointers and you'll get better over time, simple as that.

Also: about Tryndamere... is there anywhere he's actually good in or something he's good at for a team?

[mrcarter11]

Hey if anyone wants to get on Mumble, I'll play.
And I could use all the pointers in the world anyways.

[NineThePuma]

I need to find some people who're willing to run KHa vs Rengar PBE in order to test the various theories regarding their interaction.

[sonofzeal]

So, Blitz. AP, AD, Hybrid, Tanky, Support.... I've got no idea how to build this guy. His E and W encourage AD, his Q and R encourage AD, his awesome passive and base health encourages Tanky, and he's a popular Support pick using Q and E to trap enemies so a teammate can slaughter them.

What build do you use? And is there any build that doesn't work on him?

[Eldariel]

So, Blitz. AP, AD, Hybrid, Tanky, Support.... I've got no idea how to build this guy. His E and W encourage AD, his Q and R encourage AD, his awesome passive and base health encourages Tanky, and he's a popular Support pick using Q and E to trap enemies so a teammate can slaughter them.

What build do you use? And is there any build that doesn't work on him?

Supporty or Trinity Tanky generally. You can go fairly squishy on him and just pull people but that's kinda waste. Generally I prefer Trinity Tanky with an extra DPS item or two. CDR's big on him either way; it increases his utility and damage massively.

[mrcarter11]

sonofzeal, I believe your the one that always mentions playing dominion. I just played a custom game of it, so I could learn it somewhat, but dam. I had a lot more fun playing that then normal games. It was a bit hectic and crazy, but I loved it.

Random question though, do nexus only lose health if the enemy team controls the majority?

[PersonMan]

I ended with 0/9/10 so I say I fed, and was pretty bad, but not totally worthless, and there were a few times I escaped a gank. Any good resources for making that transition from Co-op vs AI to PvP? (still level 11 so not planning on PvPing a ton, but prep is nice)

It depends, to be honest. If most or all of your assists are 'this kill would not have happened without me' then no. If a lot of them are 'I helped, but I didn't decide the outcome with my presence' then it's not so good.

I personally started right into PvP, so my experience might be a bit different, but I'd honestly recommend going into it ASAP unless you have technical issues/hate the community to a massive extent. Hitting level 30 on only bot games will mean your PvP experiences will probably be terrible for both you and your team for quite a while.

I once played with an Ashe who had gotten to level 30 by playing bot games and...well, none of us had a good time. Level 30 people are a lot better than bots, playing against them can't prepare you for PvP on that level. One potential thing to do is to play bot games on one account to level 30, then switch to another one to start PvP on, but you might not want to do that.

The sooner you start PvPing and get used to it, the better. If you wait longer, your enemies will be more experiences. If at level 30 you start PvP in earnest, your games will probably be not fun because your enemies are a lot better than you're used to and your allies are getting on your case for "omg feeder" "omg this [champion name]".

Bots are like training wheels. Good for learning the basics, but you need to take them off before you start getting into competitive cycling or you'll run into problems when they're suddenly removed halfway through.

I'd join you guys, but I'm like 950 Elo.

Np bro, I'll carry you up to 1105.

[sonofzeal]

sonofzeal, I believe your the one that always mentions playing dominion. I just played a custom game of it, so I could learn it somewhat, but dam. I had a lot more fun playing that then normal games. It was a bit hectic and crazy, but I loved it.

Random question though, do nexus only lose health if the enemy team controls the majority?

Yep!

If you're online now, add me as a contact (same Summoner name) and we can knock around some bots together. =)

[Drascin]

I don't know why Nashor's Tooth gets such a bad rap. It's ridiculously Gold-efficient, gives tons of CDR, and quite a few champs can at least decently benefit from all of the stats it gives. I personally like building it on Bruiser Taric, spam all the heals.

I've found myself using it on Lulu at times. The atack speed is a big draw with Lulu's free damage passive, and then a chunky amount of AP for all those skills is definitely nice. I don't know if it's "optimal", but on paper all the stats seem to be of use.

[TechnOkami]

Also: about Tryndamere... is there anywhere he's actually good in or something he's good at for a team?

I'm pretty sure people missed my question...

[NineThePuma]

I can CONFIRM that this man is correct.

4th evo point if Kha'Zix wins, and the Rengar win immediately gives him 14 stacks, and they do not decrease (I'm 95% positive about the lack of decrease, as I lost the "bone tooth necklace" buff counter). Works on SR and on the Crystal Skar, though Proving grounds and TT remain to be checked.

I am of the opinion that the 4th evolution point is much less broken than you'd think, given the fact that so far there doesn't appear to be "one true Evolution to rule them all" and considering that assists count toward it, is pretty cool. The dynamic between Rengar and Kha'Zix showing in their in game stuff is really awesome and I absolutely love it; on the other hand, I think that the bone tooth necklace itself might get a few tweaks before this gets launched in order to somewhat balance this out.

(Typo left in intentionally)

[PersonMan]

I'm pretty sure people missed my question...

Well, I play him as a hybrid support, but he also seems to be alright as a jungler.

[Godskook]

So, Blitz. AP, AD, Hybrid, Tanky, Support.... I've got no idea how to build this guy. His E and W encourage AD, his Q and R encourage AD, his awesome passive and base health encourages Tanky, and he's a popular Support pick using Q and E to trap enemies so a teammate can slaughter them.

What build do you use? And is there any build that doesn't work on him?

Blitzcrank is one of those champs who's cursed to having his early game dictate his build type more-so than his kit's scaling.

He can't really go top, cause he's got no sustain and his only defense against kiting is his grab.

He can't really go mid, for much the same reasons, except mid-laners are usually longer ranged than top laners, so its actually harder.

He's got no jungle clear speed to speak of, but his ganks are godly, so he's no better than a niche jungler.

As a bot lane support, he's great, cause his AD makes up for his lack of ranged DPS while a Blitz grab means the carry gets a kill. This relegates him to mostly support items unless he gets ridiculously ahead. Reverie seems just obvious, Zeke's plausible, and Soul Shroud is at least niche, making it really easy for him to reach the CDR cap on support items.

In non-traditional bot lanes, I think there's at least some space for Blitz, as anyone with hard CC makes for a lethal lane comp.

Outside that, if you can get the gold, yeah, basically every build that gets 20%+ CDR(Blue buff OP!) and balances survivability with offense will work on Blitz(You probably need Lich Bane to make AP Blitz work, though).

[shadowwalker64]

I'm pretty sure people missed my question...

Tryndamere used to be quite a prolific top and jungler, though he has now been surpassed in both of those roles by many champs due to shifts in the meta. Up top, he played as a pure farming top, biding his time to farm up his core items (Wriggle's, Infinity and zeal) in order to make a difference mid game. He was picked before for a surprising uncommon ability top to scale positively throughout the game (as in, he became much more dangerous late game than he would be mid game) which only Vlad, Jayce and Vayne share (off the top of my head). However, he will lose to a sizable portion of tops nowadays due to a lack of sustain, little poking power and suboptimal and unreliable trading power (all dependant on crit), as well as being unable to counterbuild much against the opposing laner without delaying his already expensive core build (has to rely on boots and wriggle's, and that's discounting the tops that deal magic damage). You could possibly make it work by building a more bruiser orientated Trynd (forgoing early infinity for, say, HoG, phage and negatron/chain vest), though at that point you might as well be playing Gangplank (who contributes a lot more to the team).

In jungle, he is once again a farmer, being one of the few junglers who can carry from the jungle. Having a gapcloser and a hard (albeit situational) slow help a lot in his ganking power, and his invunerability helps for those times where towerdiving would net you very good rewards. Duelling power in the jungle isn't too bad either, and the distance that his spin can take him can lead to some very effective ganking routes that other junglers cannot pull off (ganking bot lane on top-right team through the wall near tribush, for example). However, lack of general tankiness outside of his ult, CC and Midgame presence means that he isn't the best. However, if you have good support for him (Yorick has amazing synergy with him, if I recall), he can be a very real threat for the enemy team.

In general, he can provide a distraction for the enemy team, as well as force off enemy carries during teamfights by spinning (or even walking) towards them, and then subsequently turning around and proceeding to wail on the other members of the enemy team if he cannot catch the carry. Despite being good as a secondary carry and damage source, the lack of any reliable CC as well as having yi syndrome (i.e. wanting to build carry items when melee) really bring him down a bit, which means that there is almost always someone better to replace him.

[Temotei]

Dude, we won't care how bad you are. We'll give you pointers and you'll get better over time, simple as that.

Also: about Tryndamere... is there anywhere he's actually good in or something he's good at for a team?

Twisted Treeline is his domain. He has trouble with some matchups, but otherwise, he's pretty strong there.

[Winthur]

You are now pregnant

Also, solo mid Tryndamere against certain laners is passable

[TechnOkami]

So... in other words...

"He's mediocre everywhere except with certain lineups and TT, which I never play."

[NineThePuma]

At very low ELO, he's a go to stomper, because people blow their CC at the start of the fight, and often on the tanks, and trynd can just go "AHAHAHAHAHA" and rampage through then enemy team.

[ChaosOS]

sonofzeal, I believe your the one that always mentions playing dominion. I just played a custom game of it, so I could learn it somewhat, but dam. I had a lot more fun playing that then normal games. It was a bit hectic and crazy, but I loved it.

Random question though, do nexus only lose health if the enemy team controls the majority?

They only tick down for controlling the majority, but until 125 nexus health kills and point captures drop the enemy nexus health by 2 in addition

[Tergon]

I play Blitz quite a bit. He's best by far as a support; I tend to get Exhaust and Teleport as my masteries, and start the game with a meki pendant, a ward, and a potion. Throw the ward into the bush closest to the enemy's tower, and the grab-exhaust combo (plus knockup depending on how early in the game it happens) will almost certainly give your carry a kill.
Get yourself a Kage's Lucky Pick and upgrade the Meki Pendant into a Fiendish Codex at the earliest opportunity; the mana regen, AP boost for your grab damage, and cooldown reduction will give you fantastic sustainability. Upgrade it into Morello's Evil Tome when you feel it suits, though the gold boost from the Pick is nice if you're giving your carry all of the farm. Keep wards up; being able to yank someone out of the bushes is a great trick, and if you play right you'll be ganked, because you'll have the enemy desperately begging for help. But just keep throwing those grabs whenever it seems appropriate. You'll either feed kills to your carry, which is delightful, or you'll teach them to keep out of Rocket Grab range, which lets your carry feed without fear. Either way you win.

Top laning can be equally fun, though. Blitzcrank's Overdrive ability makes you extraordinarily hard to gank, and against a solo opponent you can be formidable. Yanking them out of their tower's defensive range gives you great harass, and all of those disables mean that you can hold your tower wonderfully easy. Also, don't ever underestimate his passive Shield ability; it'll save your life a lot. With a few items and careful use of his abilities, Blitzcrank can do some mightily impressive damage, and be tanky enough to hold his own against most anyone.

For items, it all depends on his build. Morello's is good if you're going the support route, or Frozen Heart if you're being more of a fighter. Triforce is great on him, though a Frozen Mallet works slightly better for a support, since it guarantees the slow effect, allowing you to be sure that anyone you grab and drag in will have that much more difficulty getting away.
He does need sustain early game, but a few well-placed items can give you that. He's also slow, which is why Overdrive is so handy for him. Considering how he can spam abilities, Manamune is actually fairly viable on him, but really only if you also give him a Triforce to maximise its potential. Otherwise, I prefer using him as a disruptor, a support, and a surprise assassin. His grab-knockup-ult will basically kill any unsuspecting mage you come across, and turn a 5v5 into a 4v5 without trouble.

[lord_khaine]

Is it just me or are Rengar rather OP now with the recent buffs?

[sonofzeal]

Is it just me or are Rengar rather OP now with the recent buffs?

He seems to have one the highest, if not the highest, win percentages in the League right now

So, yes.

[NineThePuma]

The sad thing is, they buff his Q, and now on the PBE they nerfed the ever loving crap out of his W.

So while Rengar might be a pretty beast assassin/fighter/initiator, he's turning into this massive glass cannon who will be spending too much on survival to do more than jump on a carry and double Q.