League of Legends XXXIX: Harrowing in the Playground

[LordShotGun]

I think the worst mechanics in the game are facing-related attack abilities on autoattack champs like Corki (Gatling Gun) and Rumble (Flamespitter). The game doesn't automatically follow your aimed target EXCEPT when proccing autoattacks so you'll miss a dozen procs unless you manually reorient you all the time to follow a moving opponent without missing autoattack procs.

I would agree with this. These are so clunky that when riot tries too tighten them up, they suddenly and unexpectedly become OP.

[Qwertystop]

I think the worst mechanics in the game are facing-related attack abilities on autoattack champs like Corki (Gatling Gun) and Rumble (Flamespitter). The game doesn't automatically follow your aimed target EXCEPT when proccing autoattacks so you'll miss a dozen procs unless you manually reorient you all the time to follow a moving opponent without missing autoattack procs.

Really? I mean, if you're an AA champ, you're going to be autoing them, and every time you auto, you face them. I don't know about Rumble, but with Corki the standard build has a high enough AS to mean you don't end up facing away long enough to miss a proc IME.

[toasty]

Really? I mean, if you're an AA champ, you're going to be autoing them, and every time you auto, you face them. I don't know about Rumble, but with Corki the standard build has a high enough AS to mean you don't end up facing away long enough to miss a proc IME.

You aren't taking into account the amount of micro high elo players apply to their characters, especially with AD carries like Corki.

[Eldariel]

Really? I mean, if you're an AA champ, you're going to be autoing them, and every time you auto, you face them. I don't know about Rumble, but with Corki the standard build has a high enough AS to mean you don't end up facing away long enough to miss a proc IME.

You skill Gatling Gun on level 3. You won't have significant ASpd by then and you will miss out on massive amounts of damage unless you manually aim it. Not to mention lategame melees dancing around you at point blank range.

Hell, that's one of the most efficient tricks against Rumble with e.g. Jarvan; EQ just behind him and keep dancing so like a third of his flamespitter (and none of his harpoons) hit while your autoattacks obviously hit since you just click.

EDIT: Worst of all, since I always stutterstep, I get hugely punished if I need to stutterstep backwards to disengage since I lose out on a lot of Gatling Gun damage.

[dgnslyr]

Maybe that's an indirect way of balancing Gatling Gun and Flame Spitter? It really forces the player to only use those moves on the attack, so either you have to decide to charge in for full damage or stay back and miss out on damage. It adds a bit of an interesting dynamic to both moves, I think.

[Eldariel]

Maybe that's an indirect way of balancing Gatling Gun and Flame Spitter? It really forces the player to only use those moves on the attack, so either you have to decide to charge in for full damage or stay back and miss out on damage. It adds a bit of an interesting dynamic to both moves, I think.

Well, the annoying part is I have to manually keep orienting myself if my opponent is doing any sideways movement whatsoever to get the max damage out of either which is just really tedious; extremely small micro movement.

[TechnOkami]

Hey Eld?

I just had my first game against a good Anivia...

Goddamnit.

[McDouggal]

There's a rumor going around that Blitz is getting nerfed, possibly as soon as next patch.

The only thing that makes him OP is that rocket grab. If they nerf that, there's no point to playing him.

[Temotei]

There's a rumor going around that Blitz is getting nerfed, possibly as soon as next patch.

The only thing that makes him OP is that rocket grab. If they nerf that, there's no point to playing him.

Just base stat nerfs from what I've seen. He's getting a slight tankiness nerf, if I remember correctly.

[Nix Nihila]

Quick question (I'm a bit new to League, so please forgive any silliness). How should one go about building Anivia? Particularly her first few items. Tear into Rod of Ages seems to be reasonably popular, but I've also seen a few pro players (such as scarra, and I think RapidStar) start Chalice -> Catalyst -> Athene's -> Sorc's -> Banshee's. Obviously this would be good against a heavy magic damage team, but is starting with a quick Athene's still alright versus primarily AD teams? Would you grab a RoA next in this case?

Anyways, those are my specific questions, but any thoughts on building Anivia would be very helpful.

[MCerberus]

Quick question (I'm a bit new to League, so please forgive any silliness). How should one go about building Anivia? Particularly her first few items. Tear into Rod of Ages seems to be reasonably popular, but I've also seen a few pro players (such as scarra, and I think RapidStar) start Chalice -> Catalyst -> Athene's -> Sorc's -> Banshee's. Obviously this would be good against a heavy magic damage team, but is starting with a quick Athene's still alright versus primarily AD teams? Would you grab a RoA next in this case?

Anyways, those are my specific questions, but any thoughts on building Anivia would be very helpful.

Tear into anything is something you do A. you're particularly safe or ahead and B. are already comfortable about managing mana.

Early chalice is amazing, upgrade it when you damn well please (I sit on it). Catalyst early is also good paired with a chalice for lane pushing. Don't be afraid to go boots of Swiftness if you find yourself needing to roam. Banshee's is common... for pro play. RoA is an amazingly powerful item.

For a good general use build with a lot of durability.
Boots + 3 -> chalice -> catalyst -> sorc's -> RoA
Good items: Deathcap, Warmog's, Athene's, Void Staff, Abyssal (do not build with Void Staff), Banshee's

Okay for specific situations: Tear, Archangel's, Guise, DFG

Bad items for a chalice build: Spell Vamp, Guardian Angel (troll item), Crystal Scepter

Don't ignore your defenses if you need them, Anivia makes an amazingly punishing and indestructible bruiser.

[Godskook]

There's a rumor going around that Blitz is getting nerfed, possibly as soon as next patch.

The only thing that makes him OP is that rocket grab. If they nerf that, there's no point to playing him.

They're not doing anything significant to him, so don't worry. At least from what I've read.

[Nix Nihila]

Tear into anything is something you do A. you're particularly safe or ahead and B. are already comfortable about managing mana.

Early chalice is amazing, upgrade it when you damn well please (I sit on it). Catalyst early is also good paired with a chalice for lane pushing. Don't be afraid to go boots of Swiftness if you find yourself needing to roam. Banshee's is common... for pro play. RoA is an amazingly powerful item.

For a good general use build with a lot of durability.
Boots + 3 -> chalice -> catalyst -> sorc's -> RoA
Good items: Deathcap, Warmog's, Athene's, Void Staff, Abyssal (do not build with Void Staff), Banshee's

Okay for specific situations: Tear, Archangel's, Guise, DFG

Bad items for a chalice build: Spell Vamp, Guardian Angel (troll item), Crystal Scepter

Don't ignore your defenses if you need them, Anivia makes an amazingly punishing and indestructible bruiser.

Awesome! Thanks for the speedy and thorough response!

[Silverraptor]

So, Olaf wins 4 votes to 1/1/1 of the other champions.

[ex cathedra]

RoA is an amazingly powerful item.

"Amazingly powerful," really?

It can be a strong item on champions who convert the mana into better stats as part of their kits (Ryze, Singed) or a decent item on champions who have a distinguished need for both large mana pools and survivability (Karthus, Kassadin, Anivia, Swain, arguably Malzahar but no one cares about him anyways).

If we're describing AP itemization as "amazingly powerful" I hope we're talking about DFG/Hourglass/pre-nerf Abyssal/pre-nerf WotA/Zhonya's Ring.

[MCerberus]

"Amazingly powerful," really?

It can be a strong item on champions who convert the mana into better stats as part of their kits (Ryze, Singed) or a decent item on champions who have a distinguished need for both large mana pools and survivability (Karthus, Kassadin, Anivia, Swain, arguably Malzahar but no one cares about him anyways).

If we're describing AP itemization as "amazingly powerful" I hope we're talking about DFG/Hourglass/pre-nerf Abyssal/pre-nerf WotA/Zhonya's Ring.

Well Anivia is the champion in question

[ex cathedra]

Well Anivia is the champion in question

Well "amazingly powerful" is the description in question

[Math_Mage]

There's been a severe uptick in Tribunal complaint threads in GD. I anticipate a PB&J post explaining the revised punishment metrics. I hope for a PB&J post announcing the addition of pre/post-game chat to Tribunal cases, but I won't hold my breath.

[Forrestfire]

Out of random curiosity, (spurred from a discussion with my friend), does anyone have any themed-team skin sets they'd like to see?

The top of my list is a football team:

-Coach Darius
-Quarterback Draven (throws footballs)
-Linebacker Nunu (iceball is a football)
-Receiver Blitzcrank (catches football with grab)
-Running Back Evelynn (ult "spikes" her football)

[TheShrike]

Breaking news, aether's ping to the mumble server is ~190,000 years.

[Godskook]

The top of my list is a football team:

-Coach Darius
-Quarterback Draven (throws footballs)
-Linebacker Nunu (iceball is a football)
-Receiver Blitzcrank (catches football with grab)
-Running Back Evelynn (ult "spikes" her football)

You forgot special teams Ziggs. His ult is a field goal attempt, with separate animations for when he misses a champ, hits a champ, and kills a champ.

[dgnslyr]

What about team dunk, a basketball-themed set of skins?

There's Dunkmaster Darius, Dunkmaster Jarvan, Dunkmaster Leona, and Dunkmaster Yi. I dunno who to make the AP carry, but I guess Katarina, because of her dunk-potential with cooldown refresh-on-kill? Or it could be Orianna, and her trusty basketball.

Darius and Jarvan both have their ulti-dunks. Jarvan, Leona, and Orianna all shoot field goals with E, Ult, and Q, respectively. Ori can even pass the ball to teamates with her shield. And, of course, Yi dunks just by existing. I dunno, I don't really watch proper sports, because why watch conventional sports when I can watch League of Legends?

[Math_Mage]

Out of random curiosity, (spurred from a discussion with my friend), does anyone have any themed-team skin sets they'd like to see?

The top of my list is a football team:

-Coach Darius
-Quarterback Draven (throws footballs)
-Linebacker Nunu (iceball is a football)
-Receiver Blitzcrank (catches football with grab)
-Running Back Evelynn (ult "spikes" her football)

Team Ace!, a rival band to team Pentakill. Featuring DRAAAAAAAAVEN playing two guitars at once.

Team Beep Boop, with all the robots and robotics. Blitz, Ori, Rumble, PFE, and...Heimer? Viktor? Jayce?

Team Pinup, featuring French Maid Nidalee, Heartseeker Vayne, Battle Bunny Riven, and choose any two other female pinup skins (or throw in something like Unprepared Garen).

Team Dunkmeister, with basketball jerseys for Yi, Jarvan, Darius, Kog'maw (he shoots threes), and...someone. Pantheon?. EDIT: Ori and Kat are good for PG.

Team Polo with Sejuani, Nunu, Rumble, Hecarim core.

It's a poor substitute for lore mode, but it'll do.

[Silverraptor]

Played Olaf and HOLY CRAP where has he been all this time. Everything about this character screams what I like! Now, what is the proper Olaf build order for both top and jungle? I need to experiment with this.

[TechnOkami]

*blahblahdon'tcare*arguably Malzahar but no one cares about him anyways).*blahblahdon'tcare*

OYI, oyi. I take some offense to that. (also, I've stopped building RoA on Malz. Banshee's is much better for what he needs.)

[dgnslyr]

These days, Olaf builds Philos-HoG core, no matter where he goes, and rushes out CDR items like Shurelia's and I guess Zeke's or Bruta? Basically, Olaf does his damage by maxing his CDR and throwing out Reckless Swings and one-inch-punch point-blank axes, both of which have almost no cooldown.

With CDR, Olaf can throw his axe practically the moment he picks it up. Who needs to build damage when you're spitting out I-forget-how-much true damage a second? Speedup from Shurelia's and I guess Youmu's are also good, so he can use the tried-and-true DotA strategy of CC immune -> right click carry, and just jump on the squishies and axe their faces. I hesitate to recommend Youmu's on anybody, though, because I think it's kind of a bad item on most champs, even if it gives Olaf CDR, ArPen, gold/10, and a haste.

[ex cathedra]

Played Olaf and HOLY CRAP where has he been all this time. Everything about this character screams what I like! Now, what is the proper Olaf build order for both top and jungle? I need to experiment with this.

Shurelya's, Tabi/Treads, and pretty much literally anything else (except for bad items, avoid those). Randuin's, Frozen Heart, Aegis, Spirit Visage (for pros), Hexdrinker, and Guardian Angel are solid. You don't need to build damage because 40% Axes have a cooldown of "as long as it takes you to pick me up" which is anywhere between a 0 and 1 second cooldown when you're ghosted/Shurelya's'd. Also 340 true damage on a 3 second cooldown. You can't be CC'd and you're impossible to kill, so just kill that ****ing Ezreal and win the teamfight. Olaf in a nutshell.

OYI, oyi. I take some offense to that.

No one cares about the people who care about Malzahar. He can't ulti people without suppressing himself and a single rotation of his spell combo costs more than 500 mana. It's silly. His only redeeming feature is voidlings.

[TechnOkami]

No one cares about the people who care about Malzahar. He can't ulti people without suppressing himself and a single rotation of his spell combo costs more than 500 mana. It's silly. His only redeeming feature is voidlings.

Oh pffah, he's a fine champion. Single target dots for lots o' damage, a pool for more damage, a wall-shaped silence, and his ult, which is why you buy a banshee's so you can bloody kill something with it. And Voidlings, because having the full Hammer Dance is awesome. He's also fine in lane (because he gains mana off of his E, so a good Malzahar never has to back for mana), and *grumble grumble grumble McGrumble* Malzahar's bloody fine.

[Talesin]

Not a themed team as such but what about a team that has on assist/kill refreshes?

Darius top, Yi Jungle, Kat Mid, Trist bot

Get 1 kill -> Ace every team fight?

[McDouggal]

I have GOT to stop staying up all night playing LoL.

On the plus side, I gained a summoner level and bought Veigar, who is the tiny master of precision nuclear strikes.