League of Legends XL: Season on Hold 'til Morello gets Gold

[toasty]

Irelia is obviously the best. I mean, come on. Bladesurge. Equilibrium Strike. Irelia enables sick plays and she gets to build fun items. You get to dive people and you perpetually have like 66.7% CC reduction.

Yeahhhhhhhh.
Justice Guides Us.
Balance In All Things.

I've never been a fan of Irelia because I never understood her playstyle. I'm pretty sure I still don't, because I think she's just so versatile she does whatever you want. No wonder Wickd likes her lol.

Regardless, Irelia is better than MF by a mile. Honestly, with the release of Draven, I'm pretty sure there is no reason to pick MF. Graves has better AoE, Draven has a better early-game all-in, Trist has a heal debuff and is actually good late game. MF is fun, but Irelia is probably the most versatile bruiser in the game. There is a reason everyone plays Irelia and she's often permabanned against CLG.EU

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Regardless, Irelia is better than MF by a mile. Honestly, with the release of Draven, I'm pretty sure there is no reason to pick MF. Graves has better AoE, Draven has a better early-game all-in, Trist has a heal debuff and is actually good late game. MF is fun, but Irelia is probably the most versatile bruiser in the game. There is a reason everyone plays Irelia and she's often permabanned against CLG.EU

There are definitely good reasons to pick MF. Sure, she doesn't fit as well into many team comps, but if you need a high-damage AoE carry in a comp with a lot of CC she will beat out Graves, she has a VERY powerful early harass and trading phase, and her mobility allows you to knock down bot early and really force mid-game with her ability to be everywhere at once. Plus she's still a good carry in her own right, so it's not like picking her is a BAD choice.

That said, she's not Irelia, this is true. Irelia, goddess of "having everything on one kit." Nerf her as much as they want: her kit alone dictates that if her numbers are ANYWHERE near useful, she'll be able to be OP.

[Eldariel]

Mercs->Triforce->Wit's End->moretanky.

Like Jax except the Wit's End is more mandatory.

You forgot Guardian Angel! You should GA after Triforce. On...like every champion who can build TF in the game. (Slight exaggeration; Ezreal and Corki generally need some more damage afterwards, but just about everybody else...)

Quick guide:

Are you top lane?:

Yes: Build whatever you want and start HUSTLINHUSTLINHUSTLEHUSTLINHUSTLIN

No: Uninstall. Now.

Yes, but against Dunkmaster Darius: Put your blades back in your box, go to tower, and cry.

Hey, I've played botlane Irelia building only swords and I did quite well for myself.

[Reynard]

You forgot Guardian Angel! You should GA after Triforce. On...like every champion who can build TF in the game.

Well, yeah. I thought that was common knowledge, so I didn't mention it.

[Eldariel]

Well, yeah. I thought that was common knowledge, so I didn't mention it.

Ah, okay, that's sensible enough.

[NineThePuma]

So, I was dorking around with the new UI, when suddenly I wanted to check my CDR and hit c and OH GOD LIME GREEEEEEEENNNNNN.


Other than that, I played 5 ARAMs last night on PBE and ended up with Caitlyn twice in a row. What's up with that?

[ex cathedra]

relia, goddess of "having everything on one kit." Nerf her as much as they want: her kit alone dictates that if her numbers are ANYWHERE near useful, she'll be able to be OP.

Hence "balance in all things." But she doesn't have more "everything" than a lot of other champions, so i get tired of hearing that.

[Thrawn183]

This just in: Thrawnyboy demands video of someone with PBE access attempting a Karthus jungle with the new jungle AP item.

Also, how well do you think an AD TF would work with the Sword of the Divine?

(I've been away from league for a while, just heard about all this new stuff yesterday.)

[NineThePuma]

I like the new sheen upgrade on Skarner. Just for "lul, slow"

[Maeglin_Dubh]

This just in: Thrawnyboy demands video of someone with PBE access attempting a Karthus jungle with the new jungle AP item.

You say that, and my first thought was "St. Viers doesn't jungle Karthus...."

Old habits...

[ex cathedra]

AD TF has zero synergy with new SotD, doesn't he? It might be interesting on Jayce, though, for the three crits at 130% AD.

Pretty sure that Karthus will still be able to jungle, but he might need to bulk up a bit. Spellvamp runes :D

[Djinn_in_Tonic]

Hence "balance in all things." But she doesn't have more "everything" than a lot of other champions, so i get tired of hearing that.

She doesn't have more of everything, true...but it's the combination of having all of them that's the issue. Physical damage, Magic Damage, True Damage, a dash, sustain, CC, more sustain, CC reduction, natural tankiness, synergy with some of the best items in the game, and a bit of AoE damage + sustain + range on her Ult make her a nightmare to get into any semblance of balance.

[NineThePuma]

The only person who I think can compete with her for "stupidly versatile" is Jayce.

[Forrestfire]

I think Nidalee is another contender for "stupidly versatile."

[Eldariel]

AD TF has zero synergy with new SotD, doesn't he? It might be interesting on Jayce, though, for the three crits at 130% AD.

Pretty sure that Karthus will still be able to jungle, but he might need to bulk up a bit. Spellvamp runes :D

Champ who has a skill that makes your attack speed 2.5 for 3 attacks, getting 100% extra attack speed doesn't seem really enticing. Now, any other AD carry on the other hand...

[McDouggal]

Just as a curiosity thing: what would you rank as the three most efficient items in Season 2?

I'm lookng for something that has disproportianate (I probably spelled that wrong) effect for the amount of time/money/slots that must be spent building it.

I have to go:
1: Aegis of the Legion (Huge defensive item, plus a bonus for your team, all for just 1920 gold)
2: Banshee's veil (Oh god, this thing can be an absolute nightmare if you're playing a burst mage)
3: Triforce (3 items in one, what's more efficient than that?)

[Eldariel]

I have to go:
1: Aegis of the Legion (Huge defensive item, plus a bonus for your team, all for just 1920 gold)
2: Banshee's veil (Oh god, this thing can be an absolute nightmare if you're playing a burst mage)
3: Triforce (3 items in one, what's more efficient than that?)

Hum.
1. Guardian Angel: If it weren't for this, Aegis would be up here. Everybody should more or less be building it. 750 HP, 68 Armor & 38 Magic Resist for 2600gp combined with the quirky interactions of the respawning, it's just ridiculous.
2. Phage: This item is so insanely good on so insanely many champions, it has superb stats for its cost (allowing skipping Doran's with a decent start if building this), it's easy to build and the slow is both, absolutely crucial and incredibly powerful on so many champs from kiters like Ezreal to champs who need to stick to the enemy like Shen.
3. Randuin's Omen: It does everything; health, armor, CDR, chasing slow, attack speed slow, slows people attacking you, builds out of a gold/10 item, etc. It's the other half to Phage for any chasing champ and it's half of what's keeping AD carries in check right now (kinda wanna list Frozen Heart too, especially since it's one of the few good mana items in the game and provides insane amounts of CDR, but Randuin is more applicable and the effect is stronger as is the passive).

Others that should be up there: Aegis of the Legion, Shurelya's Reverie, Frozen Heart, Unholy Grail, Zhonya's Hourglass, Abyssal Scepter, Trinity Force, The Bloodthirster, Phantom Dancer, Last Whisper, Quicksilver Sash, Ninja Tabi.

[Maeglin_Dubh]

I feel like such an old codger running Ninja Tabi and Ghost/Exhaust rather than Flash.

[Joran]

I feel like such an old codger running Ninja Tabi and Ghost/Exhaust rather than Flash.

Bah, if you want to be an old codger, send your AD Carry mid XD

[endoperez]

I've never built a Guardian Angel. It doesn't give Health, so I suspect I'll end up dying easier. Then, there's a good chance that even after the respawning I'll end up dead.

Which champions should I build it on? AP carry, tankj might not want it, I guess.
Should I change my playstyle at all, if I build it? For comparison, let's assume that I had the same build, but had an Aegis instead of GA. Should I take more risks? Less?

[McDouggal]

Actually, how does GA interact with the Karthus passive? Does it proc before the passive, or after the passive finishes?

[Eldariel]

Actually, how does GA interact with the Karthus passive? Does it proc before the passive, or after the passive finishes?

GA triggers bephore pass; Kart's on the short list of champs on whom you usually don't want GA since his gameplan involves dying instead. Zhonya's is a reasonable GA substitute on him (and champs who have AOE effects that work through it in general, and Vladimir). On many you'd want both tho. Champs who shouldn't build GA include Kart and Anivia and in general, champs with on-death effects you wanna use.

I've never built a Guardian Angel. It doesn't give Health, so I suspect I'll end up dying easier. Then, there's a good chance that even after the respawning I'll end up dead.

Which champions should I build it on? AP carry, tankj might not want it, I guess.
Should I change my playstyle at all, if I build it? For comparison, let's assume that I had the same build, but had an Aegis instead of GA. Should I take more risks? Less?

AD carry. Bruiser. Magus. All three roles should be building Guardian Angels. Play normal, stick with your team. The "health" it gives you is gained upon reviving. 750 exactly; most efficient defensive stats in the game in a single item. If you die in a teamfight, enemy won't have the luxury of waiting for you to respawn, as other people are attacking them giving you free stuff to do on respawn.

Don't get picked off but that's kinda obvious; you shouldn't be getting picked off whether you have a GA or not. It's even more harmful since you lose the proc if you do get picked off tho; it takes 5 minutes to recharge the proc. You can afford to play a bit more aggressive in teamfights with GA, of course, but don't get out of position or caught just 'cause you have a revive unless you're a very tanky bruiser and that's your style of initiation. Nothing wrong with both, GA and Aegis of course.

[Adumbration]

Do people really think in general that Akali counters Zed, or have I just been fortunate enough to have them pick it twice against me?

[TechnOkami]

Do people really think in general that Akali counters Zed, or have I just been fortunate enough to have them pick it twice against me?

I believe Zed is rather weak at the moment, so she can easily beat him.

New question: where the hell can Akali go, lane wise? Is she at all viable anymore?

[Adumbration]

I believe Zed is rather weak at the moment, so she can easily beat him.

Having beaten an Akali twice with Zed, I would disagree. Zed is significantly stronger early - to the point that you can 1v1 kill Akali using a little finesse - and after 6 you win 1v1 fights simply by ulting her before she can start her chain. People really underestimate Zed's passive.

[ex cathedra]

She doesn't have more of everything, true...but it's the combination of having all of them that's the issue. Physical damage, Magic Damage, True Damage, a dash, sustain, CC, more sustain, CC reduction, natural tankiness, synergy with some of the best items in the game, and a bit of AoE damage + sustain + range on her Ult make her a nightmare to get into any semblance of balance.

I meant that other champions (e.g. Jayce, Olaf, new Jax, old Jax, release Ezreal, release Graves) have more Irelia syndrome than Irelia does.

[toasty]

I've never built a Guardian Angel. It doesn't give Health, so I suspect I'll end up dying easier. Then, there's a good chance that even after the respawning I'll end up dead.

Which champions should I build it on? AP carry, tankj might not want it, I guess.
Should I change my playstyle at all, if I build it? For comparison, let's assume that I had the same build, but had an Aegis instead of GA. Should I take more risks? Less?

GA is good because in the heat of a teamfight its very hard to burst down a hero twice. This is especially true on bruisers and/or heroes with good mobility such as late game carries, who often also have PD. Furthermore, it gives your team a chance to react to your death. AD carry died? EVERYONE RE-POSITION NOW.

On tanks or bruisers it gives the enemy one more reason to not focus you randomly. Irelia with Triforce+GA can duel most AD carries by the time she gets them, assuming standard builds all around. However, GA means you can dive in without fear of dying. Peeling you off the carry takes a LOT longer.

Finally, remember during GA your CDs continue to tick down. On heroes like Irelia, who have rather short CDs on some critical spells (like Q) this means you can Q, fight, die, and q again. Its pretty amazing. BTW, this strategy works on Hourglass and is exactly why heroes like Vlad LOVE Hourglass: You can R+Q+E+W and then hourglass and Q+E again. Assuming you are spellvamping the entire fight... you become significantly tankier.

[9mm]

New question: where the hell can Akali go, lane wise? Is she at all viable anymore?

Same as she ever was, mid and top.

[Joran]

I wonder how hard it is to re-do champion voices for a skin.

I'm really liking Taric at the moment for support in draft; my normal pick, Alistar, is usually banned. He's mechanically very simple, easy for my lanemate to understand, and very powerful in laning. (I stun, I shatter, you kill him).

The problem is that appearance wise, I like the Bloodstone Taric skin, but the voice is a mismatch for the skin.

P.S. I'm sure there are other champions that are also hurting for good skins.

[Cogwheel]

I like the Bloodstone Taric skin, but the voice is a mismatch for the skin.

But it's funnier that way. That's practically the only good thing about Bloodstone Taric.