League of Legends: Let's Talk About uhhh??

[Jaxx]

This is a really in depth guide. I like how you added pictures to show visual range for people who aren't familiar with LoL's range numbers.

The only thing I'd recommend really is maybe suggesting a Kage's early for someone who is having a tough time and needs a little extra gold. Shame I don't have a Solomid account because I'd definitely give that guide a like.

 

[Mr.E]

AP was probably Teemo's best build in the first place. With the huge buff to Toxic Shot's on-hit portion of damage, it's pretty much a no-brainer now. Shrooms too good man. :/ Also, someone was kind enough to prove why I was right all along.

guide shit

Item "champter." "Spread the knowledge... improve their knowledge" sounds redundant.

Morgana is hardly a high-DPS caster. If anything she's more similar to Zilean than your other champions of comparison because she's a utility caster, not a carry, somewhat showing that perhaps the drop in Zilean's usage over time was unwarranted. He didn't even get nerfed, people just stopped using him for no particular reason. :[

I disagree about Archangel's Staff but it's your guide and I don't play much Zilean. 8) It's the best stand-alone mana item (Grail gets better if you have big mana or additional regen) for how ridiculously mana-hungry Zilean is and the best source of AP after Deathcap. More important than my personal opinion is you seem to contradict yourself. Zilean is a pretty safe laner because of his speed boost and revive. He also doesn't get in the middle of teamfights, so he shouldn't take much damage unless you position badly or get dove really hard. Well then what's so bad about the downside here? Does Zilean really need the total survivability package of, say, RoA + Zhonya's + Abyssal? Maybe the Tear takes too long to charge regardless, though I never had that problem in the past when I used to play Zilean more (and regularly bought Tear). Rewind makes it pretty easy to cast spells when you feel like it.

Morello's is probably better than DFG against the high-sustain champions you mentioned in its blurb. You're not going to out-duel anyone as Zilean lategame unless you build AD like a trollboss. However, MET will deny them more health via grievous wounds than DFG will deal damage to them thanks to MR, obviously making it overall easier for the target to die. It's basically just a situational version of DFG... also cheaper, offers mana regen, and the active cooldown is much shorter.

I feel like the Early and Midgame sections are a bit wall-of-text. I'd suggest at least using some small icons where appropriate to keep people's eyes from just glazing over the thing; you have no pictures at all after the warding section. Don't spam them, of course, but the first time you mention a spell, use its icon instead of calling it by name or key. This also has the advantage of allowing people to hover over the icon to see a description of the spell, if they are really new to the champion, without having to scroll to a previous section of the guide.

 

[danmantincan]

I think AP Teemo is about as viable as AD brand.

So you admit that AP Teemo is viable.

 

[shinyskarmory]

I didn't like AP Teemo before, since he was worthless in teamfights, but now I'm liking him a bit more.

Also, does anyone have a Sejuani build (just bought her after ragging on her for the last 2 months) that makes her actually bulky or deal noticeable damage.

 

[Yeti]

Mercs/Tabi depending on their teamcomp
Shurelyas
Warmogs
FoN
Frozen Heart or Sunfire Cape (if someone else on your team would build FroHeart, you get Sunfire for the armor and HP which increases your W damage)
Another CDR item (the more your ult is up the better)/if they're double AP/AD itemize for their team (get Randuins, Banshee's Veil, Abyssal if you only have one AP and they didn't get Abyssal but would like it)

As a tank, Sejuani will never really deal notable damage but you should itemize for games individually - don't stack MR if their AP carry isn't fed and is the only AP dealer on their team (get some MR but don't buy every Negatron Cloak item in the game).
Warmogs/Shurelya's then a Negatron-recipe and a Chain Vest-recipe item are core.

 

[Ampharos]

I like to get Frozen Mallet and Rylais on Sejuani, since her W (aka her damage) scales off HP and, well, it's fun to slow the enemy even more :D

 

[Yeti]

don't listen to walrein that build gives you a total of 0 resistances and a crapton of hp without armor and mr is useless.

 

[2sly4u]

Hey guys quick question: I'm pretty new to LoL (as in I've been playing for less than a week), and after buying Cho'Gath I've saved my points up, and have been thinking about buying Blitzcrank Is Blitzcrank fun to play? Also, is he easy enough to use that someone new to the game could play capably with him?

 

[Jebus McAzn]

Also, does anyone have a Sejuani build (just bought her after ragging on her for the last 2 months) that makes her actually bulky or deal noticeable damage.

build her kinda like amumu
philo/HoG/oracles early game, mid/late game go for aegis, abyssal scepter, frozen heart, randuin's, shurelya's, possibly sunfire, or even a GA if you really want to be trolly

sejuani isn't so much about the damage but more about the constant CC and aegis/abyssal are two excellent items on her because of the auras they provide

consider that a solid mid-game core that offers you a good mix of survivability, damage, and team utility while still being relatively cheap at only around 4.5k (which your farming and GP10 should be able to get since sejuani clears wolves and wraiths unexpectedly fast).

should be getting W level one since it does the most damage in the jungle, Q level 2 for AoE and mobility, and then maxing R>E>W>Q from then on since Permafrost actually has a lot of burst.

Hey guys quick question: I'm pretty new to LoL (as in I've been playing for less than a week), and after buying Cho'Gath I've saved my points up, and have been thinking about buying Blitzcrank Is Blitzcrank fun to play? Also, is he easy enough to use that someone new to the game could play capably with him?

blitzcrank is VERY fun to play because it's satisfying to hit your grabs

however, you have to be able to land your grabs first, and that takes practice

a great blitz player is game-changing and he's certainly very fun, but a poor blitz player will be yelled at, will probably lose his AD carry the lane, and will be near useless late-game

practice landing your grabs and leading your skillshots, and if you can get really good at blitzcrank as a new player, only good things will come

be aware, though, that he is a common ban once you start playing draft mode games, so you may not get to play him as often when you hit higher levels

 

[Seth Vilo]

Being an AP mage freak, reading about this new girl, Syndra, interested me. What do you guys think of her? From simple noobish reading, her spheres are kinda like Zyra's seeds to me.

Meanwhile, I picked up Kassadin recently and am loving him. I feel like Doran's Rings (which I usually get being used to champs like Ahri, Xerath, and Malzahar) slow him down a bit though in the beginning, keeping him from getting Catalyst->RoA as quick. Is this assumption right, and how do you guys play him if you do?

 

[Yeti]

want 2 fling teemo into my turret.

roit pls???????

 

[Slim Guldo]

I play pretty much only ap mid too (which is why i've been trying to learn how to do other roles so i can actually do draft pick), and I'm not really sure how i feel about Syndra. I'm unsure this thing of putting things down then having other abilities affect them, orianna's fun as hell but i really dislike how it works on zyra so I don't know how i feel about syndra. I really like her w so even if i don't like the whole sphere mechanic, i imagine there will be some novelty value in using it to steal buffs so i'm looking forward to that!

kind of wish it could pull champions though, i guess i'll just have to learn singed at a decent level to throw people into turrets.

Rengar looks cool, i've been trying to get into top lane and he seems like a very cool champ, especially because he looks like he has a lot of damage in him which is good because my big problem in top is not knowing how and when to harass and trade since being at range in mid makes it normally a lot safer, whereas in top if the opponent realises they can totally bully you around they can just hit you very easily due to melee auto attack range (for example, I tried lee sin top vs a malphite in blind pick earlier and was reduced to trying to last hit with q because he would combo for much more health than i could take from him)

 

[remlabmez]

I play pretty much only ap mid too (which is why i've been trying to learn how to do other roles so i can actually do draft pick), and I'm not really sure how i feel about Syndra. I'm unsure this thing of putting things down then having other abilities affect them, orianna's fun as hell but i really dislike how it works on zyra so I don't know how i feel about syndra. I really like her w so even if i don't like the whole sphere mechanic, i imagine there will be some novelty value in using it to steal buffs so i'm looking forward to that!

kind of wish it could pull champions though, i guess i'll just have to learn singed at a decent level to throw people into turrets.

Rengar looks cool, i've been trying to get into top lane and he seems like a very cool champ, especially because he looks like he has a lot of damage in him which is good because my big problem in top is not knowing how and when to harass and trade since being at range in mid makes it normally a lot safer, whereas in top if the opponent realises they can totally bully you around they can just hit you very easily due to melee auto attack range (for example, I tried lee sin top vs a malphite in blind pick earlier and was reduced to trying to last hit with q because he would combo for much more health than i could take from him)

Top is a pretty hard lane to learn, the snowball nature of it, how easy the lane is to gank, and being counter-picked are things you have to deal with. I would read some guides and watch some streams of some popular top lane players (dyrus, voyboy stream a lot). I have been learning top with Darius because he is such a bully and doesn't have that many bad match ups. The only down side is he pushes waves naturally while harassing so buying a ton of wards is a must.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

Meanwhile, I picked up Kassadin recently and am loving him. I feel like Doran's Rings (which I usually get being used to champs like Ahri, Xerath, and Malzahar) slow him down a bit though in the beginning, keeping him from getting Catalyst->RoA as quick. Is this assumption right, and how do you guys play him if you do?

yeah, generally you want to go for that early catalyst into RoA and forgo buying any rings altogether, as with most champions who rush RoA. by going straight for cata->RoA, you should expect to pick catalyst up around the 12-16 minute mark, whereas buying two doran's rings will delay that by as much as four minutes.

Rengar looks cool, i've been trying to get into top lane and he seems like a very cool champ, especially because he looks like he has a lot of damage in him which is good because my big problem in top is not knowing how and when to harass and trade since being at range in mid makes it normally a lot safer, whereas in top if the opponent realises they can totally bully you around they can just hit you very easily due to melee auto attack range (for example, I tried lee sin top vs a malphite in blind pick earlier and was reduced to trying to last hit with q because he would combo for much more health than i could take from him)

top lane is definitely one of the most farm-centric lanes in the game. i've had games where teamfights have broken out around the map and i've been farming top against my lane opponent until the 30 minute mark.

top lane is really about individual skill, moreso than the other lanes, in that you really have to know the ins and outs of your champions. you have to be able to exchange harass while winning trades; every little advantage counts in top lane, and if you're mechanically good at your champion, most top laners have some sort of kill potential once they hit 6.

just ward, ward, ward. pick up a ward, if not two, every time you go back, and keep that river constantly warded. make sure to CS constantly and use what your champion is best at to win trades. for example, lee sin can crush malphite early game before he starts stacking armor, so use that to your advantage and zone him early, if you're not killing him outright.

 

[Thorns]

top lane is not about skill at all at the highest level, it's about managing the creep wave and literally the champion matchup (it's the easiest lane to counterpick which is why so many times switch their lanes around to avoid being hard countered)

managing the wave is most important because top lane is probably the easiest lane to gank (even with wards)

mechanical skill is only relevant below tournament-level play, and at that point it matters a lot more in mid and bot than it does at top

sources: xypherous, wickd, dyrus, hotshotgg, reapered

 

[Jebus McAzn]

top lane is not about skill at all at the highest level, it's about managing the creep wave and literally the champion matchup (it's the easiest lane to counterpick which is why so many times switch their lanes around to avoid being hard countered)

managing the wave is most important because top lane is probably the easiest lane to gank (even with wards)

mechanical skill is only relevant below tournament-level play, and at that point it matters a lot more in mid and bot than it does at top

sources: xypherous, wickd, dyrus, hotshotgg, reapered

i'm going off the assumption that we're not tournament-level players

i mean at that point it's more about team coordination, since in tournament games nowadays you have teams like M5 and azubu blaze doing level 4 dives top lane with your jungler and your mid lane and there's no amount of mechanical skill that'll save you from that

but yeah, i totally agree. knowing how to manage the wave is extremely important. it's why i love playing irelia, since you can freeze the lane incredibly easily and get two to three levels on your opponent without ever having to kill them.

 

[2sly4u]

*snip*

Thanks for the advice! I ended up buying Blitz and I love him (well, after the first game since now I can actually land power grab lol).

 

[MagicMaster87]

Finally got my first ever pentakill! Sure, it was just an ARAM, and sure, I was Morde so it was moreso their fed Twitch's ghost's pentakill, but it was so satisfying when I finally instagibbed him when he foolishly facechecked a bush and then just watching their entire team melt.

 

[Jebus McAzn]

THE 1400s - where your team can do double jungle with a BR Darius, have Lee Sin troll half the game, and still carry a 1v2 bot lane.

 

[Firesong]

please talk more about top lane!
i started playing about a month ago and, perhaps this was unwise but i have played a lot of champions (and every role except tank i believe) over this amount of time so i don't really have a "main" and i'm not very good with any one champ. the reason for this was because i didn't want to devote time into becoming good with a particular champ and later on decide i didn't like them. but i think i've finally decided that my favourite places to be are top lane and in the jungle, and my favourite champs are people like riven, fiora, olaf etc.

i've noticed that all these champs tend to snowball really hard; even if you don't get any kills early game, so long as your CS is good it seems like you're still a force to be reckoned with mid-late game.
but umm, any advice for playing riven, pretty please? i have read guides on lolpro and solomid although i've never seen anyone stream her

 

[Go10]

Yo, i just wanted to ask why Vayne isnt played in tournament. I know she's squishy and need to be protected with CC since she doesnt have any escape etc, but I think its somewhat strange that the most powerful carry AD's being ignored like this.

 

[Rayquaza2233]

Yo, i just wanted to ask why Vayne isnt played in tournament. I know she's squishy and need to be protected with CC since she doesnt have any escape etc, but I think its somewhat strange that the most powerful carry AD's being ignored like this.

High skillcap, not as strong in lane early on, Graves exists

 

[Jebus McAzn]

please talk more about top lane!
i started playing about a month ago and, perhaps this was unwise but i have played a lot of champions (and every role except tank i believe) over this amount of time so i don't really have a "main" and i'm not very good with any one champ. the reason for this was because i didn't want to devote time into becoming good with a particular champ and later on decide i didn't like them. but i think i've finally decided that my favourite places to be are top lane and in the jungle, and my favourite champs are people like riven, fiora, olaf etc.

i've noticed that all these champs tend to snowball really hard; even if you don't get any kills early game, so long as your CS is good it seems like you're still a force to be reckoned with mid-late game.
but umm, any advice for playing riven, pretty please? i have read guides on lolpro and solomid although i've never seen anyone stream her

abuse your strong early and mid game. riven farms really well, has a great one-two harass combo that trades well because of her shield, and also has an incredible amount of burst at level 6 with ult and ignite. laning just takes practice and i'm not a riven player, so i can't help you much there. farm up, generally go bloodthirster+guardian angel as your core. wriggle's is optional, as is hexdrinker, although Maw is usually part of any Riven's late-game build. in team-fights just beeline for their AD or AP carry and 100-0 them.

Yo, i just wanted to ask why Vayne isnt played in tournament. I know she's squishy and need to be protected with CC since she doesnt have any escape etc, but I think its somewhat strange that the most powerful carry AD's being ignored like this.

she's really good and it's mainly that she doesn't have the burst to trade well with other ADs at the moment (ezreal, corki, graves)

doublelift plays her in tournament games though

rayquaza: vayne starts eating graves past level 6-ish
of course the hard part is getting there

 

[New World Order]

please talk more about top lane!
i started playing about a month ago and, perhaps this was unwise but i have played a lot of champions (and every role except tank i believe) over this amount of time so i don't really have a "main" and i'm not very good with any one champ. the reason for this was because i didn't want to devote time into becoming good with a particular champ and later on decide i didn't like them. but i think i've finally decided that my favourite places to be are top lane and in the jungle, and my favourite champs are people like riven, fiora, olaf etc.

i've noticed that all these champs tend to snowball really hard; even if you don't get any kills early game, so long as your CS is good it seems like you're still a force to be reckoned with mid-late game.
but umm, any advice for playing riven, pretty please? i have read guides on lolpro and solomid although i've never seen anyone stream her

Okay, I've only played Riven about 10 times so I'm by no means an expert. But basically you avoid looking for fights early and just farm for a bit until you have all your abilities. Then if the opponent comes looking for a fight, stun+AA+broken wings (AA between each strike). Save your shield for gap closing/escaping if someone comes to gank you. If you have your ult up. activate it as soon as you have them stunned and you will certainly win the trade, if they get too far, execute with wind slash. If you know for sure you can win duels, shield to close gap then stun immediately and start autoattacking. Save broken wings for gap closing. If you have your ult then activate it right before you close the gap. Her ult has a super short cooldown so don't be reluctant to spam it. Also spam broken wings/dash when running away/to your lane since it's basically free boots and the cooldown will be over by the time you get to lane.

Also one item I find particularly effective on her is Black Cleaver, since you're normally just focusing on beating down one target, that armor shred will build up very quickly. I usually grab one right after Bloodthirster. I don't know why all of the guides have Last Whisper instead of Black Cleaver since LW is more for AD carries, but I'm a pre-30 noob and am probably missing something.

 

[Rayquaza2233]

Black Cleaver applies an armour debuff on autoattacks, LW gives you armour penetration with all of your spells. Riven's an AD caster so you'd want LW to get a higher average damage, BC has a ramp-up period where you have to be AAing a single target to get the maximum benefit.