Speaking of beta, I really hope all of you Smogonites get a chance to try at least one game or two of Dominion before it comes out. I played 6 games over the past 2 days (hooray for odd class scheduling!), and I had an absolute blast. Here are my 2 cents on it so far:
- Games are about 15-25 minutes long, generally around 18, just like Riot said they'd be. This is great if you don't have time for a potentially hour long Classic match.
- Tanky dps, as usual, dominates the game. However, there is a passive, global buff everyone gets where you have increased Armor and Magic pen. I was able to solo a Malphite as Brand today, which normally wouldn't happen in SR since he likes to build bulky.
- Stealthies actually don't suck. I saw Twitch go legendary simply because he waited for someone to try to back door and completely gimped him. There's also less distance to cover, from my perspective. But less distance means...
- Movement is critical. Champions like Rammus or Riven can move about the map so fast. Rammus is being banned in Dominion Draft every time. Twisted Fate and Pantheon, and to a lesser extent Nocturne, seem very potent to me as well, but they aren't targeted as much.
- Champions that are good at 1v1, such as Jax, Akali or Tryndamere, are also insanely powerful. Look at the LoL forums and you'll find EVERYONE is crying that Jax is OP. It could be because you gain exp and gold so fast so rushing that first item isn't so long anymore. As Nocturne, I just start with a Brutalizer and tear through 2-3 people capturing or defending a point. Duskbringer shaves about 1/3 of almost every champions health at lv 3, lol
I can't wait until Dominion is released. It'll definitely give everyone a break from the standard 5v5. It's a lot more action oriented since farming is pretty much non-existent. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did so far.
- Games are about 15-25 minutes long, generally around 18, just like Riot said they'd be. This is great if you don't have time for a potentially hour long Classic match.
- Tanky dps, as usual, dominates the game. However, there is a passive, global buff everyone gets where you have increased Armor and Magic pen. I was able to solo a Malphite as Brand today, which normally wouldn't happen in SR since he likes to build bulky.
- Stealthies actually don't suck. I saw Twitch go legendary simply because he waited for someone to try to back door and completely gimped him. There's also less distance to cover, from my perspective. But less distance means...
- Movement is critical. Champions like Rammus or Riven can move about the map so fast. Rammus is being banned in Dominion Draft every time. Twisted Fate and Pantheon, and to a lesser extent Nocturne, seem very potent to me as well, but they aren't targeted as much.
- Champions that are good at 1v1, such as Jax, Akali or Tryndamere, are also insanely powerful. Look at the LoL forums and you'll find EVERYONE is crying that Jax is OP. It could be because you gain exp and gold so fast so rushing that first item isn't so long anymore. As Nocturne, I just start with a Brutalizer and tear through 2-3 people capturing or defending a point. Duskbringer shaves about 1/3 of almost every champions health at lv 3, lol
I can't wait until Dominion is released. It'll definitely give everyone a break from the standard 5v5. It's a lot more action oriented since farming is pretty much non-existent. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did so far.