Reign of Gaming

 

The Reasons we Play League of Legends

League of Legends has been an unbelievable success for Riot games.  They didn't just make a successful game, they made it the biggest in the world.  For my final article here at Reign of Gaming, I want to talk about why I think we really enjoy playing League of Legends.  Unlike many posts around the world, I actually want to celebrate League, not point out what is wrong with it.  It did not become the game it is because it has no faults, but because it does so much, so well. 

 

It has been fun RoG!

 

Morello Might be Right on Bruisers

     I know that it is cool to hate on the developers at Riot about how they deal with imbalances in League of Legends.  I certainly have my own issues with Riot's design team, but I really cannot seem to disagree with Morello on Bruisers.  There was a lot of mental effort on my part to see if Riot was missing something about melee, but in the end I agree with Morello.  Hopefully by the end, you can see why I ended up agreeing with him. 

 

Nerves Problems?  You Are Not Alone

One thing people never talk about is nerves.  Those little butterflies that creep into your stomach and the shacking of the hands when things get tough? Nerves impact every game from League to the NFL. It doesn’t matter who you are, nerves can cause you to fail when you normally would succeed. The most important question is, how do you deal with them?

Imagine the nerves if you were here!

 

Yasuo's Ultimate: Pain to Balance, But I Want to See More

Yasuo's Ultimate is interesting in how it interacts with the rest of the cast.  I like how there is not only synergy in the nature of Yasuo's kit, but how the team around him directly changes his kit.  This kind of inter-teammate synergy is relatively new and I want to see more of what Riot can put out using this idea. 

 

Why I Hate Riven (And Champions Like Her)

I hate Riven, but I also love her.  More than anything, she represents various design decisions that I really dislike and can be unhealthy for the game.  This is not about a champion being overpowered, but some champions are infuriating and continue to be even after they have been nerfed.  Riven just happens to be the one that really bugs me.  Let's see just why I hate Riven (and Champions like Her). 

So cool...BUT....

 

The New Vision Game, More or less Vision?

The preseason brought about a huge change in the vision game.  The new trinkets give everyone free wards but it also gives everyone a way to sweep the wards.  With all 5 members of a team participating in the vision game, will we have more or less vision than previous seasons? 

 

 

     The level of confusion regarding the Meta-game and what it means is astonishing.  Some people view the word "meta" is an evil bogey-man that means they cannot play what they want or that it is a magical catch-all for things they do not understand.  I really want to clear up some of this confusion so that going into Season 4, we can have a real understanding and discussion about the concept of  a meta-game.

Screw the meta, I like her!

Champion Notes: Ezreal, The Prodigal Explorer!

Ezreal is a super slippery AD carry with a large number of skillshots and probably the greatest flexibility with regards to item builds.  His mechanics, build paths and general play style make him about as safe a general pick as you can get for an AD carry.  He is fun, challenging and powerful, what more can you ask? 

It looks just like Ezreal, but I swear there is something slightly off.....

 

Role Selection: The Biggest Change to the Game in a Long Time

      Role selection is, in my opinion anyway, the biggest change to League of Legends in a very long time.  It completely changes the nature of how many people play the game and creates opportunity for people to actually practice what champions they want, in what roles they want.  How many times have you logged on wanting to play a specific champion but never could due to pick order or instant locking in blind pick?  Want to play Cassiopeia mid?  Too bad3 is the most common answer.  It would take multiple games before you could get Cassiopeia mid in the first place and if you want to master the snake lady, you would need many games on her.  Not easy when playing her mid is so difficult with other people wanting the same role.  Role selection solves that problem and a lot of others.  I believe this is the one of the best overall addition to the continued success of LoL and so much more. 

About damn time this changed!

Champion Notes: Tristana, The Megling Gunner!

     Today we cover one of the classic attack damage carries in the game, Tristana!  Tristana is about shooting things hard and often.  She is also uniquely suited for surviving in situations almost any other AD would die in.  Then when she lives, she kicks on the big damage with one of the highest attack speed buffs in the game.  I have grown to love shooting things and you should too!

 

 

The Big Words in Champion Design: Counter Play

 Riot has made a big push with all of their new champions and redesigns to have one element: counter play.  New champions and remade champions all have this in common.  If Riot has made counter play a fundamental part of their game and champion design, what does that mean and how does it affect champions?  Hopefully by the end of this, you can understand why Riot has made counter play so important to their game. 

Some have a lot of counter play and some do not.  Which ones do you think?

Champion Notes: Elise, The Spider Queen!

 Today we cover the elegant and deadly Elise.  Elise is a hard champion to classify but saying she is a mage assassin is a good start.  Elise has been played in professional games in every role but AD and there might even be an argument for that somewhere.  Such role flexibility and general effectiveness has made Elise a common competitive pick for a long time.  With such unparalleled flexibility, she is a fantastic champion to know.

Champion Notes: Amumu, The Sad Mummy!

We cover the saddest champion in the league, Amumu! Amumu is a jungling tank that has one of the best ulitmates in the game and terrifies people in team-fights.  Amumu is not a complex champion but he is exceptionally efficient at what he does.  Amumu is one of the best champions to pick for anyone who wants to play an effective jungle tank that fits into almost any team composition.  If there is one tank to get to know, it is probably Amumu.

  

 

Bot Lane Positioning Mistakes

Today's article is straight forward, I am going to talk about positioning in bottom lane with regards to common mistakes.  This will take the form of a video post though!  Click on the article to access the video and give a listen.  Hopefully your butchering AD carriers and supports afterwards!  

 

 

Target Selection: The Hows and Why's

 You would think picking the proper target in a team-fight would be easy.  The AD carry must always die first right?  Or is it the AP carry?  Surely not the support?  The problem is that picking the right person to kill first is not that easy.  There is a general order, but you pick who dies based on the team compositions and how the game is going.  Then there is positioning and item builds.  It is no wonder people often go after the wrong target at the wrong time.  Hopefully after this article it will be clear that diving the enemy carries is not always the best strategy.