Reign of Gaming

      The community of League of Legends is often viewed as a place full of trolls, vile verbal excrement and hate.  That is probably putting it nicely too.  But there are some places in the LoL Community that are trying to have a positive influence on the game.  Elo Heaven was started by a gentleman named Ninjapanda and his goal was to help the massive amount of the player base that isn't even 1200 rating.  They do this by taking the "teach a man to fish" approach by tutoring, mentoring and helping those that want to improve.  I have been apart of their group for months now and I have seen how positive a group it has been.  I have participated in some of their own in-house games and have found the learning experience to brutal, but very helpful despite getting my rear kicked.  Learning has never been an easy thing but these guys have done a lot to try to help the community.  I want to show them off to everyone and maybe you too can find it worth your time!  

I both Love and Hate Bot Lane

     Bot lane is a really fun and interesting lane.  But no lane makes me want to rip my hair out as much as bot lane.  The combinations possible make it a dynamic lane and the effect an AD carry can have on the game is massive with their powerful scaling.  Sometimes however when you and your partner do not understand each other, you might as well be playing with a bot.  I will go over why I love this lane, but also why I wish I could actually play a solo lane. 

 

Match-ups, Revisited

     I have spoken about Match-ups before and gave an overview about how you would approach figuring out a match-up.  But as I have done champion notes, I have run into some major misunderstandings of how counters & match-ups work.  This is problematic as match-ups are important to the game, but if you and I do not have a common understanding of the concept, then my notes on match-ups will not benefit you.  So the point of this post is to create that common understanding of match-ups and what the word "counter" really means in League of Legends. 

 

 

Sightstone Nerf, but better for supports?

     With the latest patch (3.01) we saw an increase in the cost of sightstone but with it, we saw an added minor component.  While technically a nerf to the item with the cost going up, I believe the addition of a minor component actually makes it better for supports.  If your brain is screaming "Emerald, how?" I do not blame you.  This is my opinion, but I think there is enough logic to at least warrant the discussion that this change is not all bad for supports.

Champion Notes: Darius, The Hand of Noxus!

     If we were to make a poll today for the most hated and reviled champion in the league, Darius could very well win.  Few champions are as hated as him and for good reason.  Darius dumps on so many people in lane every day and is such a basic champion in design that people you think you are better than, will still dunk you.  Enter also the best kill-stealing ability in the game and he can troll his own team creating even more frustration.  We will go over the binary nature of his design and why despite his great power, he doesn't have the win ratio people think he does.  By the end of this, it should be clear why he is really powerful.  But also why he can also be so weak.

 

Elo is gone!  That's good right? 

Riot has announced a new plan that removes the current elo ladder system and replaces it with a new league system.  Is this a good thing for the game?  Does it make anyone who didn't play ranked, actually want too?  Ranked is an extremely hostile environment, is this new change actually going to make it so I don't get insulted, trolled, flamed and berated?  I am absolutely sure the last bit will not stop, but there is a lot to consider what the removal of everyone's elo number means.  

 

Champion Notes: Jax, The Grandmaster at Arms!

     According to his lore, Jax has won more games than any other champion.  Might not be true in reality, but the later the game gets, the more you get to see why he is called the grandmaster.  Jax is highly mobile, hits like a truck and it only gets worse as he gets more items.  Just about no one would ever dare to face Jax in 1v1 and it is lucky for the rest of the league that it is a team game!  His power is such that you can almost consider him a melee AD carry and that makes a threat that cannot be ignored.  If your looking to destroy people with a lamp-post or just feel incredibly manly, Jax is your man.  At least I think he is a man.   

Champion Notes: Ahri, The 9 Tails Fox!

     Few champions are as much loved and hated by the general community than Ahri.  Either for the fact she is a fast and flexible mage or for the fact she is a kinky fox who literally charms everyone she sees.  Ahri is a magic damage assassin and ability power carry.  Her abilities allow her to dive into the enemy team and kill a carry, or poke with multi-target spells.  All of her abilities but one will hit more than one target.  With low cooldowns, decent AP ratios, she can be a scary champion at every stage of the game.  Ever since her release she has been a scary mage and continues to be a slippery mage to kill and a powerful solo que & tournament champion.  

The Value of Dominion Games

     Dominion is not generally considered a highly competitive game mode (Though some take it very seriously!).  Most view it as the land of OP champions and game imbalance.  There are legitimate complaints to be had, but Dominion teaches things that other game modes simply do not.  When you read the questions people ask pros, you wonder why they are asking things like "What are your runes? Masteries? Build order? Item build?"  A lot of these things change based on match-up, based on how the game is going and what their role in the team is.  Then there is a strong focus on the laning phase.  While laning is no doubt important, I am not sure that is where people should be putting their energy into improving.  The biggest difference between high ELO and low ELO is not in the laning phase.  I am sure they are better, but they know how to take the advantages they get and turn it into a win.  Or even know how to get ahead in the first place.  But do you know how to play when everyone is equal on gold?  How to counter build?  Skirmish?  Resource allocation?  Group up and fight together?  In a game mode like Summoner's rift, there are a lot of things going on at any given time.  So if you want to focus on one aspect, it can be very difficult.  Thankfully Dominion is here and even with the issues it has, there is a lot for you to learn.

 

Muramana Might Just be OP

     Muramana is all the rage right now.  And not on the champions it was likely designed for.  Champions like Syndra can build it and have access to a crazy amount of extra damage for only a little extra effort.  But she is not the only one.  Since Muramana Syndra, other champion interactions have come up as being exceptionally strong with it.  Some better than others, but overall, it has become far more a mage item than anything else.  Riot will likely do something about this at some point, till then, we can all enjoy a new AD build for our AP carries.  

 

It just looks cool.  OP Cool.

Champion Notes: Nami, The Tidecaller

     Today we cover the aquamancer, Nami!  Nami is one of the more aggressive supports in the league.  Her abilities allow her to be a bully in lane, sustain her AD, chase down fleeing foes and even start team fights like a tank could.  This massive flexibility makes her a great support for any AD carry and a useful addition to many types of teams.  However for all her great abilities, she does have a couple weaknesses.  Nami is not as effective at saving teammates like Lulu or Janna.  While she possesses great kiting tools, champions who can get around them will still make their way to her AD.  After today, I hope you all understand Nami better!

 

Muramana Syndra- "My Potential is Limitless!"

     Syndra has a very interesting interaction between her and Muramana.  Syndra's Ultimate and Q both apparently apply on-hit affects.  This creates an extremely interesting situation when combined with an item like Muramana.  While not an item any mage would build normally, it does pose very real possibilities with her when you look at the gold value for the damage you gain. Barring the time it takes to fully stack the item, Muramana on Syndra exponentially increases damage dealt by her ultimate in a way that appears overpowered.  The staff over here at Reign of Gaming has analyzed the champion-item interaction, and we have unanimously concluded that for the time being, this build should bring Syndra into realm of viability.

 

How Supports Carry Games; Read it you "I Don't Play Support" Guy!

     Season 3 is upon us and I almost want to call it "League of Legends: Rise of the Supports!"  These guys have been dramatically improved with the new additions to the game and are by far more fun to play.  But, there continues to be people who claim "I don't have runes for support" or claim that they don't own any.  To which I say, "Bullshit."  Season 3 has brought with it a large number of great changes for supports that make them so much more fun, interesting and engaging.  I admit that supports were not as interesting in season 2, but that does not mean they are in season 3.  

If Sona and Cho can have Tea together, you can play support!

 

Lulu, The Fae Sorceress!  

     It is the most adorable champion in the League of Legends, Lulu!  Lulu is a support that comes with heavy harass and strong shields.  Lulu is probably one of the best baiting champions in the game with her shield and ultimate making an easy kill turn into an impossible one.  Her auto attacks hurt more than the average support and she can attack from angles other champions can only dream of.  Such a high skill cap support takes practice to really learn but she is a powerful team fighter and can lane very well.  

Riven: The Exile! 

     Everyone's favorite battle-bunny, Riven!  Riven is a very high mobility Fighter, with impressive scaling and damage.  Riven's complete lack of a resource allows her to trade regularly with her opponents, wasting their mana till she can go all in for the kill.  As a trade-off, Riven has no form of sustain in her kit.  But if your killing your enemy when you fight, who needs sustain?  Riven focuses as much on Auto-attacks as she does on her abilities, her passive granting her a large increase in damage.  Mastering Riven takes time, but when you do, you will have a powerful champion that can dominate games.