Reign of Gaming

The curiosity for me is more about Lichbane in general.  So far in my testing it seems A LOT better as a general item.  Whacking off 475 gold from the cost, adding a base damage and making it magic sure seems like a much improved item.  And, it offers movement speed increase for mages, who usually don't have an item to give them that. 

I could actually see a lot of mages going for it soon as a first or second item instead of a niche item it was before.  It even has synergies with the new DFG on burst mages.   

He is also gaining the extra AP from having lichbane.  It also serves as a great item for continual magic damage, as you can proc it every 2 seconds and Lichbane, unlike sheen, benefits from your magic pen now.  TF typically builds it because he has short CD's and only 2 damaging spells. 

So the real question is, does the extra damage from going raw AP give you more damage than the proc from the new lichbane (and its AP) and if it does, how many procs from lichbane do you need to overcome the raw AP advantage? 

You never leashed wolves before, they do hit harder but the main reason is, why not?  It is generally free exp/gold to help you clear faster as you have 15 seconds before blue even spawns. 

I blame the lack of junglers on the fact that not everyone actually has a lvl 30 account or jungles.  It is shocking to me to see so many junglers when I do get one, to start with blue and not do wolves at all. 

I want to play the mids with all the new item changes, but I actually see little reason not to jungle on the PBE when I see how bad junglers are on the PBE. 

The other reason no one really wants to play jungle, is likely due to the unevenness of the lanes on the PBE.  When every lane is losing, it is hard to do anything as a jungle.  When every lane is winning, it is too easy.  "Normal" games are difficult to come by as a result, you are either getting fed or feeding. 

Void staff is always a standard in mage builds I feel.  80 AP and that penetration makes all the penetration you had before that much better in S3.  Especially for sustained AP.  

Lichbane was changed to also have a base value of 50 and scale at 75% of AP on the PBE.  I can see it as a first item now that Deathcap is worse.   

In Season 3, Kennen will be a lot better.  New items like Liandry's torment will be brutally effective on him.  Combine that with better mage scaling in general from itemization and formula changes, you get a scary pikachu. 

Trying stuff out in the PBE is painful due to the mixture of players.  That said, if your on the PBE, you know what happens there.  I have been playing on the PBE in the hopes of trying out AP's with the new items and I have done that despite the games I have gotten. 

I do not disagree on that point, as Riven has a very strong early game.  However the threat of ganks is even more worrisome as the jungler does not need to kill you to create an advantage for his teammate.   

As I stated below, HP5 is not generally considered a form of sustain unless some effect is making it way above normal.  While 10 is a great base HP5, many start at around the 6-7 area.  Higher than normal yes, but it does not mean she has sustain like champions who have built in heals or lifesteal. 

1. I'm afraid that HP5 does not count as "sustain" as while her HP5 is higher than most, it is not generally what I mean by sustain.  Fiora has more HP5 due to her passive and Warwick has monstrous sustain.  It isn't so much misleading, as a different definition.  Passive lifesteal and kit based ways to get health back are generally what I mean by sustain. .  Also, shield isn't sustain either, it is damage prevention.  

3.  I know that people generally max W first, but it is less simple than that for bruisers and top laners.  If your winning hard, Q's damage might be better.  If your losing, you might need to level E is what I meant.  

4.  It was an example about what you do.  Why would you start dorans?  That sounds like your asking to be ganked early.  Even if they don't kill you, that's damage you can't heal back.  Either way, I meant it as a direction for how to think about the skills.  What you level is more dependent on what is happening than your plan.  Riven might not go brutalizer as a first item, but when they see my 80+ lvl 1 armor Fiora, they do :p