League of Legends

[Thor]

A high level shen is VASTLY different from a normal player shen.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by Thor

A high level shen is VASTLY different from a normal player shen.

Fair enough. I just know that even though he was free this week, I wasn't impressed with a single Shen who got picked, for or against.

I am only lvl 15 and playing people as such though, so only one perspective.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by Thor

lol how old are you?

QUIET VIRGIN.

I think the best thing to do is gank someone in a bush and then pokemon it up.

A WILD SION APPEARS!

[SHOGUN]

Played Shen against Yorick at mid... damn he's hard to push out of lane. Maybe because I'm a noob at Shen or is Yorick just generally a stronger laner than Shen? Early game, he kept constant aggro on me with his ghouls and eventually drained my health to low making me recall more than necessary. Eventually Yorick carried his whole team...

[CaramonLS]

Was playing as Gangplank vs. Gragas in the top lane - what a stupid match up. Gragas is a complete bully who was push you right out of the lane and under your turret. I'm good at dodging those stupid barrels now, but he can just obliterate creeps - my harass was completely useless against him.

We ended up winning the game, but you had to gank him out of the lane.

[kirant]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Was playing as Gangplank vs. Gragas in the top lane - what a stupid match up. Gragas is a complete bully who was push you right out of the lane and under your turret. I'm good at dodging those stupid barrels now, but he can just obliterate creeps - my harass was completely useless against him.

We ended up winning the game, but you had to gank him out of the lane.

Gragas is in an odd position...he's considered a tank by the staff, but he's basically a tanky AP carry by practical standards. His R alone can destroy a team fight if used properly. However, because of the difficulty in using him, he's largely ignored.

A pure AP Gragas is one of the meanest opponents you can face.

[Blaster86]

Originally Posted by kirant

A pure AP Gragas is one of the meanest opponents you can face.

You need to be amazing at the game to make Gragas effective. He's ridiculously hard to use against anyone that knows how to juke if you're new.

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Was playing as Gangplank vs. Gragas in the top lane - what a stupid match up. Gragas is a complete bully who was push you right out of the lane and under your turret. I'm good at dodging those stupid barrels now, but he can just obliterate creeps - my harass was completely useless against him.

We ended up winning the game, but you had to gank him out of the lane.

What is your build out of curiousity?

[spetch]

what is everyones name in game? I love this game (until D3 anyways)!

Cheezor & Cheez0r our my two.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by cDnStealth

What is your build out of curiousity?

Tank build.

Started with Wriggles, then Warmogs then Atmas then Wits End then Frozen mallet. While facing him I had finished wriggles and was building the Warmogs. I know I probably could have been a better counter if I started with Trinity force, but it is crazy expensive.

GP is pretty expensive to build - way more expensive then some casters and with this you really don't do much in terms of damage output until the end.

I like the build for the versitility it provides - I'm only level 16 and playing with pugs - half the time you have no idea if you've got a jungler or a tank as a lot of people really try to stack AP or AD. I find that I rarely get pugs smart enough to build decent tanks or off tanks, so I just assume the role.

At the time if his barrels hit (he was stacking in AP and armor), he would do about 1/4 of my life, but I was able to dodge most of them after a while, it didn't matter because he pushed the lane at the same time, clearing out all the creeps. Even if I was meleeing him, it was pretty minimal damage.

My poke (parrrrrley) was almost completely ineffective too.

[CaramonLS]

Coltaine00
(that is with two zeros)

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Tank build.

Started with Wriggles, then Warmogs then Atmas then Wits End then Frozen mallet. While facing him I had finished wriggles and was building the Warmogs. I know I probably could have been a better counter if I started with Trinity force, but it is crazy expensive.

GP is pretty expensive to build - way more expensive then some casters and with this you really don't do much in terms of damage output until the end.

I like the build for the versitility it provides - I'm only level 16 and playing with pugs - half the time you have no idea if you've got a jungler or a tank as a lot of people really try to stack AP or AD. I find that I rarely get pugs smart enough to build decent tanks or off tanks, so I just assume the role.

At the time if his barrels hit (he was stacking in AP and armor), he would do about 1/4 of my life, but I was able to dodge most of them after a while, it didn't matter because he pushed the lane at the same time, clearing out all the creeps. Even if I was meleeing him, it was pretty minimal damage.

My poke (parrrrrley) was almost completely ineffective too.

I very rarely build GP tanky but I suppose I can see why you had trouble. Going with a tank build against Gragas I would think you should have gone for a Force of Nature first because magic resist is key. As I said, I don't build him tanky and him being a carry items are super important. Parley is awesome because you get an additional 4 gold on every minion or creep you kill with it.

If your willing to step away from tankplank build the following:
Off the start grab a Sapphire Crystal and health potions. The extra mana will allow you to use Parley to last hit some more minions and the health pots will save you from having to waste mana eating oranges. Once you have enough go back and get a Sheen.

Then get:
Boots of Lucidity
BF Sword
Zeal
Turn BF Sword into either Bloodthirster or Infinity Edge (I usually get a BT first because it's cheaper and to build my stacks earlier but if I have enough money saved for an IE I'd go with that)
Upgrade Zeal to Phantom Dancer
Infinity Edge/Bloodthirster
Finish Trinity Force (or depending on the other team get a Banshee's Veil or Warmogs)

Sometimes I'll skip a defensive item entirely and go for a Black Cleaver if I find I am not being focused in fights. With this build your Parley will deal some pretty massive damage with just the IE and PD.

[cDnStealth]

Originally Posted by CaramonLS

Coltaine00
(that is with two zeros)

Somebody is a Steven Erikson fan. Mine is the same as my forum name.

[SHOGUN]

Anyone wanna play with me?

Summoner name: K1MURA

[kirant]

Haven't used it in a while (often used to just pick up free IP), but one of my test accounts was "7uongo". Will have to check back on the rest.

[NuclearFart]

I've been trying this game out for the last couple of days and it's alot of fun, despite getting my butt handed to me pretty good most games.

I gotta say this thread reads like another language though. WTF is AP, ganks etc?

[Raekwon]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

I've been trying this game out for the last couple of days and it's alot of fun, despite getting my butt handed to me pretty good most games.

I gotta say this thread reads like another language though. WTF is AP, ganks etc?

Damn feeder . . .

[NuclearFart]

Originally Posted by Raekwon

Damn feeder . . .

Hah someone called me that the other day when I died twice in a row to that annoying little girl with the grizzly bear.

[CaramonLS]

Originally Posted by NuclearFart

I've been trying this game out for the last couple of days and it's alot of fun, despite getting my butt handed to me pretty good most games.

I gotta say this thread reads like another language though. WTF is AP, ganks etc?

Haha, took me a while to learn the language too. Check out the some of the websites like Solomid and there are some awesome guides on how to build characters, glossaries, which champs play which lines, etc.

AD = Attack damage
AP = Ability Power

Top lane = Usually played by an AD, but also can be played by AP, usually builds with a more tanky style, so they can hold the lane against a possible agressive push and survive against a gank. This lane is soloed, sometimes people will say "solo top". Gangplank is a good champion to do this, can also be done by Viktor (AP), Lee Sin (AD), Morgana (AP), Dr. Mundo.

Top lane will be with 2 people if you do not have a "Jungler".

Jungler = Person who kills creeps in the jungle and ganks (usually an AD character, such as Lee Sin, Dr Mundo, Fiona, Tryndermere, Rammus, but can be an AP character, like Fiddlesticks). The reason why you would have a jungler is because it allows the person soloing top to get more XP and more gold. It can be very evident early game.

For example, lets say you are playing Gangplank solo top vs. 2 people. Likely they are pushing the lane and you might be hiding under your turret somewhat (which leaves them opened to be ganked, as the jungler can hide in the bushes). Depending on the players, if it is 1v2, the 2 might not be as worried about their total health and may be more agressive, allowing you to catch them off guard.

You can also hit level 6 (get your ultimate) when they are level 4. With a well timed gank (your jungler will be level 5 or so, depending on which char he used) and you can usually kill both of them.

Mid: Usually an AP character, Ryze, Anivia, Morgana, Ahri, Ziggs, Karthus. Sometimes an AD character Talon (Talon is a very good Hard Counter), Teemo, Kassadin. Semi tanky, high damage caster.

Bottom Lane: AD Carry (Attack damage char that gets really high damage later in the game and farms items - i.e. Ashe, Miss Fortune, Kog Maw) + Support (i.e. Soraka, Janna). It is almost always 2v2 in the bottom lane.

Gank the lane: basically means that you are going to send someone to another lane to outnumber them and be really agressive.

Towerdive: Attack a champion within the range of their towers, very risky and should only be done when you have enough experience, certain skills and abilities cause the tower to aggro you even if you have creeps on the tower.

Feeder: Someone who plays aggresively (or dumb) and feeds (gives the enemy kills) in the early game. Not only does it give the enemy experience, but tons of money to buy items.

Overall, for a newer player, it is better to play extremely defensive than to play offensive and die a lot.

That's the extreme basics of League from what I've learned so far. I would encourage you to check out the solomid forums, lots of template and a lot more in depth stuff.

[kirant]

Some basics:
- Abilty Power (AP) is used to power your, as the name implies, abilities. That's all it is capable of. For this reason, AP is frequently used to power up characters who's job it is to get in close, drop all the abilities, then run off (often called "Nukes"). The level your abilities are powered up per AP is predetermined and the level that it goes up is criticallly looked at by fans. A low scaling and you're relegated to criticism for being unable to catch up later (often made up for by being able to dominate earlier).
- Attack Damage from items is used to power your automatic attacks. Some characters will also have their abilities improve off of attack damage as well.
- Use the League of Legends Wiki to determine what your character needs. Some have absolutely no need for AP, while some will find little use for AD.
- Look at the character's "stats" assigned to them by the staff. For example, a character like Annie (the girl with the bear) is assigned high "spell" stats, with low "attack" and "defense" stats. This means that she'll be a bigger threat with your abilities than when she physically attacks you. High "Attack" stat means they'll focus on physically bringing you down (auto-attack), high "defense" will likely mean their job will be to outlast you, "spell" means they'll use their abilities to great effect, and high "Difficulty" characters will likely be more of a risk-reward project. Some, such as Lux, don't have the ability to be as consistent or rely on a secondary trait (Lux on timing and precision when aiming, since her abilities don't automatically track targets).
- Crowd Control: Think "debuff" from other games. Crowd control limits your character's ability to do...anything. The key types are stun (unable to move/attack), slow (slower movement speed), and silence (unable to use abilities)
- There are some types of character builds to be familiar with:
-- Melee/Ranged: Pretty obvious stuff. One note is that melee characters often to more damage
-- Carries: A carry is a character expected to have a slower early game, but will effectively win a game at the end (Carry the team on their back). Each team will likely have 3-4 carries, one focussing on spell/ability damage, one on auto-attack damage. These characters often play in the middle lane (where they can level up fast), or in the bottom lane.
-- Tanks: A tank is a character expected to make themselves a threat. Because you can basically ignore an opposing character in a team fight if they aren't a threat, it's a Tank's job to BE a threat. Some, like Rammus, will do this by laying down taunts (forcing them to be attacked), while some will throw down crowd control, or physically block out the screen in one case.
-- Nuke: Effectively your "mage" of the game. Overlaps frequently with the AP carry, a nuke is a character you want to get into combat, drop all your abilities, then hide until you can use your abilities again. These characters often build specifically in AP alone
-- Support: A support's job is to make the rest of their team better. These characters rarely, if ever, play alone in a lane because they don't have high offensive power and can rarely take hits on their own. The use of them is what they can do to other characters. For example, Sona probably won't deal much damage herself (well, that's another story...assume it's true for now), but her abilities can make allies deal more damage, restore their health, and speed them up. The key to a support is always the usefulness of their abilities, not the damage it can deal. The identity of this role fluctuates a bit as there are many ways to "improve" the team. Some use auras to buff the team...some heal the team...one turns other characters into fluffy rabbits! I'm a bit gushy on this role since this is basically my primary style.
-- Jungler: A slightly esoteric role to play. A jungler doesn't use the main game, which is the mooks running out of the base, as experience. Instead, he goes into the forested areas and kills the creeps in the forest for experience. Both teams will have one generally, and it is their job to negate the other jungler and execute ganks. As Caramon mentioned, ganks are effectively assassinations. One character (often either the one in the middle lane or the jungler) will attempt to ambush a champion who's vulnerable (low health, too far ahead, etc)...or at least bully them around.
-- Assassin: A character that relies on cashing in on opportunities. Unable to keep up in a regular fight for whatever reason, an assassin can take down low health targets or beat up on someone out of possition. This job often mixes with junglers as jungling will give you the ability to move into any lane and attempt a gank.

Another key note is to watch when you attack enemy characters. When you do, all AI of the enemy will focus on you. Generally, you're at the bottom of their priority, but this changes if you attack a player. This is dangerous early game as if they hide under a tower, you're going to be eating those shots...and about 4 will kill you.

Some general playing notes:
- Use wards. Mostly a support's job, but wards help you identify where characters are. Not knowing where someone is can kill you easily. For this reason, people often ask you call players. If someone is missing and you think they've gone elsewhere, use the conversation keys to notify them (Often in the form of "[lane] MIA").
- Don't be overzealous in attacking. The closer you are to the other team's towers, the easier it is for someone to sneak in between your tower and theirs and perform a pincer strike (gank).
- Prediction is key. This is something that you'll learn over time, but you can eventually feel when you're too far ahead and are in danger
- Focus on getting money early. Practice "last hitting", or attacking a mook when they are at low HP. Getting items to make you better is key.
- If you have manual aim abilities and are advancing, use them to search bushes. League of Legends has the unique ability to hide in them and people use them as much as possible.
- In the laning phase, avoid death when possible. Lost experience sucks. If you think you can recover lost HP over a little bit of time, but can't risk fighting up front, hide near a turret. Since their HP probably can't eat the shots either, you're a bit safe. If you're really low on HP, use the Recall (B) spell from under the turret (or walk back if you think they'll attack you). Losing a tiny bit of experience is better than dying outright (since killing gives gold and you lose experience anyways when dead)...you'll be back faster, you can spend your money, and you deny them the satisfaction and gold of killing you.
- Buy Boots (the basic ones) early. Movement speed is key in this game.