Remakes are a great way to address design issues in a champion. They also make them feel refreshing, hopefully something more enjoyable to play as and against. For example, Evelynn and Twitch were just remade to address a lot of fundamental design issues revolving around strategic stealth, while also touching up some other areas of concern. A few champions still come to mind in needing a remake, such as Karma and Sion. However, one champion that has some incredibly frustrating design is Poppy.
What's wrong with Poppy?
Poppy has two major problems with her kit. Her passive and her ultimate. Both of these abilities have a heavy burden of knowledge for new players and create a frustrating experience for players. Fortunately, Poppy doesn't seem to be a very popular champion, so running into Poppy, or Poppy running into you, isn't a frequent pleasure.
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
League of Legends: The 0 CS Support
The 0 CS Support
In the current state of the game it is almost universally played in intermediate and expert play where the support in the side lane doesn't compete with their lane mate for last hits. This allows the carry to grab as much gold for their build as quickly as possible. Because of this, supports in bottom lane are typically champions that still have high impact with minimal farm, such as Janna, Soraka, Blitzcrank, and Leona.
Who would want to play support?
With so much emphasis on farming, who would even want to play a role that relinquishes it all? Most people would prefer playing a champion that can farm and kill over a support, but this was true even prior to the 0 CS meta. I personally find more people voluntarily playing support now than in the past, though that may also be due to people's increasing desire to stick to popular trends and social pressures. Playing a support is also usually a more relaxed role than others during the laning phase, since you don't need to worry about last hits in addition to your opponents. A comfort also comes with knowing that you can still have a large impact even with fewer items than everyone else.
In the current state of the game it is almost universally played in intermediate and expert play where the support in the side lane doesn't compete with their lane mate for last hits. This allows the carry to grab as much gold for their build as quickly as possible. Because of this, supports in bottom lane are typically champions that still have high impact with minimal farm, such as Janna, Soraka, Blitzcrank, and Leona.
Who would want to play support?
With so much emphasis on farming, who would even want to play a role that relinquishes it all? Most people would prefer playing a champion that can farm and kill over a support, but this was true even prior to the 0 CS meta. I personally find more people voluntarily playing support now than in the past, though that may also be due to people's increasing desire to stick to popular trends and social pressures. Playing a support is also usually a more relaxed role than others during the laning phase, since you don't need to worry about last hits in addition to your opponents. A comfort also comes with knowing that you can still have a large impact even with fewer items than everyone else.
MapCrunch
So my friend just exposed me to MapCrunch. It uses Google Maps but removes the ability to really see where you are specifically and where you're going. When you start, you are thrown into a random place in the world. You can then freely explore as you please, or play the game of trying to find an airport.
It's odd that something so simple is fairly addicting. It gives an odd "survivor" feel if you are trying to search for an airport. Aside from that, it's interesting to see the architecture and layouts of different cities. You can find some pretty amazing buildings and can simply enjoy exploring places you'd likely never visit. I found myself admiring some person's lawn for a good five minutes, or wondering what this silo-looking building is inside a residential district.
If you're looking for some random exploration, MapCrunch is a simple but interesting pass-time. Just hit the green "GO!" button. I didn't think I'd like blindly wandering around in a random spot of the world, but I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. Now off to go look at some more interesting neighborhoods!
It's odd that something so simple is fairly addicting. It gives an odd "survivor" feel if you are trying to search for an airport. Aside from that, it's interesting to see the architecture and layouts of different cities. You can find some pretty amazing buildings and can simply enjoy exploring places you'd likely never visit. I found myself admiring some person's lawn for a good five minutes, or wondering what this silo-looking building is inside a residential district.
If you're looking for some random exploration, MapCrunch is a simple but interesting pass-time. Just hit the green "GO!" button. I didn't think I'd like blindly wandering around in a random spot of the world, but I found myself enjoying it quite a bit. Now off to go look at some more interesting neighborhoods!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
League of Legends: Popularity of ARAM
What is ARAM?
ARAM (All Random All Mid) has been a fairly popular "game mode" for League of Legends for roughly two years now. Through the early stages, the community developed the unwritten rules of ARAM, such as no backing to heal or shop, no leaving the lane, and no going into the jungle or side paths. Unfortunately, there was a lot of flaws for the make-shift mode on Summoner's Rift. The game mode had so much more potential.
The Proving Grounds
With the recent release of The Proving Grounds map, ARAM entered a new era. Riot addressed some of the limitations of ARAM on Summoner's Rift, by implementing a lot of the fundamental rules of the mode directly into the map. No longer can you shop once you leave base. The summoning platform no longer heals. There is nothing but a singular lane. Additionally, it adopted some of the mentality from Dominion, with starting at a higher level, heightened ambient gold, ambient experience and shorter respawns. Now there is a dedicated map for ARAM lovers, and it's more fun than ever.
ARAM (All Random All Mid) has been a fairly popular "game mode" for League of Legends for roughly two years now. Through the early stages, the community developed the unwritten rules of ARAM, such as no backing to heal or shop, no leaving the lane, and no going into the jungle or side paths. Unfortunately, there was a lot of flaws for the make-shift mode on Summoner's Rift. The game mode had so much more potential.
The Proving Grounds
With the recent release of The Proving Grounds map, ARAM entered a new era. Riot addressed some of the limitations of ARAM on Summoner's Rift, by implementing a lot of the fundamental rules of the mode directly into the map. No longer can you shop once you leave base. The summoning platform no longer heals. There is nothing but a singular lane. Additionally, it adopted some of the mentality from Dominion, with starting at a higher level, heightened ambient gold, ambient experience and shorter respawns. Now there is a dedicated map for ARAM lovers, and it's more fun than ever.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
League of Legends: Last-Hitting
Why should I last hit?
Last hitting is one of the most important aspects of Summoner's Rift. It is the primary source of income, especially during the laning phase. Even if you round to 15g per minion, and you kill a total of 200 minions, that's 3000g, which is enough for a Bloodthirster or 100 short of a Zhonya's Hourglass. That's one full final-tier item worth of gold with the generous estimate of 15g each minion.
The only two roles that don't necessarily get too many last hits are Junglers and Supports in the current trend of the game. Junglers spend most of their early game in the jungle, which doesn't necessarily fall under last hitting. They do, however, last hit if they end up in a lane to defend it. Supports rarely ever last hit because they are usually paired up with someone in the bottom lane, who they relinquish their farm to. They typically only last hit if their partner isn't around so the gold isn't wasted.
Last hitting is one of the most important aspects of Summoner's Rift. It is the primary source of income, especially during the laning phase. Even if you round to 15g per minion, and you kill a total of 200 minions, that's 3000g, which is enough for a Bloodthirster or 100 short of a Zhonya's Hourglass. That's one full final-tier item worth of gold with the generous estimate of 15g each minion.
The only two roles that don't necessarily get too many last hits are Junglers and Supports in the current trend of the game. Junglers spend most of their early game in the jungle, which doesn't necessarily fall under last hitting. They do, however, last hit if they end up in a lane to defend it. Supports rarely ever last hit because they are usually paired up with someone in the bottom lane, who they relinquish their farm to. They typically only last hit if their partner isn't around so the gold isn't wasted.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)