Category: league of legends (Page 150 of 163)

LoL: Should TT have a separate ELO system?

March 31, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I’ve spent all of my game time over the past two days getting to know Twisted Treeline. It’s a very different playstyle, different enough that I don’t feel like I’m even close to mastering it. I’ve been playing with the same friends I played with on Summoner’s Rift, and while some of them have been successful, others have struggled to learn the map and the new game.

A red post on the forums answered the question most people have been asking: will Treeline have a separate ELO? The answer is no. The two maps will share the same ranking system. For now, I can’t say this makes sense. I’m not saying we should start back at ground zero – the first few months would be a total mess. Instead, why not take the current 5v5 ELO and apply it to Treeline and let it update independently of the 5v5 system.

From what I’ve seen, some people will pick up Treeline very quickly. Others are going to take a very long time. I’ve seen so many ridiculous comps it makes me wonder how we’re at the same ELO. Granted, I solo queue a ton, but I’m more than 60 games above .500. The best explanation I see is that the game is completely different in a 3v3 setting. People who quickly migrate between those systems shouldn’t be matched against players that think Fiddle/Gang/Anivia is a strong comp.

Development, league of legends

elo matches matching system matchmaking matchmaking system ranking twisted treeline

LoL: 3v3 impressions

March 30, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I haven’t had a ton of time to spend on Twisted Treeline so I’m just going to give you my initial impressions. Treeline is a very different experience from Summoner’s Rift. It’s much faster, much more combative, and for me, a lot more fun. It does have its setbacks, though. The list of potentially successful champions is pretty short and certain team comps just don’t stand a chance.

For now, the strategy on TT seems to be buff control at the two major buff locations, lizard and dragon. The buffs provide large amounts of gold to the controlling team and some welcome DPS boosts for all of the early game ganking. When building your composition, be sure you have the ability to rip down those neutrals fairly quickly. I played a game today against an Annie/Kayle/Ryze comp. They struggled, to say the least.

Other than that you need your basic CC along with early killing power. Mundo does extremely well, especially if he gets enough regen. Sion is another great choice, as is Ryze, Shaco, Jax, and Gragas. Early game burst is key to your gold generation and helps you free up the map for pushing. Towers have much lower health in TT so they’re easily pushed. You need to be aware of a team’s pushing potential and try to defend. Leaving your inhibitor turrets undefended for even a short period of time can be the difference between a win and a loss.

Really, TT is all about teamwork. That Annie/Kayle/Ryze comp was brutal at level 6. We’d open up on a target, Kayle would ult, and we would almost always die instantly. As the game progressed, though, we had enough MR to withstand the initial burst and they didn’t have much left. It was just a matter of time before we aced them repeatedly and pushed straight to the nexus.

league of legends, News

treeline treeline impressions treeline matchmaking treeline release tt twisted treeline

LoL: 3v3 Matchmaking goes live!

March 30, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I got a nice surprise when I logged in for a quick game over lunch – 3v3 matchmaking is LIVE! Yes, the long awaited Twisted Treeline has finally entered live play. It’s going to be a strange new world in the tiny map. This really does change the dynamic of the game in a big way.

If you haven’t played on Treeline, you’re in for a bit of a surprise. Melee toons do very well, to the point that most think Mundo and Mordekaiser are severely OP. It’s really a matter of selecting a team that’s durable enough to withstand some damage and still dish out enough to wipe three people.

3v3 is where you’ll find me for the next couple weeks, testing out different characters and comps. First project – Heimerdinger.

league of legends, News

3v3 3v3 matchmaking twisted treeline twisted treeline matchmaking

LoL: The push strat

March 29, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

It can get a little boring running the same teamfight strategy over and over, so I like to switch things up. Lately I’ve been running a heavy push strat with a couple friends, and though we’ve been taking our time learning it’s still been a lot of fun. Here’s a quick run down of a few of your options.

When you’re going for a push strat you want to have at least one tower down under the five minute mark, but preferably a second if you can manage it. Your team comp focuses on early game durability and push. When four people surprise push a lane it’s very hard to counter without a lot of ports or quick action. Alistar is a must for keeping creep waves healed and his ability to rip up a turret. You should also take Sivir along for obvious reasons. Personally, we’ve been rolling with a Heimerdinger as well to keep up the push. He is great at mowing down minion waves to set things up. From there it’s pretty much your pick. Janna is great for AOE crowd control on your opponent and her AOE heal can grant you some extra push time. You can take Warwick then for his global attack speed buff or Taric for heals/aura and Radiance for pushing.

I’ve not tried a game with Taric yet, but the Warwick game does seem to work well. I’m planning to try Taric at some point this evening and I’ll drop some comments when I know a little more.

As for summoner spells, you need to have a few rally flags for the early game push. It keeps everyone healed up and gives you the extra damage you need to push. Taking Clarity and Heal can also keep a push alive. Basically you want your mid toon, in this case Heimer, to push the opponent back to turret. At level three you rush four people middle to take the first turret and the second if you have the health. Then it’s back to lane for farming and leveling until you have a minion wave prepped to take another turret.

If you can get an inhibitor down in 15 minutes you’ve done your job. The super minions are extremely difficult to manage at low levels which forces the other team to clear them, giving you the time to push at will. In the end it’s all about coordination. If you communicate well and move as a team you should be able to give your opponent a painful game.

league of legends, Strategy

alistar best push farmer heimer heimerdinger lane combos push push strat pusher quick win rally rush strat Strategy strats

LoL: The state of Heimerdinger

March 28, 2010 / Jeff Morgan

I had a nine-game winning streak going just the other day. Nine games. It was great to look at my summoner profile and see so much green. Unfortunately the tenth game I drew a 20-minute 0-6 Taric. You can imagine how things went from there. I decided to end my quest for the elusive ten-game streak and go on a Heimerdinger bender. Here’s what I found out.

As great as Heimer used to be in mid, he was always easily shut down. The old turret system required too much time to be effective and was easy to counter. You were also dead if you left those turrets for any reason. Now things are different. The ability to drop red turrets at will gives you great DPS if you’re in a pinch and allows you to set up lanes much more quickly.

I like to start off mid by alternating turrets and rockets. I’ve had a little trouble with some of the ranged DPS, but once you get to level four you can push minions back easily and place turrets as you will. I tend to bury mine in creeps to make them a little harder to target and keep them close enough to attack as many enemy creeps as possible. By level five you should be pressing your opponent to his tower with little trouble. Start watching for ganks – they’ll be coming if the other team is intelligent.

From there you’re just trying to burn down that mid turret. I can easily take a turret before the ten minute mark. If your opponent leaves you alone, keep pushing. Encourage your teammates to join you if you can. I recently had a game in which I had aegis by the eight minute mark. We were knocking down the nexus before 19. It was insane.

For teamfights you should be trying to stay out of the mix. You want to be dropping as many turrets as possible for both the damage and the MR/AR reduction and the potential slow. Whatever you do, do not underestimate that slow. It will save your ass. It will save your team. It will get you kills.

As it stands, Heimer is an excellent pusher. I think he’s a great candidate for heavy AP builds, but I really prefer to run around blowing up turrets at level 5. If you were a Heimer fan in the past, give the new version a shot. I’d be shocked if you didn’t like it.