I was really happy to receive this video from a friend today, particularly because it fits so well with the slight content shift you’re going to see at the site. Both DotA 2 and League of Legends have their roots in a game that was originally developed as a map mod for Blizzard’s Starcraft. While this video from Machinima doesn’t cover the history in full detail, it does give a nice overview of one of the fastest growing segments of the video game industry.

If you’ve ever done any kind of work on a video game, you probably know how difficult it can be to track down bugs. Hell, just reproducing a bug can be a pain in the ass. That’s the beauty of the internet. With a game like LoL, Riot has a couple million people reproducing bugs every day, like this little gem from Jedidwag. In the video above you can see the magic behind one of the crazier ult bugs in the game: Garen’s Demacian Justice.

I’ve been hit by my share of questionable Garen ults, but I always chalked it up to lag or animation timing or whatever. If Jedidwag is right, though, Garen’s ult has a reproducible bug that dramatically increases the range. When Demacian Justice is cast while Garen is spinning it will land on the target even if that target moves out of range. There are some restrictions on the distance, but you’ll notice some truly insane distances in the video above.

The Shyvana Spotlight is out, as is the character, giving us the first look at the latest champion to join the League. I’m not surprised to see Trinity Force show up on the recommended build for her, but I did think it was cool to see a Guinsoo’s Rageblade on her. I can’t help but wonder if that will be the optimal build, or if players will just build the typical tanky build.

It’s hard to say how I feel about her based on the spotlight alone. She seemed to be doing decent damage, but she doesn’t have any of the more conventional nuke skills. She reminds me of Skarner in that way – appears to do solid damage without any really exciting skills.

I tend to avoid characters like Shyvana, mostly because I have trouble estimating just what I’ll be able to do in a fight. In a lot of the encounters in Phreak’s video I probably would have backed away from kills that he was able to secure. I’m not sure what it is about the slow trickle of death, but it just doesn’t turn me on.

I’m hoping to get a few games with her today to see how she actually feels. Check back for more on the League’s first dragon.

It’s long overdue, but the Trundle Champ of the Week wrapup is finally here! I went with a little more casual commentary style based on some feedback. Let me know if you prefer it to a more scripted style.

My first few games with Trundle went so amazingly well I couldn’t help but think the League’s only real troll might be a little overpowered. He’s incredibly quick in the jungle, has the tools for ganking early, has the damage output for sustaining into late game – where are the weaknesses? His one weakness is probably that he’s melee. Seriously. I think that’s his only weakness.

The flipside to all of that is that no one plays him. Like, no one. In the 50 or so games I’ve played and recorded, I’ve been the only person to play Trundle. I think this is mostly due to the fact that his skills are not exciting. You don’t take big chunks out of your opponents. You don’t get to stun people. If you miss your pillar by the slightest amount it continues to stand as a lasting monument to your failure. His ultimate is utterly boring.

Despite all that, he’s still powerful. In the video above I show a lot of different ways that Trundle contributes to the team. I think the most important thing you can do for a team as Trundle is to build tanky. Get an early GA and then follow up with some damage. The GA allows you to tower dive early and survive into late. It de-prioritizes you as a target in those early teamfights, which gives you the freedom to choose your targets carefully, make the best use of your ult, and rip through a team.

Skills and Items
When I play Trundle, I like to focus on beefing up defensive stats and debuffing enemies with Rabid Bite and his ultimate, Agony. I level Rabid Bite first, and then alternate between Pillar of Filth and Contaminate. Both skills provide great benefit with each level, so I just go back and forth, grabbing his ultimate at levels 6, 11, and 16.

For items, I get a Wriggles, Merc Treads or Berzerker’s Greaves (don’t forget, Contaminate gives him CC reduction), Guardian Angel, and Trinity Force. If the game goes beyond that point you can either get a Banshee’s for survivability or the damage item of your choosing. I would personally go for Infinity Edge, but if the enemy team doesn’t have much in the way of Exhaust or Ignite, go for a Bloodthirster. You will probably be the last man standing more often than not, and that Bloodthirster only adds to Trundle’s sustain.

If I Could Change One Thing
If I could change one thing about Trundle it would be his ultimate. The skill is definitely strong in its current form, but I would like to see it offer a little more punch. I think Riot could easily shift more damage to the front end, improve the animation a bit, and increase the cooldown. Yes, increase the cooldown. I know his ult is great for killing dragon and Baron and the occasional golem if you’re low on health, but it’s just too boring in its current form. I think we would see a lot more Trundle players if he was just a bit more exciting to play.

Don’t forget to Subscribe to the Fearless Gamer YouTube channel for notifications when my newest videos are up. I should have Veigar later this week but I am heading out of town for a wedding so I can’t promise anything.

I realize it was a bit of a tease to post that I was playing Dominion yesterday without a full writeup. Well, there was no writeup because I was busy making this video! It’s a full game of Dominion with lots of commentary by yours truly.

For those of you at work or who can’t otherwise watch the video, here’s a quick summary. Bascially, Dominion is pretty cool. I only got 4-5 games in yesterday, so my impressions are based on limited experience, but still, it was a lot of fun.

There are loads of new items in the game, which you’ve surely seen in the store on Summoner’s Rift. There’s also a new buff in the game, which is pretty much my one complaint about Dominion. The buff gives the bearer’s attacks a nuke proc and also grants the bearer a shield that refreshes if he isn’t hit for 10 seconds. At max rank it’s a 525 hp shield. I think it’s a little broken, but I explain more in the video.

Check out the video, and as always, comment, subscribe, and like the video if you enjoyed it.