It worked out well that I didn’t have time to finish off my Blitzcrank wrapup last night. I hadn’t yet seen the Champion Spotlight Riot put out sometime yesterday, which was for everyone’s favorite steam golem. I wrote the majority of this prior to seeing Phreak’s spotlight, but I’ll add in a couple notes where I think it’s appropriate.

After spending more than a week with Blitzcrank, I was happy to find that the steam golem still has some life in him. In my earlier posts I was frustrated by the tankiness of a lot of my enemies. Later in the week, though, I got set up against some more average comps, which made Blitz feel a lot more fun.

Part of my early issues with Blitzcrank were my build, too. I was messing around with Manamune too much, and he just doesn’t need it. While it’s definitely cool to see more than half of Blitz’s health bar turn to shield when Mana Shield procs, it seems like a waste to build around a skill that only activates when you’re close to death. Honestly, a Sheen rush is plenty to give Blitz that little extra durability when he needs it and provide some much-needed extra damage. If you level his Power Fist first, you should have plenty of opportunities to make use of Sheen’s extra damage.

I want to make sure to point out that Blitzcrank deals excellent damage, thanks to the short cooldown on Power Fist and the fact that it deals double damage. Blitzcrank can crit incredibly hard while still remaining fairly tanky thanks to Mana Shield. That said, he requires farm like any champion, and he can have a pretty rough time farming in lane.

This is where I think it’s good to talk about Phreak’s spotlight for Blitzcrank. You’ll notice he’s teamed up with Alistar for just about every grab situation he’s in. Later clips he’s got a Shen and the improved Nasus Wither to keep targets close. Also, take a look at the health levels of the targets he’s grabbing. Notice a trend? They’re all low maximum health targets. I’m not saying the spotlight was rigged, just that you need to know that a lot of fights probably won’t go like that. When they do, it’s a blast. When they don’t, it can be frustrating, but if you can hold out and farm, you can take down even the tanky targets.

If I could change one thing about Blitzcrank it would be the passive on his ultimate. It’s nice when you’re fighting a single target, but it’s kind of awful in lane. It messes up my last hitting rotation just as often as it actually last hits and it gives away my position in brush. Thing is, he still needs the damage output. The simple burst and silence really isn’t enough. Maybe still an electrical arc that shreds armor? Something that isn’t seen from brush?

Blitzcrank is an amazing champion to play if you know how to be patient, not just in each individual game but from game to game. Not every game is perfect for Blitz, but if you can wait for the right games and wait for the right hooks, farming up in each game as you go, you can be a strong asset to your team. The simple fact remains that there is probably nothing in this game that’s quite as fun as pulling an enemy over a wall, away from a tower, straight into your teammate’s arms.

I’ve been spending my time this week with Blitzcrank, a champion I cut my teeth on way back in the day. Blitz was always appealing because of the huge dopamine hit I get whenever I land a hook. It just…feels…so…good. More than that, a good Blitzcrank grab can determine the outcome of a fight, or at least I used to feel like it could. While I’m still having fun with Blitz, I can’t help but feel like he’s a little outclassed by the new crop of Tanky DPS champions.

It used to be that a hook under the tower was a kill on most of the damage dealing characters in the game, unless they could pull off a nice Flash. Thanks to new tower-tanking mechanics and tankier champions, I feel much less confident in my ability to land a kill under the turret on anything but the squishiest of champions. Against the squishy champs, Blitz still feels amazing though. There really is nothing quite like landing a grab in the early game for first blood.

With the increased survivability of several of Blitzcrank’s opponents, it’s really important to have a strong lane mate. In most cases, any stunner will do, but having a character with heavy harass by your side means you become a much greater threat to your opponent. When I hook full-health Jarvan, for instance, he stabs me and smacks me twice and I’m at half hp. When I hook a half-hp Jarvan, though, he immediately thinks about running away. If you’re interested in playing Blitzcrank, make sure you bring a friend with some solid harass.

I’ve also had some trouble convincing my teammates to gank at level one, and I can’t figure out why. When I see a Blitzcrank on the enemy team, I usually run for cover at level. I’ll hang around turrets, hoping my team has a CV and knows how to use it. For whatever reason, though, my teammates have been fleeing the scene when I try to gank in the early game, which is where Blitz really tends to shine. I woul encourage any budding Blitzcrank player to play extra nice in the early game so that your teammates are more likely to lend a hand. It’s tough getting solo kills early in the game, but not so bad if you have a team surrounding you.

Check back this weekend for the Blitzcrank wrapup. I think I have some decent ideas for giving Blitzcrank a little boost without turrning him into the OP champ of the month.

It’s time to burn one of my favorite champions for the Champ of the Week. I’ve had a good time playing some champions that aren’t in my regular rotation over the past couple months, but I would love to get back to someone that’s right in my wheelhouse. This week’s Champ of the Week is none other than Blitzcrank, the Steam Golem.

I’ve written before about just how much fun I have when playing Blitzcrank, and little has changed about that. He’s one of the most stalwart champions in the League, catching the occasional mini-buff but rarely seen as needing a nerf. He’s also one of the most unique champions out there, providing a benefit to the team unlike any other champion.

I’m going to focus on a few things over the course of the week. First, I need to get back to farming well with Blitz. The last few games I’ve played with him my farm has been atrocious. I used to be excellent at farming with him, too. Secondly, his build. I’ve always been a Sheen believer, but I haven’t played much Blitzcrank since the introduction of Manamune (a shame, I know). I want to spend some time focusing on maximizing Blitzcrank’s early kill potential and hopefully increasing my early game farm.

Check back later in the week to see how Blitzcrank stacks up against the game’s best lane champions. Also, feel free to drop any questions or advice you may have in the comments. May the hooking begin!