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The Summoner's Guidebook: Why you shouldn't always buy Deathcap on LoL casters
Once upon a time (OK, a few weeks ago), I was playing an ARAM as Diana. I had a fairly bad score (I'm passive and don't chase kills), and we lost. One of my teammates blamed me, claiming my item build was awful. It was largely because I didn't build Rabadon's Deathcap. Deathcap is one of the perennial caster items in League of Legends. Not only does it give an enormous amount of ability power, but it also increases all of your ability power (including what it grants) by a whopping 30%. This seems so ridiculously powerful! Even though it's expensive, 30% increase in AP is such a huge boost to damage that it can't be beaten. Is this really the case, though? In Summoner's Rift, I completely agree that Deathcap is a great item. In Twisted Treeline, Wooglet's Witchcap (the replacement item for Deathcap) is also incredible. However, in Dominion and ARAM, the fast-paced action and frequent conflicts change the nature of the wizard hats considerably.
Game Dev Tycoon, Bleed, Riot head up batch of six at Steam Greenlight
Steam revealed today that Game Dev Tycoon, Bleed and other standout titles are featured in the latest batch of games to earn community approval and platform distribution rights through Steam Greenlight. Green Heart Games' simulation title Game Dev Tycoon earned a devoted following upon its release last month for its clever in-game approach to anti-piracy protection. Bootdisk Revolution's Bleed, a one-man effort that premiered for Windows and the Xbox Live Indie Games service late last year, combines frantically paced platforming with time-bending, quadruple-jumping gameplay mechanics. Other games to pass through the latest round of Greenlight approvals include ConcernedApe's open-ended RPG Stardew Valley, The Leonard's "playable documentary" Riot, AustinHand's survival horror title The Legend, and Aterdux Entertainment's Kickstarted strategy-RPG Legends of Eisenwald.
LoL video previews 3.7 patch, introduces Custom Item Sets
Instead of just rolling out a wall of text to discuss the changes and updates hitting League of Legends in the 3.7 patch, Riot Games offers players a video preview to get a glimpse of what's to come. And among the goodies is one of the most player-requested features -- Custom Item Sets. Want to create a specific set of items, tailored to individual champions and/or maps before you get into a match and the fighting begins? Or how about just browse through the entire item shop on PVP.net just to see what's available? Both will be possible with the new Custom Item Sets feature. Initially, these custom builds will be stored on players' local machines only, but the devs plan on adding server-side storage in the future. The video also discusses some balance changes to the champions Rumble, Twisted Fate, Caitlyn, and Nunu. Check out the specifics after the break.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Teaching ourselves LoL matchups
I'm always looking for things to teach players in the Summoner's Guidebook. We have, however, covered a lot of the low hanging fruit in one way or another. In League of Legends, and virtually every other asymmetric competitive game, matchup knowledge comprises the huge bulk of information that is truly useful to read about. This week was originally going to be a counter-Ryze guide, but then I decided to cover a broader topic to help reach more people. I don't really like discussing specific character matchups largely because the character you're using matters almost as much as your opponent's. What does Ryze do against Kassadin in lane, for instance? The answer is not a whole lot if the Kassadin is decent. I could write a counter-Kassadin guide, but a lot of it wouldn't be usable by Ryze. Instead, this week we'll discuss how to think about the opponent's kit and develop a strategy to win on your own (or at least survive).
The Summoner's Guidebook: How do assassins work in League of Legends?
In case you didn't notice, the title of this week's column is a question. It's not because I know the answer; it's because I've been thinking a lot about it lately and don't have a really good answer. Assassins are in a strange state when it comes to teamfights. In League of Legends, there's a period when teams tend to group up to fight over objectives. This marks the midgame in Summoner's Rift, it happens after altars unlock in Twisted Treeline, and it occurs anytime both teams know where the other team is on the Crystal Scar. We've discussed teamfights a lot already, but what is troubling is the presence of assassins in these fights. Assassins are best when they're able to jump in and kill an unprepared target, ideally before a teamfight starts. Once that's done, their team can jump in with a numbers advantage and take the objective or wipe out the enemy. When both teams are grouped up ahead of time, assassins lose a lot of their might. Assassins can't kill without exposing themselves to heavy risk, which makes them a liability to their team until they jump in. After they jump in, they're still likely to be the first ones to get focused down. What do we do about this? What's the solution? I don't have a clear answer -- but I can still share my observations.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Playing LoL's new ARAM mode
Many of you already know what ARAM is -- it's a phenomenon that is hardly exclusive to League of Legends, and even in MOBAs where there isn't a map built for it, ARAM matches are played. Before the 3.6 patch, I tended to play ARAM matches either before or after my normal play sessions. I typically played a couple of games of Classic or Dominion, with a game or two of ARAM either before or after. As I've mentioned in the past, I enjoy ARAM as a way to unwind and practice without stress. Patch 3.6 changed this by removing the Proving Grounds, replacing it with the Howling Abyss, and making ARAM a dedicated gametype with its own matchmaking. Now I play probably twice as many games as before, typically 8 to 10 ARAM games with no other matches. As it turns out, even I'm vulnerable to casual fun. The 3.6 patch also added in quite a few cool features that make ARAM much, much better than the pick-up custom games. I think that it's a great addition to League of Legends, especially for those who aren't particularly hardcore.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Support in League of Legends doesn't mean healing
Out of all the roles in League of Legends, support is the most misunderstood. People expect supports to be similar to healing classes in other games, the kinds of characters who knit sweaters and cook dinner while the real warriors go out and fight on the front lines. When people first learn about the metagame, they often have the mistaken impression that because the support doesn't farm, there are fewer expectations of the playstyle. However, supports are less like MMO healers and more like the shortstop in baseball. He's not a baseman, but that gives him flexibility to be where a baseman can't be. He's constantly in the thick of the action, and his team regularly relies on him to make plays. In League, the support's freedom from farming gives her the freedom to roam, to fish for aggressive opportunities and shut down the enemy. She can even wander into mid lane or the enemy jungle in search of these opportunities. Far from a shrinking violet, the support is one of the biggest playmakers on her team. I got my start in LoL playing support, and it's a role I inherently understand well. I'm not really happy making aggressive lane plays and would prefer to relax and let my mechanics win my games for me (hence why I like ADC), but when thrust into the role of playmaker, I do reasonably well. For team leaders or just people who like to make others play by their rules, support is the role of choice.
League of Legends player goes pro to pay rent
What would you do if you were kicked out of your house as a teenager with nothing but a bicycle, a computer, and a tiny bit of cash to your name? Most people would probably answer, "beg on a street corner" or "curl up and cry forever," but not League of Legends player Yiliang "Doublelift" Peng, who decided he was going to make ends meet by becoming a full-time pro gamer. Seems like a long shot, right? After all, pro gaming isn't what most people would call a reliable source of income. But somehow, he pulled it off, becoming an integral part of pro-gaming team Counter Logic Gaming in the process. Peng's story is so remarkable that the folks over at Machinima.com have put together a short documentary video that highlights Doublelift's rise to power in the League of Legends pro scene. It's something of a rags-to-riches story for the gaming generation, and whether you're a fan of e-sports or just a fan of uplifting success stories, it's certainly worth a watch. And as it happens, you can find the video past the cut, so why don't you check it out for yourself?
The Summoner's Guidebook: It takes skill to right-click stuff in League of Legends
I've mentioned in passing that my favorite role on Summoner's Rift is ADC, otherwise known as "AD Carry" or "ranged DPS." This might be a bit of a surprise for some of you. Typically in League of Legends, the jungler is the playmaker, and if not, the support is. The playmaker roles seem like more suited to me, especially because I write guides on how to make plays. The ADC is the opposite of a playmaker. She's incredibly reactionary, relying on others to start things so she can finish them. Bruisers, tanks, junglers, mages, and supports all have tools to make things happen, but not the ADC. I didn't learn to love carrying right away. It was sort of an evolutionary process, moving from support to mid to never-playing-SR-again to top to jungle to ADC. One of the things I love about ADC is that you can't be good at it starting out. You can be better than the people you're playing against, but you can't be good at it at all. The huge technical curve, more than anything else, is what attracts me to the role.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Reworking three League of Legends champions
The Karma rework was probably one of the most-anticipated events to happen in recent League of Legends history. Karma was a character that was well-liked by the whole community but was almost universally seen as bad. With a surprising change to her model and lore as well as her ability set, Karma has risen from the ashes as an entirely different character. The changes to Karma are similar to the changes to Evelynn, in that Riot completely removed an old character and transplanted someone else that superficially resembled the old character in her place. However, I was really surprised when Riot decided to rework two additional champions as well. The studio took Trundle out of the jungle and into the frozen mountains of Freljord, reworking his kit to reflect the changes in his lore. Sejuani, on the other hand, was much like Karma: a champion that didn't mechanically fit. Little changed about her lore, but she decided to put on some clothes and storm off to Summoner's Rift as a new woman. But are the changes to these three characters good for the League, or were the characters better off staying the same?
Research firm says Dota 2 tops League of Legends [Updated]
Look out League of Legends: You've just been knocked down to second place. DFC Intelligence has determined that Valve's Dota 2 is now the most-played online game in the North America and Europe, with LoL in the number two spot and World of Warcraft in a distant third. DFC made this claim based on its PC Game Meter service, which draws data from multiple sources. The service does not include browser and casual games in its report. Update: Riot Games contacted us to say that DFC has retracted the report press release. GamesIndustry also posted the following update: "According to a Riot Games spokesperson, League of Legends sees 'over 500,000 peak concurrent players every day on just the EU West shard,' which doesn't even touch on players in the United States. This is contrasted with the 325,879 players that Valve's Steamgraph shows as the all-time high for Dota 2 beta."
The Summoner's Guidebook: Dealing with emotional stress in League of Legends
League of Legends is a frustrating game. As much as I portray myself as an unfeeling robot in the Summoner's Guidebook, I am not a paragon of precise execution and flawless decision-making. I've mentioned that I experience rage at my fellow players just as much as the next person. In fact, I probably get upset when I play more frequently than a typical player does. As many of you have probably noticed, I take League of Legends pretty seriously. I don't screw around or play oddball characters. I don't like the idea of "playing for fun," even though I like to have fun as much as the next person. Saying "I play for fun" is just an excuse to dodge responsibility for my failures, and I don't like to play that way. I like to think that my contribution in a game matters, and two to four other people are counting on me to play my best. Even though that responsibility is hard to carry sometimes, it's better to shoulder it than to mindlessly mash my face on the keyboard and expect a win. The problem is that sometimes it wears on me. I will frequently play only one game in a day if that one game ends up causing me a lot of frustration. It isn't about winning or losing; it's about dealing with the emotional frustration that comes from a game outside my control.
League of Legends turns the spotlight on Karma
A game like League of Legends relies heavily upon the ability to rebalance characters. Sometimes you'll wind up with a particular champion without the necessary abilities to really work in any role, obviating any serious use of that character. But the development team can always rework the character, which is exactly what's been done to the latest spotlighted champion, Karma. With a reworked set of abilities centered around her ultimate skill, Karma's got a new lease on life, or at least being a multi-role support character. Karma's new playstyle heavily revolves around use of her Mantra ability -- her passive ability reduces its cooldown, and all three of her other abilities are modified when Mantra is activated first. The focus of her abilities is on slowing enemies and protecting allies, but with careful use of Mantra and her skills she can hold her own in a straight contest. Take a look at the full spotlight video past the break for build strategies, tricks for the early game, and more useful information.
The Summoner's Guidebook: The best ways to ruin a gank in League of Legends
In League of Legends' Classic mode, jungling is my second-most preferred role. I prefer ADC first, since it is very taxing on attention and raw skill matters more than strategy. However, as a jungler, I can impact the game more meaningfully. While being ADC allows me to usually win the game in spite of awful teammates, jungling helps me prevent those awful teammates from throwing the game away. When I'm going for a gank, there's nothing worse than someone mucking it up for me -- except when I screw it up myself. It's frustrating when I ping for a gank and my mid lane proceeds to engage and die to his opponent before I get there. It's even worse when I run through a place that I know is warded, attempt a gank anyway, and get jumped by three opponents. Sometimes a gank wasn't meant to be, but most of the time, we botched it all on our own.
The Summoner's Guidebook: League of Legends' hardest choices
Sometimes League of Legends gives us hard choices. As a jungler, I'm frequently tasked with the difficult decision of whether to gank or counter-jungle and where I should do so. After a lost teamfight, you also have to make a lot of decisions about how to turn the game around. Should you buy elixirs? Should you try to farm and stall the game out or force another teamfight in a better position? These are all difficult choices. However, most players have to deal with the toughest question of all: Which champion should I unlock next?
Riot rules on League of Legends Elo-Boosting, alleged DDoS attacks
Riot recently celebrated the five-million-concurrent-players milestone, but it seems that not all of those players are on the level. League of Legends' competition committee has dropped the smack down on a number of pro players due to Elo-Boosting. The company defines Elo-Boosting as "the repetitive and intentional act of an individual playing on someone else's account (a "client") for the purpose of artificially improving the client's Elo rating." Seven players and one coach, representing pro clubs that include Curse and compLexity, have had their accounts suspended for 14 days. Additionally, the cheaters have had their Season Two rewards revoked. Riot also issued a "first and final" warning to Good Game University general manager Sam "Hexo" Bouchard for allegedly using a DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attack to disrupt an opponent's internet connectivity. The LoL competition committee provides an example of Bouchard's antics and it also notes that he currently boasts the worst harrassment rating among all LCS North American players. [Thanks Officer Jenny!]
League of Legends hits the five million concurrency mark
League of Legends is a runaway success train with no brakes and millions of passengers, it seems. Riot Games announced that the title "regularly exceeds" five million concurrent players across the globe, which is an increase of two million since last October. "We're humbled by the support of players and now more than ever feel the weight of those expectations," Riot Games wrote on its website. "Good luck, have fun, and please have mercy on our servers." Of course, that number would be a little higher if all of League of Legends' 32 million monthly players would log in at the same time. If someone can organize that flash mob, we'll be first in line to salute the achievement.
The Summoner's Guidebook: Staging the perfect comeback in League of Legends
The chips are down and you're behind. The enemy has only two turrets down, and your inhibitor turrets are barely standing. Your own jungle is warded, and the only thing that lets you know your enemies aren't going for Baron is that you can see them charging up your mid lane. We've all had those kinds of games in our League of Legends career. While I'm a big advocate of surrendering early, there are those who want to fight until the bitter end. Is there any chance of winning? Maybe, maybe not. This week, we'll look at how to win games when you've probably already lost.
Riot in the streets, at a desk, in your hand: An indie documentary game
"Riots are powerful. They are moments in which lots of different people blend into a unique and cohesive mass to fight for their freedom. It is something that you cannot pursue for yourself, but only for a greater good. How can that not be incredibly emotive?"Designer Mattia Traverso approaches rioting as an intense, human experience, from both sides of the kevlar: Rioters take to the streets for freedom and glory, while the authorities fight back in an equally fervid attempt to retain order. Riots are masses of thousands of stories about people, and Riot is a game about humanity.Traverso, creator Leonard Menchiari and programmer Ugur Ister's Riot has raised almost triple its $10,000 funding goal on Indiegogo, and it still has 10 days to pull in more money. Money that the Italian trio will use to travel the globe, seeking out and documenting riots in Italy, Greece, Egypt, Russia and other countries, interviewing rioters and law enforcement officers, gathering videos, photos and eyewitness accounts – then throwing all of that into the game."Phisically visiting these places and joining the live riots is fundamental," Traverso tells me. "One cannot describe something he does not know, and that is something that the 'serious' movie industry knows very well: You need research. How could we even claim to describe such an important topic without having lived it multiple times or having talked with the rioters or the police?"
The Summoner's Guidebook: The little stories League of Legends creates
Recently, one of you guys asked to see more personal stories showcasing my experiences in League of Legends. Normally I'm not as fond of doing that sort of thing unless there's a moral in the story somewhere. I like teaching, so that is what the Guidebook does a lot of. The column's name is the Summoner's Guidebook for that reason, after all! However, I was thinking about it when I was playing last week, and I ended up playing a really great unranked, blind pick game. The outcome was very close, and the overall dynamics of the game were a firm reminder of why I play League of Legends. There was no "mid or feed." It began with good communication by our team and good sportsmanship by both teams at the end. In my mind, that makes this story one worth sharing with you.
