29.5.11

League of Legends the Movie - Trailer HD

Fan made movie trailer of the game League of Legends. Real footage of what the adapted movie WOULD look like

League of Legends - iLoL movie

21.5.11

Solo Queue Tier List updated

by Elementz on Thursday, May 19th 2011 - 12:56 / 27699 Views /
So due to people misunderstanding my list and taking it the wrong way etc.. Also due to some popular demand and a self-realization that I should have probably done this a long time ago. Here comes my Solo Queue Tier List!

This list will compile all the champions into tiers that I will explain later in the post. This is about how great of a champion they can be in solo queue and how well they can be played overall. This list isn’t about “picks” or drafting. It’s about how good a champion is in Solo Queue. I emphasize Solo Queue because Draft Mode 5v5 is a lot different and they should have two separate lists. This list will be mostly revolving around how good a champion is at Soloing, Jungling, Early game,Mid game, and team fighting ability. It will have almost nothing to do with Late Game which 90% of competitive games go to. Majority of solo queue games end between 20 and 30 minutes. So this is what this list will be focusing on.

SOLO QUEUE ADVICE – Always remember to build a balanced team that is strong in all 5 aspects of the game. Get two strong solo’s, a strong duo lane, and a strong jungler and your chances of winning will increase drastically! If you’re not 1st or 2nd pick please pick accordingly to the rest of your team. Communication in pregame chat is the key to success! If you have an AD and an AP carry then the remaining roles of Tank, Support, and Jungle need to be filled! It’s the best way to become a great League of Legends player by having a well rounded group of champions you can play! Master all aspects of the game and not just one!

* Tier 1 – Twisted Fate, Alistar, Eve, Corki, Teemo, Vayne, Nidalee, Nocturne, Jarvan IV, Irelia, Ryze, Renekton, Urgot, Janna, Malzahar, Kassadin, Swain, Karthus, Warwick, Vlad, Singed, Amumu, Shen,

* Tier 2 - Ashe, Jax, Caitlyn, Tristana, Shaco, Olaf, Cho’Gath, Casseopia, Udyr, Annie, Sion, Lux, Zilean, Akali, Trundle, Miss Fortune, Leblanc, Ezreal, Brand, Nunu, Maokai, Anivia, Mundo,

* Tier 3 – Blitzcrank, Taric, Morgana, Kennen, Lee Sin, Nasus, Master Yi, Xin Zhao, Malphite, Garen, Rammus, Tyrndamere, Sona, Poppy, Rumble, Kog’Maw, Soraka, Gragas

* Tier 4 – Sivir, Veigar, Katarina, Kayle, Mordekaiser, Pantheon, Fiddlesticks, Twitch, Galio, Karma, Heimerdinger, Gangplank

Tier 1 - These champions are at the top of this list for a lot of reasons. The biggest reason being you can actually carry a team with them. In League of Legends its very hard to be a “true” carry as this game if very team oriented. If you’ve ever played a 4v5 you’ll know what I am talking about as it’s literally impossible to win. So I find these champions in Tier 1 lane VERY well in terms of being able to kill creeps well, harassing the enemy champion, and survivability. For the junglers in tier 1 it’s because they control the jungle well, and do it safely. Also gank well and if get fed can actually carry games themselves. All these champions have great early games for the most part and just continuously get stronger as the game goes on. These are the pub stomp kings of the game in my eyes currently.

Tier 2 - These champions like tier 1 champions are great laners, and are great to have on your team in Solo Queue. They just don’t carry as hard as other champions in tier 1 I find. Their early game laning power can be almost equal to the strength of tier 1 champions but I find the tier 2 champions to be slightly weaker than these tier 1 champions in terms of how hard you can carry a solo queue game with them. They are still the creme of the crop in Solo Queue and shouldn’t be underestimated.

Tier 3 - These champions I find to be great 3rd, 4th, or 5th picks on a team. They are 100% viable but these champions generally aren’t as strong in lane as tier 1 and tier 2 champions and often take the Duo lane as they aren’t as strong as solo’s. A few of them in this tier can stand toe to toe to a lot of tier 1 and 2 champions in a Solo lane but I find they just aren’t sought after as “great” Solo Queue solo laners. These champs are all 100% viable in solo queue. I just find them to be slightly weaker than tier 2 champions in Solo Queue.

Tier 4 - Now tier 4 is a tricky tier I find. These champs are all 100% viable for Solo Queue. If someone says they play a great X champion in tier 4 than you can let them solo or play that champion. These champions are simply tier 4 because they require a lot more farm I find than other champions to reach that “carry status” in Solo Queue. These champions are usually played by people who love these champions for their design and play style so usually people who play these champions I find aren’t bad players at all so letting them play these champions sometime is a good choice. These champions problem isn’t poor laning or really anything other than they require a lot more effort to be good at and a lot more skill to do well on is all. They’re all fun champions and I suggest you give them a whirl and try them out!

DISCLAIMER! – Now remember everyone. This is just an OPINION and nothing else. Take it with a grain of salt and remember not to flame anyone in-game over me or my lists!

SOLO QUEUE ADVICE – Always remember to build a balanced team that is strong in all 5 aspects of the game. Get two strong solo’s, a strong duo lane, and a strong jungler and your chances of winning will increase drastically! If you’re not 1st or 2nd pick please pick accordingly to the rest of your team. Communication in pregame chat is the key to success! If you have an AD and an AP carry then the remaining roles of Tank, Support, and Jungle need to be filled! It’s the best way to become a great League of Legends player by having a well-rounded group of champions you can play! Master all aspects of the game and not just one!

*--* CHANGE LOG *--*

Irelia moved up higher in tier 1 - I feel she dominates the lane pretty well and that can snowball into victories for you in Solo Queue so I am moving her up.

Sion moved down to tier 2 - A lot of champs are just out classing him in terms of lane domination and burst power. He's not as great as he used to be it seems.

Jax moved up to tier 2 - Amazing early game power (AD runes + q spam very strong) and if left alone in a team fight with stacks from his ulti up he can REALLY hurt.

Shaco moved down to tier 2 - I kinda feel people smartened up a bit on Shaco and don't die to him as easily and a lot of people know that popping boxes early can really shut down a shaco. I feel the community kinda wised up about him. Still a good Shaco in Solo Queue is an incredibly strong champion.

Alistar moved up to tier 1 - AP Alistar's W,Q combo is amazing. If you're a little bit more fed then the other team and go LOL at the HP you just removed. He's one of the best snowball champions for Solo Queue because of his burst power, and the fact if you get in trouble you just go LOL R and survive for the next 7 seconds easily. He's a very strong champion in Draft and Solo Queue.

Twisted Fate moved up to tier 1 - A half decent player with a little map awareness can really crush an opposing team as TF. If he's paying attention you to when you overextend your lane (happens a lot in Solo Queue) he will make you pay for it. Doing that allows for snowballing for your team, getting dragons, etc.. He's just a fantastic Solo Queue champion when played right and if you're good at him he's a great way to gain Elo.

Rumble moved up to tier 3 - I feel tier 4 was a little to low for him is all.

Gangplank moved down to tier 4 - Pretty much what I said in the Draft list. He's far too weak now, Riot really hurt him. He requires A LOT of farm and it's A LOT harder to get it now.

Casseopia moved up to tier 2 - I feel her DPS is pretty dang good actually. So I am moving her up a tad.

Pantheon moved down to tier 4 - He only has 3 spells.. If the game goes past 20 mins Panth is INCREDIBLY WEAK unless you had some godlike early game. HSS is the WORST spell in the game and truthfully does nothing. It's only good for it's passive, and Riot really needs to buff that spell ASAP as it's ruining Pantheon currently.

Caitlyn moved up to tier 2 - Great laning power, pretty good in team fights, + escape mechanism that can get her out of sticky situations. Also amazing in the side lane utilizing her passive with the brushes. Overall since her buffs she's pretty good.

Garen moved up to tier 3 - I feel in Solo Queue he really can do well. His early game power can really snowball you into victories.

Lee Sin moved up to tier 3 - Lee Sin has gotten some subtle buffs here and there and I feel he's pretty strong now. His 1v1 laning power is pretty dang good, and he's not a bad jungler either.

New Champion Time!

Vayne placed in tier 1 - She's one of the best snowball champs in the game due to her passive % true damage. When she gets ahead in levels, and gets ahead in farm she feels INCREDIBLY STRONG. Oh god does she hurt. Is she's around the same farm as you though she doesn't feel that crazy and feels balanced. One thing to NOT do in your game is feed a Vayne as she will crush your team!

17.5.11

Draft mode tier list update

his is MY opinion solely and does not reflect my team’s or any other high level player opinion on high level play. It’s for you to read and discuss for your enjoyment and nothing else.

This is my tier list according to Season 1 Draft Mode / Tournament Play (NOT blind pick MM) I’ve put all the champions I feel are viable on SR and will be picked in competitive play. List goes from left to right, best to worst in each tier.

* Tier 1: Ashe, Twisted Fate, Corki, Mal’zahar, Shen, Janna, Amumu, Soraka, Nunu, Sona, Swain, Alistar, Irelia

* Tier 2: Karthus, Anivia, Annie, Urgot, Jarvan IV, Nocturne, Caitlyn, Vayne, Cho’Gath, Taric, Nidalee, Warwick, Olaf, Renekton, Miss Fortune, Trundle, Zilean, Vladimir, Singed, Ryze

* Tier 3: Teemo, Sion, Leblanc, Lux, Blitzcrank, Maokai, Ezreal, Brand, Cassiopeia, Akali, Kassadin, Kennen, Tristana, Xin Zhao, Udyr, Rammus, Kog’Maw, Gragas, Morgana, Poppy, Jax

* Tier 4: Tryndamere, Malphite, Garen, Rumble, Mordekaiser, Nasus, Veigar, Sivir, Kayle, Eve, Pantheon, Heimerdinger, Yi

* Hard to place on a team: Twitch, Shaco, Mundo, Lee Sin, Karma, Gangplank, Galio, Katarina, Fiddlesticks,

Tier 1 – These champions have proved time and time again that they deserve to be here. These champions are game changing if you can get them most of the time. Player skill combined with knowing how to use these champions correctly will ultimately result in success.

Tier 2 – These champions are barely under tier 1. They all again do their roles incredibly well and are should be considered highly valuable picks. They all synergize very well into the vast majority of viable line ups. Players should be playing these champions if they are looking to improve their game and step into the competitive scene. Master all of the tier 1 and tier 2 champions and you will be a serious force to be reckoned with.

Tier 3 – These champions are still very viable on SR but are simply out done by tier 1 and tier 2 champions. They can still compete with all of them but as far as viable line ups go these won’t be the champions you’re going to ban or first pick in any draft mode. These are your 4th 5th picks in your line up to complement your line up or effectively counter the other teams picks. These champions are still very viable overall but just aren’t champions you will strive to pick or have in your line up all the time.

Tier 4 – These champions don’t fill the roles of the champions above them as good as they do. They really aren’t thought of other than your last pick to add a special extra something to your line up. Extra burst, extra utility, or that 1 more support champ you think you will make your line up that much better. Generally they really aren’t sought after picks in a competitive line up but they can still be played viably but are the bottom of the barrel in terms of competitive picks.

Hard to place on a team – These champions I find aren’t as good as others in terms of competitive picks. They don’t really help or add anything game changing to you line up or anything you would really want on a competitive team imo. They are all fine champions for solo queue for the most part but in terms of a 5v5 tournament draft mode I wouldn’t expect to see any of these champions there. They are simply out done by other champions who do their roles better than they do.

Feel free to ask questions about my list and I will do my best to reason why X champion is in X tier. I also encourage you to convince me I am wrong and move a champion up or down a tier accordingly. I will post the changes if or when I make them in edits in this post.

*—–* CHANGE LOG *—–*

Karthus moved down to tier 2 - My last update was just a bit off considering the patch changes to him. Due to my website being down etc.. The times when I wanted to put him to tier 1 didn't exactly line up. Since his nerfs though I feel he's a solid tier 2 champion.

Alistar moved to tier 1 - Very strong roamer, very strong solo laner, and very strong duo laner. Not to mention you can also jungle with him. He's very versatile and flexible in all of his roles from support, tank, to AP carry. Very strong champion overall.

Irelia moved up to tier 1 - Mostly because of her sustainability in team fights / laning phase, and the fact she's very hard to CC. Her laning control is great, not a lot of champions can really shut her down. She's also a pseudo tank because of her natural lifesteal and the core items you build on her make her kinda tanky too. She fits the tank/dps role quite well and is a great pick for almost any team comp.

Soraka moved up to tier 1 - Her ability to sustain a champion in bottom lane and sustain a team while poking or mid team fight is awesome. Her heals are unrivaled and she's an asset to any push/poke comp or if you really just need to keep someone alive she's your girl.

Sona moved up to tier 1 - I feel Sona is much like Soraka in terms of supporting her team in that she does it well, but Sona is more on the offensive side of things with her skill kit and Soraka is more the defensive version of her. Her DPS is higher and her ultimate can be combo'ed with other champions CC's to have a devastating effect.

Taric moved down to tier 2 - That's right nothing changed on Taric and he's no longer tier 1.. WTF ELEMENTZ U DUMB!? WAH!? Well Meta's change, I learn things about the game, and different strategies and ways of playing this game come into effect everyday. With all the recent tournaments I've noticed no that Taric isn't bad in any way, shape, or form, but simply what he does for a team is a little less desired vs what Soraka and Sona do for a team is all. So by tier list rules, you move down when someone does it better then you do.

Rumble moved up to tier 4 - I feel he does have a couple uses but not a lot. He's pretty much used to shut down X champion in lane. He's VERY strong vs some champions in lane and that's where I feel his usefulness comes into play. If you dominate your lane, you'll be farmed, they won't so Rumble is free to deal some mad DPS because he's farmed up the ying yang.

Singed moved up to tier 2 - I feel he's a strong pick vs a lot of team comps and a strong overall champion in lane. He can beat a lot of champions in solo lanes and he does quite well in a duo lane as well. I feel tier 2 fits him better is all.

Jax moved up to tier 3 - I didn't even know Jax could be good and I am glad I got shown otherwise. Just like Rumble he's strong vs a lot of champions in the lane and if you match up correctly he can be used effectively and get very farmed. I feel he bring a lot more utility and is just overall way better then Rumble though hence him being higher.

Mordekaiser moved up to tier 4 - I pretty much want to copy and past what I wrote for Rumble here because that's the reason I moved him up too lol.

Ashe moved to top spot over TF - I feel Ashe is a stronger pick then TF. That is all.

Gragas moved up to tier 3 - Gragas being played as a AP champion has earned him a spot in tier 3. His large AoE bursts with well timed team coordination can work out to be something amazing. Gragas as your only AP carry is kind of weak because his CD's limit him, but when used to poke, or burst targets of interest he can be very strong! His laning power is also pretty good.

Shaco moved down to hard to place - I feel he really offers nothing to a competitive team. Just like Eve great in Solo Queue but beyond that I feel organized teams shut him down completely and he just becomes a burden to the team.

Gangplank moved down to hard to place - At first I thought the GP changes weren't so bad for him. Now that he's been out for a while it's clear they Riot pretty much ruined him. He doesn't farm as hard, Parrrley doesn't hit as hard, and his ultimate while hitting more often, still doesn't feel that great. GP was viable because of the ability to deny, and get incredibly farmed. Now he gets denied because of his poor skill-set and lacking DPS. On a side note his passive can actually a lot of damage if you manage to auto attack people though!

Tryndamere moved up to tier 4 - He's a very fast jungler, pretty strong ganker, and can fill the role of DPS jungler on a team. I feel he can be viable in competitive play as a DPS jungler.

Annie moved down to tier 2 - Similar to what I said about Taric. Not that anything changed with her, just other casters are out classing her a bit now.

Jarvan IV moved up in tier 2 - I felt our good friend Jarvman was a little bit low. So I bumped him up a bit :p

NEW CHAMPION TIME!

Vayne Placed in tier 2 - I feel Vayne is a good champion but I am not sure if she's OP or not haha. I feel she just snowballs really hard. If you keep up with her in farm she doesn't feel OP, but when she advances ahead of you and gets that snowbally effect I feel she feels VERY strong to play vs. Her laning power is good, her duo lane + support bot lane is strong, and Stonewall has informed me she can actually Jungle pretty well on her own!

12.5.11

Fnatic LOL Monthly Video

Fnatic.LOL clan highlights from the monthly go4lol of march

The Rain Man’s Roam Tier List

I am going to go over what heroes are top tier roamers and what heroes can be left out. At the moment I think that Alistar is the game’s strongest roamer. Alistar is superior to other roamers because he has 2 abilities in a gank, and when his flash is up he can use pulverize/headbutt and if used correctly will most always result in a kill or a save.

Not only is this combination deadly early game, once he gets 6 Alistar can dive towers with his ultimate up and take literally no damage. He does not need to have farm to be useful late game. This allows him to buy wards all game with oracles and roam around with basically no items. Because of his ultimate, he is nearly impossible to gank and it is really hard to take oracles off of Alistar.

(Side note: Alistar’s flash is the most deadly flash in the game, and should only be used only for assuring a kill/save. An Alistar roaming without flash cooldown up is not only very gankable, but is much harder to secure kills/saves with, so save flash for key moments).

The next roamers are basically preference, Janna is very strong because with only 1 point invested into Q she has a full on knockup, which can interrupt and be used as a ministun on a group of players. Also, she has a built in speed buff/slow combination on W, and shield on E. Finally, her ultimate is another spell that is a double ability, a super knockback in case one of your carries gets caught in a bad position + a minor AOE heal (Janna shouldn’t really be farmed enough to make her heal too noticable, and her ult is usually just used as another knockback). Taric has a nice ranged stun with a lot of base armor with his W ability, and a pretty negligible heal. Taric’s abilities are inferior to Janna’s because all he offers is a stun, which can be arguably better or worse than Janna’s Q. However, Janna’s ult absolutely destroys Tarics ult in terms of being a very clutch ability. Taric is very beefy, and can survive longer when being beat on which is an interesting trade off, less utility + more survivability. Also, Taric’s stun is much easier to land, making him a much easier hero to play than Janna.

Finally, Blitzcrank is also a very strong roam, and his hook can be devastating in early game ganks, and late game ganks. Blitzcrank is overall a great roamer as he offers not only a nasty grab on a fairly short cooldown, he can stun once he lands the grab and usually can make the enemy flash out or they are dead. Not to mention his passive gives some insane survivability. These are all “Tier 1″ roamers, and are very strong candidates for bans/first picks in ranked play.

Next is the “Tier 2″ roamers. These roamers offer much less both early game and late game than “Tier 1″ roamers, and need more experience and farm to be viable late game, which is taking farm away from your carries. The first “Tier 2″ roamer I want to talk about is Eve. An Eve forces mid and top to play very defensively and can scout buffs and help the jungler gank the enemy jungler very well. Eve is probably the strongest early game roam, but brings absolutely nothing to a teamfight which is why I put her as tier 2. To counter Eve, buy pink wards. But more importantly, when there is an Eve on the other team you can force early game 5 mans on dragon, towers, and Baron. Eve does absoultely nothing in a standard 5v5 teamfight, and is extremely easy to focus.

Other “Tier 2″ roamers (or supports) who lack in certain areas include Lux, Karma, Kayle, Garen, Soraka, Sona, and Poppy. I hesitate to put Poppy into a “Tier 2″ category because she can be very viable early and late game. From my experience, however, Poppy players tend to soak XP too much and rely on early game CS before they begin ganking. Overall, however, these tier 2 roamers basically have no place in a solo lane, no place in a roaming role because they lack either serious survivability or have absoultely no lane pressence. Soraka is a great example of a hero that is not viable against a skilled comp of players because she:

A. Is way too squishy
B. Has absolutely 0 CC
C. Basically does not fit any role in the current metagame, as supports that need farm in order to contribute to teamfights -ARE NO LONGER VIABLE-.

Euro comps with Soraka/X in lane at bot are going to get beat every single time by a solo tank because no hero can put out enough damage to force a good tank out of lane, and Soraka does not pressure lanes. Also, if Soraka/X in lane at bot is going to push the tower, they will be forced to be way out of position and extremely overextended. At this point, the bot tank calls for a gank and the roamer and jungle come bot and completely destroy Soraka/X and take the tower.

As for the rest of the tier 2 roamers, I feel they have no place in ranked Solo queue and from my experience will usually burden the team at some point in the game, with exceptions always. Also, because I have much more experience with solo queue than tournament play, I cannot say that these tier 2 roamers are not viable in tournament play. However, the comp MUST be built around them, and I still feel that they are inferior to tier 1 roamers.