League of Legends

League of Legends: New Champion, Fiora?

2012-02-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

So this new League of Legends champion leaked through the PBE. All you need to know coming up right now.

Fiora Abilities: Taken from the PBE client, so no idea on damage numbers, etc.

Passive - Duelist: Fiora regenerates health over 6 seconds each time she deals damage. Striking champions will cause this effect to stack up to 4 times.

Q - Lunge: Fiora dashes forward to strike her target, dealing physical damage. Fiora can perform the dash a second time within a couple seconds at no mana cost.

W - Ripost: (Passive) Fiora's Attack Damage is increased. (Active) Fiora parries the next basic attack from a champion or monster and reflects magic damage back to the attacker.

E - Burst of Speed: Fiora gains Attack Speed for a couple seconds. Each basic attack or Lunge she lands during this time increases her Movement Speed, stacking.

R - Blade Waltz: Fiora dashes around the battlefield striking random champions dealing physical damage. Successive strikes against the same target deal less damage.

Blade Waltz sounds familiar =P

Tips & Items:

Playing as Fiora -

Fiora's passive grants health regeneration whenever she attacks. The bonus stacks against champions so don't be afraid to fight small skirmishes and trades.

Blade Waltz deals a lot of damage, but if you save it for when the enemy team tries to attack you it also save you from taking a lot of damage. (sic)

Playing Against Fiora -

Save disables for when Fiora activates Burst of Speed-it only lasts 3 seconds and Fiora needs to deal a lot of damage while it is up to be effective.

Fiora is really sticky when she has access to Lunge, but after she casts it twice it has a fairly long cooldown which can be exploited.

Rec Items:

(Classic) Dorans, GA, IE, Bloodthirster, Merc Treads, Ghostblade

(Dominion) Prospector's, IE, Black Cleaver, Merc Treads, Ghostblade, Bloodrazer

League of Legends: Amumu FAIL?

2012-02-09T11:07:00.001-08:00

Just another clip of me, kind of lulzy

League of Legends: New Champion, Nautilus?

2012-02-08T16:45:00.000-08:00

Xypherous has revealed some new information about a new upcoming champion, Nautilus on the League of Legends Forum. This is just the working name, and may possibly be changed.

He goes on to explain some abilities.

"A hookshot is an item that goes out in a straight line and pulls things to you. Or if you hit terrain, you pull yourself to it.". Then he goes onto say "His Q pulls both of you together if it hits a unit - and pulls him all the way if you hit a tower. However, you can set the ability up so you will always move forward. Aim at a champion, but make sure there is terrain behind him. Even if he jukes you will move toward him."

Sneak Peak at each of the abilities of Nautilus

"Passive -
Q - Hookshot, pulls Anchorman towards terrain, or if hits champion pulls anchorman and that enemy together, but presumably moves Anchorman than enemy less because he's big and heavy
W - Shield that scales with hp
E - Homing tidal burst that travels up to a maximum amount of time towards a target/until it hits the target. blows up things it hits along the way, blows up and slows on impact of actual target.
R - Slow version of Tidehunter's ult, keeping enemies close to you unless they choose to run and get cc'd by the spikes."

Some More Information

[Resource System?]
Yes, he uses Mana.

[on his ability ratios - AD or AP?]
Hm. All his damaging moves have AP ratios. One of his moves also has a health ratio.

[did you design this champion?]
Yes

[how difficult is he to play?]
Hm. He should be pretty easy to pick up - his abilities are all very straight forward.He's a little difficult to optimize though - His self-CC chain needs to be staggered. There's some timing considerations on when it is best to use W and you want to place your R on the right line for maximal effect.

[Range on the hookshot?]
it's like Mummy Q, which is around 1050

[So his hook shot can pull people to him but also moves him?]
His Q is halfway between Amumu and Blitzcrank, but based on the range it will feel more like one or the other. Since it has a minimum drag distance for the opponent, up close, you can reset an enemy's position if they escape. Far away though, you'll move much farther to them.

[What function is his passive going to serve?]
His passive gives him a heavy incentive to switch targets in a fight

[So, as Sejuani uses ice, will he use water?]
He is indeed nautically inspired - He has two things with major water effects - but that's more of a side effect rather than water manipulation

[Can he Jungle?]
I like him as a jungler, because I like jungling more at the moment. I think you waste some gank potential if you're top

[Anything about the back story?]
He was a sailor at one point - But I'm not sure he's a pirate per se.

SOURCE: http://na.leagueoflegends.com/board/showthread.php?t=1797136

League of Legends clips: Akali Tower Dive Fail

2012-02-07T21:24:00.001-08:00

I thought this was funny. Theres more on my youtube channel if you wanna check it out!

League of Legends: Caitlyn lol

2012-02-07T16:04:00.000-08:00

Just a funny video of me playing Caitlyn in a ranked game. real terror teemo.

League of Legends: Iron Solari Leona Skin

2012-02-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Here is the new Leona skin, Iron Solari Leona. My fav from the new ziggs patch. enjoy!

Iron Solari Leona Skin

How the Tribunal Works

2012-02-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

_____________________________________________________________________
It has evolved into a place where you can punish someone for not following the meta.

Playing Eve and lost? Banned.
Playing support Twisted Fate? What a troll - Banned.
Jungle Taric and your name is not Saintvicious? Banned.
AP Misfortune? Banned
AD Kennen? Used to be a ban until IEM Kiev. Sheep will be sheep.
AD Leblanc? I saw one win the other day, but I guarantee if she lost it would've been a report.
Kill lane bot? Reported for "picking a carry when we needed a support."
So none of the scenarios you just described are accurate. As someone who reviews Tribunal cases I've never approved a suspension for any of those.

In fact, when you take a look at the post that you're trying to misinterpret you'll find that I repeatedly stated you won't get suspended for choosing an unpopular champion.

Because it's not about who you choose, but how you act when you do it.

Another important point is that the thread in question was about Ranked. And not Normal games.

Since bolding seems to be all the rage in this thread, I've gone ahead and reposted my comments:
_____________________________________________________________________
Originally Posted by WookieeCookie
Being sent to the Tribunal has nothing to do with the champion you choose and everything to do with how you play/act in game.

If you're going to choose an unconventional build/role/champion then it's up to you to work with your team mates beforehand and convince them of your strategy.

However, if you refuse to discuss this with them, or they don't agree with it and want you to do something else; if you simply hard-lock a role or champ thinking you know better than them and suddenly find the ire of 4 team mates directed at you, then you shouldn't be too surprised when they report you to the Tribunal.

In such cases you are easily violating the first point of the Summoner's Code: Support Your Team.

Originally Posted by WookieeCookie
I'm not really surprised to see the post mis-interpreted, so I'd be happy to help clarify for any one that is still confused.

The core answer is: You won't get suspended for choosing a champion you want to play. But context is everything.

Ranked games are considered more serious by the players that enjoy them. If you choose to partake in them then you are held to a higher level of accountability then if you were to join a Normal game. Since LoL is a team based game you'll need to work with your team and consider their decisions when you choose to join a Ranked game. This doesn't mean you don't get to play what you want. But it does mean you won't be able to get away with insta-locking something like jungle Tristana against the wishes of your 4 team mates. When a lobby starts, discuss with your team who should be what. If you feel really strongly for a particular champion be sure to explain why you think they'd be a great pick. But always be prepared to compromise in ranked for the benefit of your team. That is the essence of "Support Your Team".

If you want to goof around and try a risky or experimental build then you are free to join a Normals game. There is a lot less pressure in Normals game and there is not the expectation that each game must have a valid team comp like there is in Ranked.

Assuming you're not purposely trying to troll your team and be a jerk then you'll have no reason to end up in the Tribunal. (And yes, as someone who reviews cases frequently I can tell when a player is being a game ruining troll on purpose)
Since it's relevant to the discussion, here's the core point in the Summoner's Code that relates to this issue:

1. Support Your Team
While we all carry a diverse set of individual ambitions and expectations into a game of League of Legends, once we hit the Field we’re a part of a team. For better or worse, our fates are intertwined with that of our teammates. Once the game gets into full swing, you have to make a choice between being a positive force for your team, or contributing to your own demise.

Being a good team player begins at champion select. Be open minded when considering the needs of your team. If you’re the last one to pick, try to fill a niche in your team that hasn’t already been filled. If everyone’s picked and something stands out as a deficiency in your team composition, try asking for another player to fill the gap, or change roles to embrace that responsibility yourself. Remember, that by taking on a role you don’t normally play, you’ll learn more about unfamiliar champions and increase your own skill level.

Once you get in game, try to keep an open line of communication. Warn your teammates if someone is missing from your lane, or if something is placing them in immediate danger. If they’re not paying attention to chat you can always try pinging the map. Just remember that one ping is enough! Also, remember that you have to be there to contribute, so don’t leave the game or go AFK! Encourage players who are having trouble, and congratulate those who are playing well. And most of all, if you’re having a bad game don’t take it out on your team!
Please keep in mind that regardless of how you feel about the Summoner's Code, it is the core guiding code of conduct for behavior in game.

Ziggs, The Hexposives Expert - In depth guide

2012-02-06T11:39:00.001-08:00

Thanks to this guy on Reddit. He shared an in depth guide for Ziggs. Watch it if you have the chance!

Sejuani, The Winter's Claw

2012-01-13T11:52:00.000-08:00

Here is the next new upcoming champion for League of Legends. Definitely one that i'm personally looking forward to. Art spotlight and skills are here.

Sejuani, The Winter's Claw

Skills

Frost	(Innate): Sejuani's basic attacks apply Frost, reducing enemy movement speed by 10% for 3 seconds.
Ability	Description	Leveling up
Arctic Assault	(Active): Sejuani charges forward, dealing magic damage and applying Frost to enemies. Sejuani stops upon colliding with an enemy champion. Range: 700	Cooldown: 19 / 17 / 15 / 13 / 11 seconds Cost: 70 / 80 / 90 / 100 / 110 mana Magic Damage: 60 / 90 / 130 / 170 / 210 (+0.4 per ability power)
Northern Winds	(Active): Sejuani summons an arctic storm around her for 5 seconds, dealing magic damage each second to nearby enemies. Damage is increased by 50% against enemies affected by Frost or Permafrost Cost: 40 mana Cooldown: 10 seconds	Magic Damage per Second: 12 / 18 / 24 / 30 / 36 (+0.1 per ability power) (+1 / 1.25 / 1.5 / 1.75 / 2% of maximum health)
Permafrost	Sejuani converts Frost on nearby enemies to Permafrost, dealing magic damage and increasing the movement speed reduction for 3 seconds. Cost: 55 mana Cooldown: 11 seconds	Magic Damage: 60 / 110 / 160 / 210 / 260 (+0.5 per ability power) New Movement Speed Reduction: 30 / 40 / 50 / 60 / 70 %
Glacial Prison	(Active): Sejuani throws her weapon, stunning the first enemy champion hit for 2 seconds and all other nearby enemies for 1 second. All affected targets take magic damage and are affected by Frost. Cost: 100 mana Range: 1150	Cooldown: 150 / 130 / 110 seconds Magic Damage: 150 / 250 / 350 (+0.8 per ability power)

Art Spotlight

Learn 2 LoL: Playing a Tank

2012-01-02T13:38:00.005-08:00

What Is a Tank?
Very simply, a tank's job is to protect the other members of his team. This involves absorbing as much damage as possible, using CC to disrupt the enemy team, and pressuring the enemy team to focus on you instead of your carry. Tanks are also usually responsible for initiating team fights.
Why Should I Play a Tank?
A balanced team composition will always include at least one tank. This may be a "hard" tank (e.g. Rammus) or a character who fulfills two roles at once, such as a jungler-tank or support-tank. Having two or more "off-tank" characters is also common. Regardless of what kind of team strategy you're picking around, your squishy damage-dealers need protection, and that means tanks.
Which Stats Are Important for Tanks?
Health Points (HP), Armor, Magic Resist (MR), Health Regen, and sometimes Move Speed (MS).
Understanding Resistances
High Armor and Magic Resist stats are the hallmark of a good tank. You need to understand the underlying math to make good use of them.
Armor reduces incoming physical damage according to the formula:
% Received = 100/(100 + Armor)
Therefore, at 50 Armor, incoming physical damage is reduced to 100/150 = 66%; at 100 Armor, 50%; at 200 Armor, 33%. As you can see, the more Armor you have, the more it takes to improve your defenses. In other words, we say that Armor has diminishing returns. The formula is exactly the same for magic damage and MR.
Another, more intuitive way to understand resistances is to flip the formula around and state it in terms of HP. A little mathcraft gives us:
Effective Health = Health Points * (1 + Armor/100)
Said another way, each point of Armor increases your EHP by 1%. So for example, a Shen armed with 3000 HP and 75 Armor effectively has 75% more health vs. physical, i.e. 5250 EHP. Again, the calculation is identical for Magic Resist.
The bottom line is that at a certain point, it's not as effective to just stack Armor or MR compared to building Health. Think of Effective Health as a rectangle whose sides have length equal to your HP and Armor - the best way to maximize the area to increase both sides. Also never forget that building HP increases your resistance to both physical AND magic damage.
Damage Types
To be an effective tank, you must carefully gauge what kind of damage your opponents are armed with. This is a skill you will develop with time as you play with more and more different characters. The best way to learn is to pay attention to the death reports each time you die.
Physical vs. Magic - Every champion's auto-attack deals physical damage. Most champion abilities deal magic damage. You can usually count each character as one type or the other, but be on the lookout for hybridized abilities, armor/MR shreds, and abilities that deal damage as a % of your total health. Also know (and fear) characters that can deal true damage - you can't mitigate it.
Burst vs. Sustained - Most abilities deal a large chunk of damage immediately (burst). Auto-attacks, spammed abilities, and damage-over-time (DoT) effects. Notice that Health Regen will protect you somewhat vs. sustained damage, but is useless against burst.
Single-target vs. Area-of-Effect (AoE) - As a tank, you want to be aware of the targeting of each enemy's skills, their range, and how you might be able to intercept them. Look for opportunities to "catch" incoming skill shots, but be aware that some will penetrate units (i.e. Caitlyn's Piltover Peacemaker).
Understanding Crowd Control
Crowd control (CC) refers to any effect that disables your opponents. We can separate them into "soft" and "hard" (channel-interrupting) types.
Soft - slows, roots, snares, and blinds
Hard - taunts, fears/charms, silences, stuns, knockups, displacements, and suppressions

Make sure your team has a good amount of CC skills before you lock in - they're critical for shutting down important targets.
Some CC is conditional, i.e. dependent on enemy position or surrounding terrain. Don't count on them to always be available.
Good positioning and Tenacity (Mercury's Treads) are your most important tools against CC, but remember that knockups are unaffected by Tenacity. Consider taking Cleanse or a buying a Quicksilver Sash if you see a lot of hard CC on the enemy team.

Be the Initiator
Most of the time, your team's tank acts as the leader. As the front line of your formation, they are chiefly responsible for initiating good team fights. This is a very difficult skill that depends on many factors, as well as gut instinct. Here are a few tips:

Tank first. Squishies in back. Stay together.
Look for an opening in the enemy formation and exploit it. Choose your moment and commit to the fight. If your initiation skill places you in the middle of them (Amumu), be sure the rest of your team is ready.
Be wary of counter-initiating skills. A Sona or Janna ult can completely turn the tables on you.
If you're running a poke comp, DON'T initiate. Your goal is to shield your team from the enemy while they poke.

Plan Ahead!
The best way to remain an effective tank is to stay ahead of the enemy, so buy defensive items before you need them. When you get to the loading screen after champ select, look at each enemy one by one. Gauge the balance of magic vs. physical damage, count the amount of CC skills, and remind yourself when each champion is strongest. If you plan ahead, you won't fall behind.
Example: the enemy team is Vayne, Rammus, Sona, Leblanc, and Gangplank. Counting the CC, I see-see that Vayne has a conditional stun, Rammus has a slow and a taunt, Sona has an AoE stun, Leblanc has a silence, and Gangplank has mild single-target and AoE slows. Right away, I know I'm going to need Mercury's Treads here. Beyond that, the first problem will be Leblanc's incredibly high magic damage - a Negatron Cloak will likely be my first important buy. As we get into late game, Vayne will become their main source of damage, so I'll want a Frozen Heart, Randuin's Omen, and/or Thornmail. If Gangplank starts getting farmed, I'll need them sooner rather than later. Rammus and Sona have negligible damage but godly initiating and counter-initiating skills, so I'll have to be on my toes.

So that's it for now. Later this week I'll continue by going through each defensive item and how it can help you maximize your tanking potential. 'Til then!

Learn 2 Lol: Masteries

2012-01-02T13:38:00.001-08:00

I'll skip the basics this time - you'd just be bored.
With the change to the new Season 2 mastery trees, we suddenly have many more options to choose from. While the masteries in Season 1 were very "fixed", we now have multiple good choices in every tree.
More now than ever, we want to zero in on the key masteries. In Season 1, it was enough to pick two trees to dump 21 and 9 points in, but the new tree's flexibility mean we need to pay more attention. Don't feel that you have to put 21 points in a tree just to fill out that category - 19, 20, 22, or some other split is perfectly fine so long as you gain a real benefit.
Let's quickly go through each mastery tree and pick out the best and worst ones. I'll mark especially helpful ones with "+++" and generally worthless ones with "---". As always, take my advice with a grain of salt, and just remember that just because I don't mention a mastery doesn't mean it's not worth investing in.
Offense (link)
+++Summoner's Wrath (improves Exhaust, Ignite, Surge, and Ghost)

The new "summoner's improvement" masteries are much more accessible now. If you're using the appropriate spells, you have now have no excuse not to improve them.

+++Alacrity (+1/2/3/4% AtkSpd) -> Weapon Expertise (10% ArPen)

The attack speed is meh, but the armor penetration is fantastic considering how early it is in the tree. As some commenters pointed out last time, choosing this mastery makes ArPen runes less necessary.

+++Sorcery (+1/2/3/4% CDR) -> Arcane Knowledge (10% magic penetration)

Pretty much a no-brainer. Both of these are quite valuable for most champions. "AD casters" (e.g. Garen, Riven) may be content with just Sorcery.

+++Sunder (+2/4/6 ArPen)

Gives the same benefit as 3.6 ArPen marks or 2 ArPen quints.

+++Archmage (+1.25/2.5/3.75/5% AP)

300 AP = 15 bonus AP, 500 AP = 25 bonus AP. If you're stacking AP, this is more helpful than Blast (+1 AP/lvl).

+++Executioner (+6% damage on targets below 40% health)

Helpful, but you don't need to invest 20 point in offense just for this.

---Demolitionist (+10 damage to towers)

It's just not that noticable. For comparison, non-nexus towers have 2550 HP.

Defense (link)
+++Summoner's Resolve (Improves Revive, Heal, Cleanse, Smite, and Garrison)

Take it if you're using one of these spells. Revive ftw.

+++Tough Skin (-1/2 damage from minions and monsters) -> Bladed Armor (return 6 magic damage from minion and monster attacks)

Bladed Armor will drastically quicken your jungling. Advanced junglers can use this mastery to finish off monsters instead of wasting an auto-attack.

+++Initiator (+1/2/3% Move Speed when above 70% HP)

350 MS = 10.5 bonus MS, 400 MS = 12 bonus MS. Especially great if you have an MS steroid or are using Swiftness quints or masteries.

+++Enlightenment (+0.15/0.3/0.45% CDR/lvl)

Investing all three points gets you 8.1% CDR at level 18. Tanks usually can't afford to buy CDR in the field, so this is a nice option.

+++Juggernaut (+3% max HP and +10 Tenacity)

3000 HP = 90 bonus HP. Tenacity is a very important stat, so get this if you can! This mastery DOES stack (multiplicatively) with Tenacity from items and abilities. Juggernaut + Mercury's Treads = 41.5 Tenacity.

---Siege Commander (reduces armor of nearby towers by 10)

Ugh.

---Honor Guard (-0.5/1/1.5% damage taken)

1000 incoming damage = 15 damage reduced. You can do better.

Utility (link)
+++Summoner's Insight (improves Teleport, Promote, Flash, Clarity, and Clairvoyance)

Why not?

+++Expanded Mind (+4/8/12 MP/lvl) -> Meditation (+1/2/3 MPRegen)

These two masteries will significantly help your mana pool and are a good option for any leftover points from Offense and Defense. Rank 3 Expanded Mind gives +216 MP at level 18.

+++Runic Affinity (+20% neutral buff duration)

Great for junglers and AP carries who like wearing blue buff.

+++Greed (+0.5/1/1.5/2 gold per 10 sec.) -> Wealth (+20/40 starting gold)

For support characters, this is fantastic. An extra ward at the start of the game, plus 540 gold = 7 more wards over a 45-minute game!

+++Strength of Spirit (+0.4/0.7/1% max MP is added to HPRegen)

The typical AP carry has 1000-1100 max MP at level 18 = +10 HPRegen. Even before items, that's a huge boost to sustain. I'd say go for it.

---Scout (+5% ward vision range)

It's as if Riot didn't even test this one. 1100 base range = +55 bonus range - that's only a half-Teemo! It's not even perceptible. Maybe if it stacked with allies, or was +15%, or increased ward duration...

---Sage (+40 XP on kills and assists)

It's the same XP reward as one minion. Not even one minion.

So that's it. Not a whole lot to it, really. Just be sure to decide ahead of time which masteries you want to use with your character. :)

Learn 2 LoL: Runes

2012-01-02T13:37:00.002-08:00

What Are Runes?
Runes are one of two options all summoners have to customize their champions before the game begins. You may buy them from the in-client store and save them to a page in your rune book, which is accessed from your profile page. You can then select a rune page at champion select to give you bonus stats in-game. Some details:
-Runes may be purchased for Influence Points only. IP is earned as a reward for each game you play; Conversely, RP (Riot Points) can only be purchased with real-world money. Riot's business model does not allow you to buy game-affecting content with RP.
-They come in three tiers of power. Summoners below Level 10 are restricted to Tier 1 runes. At higher levels, you may buy Tier 2 runes. Summoners above Level 20 may buy Tier 3 runes.
-Runes come in four types:
Marks (red) specialize in offensive stats
Seals (yellow) specialize in defensive stats
Glyphs (blue) specialize in magical stats
Quintessences (purple) are the most powerful and offer a wide range of choices
List of Runes
-You may combine runes of the same tier in your book to generate new ones. Sacrificing two runes creates one in the same tier, while using five will create a rune one tier higher. Combining runes is cheaper IP-wise than buying them outright, but the result is random. Note that the resulting rune may be of the same type as one of the ingredient runes.
-You unlock a new rune slot with every level you gain. They are unlocked in the order: mark -> seal -> glyph, with a new quint slot opened at levels 10, 20, and 30. Thus there are nine slots each for marks, seals, and glyphs, but only three for quints.
-Each summoner is given ~~three~~ two pages in their rune book for free. The same rune can be present in multiple pages at once. You may buy extra rune pages in the store for 6300 IP or 590 RP each, or in a 7-page bundle for 2600 RP.
-You may freely choose any rune page at champion select, but you may not change their contents as you can with masteries.
When Should I Buy Runes?
That, my friend, is up to you.
However, my advice is to wait until Level 20 before unlocking any runes. Why? Because as soon as you can buy Tier 3 runes, you won't be satisfied with your old Tier 1 and 2s. While you can use the rune combiner to recycle your old ones, the fact that the result is random rarely produces something useful.
Moreover, I feel that your IP is better spent on new champions, at least in the beginning. You'll inevitably find new characters you love to play, and I encourage you to master as many different kinds as possible. Besides, since the different character archetypes call for different rune sets, you may not wish to invest hard-won IP into characters you'll end up dropping anyway.
If you've found a character right away that you really love and are antsy to buy runes to match, consider the fact that Tier 1 runes are very cost-effective. For example, look at Fortitude (health) seals. Tier 3 gives you 5.35 HP per rune and cost 820 IP each. By comparison, Tier 1s give you 2.97 HP, but cost only 60 IP. That's over half the effect for only 7% of the cost!
Which Runes Should I Buy?
Again, this is up to you. Of course:
-Buy runes to complement the characters you play. Obvious enough. Buy stats that either accentuate a champion's strengths or mitigate his weaknesses.
-We usually buy runes with the focus on the early-game. The effect of runes is generally most important at the beginning, when everyone has low stats and few items. Some rune sets retain their significance through the whole game. Consider at which game phases your character is strongest.
-Scaling runes outstrip flat runes ~~starting at champion level 5~~ roughly around the time the laning phase ends. If you expect to see a lot of action in lane, you may get better mileage out of flats.
Where Should I Start?
Most would agree that there are several "best" choices in each category. Here's a list:
Marks
Desolation (armor penetration) - 14.94 total ArPen for 410 x 9 = 3690 IP OR Insight (magic penetration) - 8.55 total MPen for 410 x 9 = 3690 IP

By far the best-in-slot for vast majority of characters. Damage penetration is a tough stat to buy in-game, but it helps your DPS significantly. Notice that few characters have scaling Magic Resist per level, so reducing their base 30 MR to zero is relatively easy combined with masteries and early-game items. Because of the math behind it, flat damage penetration is more valuable the less defense the enemy has. Match them to your damage type.

Alacrity (attack speed) - 15.3% total atkspd for 410 x 9 = 3690 IP

Some champions may prefer to have more attack speed over penetration, e.g. to proc more on-hit effects or shreds. Most junglers will be able to clear the neutral creeps much faster with these.

Seals
Vitality (health per level) - total 175.0 health @ lvl 18 for 410 x 9 = 3690 IP

A decent defensive choice. Notice that HP will protect you from both physical and magic damage.

Defense (Armor per level) - total 24.3 Armor @ lvl 18 for 410 x 9 = 3690 IP

A fine choice if you're not planning to build any armor items. Because of how armor stacks, you may be better off with more health.

Clarity (Mana Regen per level) - total 10.5 MPR @ lvl 18 for 205 x 9 = 1845 IP

These will greatly help your MP management. For many characters, this may be all you need to avoid buying a mana regen item. And they're cheap, too!

Glyphs
Force (Ability Power per level) - total 27.5 AP @ lvl 18 for 410 x 9 = 3690 IP

Ability Power adds damage to most abilities (surprise!). If your character has good ability power ratios, these are most likely your best option. A natural fit for most caster-types.

Focus (Cooldown Reduction) - total 5.85% CDR for 820 x 9 = 7380 IP

Some characters greatly benefit from getting as close to the 40% CDR cap as possible. These can help you get that last little bit you need. Since the new mastery trees have more CDR available compared to Season 1, you might not find them as necessary as before. They're still a decent choice for most any character. Scaling CDR glyphs (Celerity) are better choice ONLY if you're not getting any other source of CDR (you're likely to go over the cap).

Shielding (Magic Resist per level) - total 24.3 MR @ lvl 18 for 205 x 9 = 1845 IP

Extra MR means more survivability. Remember, the less you have, the more valuable it is. For comparison, this rune set offers the same amount of MR as Mercury's Treads, the first defensive item most tanks will buy. Squishy AD carries will especially appreciate these.

Quintessences
Fortitude (Health) - total 78 HP for 2050 x 3 = 6150 IP

Flat HP Quints used to be the default choice for nearly every champion in the game. They've been nerfed since then, but they're still a decent choice. Every single character in the game will benefit from them.

Strength (Attack Damage) - total 6.75 AD for 1025 x 3 = 3075 IP

Physical carries will love these. The extra damage has a very noticeable impact on your harassment potential, particularly if you have long range on your auto-attacks. AD Quints will also tremendously help your last-hitting.

Potency (Ability Power) - total 14.8 AP for 1025 x 3 = 3075 IP

15 AP will give many mage champions a bit more oomph behind their abilities in lane, more so if you've invested in the Archmage mastery or Rabadon's Deathcap.

Swiftness (Move Speed) - total 4.5% MS for 2050 x 3 = 6150 IP

If your character is focused on chasing or kiting (e.g. Udyr, Singed), these will obviously help. Pair them with the Initiator or Swiftness masteries for increased effect!

Avarice (Extra Gold / 10 sec.) - total 3 Gp10 for 515 x 3 = 1545 IP

Support characters just loooooove gold-over-time effects and don't care much about the other stats quints can give. If you find yourself playing such characters a lot, they're a great investment. This set gives an extra 180 gold per 10 minutes, or 810 over a 45-minute game. That's ten extra wards!

Anything Else I Should Know?
Just one thing. One-and-a-half.
If you feel cramped by having only two rune pages, I highly recommend the seven-page bundle. It costs about $20 USD, which is relatively expensive, but on the other hand you'll never be annoyed by your rune book again. It's the only "functional" thing you can buy for RP. Don't bother with buying pages one-at-a-time; it's really painful to shell out 6300 IP for an empty page.
If you do buy the bundle, think of a way to keep your runes organized. Use a system that will help you quickly remember each page's contents in case of last-second switches. I personally name my pages by each color's stats, using lower case letters for scaling runes. That way, I can see right away that my "APen/mpr/mr/AD" page has Armor Penetration marks, scaling MP Regen seals, scaling MR glyphs, and flat AD quints. Easy!

So there you go. As always, feel free to share your rune preferences in the comments. :)

Learn 2 LoL: Game Flow

2012-01-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

-----Know Your Territory-----
As your lane conflict comes to an end (usually through the destruction of one side's tower), you will suddenly find that you have a lot of options as to how to proceed. Before you can make a good decision, you need to be aware of the difference between safe and unsafe places. Listen to your "map sense".
-Safe areas of the map are nearby friendly towers or champions, or are places that you can escape from easily.
-Unsafe territory is anywhere where there is or could be an enemy champion. If you can't see enemies on your minimap, you should always assume they're nearby!
At the start of the game, the map is cleanly divided into safe and unsafe territory: your side and theirs. As each side's towers fall during the course of the match, your side becomes less safe and theirs more so. The map becomes more and more uncertain.
I said it yesterday, but it's important enough to repeat: wards are NOT optional! When you place a ward, you are gaining certainty over an entire section of the map for a whole three minutes, as well as insight into the enemy's movements. If you see the other team walk past your ward into your jungle, you now know your jungle is not safe. Even if you don't see them, you have eliminated several possible enemy positions.
Better map vision means better plays!
-----Farm or Roam?-----
"Farming" means focusing all of your attention on killing minions and jungle creeps, instead of picking off enemies and starting teamfights. If you are a character who needs more items to be effective (i.e. a carry), focus on farming before anything else. If you had a hard time in lane and are behind on your build, farm twice as hard. Don't engage enemy champions, and be ready to book it if they come for you.
However, you must know when to stop farming. Be ready to help your team secure important fights and map objectives. Remember, you are much weaker when split up! It won't matter how long you farmed if you can't use it to help win fights.
-----Dragon Dancing-----
The bottom half of the river is home to Dragon, the main early game map objective. Killing dragon gives your team 975 gold (190 each + 25 for the last-hitter) and gives you a big advantage over the enemy. A common beginner mistake is underestimating the importance of Dragon! You should have Dragon warded as often as possible throughout the game.
Beginning around level 7 or so, start looking for opportunities to claim Dragon. A good time would be after killing the enemy bottom lane or jungler. Get your teammates' attention, then have bot and/or mid lane push their waves to the enemy tower and come to Dragon. You'll generally need 2 or 3 people. Make sure the area is safe; watch your minimap for enemies wise to your plan. Ward the surrounding jungle paths and place a vision ward (if you have one) to kill any enemy wards. When you're ready, have your tankiest teammate hit it once, then walk back to leash it into the river (this is usually safer than fighting in Dragon's little cove). Unload everything you have on it - be quick about it!
Dragon respawns exactly six minutes after it's killed. You want to remember exactly when this happens so that you can retake it ASAP! So when you clear it, look at your game clock in the upper-right-hand corner of your screen, mentally add 6:00, and type it in your chat box (if we get it at 14:35, I'll write, "20:35 dragon"). If the other team got it or you're not sure exactly when it was cleared, give your best estimate ("~21:30 dragon"). If you keep time, you can better coordinate your team to stay on top of it.
If you see the other team starting Dragon and yours is in good position, you should contest it. Even if you can't kill their team, you might still be able to stop it! Oftentimes, you and the enemy will be stuck in a "steal the bacon" situation, where Dragon is unsafe for both teams, but neither can allow the other team to take it. There's a certain... pas de ~~deux~~ dix to it that's characteristic of high-level play. Use your best judgement, stick by your team, and remember that securing (or stealing) Dragon is generally worth ONE teammate dying.
-----Dem Buffs!-----
There are two jungle monsters on each side of the map that carry the powerful "neutral buffs". Killing them grants you their buff, which lasts 2:30 (3:00 with the Runic Affinity mastery) or until you die. If an enemy kills you, they gain possession of it.
-Crest of the Ancient Golem ("blue") - This buff gives the holder a large chunk of Cooldown Reduction and regenerates their mana (or energy) at a high rate. There are few characters who don't like wearing it, but it's especially useful on caster-types who are more limited by their cooldowns and mana.
-Blessing of the Lizard Elder ("red") - The auto-attack of a character wearing this buff will slow the target and deal extra minor damage over time. It's most useful on auto-attacking carries and junglers when they're ready to gank.
There isn't too much to say here. The neutral buffs are pretty important, so protect yours to the best of your ability and try to steal the enemy's when you have the chance.
-----Baron Nashor is Your Bestest Friend-----
Baron Nashor is the "boss" of Summoner's Rift that spawns in the upper half of the river starting at 15:00. Killing him grants every member of your team 900 XP and 200 gold, plus 100 gold for the last-hitter. In addition, every living member of your team gains the Baron Buff:
-Exalted with Baron Nashor - a unit with this buff gains +40 Ability Power, +40 Attack Damage, and a large increase in HP and MP regeneration. Lasts 4:00 and is not transferred upon death.
A team wearing this buff will have a very large advantage over their opponent. If you see the other team wearing it, be prepared to defend your base!
The rules for taking Baron are largely the same as those for Dragon: keep it warded, pick a good opportunity, and do it quickly. However, since killing Baron takes much longer and leaves you more vulnerable, you need to be extra sure to keep the surrounding area warded. Failure to do so could allow the enemy to steal the last-hit or trap you in Baron's cove. As with Dragon, knowing the right time to engage and when to shift your attention is key. When it's killed, mark its respawn time at seven minutes after.
A well-coordinated team can move to claim Baron as early as 20:00. Don't forget to ward it.
-----Teamfighting Basics-----
Teamfights are the meat of this game. The success or failure of your team depends on many factors, but here are three main points:
-Know when to fight and when to run
If your team doesn't have a reasonable chance of winning teamfights, you simply shouldn't fight them. Defend your towers and farm until you can. Consider using a poke strategy, backdooring, or split-pushing the enemy towers, but don't instigate a fight. Stay safe and don't get caught. If your teammate gets caught, leave them behind unless you're absolutely sure you can help; otherwise, the enemy will just kill you both.
-Engage together
If your team is strong and ready to fight, group up and move together. Look for good opportunities to initiate fights or catch enemies when they're split up. Punish bad positioning. Force them to contest you at map objectives (Dragon, Baron, and their towers). Plan ahead of time which characters and skills you're going to initiate with.
-Have your kill priorities in order
You almost always want to focus their squishy carries first. Ignore their tanks as best you can. Protect your own squishies with your tanks. Pay attention to both your own positioning and that of your opponents.
-----Press Your Advantage!-----
If you're ahead and winning team fights, it's critical to capitalize on your success. If you don't, you're just allowing the enemy more time to catch up. Don't forget that the goal of the game is to kill towers and inhibitors, so shove them down whenever you get a good chance. Always put pressure on the enemy! A few strategies you might use are:
-Poking - Keep your whole team together and use ranged abilities without engaging a full-blown fight. An effective poke team will force the enemy back to base to heal without ever actually fighting.
-Split-pushing - Separate your team into two or more groups and push multiple lanes at the same time. The opposing team will have to either split up or choose a tower to lose.
-Backdooring - Have four team members defend towers while your fifth quickly pushes alone. This forces their team to respond to a single person, giving you an opening.
Keep in mind that knocking down enemy towers will allow your minions to get closer to their base, making it easier for them to farm. If you don't continue to pressure them, you're just making their comeback easier. Don't let that happen!

I think that's pretty much everything you need to know about mid- and late-game LoL. If anyone has something else to add, please post it in the comments! :)

Learn 2 LoL: Laning

2012-01-02T13:36:00.001-08:00

Today, I'm going to be talking about the first stage of the game, laning. Everything starts here, both in terms of the game and developing as a player, so you should pay attention to this before anything else. And since every single game includes laning, you'll be sure to have lots of opportunities to practice! There's a lot to cover, so let's get to it.

Step 1: Have a lane in mind BEFORE you pick a character
As you play, you will quickly learn each character's preferred placement on your team. Look at the characters your team has already chosen and do your best to fill in the gaps. Eventually, you will begin to catch on to advanced concepts like team composition and "The Meta", but until then, choose characters you feel comfortable with and experiment. Your team composition doesn't matter when nobody knows how to play (yet).
Step 2: Have your priorities in order
Through the laning phase, your priorities (from most to least important) are:
-Not die
-Destroy the enemy's tower
-Gain XP (be in range when enemy minions die)
-Last-hit enemy minions for gold
-Deny the enemy XP and gold by zoning
-Harass/kill enemy champions
Note that the order of these can change depending on the circumstances; for instance, you may decide it's more important to keep the enemy from farming so as to delay their build. However, not dying is always the most important. When you die, not only do you give the enemy gold, you are missing out on XP/gold by waiting to respawn and walk back to lane.
Step 3: Control your zone
First, watch Shurelia's zoning tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kxGQ3gWdrM
Videos, fun!
Each champion has an area around them that they control, the size of which depends on the ranges of their auto-attack and abilities. Avoid walking into enemy zones and use yours to create pressure. If two opposing players walk into each other's zone, they will trade damage, and whoever deals more will come out ahead. Learning the size of each character's zone and the damage available to them in lane comes with experience.
Pay attention to how minions and brush affect your zones. Minions block most skill shots, so don't hesitate to use them as a shield. Enemies need sight of you to auto-attack, so hiding in the brush can foil those pesky ranged carries.
Step 4: Understand aggro
"Aggro" is when the AI controlling the enemy's units focuses on you. You don't want it! All minions, towers, and enemy champions targeting you will have a yellow border around them.
-If you attack an enemy champion, nearby enemy minions will aggro you. At the first few levels, they will deal significant damage to you.
-Towers aggro the first enemy unit to walk in their range, so let minions go first.
-If you attack an enemy champion under their turret, they will switch aggro to you. Be careful!
As you get more experienced with your character, you may choose to "tower-dive" (ignore aggro) in order to kill a low enemy champion. It's a risky move at all levels of play.
Step 5: The art of the last-hit
Learning how to last-hit is the most important skill you can learn. In terms of resources, LoL is a race to farm as quickly as possible and buy your end-game items. The more gold your team has, the stronger you are and the larger your advantage over your opponents. And while champion kills are worth a lot more than minions, keep in mind that about 10 15 CS (creep score) equals one kill.
So how do you do it? Simple: get the last hit on as many minions as you can. Watch the minions' health bars and find which ones are decreasing fastest. When they have only a sliver of health left, right-click them. Success is dependent on good judgement and familiarity with your character's damage and attack animation. Don't get discouraged if you're having trouble; remember, it just takes practice!
If the minions have been pushed back under your tower, last-hitting will be more difficult. You may need to use some of your abilities to keep your tower from stealing the gold. Again, practice! Some tips:
-Melee minions will be left in last-hit territory after two (2) tower hits. Let the tower hit them twice, then finish them off.
-Caster minions are trickier. Try to hit each one once BEFORE they get in tower range. One tower shot at this point leaves them in last-hit range.
-If you issue a "hold" command (bound to "S" by default), your champion will not auto-attack the creeps until you issue a new order. You can use this to time your last-hits easier.
Step 6: Don't push your lane!
At the beginning of the game, each team's first minion wave will clash right in the center of the lane. As you fight, they will be "pushed" towards one side or the other. In general, you want to avoid as much as possible situations in which the wave is on the enemy's side of the river. Why?
-You will be further from your tower. That is, safety is that much farther away should something go wrong.
-The enemy will be closer to their tower, and therefore harder to finish off.
-You leave yourself open to ganks from other lanes or the enemy jungler.
The ideal place for the minions to clash, then, is on your side of the river. This forces the enemy to stay on your side of the map, making them more vulnerable. Since dealing damage to enemy minions pushes the lane, the Golden Rule of Laning is:
Last-hit, and ONLY last-hit!
Of course, when you have a good opportunity to damage the enemy tower, you need to push the lane first. If you do it fast enough, the tower will even kill off all your minions and "reset" the lane back to the middle. An aggressive lane may also choose to push the lane to put more pressure on the enemy.
Step 7: Wards are NOT optional!
Sight Wards, available in the shop for a mere 75 gold, are your best friends. You may not realize it, but the lowly ward is the most important item in the game. Why? Because LoL is fundamentally a game of area control. By gaining more sight of the map, you gain direct influence over the game. In short, Map vision enables good plays.
In the laning phase, wards are important mostly because they stop ganks. When you place a ward in the river brush, you are making it safe to push your lane. If you see someone coming from the river to stop you, book it. Without that one measly 75g ward, you would probably have died, giving at least 300g to the enemy and missing out on way more than the 75g it would've cost you. So don't forget!
-If you have more than 75g left over after buying items, buy AT LEAST one (1) Sight Ward.
-It is EVERYONE'S responsibility to ward the map as much as possible.
-If you don't see your lane opponent for awhile, it is considered good etiquette to call "MIA". However, it is YOUR responsibility to watch the minimap for missing opponents. Consider MIAs a luxury.
(For those of you wondering, Vision Wards are used to watch for stealthed champs and enemy wards. You generally don't need to bother with them.)

So, that's pretty much everything! It's a lot to take in, to be sure, but it's all important to a successful laning phase. And since the laning phase decides the shape of everything that comes after it, you owe it to yourself to do your very best.
Win the lane -> win the game!
If I've forgotten anything, I'm sure someone in the comments will help me remember. :)

Viktor, the machine herald in game and dance

2011-12-14T12:30:00.000-08:00

Heres the in game model and Dance for the leaked champion Viktor, The Machine Herald. Enjoy and thanks to whoever uploaded this

League of Legends Leaked Champion: Viktor the Machine Herald

2011-12-14T12:26:00.000-08:00

This is all the information you need to know about the new upcoming champion, Viktor the Machine Herald, I'll show you his skins, abilities, cost, and lore. His base stats are also linked here.

Thanks to whoever found this info.

Viktor the Machine Herald Skins.

Viktor, The Machine Herald

COST:

6300 IP
975 RP

ABILITIES:

Passive: Evolving Technology Viktor starts with a Hex Core that provides him with stats and can be upgraded in the store to augment one of his abilities. The Hex Core can only be upgraded once, and cannot be sold back to the store.
The Hex Core (Can Not Be Sold) +3 Ability Power per level This item can be upgraded into one of three augments that enhance Viktor’s basic abilities. Click the item in the store to discover its upgrades.

Q: Power Transfer – Viktor blasts an enemy unit dealing magic damage, returning a portion of the damage dealt as a shield.
Augment: +3 Ability Power per level, +220 Health, +6 Health Regen per 5 seconds
Ability Augment: Increases Viktor’s Movement Speed by 30% for 3 seconds

W: Gravity Field – Viktor conjures a heavy gravitational field, slowing all enemies and stacking a debuff every 0.5 seconds. At 3 stacks enemies inside are stunned for 1.5 seconds.
Augment: +3 Ability Power per level, +200 Mana, +10% Cooldown Reduction, +5 Mana Regen per 5 seconds
Ability Augment: Gravity Field has an additional 30% cast range.

E: Death Ray – Viktor uses his robotic arm to fire a chaos beam that cuts across the field in a line, dealing damage to any opponents struck in its path.
Augment: +3 Ability Power per level, +45 Ability Power
Ability Augment: Death Ray sets fire to enemies, dealing 30% additional magic damage over 4 seconds.

R: Chaos Storm – Viktor conjures a singularity on the field which deals magic damage and briefly silences enemies. The singularity then does magic damage to all nearby enemies every second. Viktor can redirect the singularity.
R: (Chaos Storm Activated): Storm Control – Relocate the singularity
to your cursor position.

\/ Click below to read his lore!

LORE:

Lore: Early in life, Viktor discovered his passion for science and invention, particularly in the field of mechanical automation. He attended Zaun’s prestigious College of Techmaturgy and led the team that constructed Blitzcrank — a scientific breakthrough that he expected to vault him to the top of his profession. Unfortunately his triumph was usurped by Professor Stanwick, who stole credit for developing Blitzcrank’s sentience and later used Viktor’s research to revive Urgot. Viktor’s appeals for justice fell on deaf ears, and he sank into a deep depression. He withdrew from the College and barricaded himself in his private laboratory, cutting all human ties. There, in secret, he conceived a project for which nobody else could claim credit. Desiring both to revolutionize his field and to eliminate the jealous human emotions which festered inside him, he engineered parts to replace and improve his own body. When Viktor re-emerged, almost no trace of the original man remained. Not only had he supplanted the majority of his anatomy, but his personality had changed. His previous hope to better society was replaced by an obsession with what he called ”the glorious evolution.” He saw himself as the patron and pioneer of Valoran’s future — a future in which man would renounce his flesh in favor of superior hextech augmentations. Though Viktor’s initial appeals were met with heavy skepticism, scientists were confounded by the sophistication of his machinery. By integrating his mind with techmaturgical devices, he had been able to drastically accelerate the progress of his research. His transformation had stripped him of what he perceived as his emotional weaknesses, but there was some lingering residue of resentment against the Professor. Viktor joined the League of Legends to pit his inventions against the greatest opponents Valoran could offer, and to correct any weaknesses or inefficiencies that remained. ”In one’s hand, techmaturgy is a tool. As one’s hand, it is liberation.” -Viktor

Viktor @ level 1:
310 MS
525 range
463 HP (+78/lvl)
290 MP (+50/lvl)
7.40 HP5 (+0.65/lvl)
4.75 MP5 (+0.45/lvl)
16.00 armor (+4.00/lvl)
30.00 MR (+0.00/lvl)
52.00 damage (+3.00/lvl)
0.625 AS (+2.110%/lvl)

Viktor @ level 18:
310 MS
525 range
1789 HP
1140 MP
18.45 HP5
12.40 MP5
84.00 armor
30.00 MR
103.00 damage
0.849 AS

League of Legends Patch, Volibear (League of Legends v1.0.0.130)

2011-11-29T11:09:00.000-08:00

Another week, another League of Legends Patch. Heres the Volibear patch for all those interested, new balance changes and sivir gets re-done. Looks like alot of people aren't too happy with the new volibear patch and changes.

New Skins in the Store

Thunder Lord Volibear
Northern Storm Volibear
Silverfang Akali
Imperial Lux

League of Legends v1.0.0.130
Volibear, the Thunder’s Roar

Rolling Thunder: Volibear drops to all fours and runs faster if chasing an enemy champion. The first enemy he attacks is knocked into the air and flung behind Volibear.
Frenzy: Volibear's repeated attacks grant him additional attack speed. Once Volibear has repeatedly attacked three times, he can perform a vicious bite on his target.
Majestic Roar: Volibear lets out a powerful roar that damages and slows enemies. Minions and monsters are feared as well.
Thunder Claws: Volibear channels the power of the storm causing his attacks to blast his targets with lightning that bounces to other nearby enemies.
Chosen of the Storm (passive): Volibear heals rapidly for a few seconds when his health drops to a critical level.

Fizz

Urchin Strike's targeting updating to hit targets slightly earlier
Urchin Strike's attack component can no longer be dodged

Jarvan IV

Martial Cadence (Passive)
- Damage changed to physical from magic
- Damage changed to 6/8/10% (at levels 1/7/13) of the target's current health from 8%
- No longer procs spell effects such as Rylai's or Spell Vamp
Increased the hitbox size of Demacian Standard when targeted by Dragon Strike

Karthus

Wall of Pain
- Wall duration reduced to 5 seconds from 7
- Now only affects a target once (instead of reapplying every pass through)
Fixed a bug where Leona's passive and the Dominion center Sigil could cause an immediate double kill against Karthus

Kassadin

Fixed a bug which caused Force Pulse to cast backwards after performing Rift Walk

Katarina

Shunpo now always moves Katarina behind the target regardless if Killer Instincts is active

Kog'maw

Fixed a bug where where if you killed an enemy that exploded using Icathian Surprise, the enemy was awarded an extra kill (Shaco Hallucinate clone, Maokai)
Fixed a bug where Brand's Pyroclasm would give Brand an extra kill if it was traveling toward Kog'maw when Icathian Surprise triggered
Fixed a bug where if Ignite killed Kog'maw, it would cause Icathian Surprise to not trigger
Fixed a bug where Vayne's Silvered Bolts sometimes caused Icathian Surprise to not trigger

Riven

Blade of the Exile tooltip updated to display how much attack damage you will gain. It has also been clarified to state that Blade of the Exile scales off TOTAL attack damage, not bonus attack damage.

Sivir (Remake)

General
- Attack range increased to 500 from 425
- Attack missile speed increased to 1400 from 1200
- Updated her attack frames to be more responsive
- Base attack speed reduced to .658 from .679
- Base attack damage reduced to 49 from 52.11
- Updated recommended items
Fleet of Foot (Passive) – Remake
- Sivir’s basic attacks against enemy champions grant her 50 Movement Speed for 2 seconds
Boomerang Blade
- Mana cost reduced to 70/80/90/100/110 from 80/90/100/110/120
- Damage changed to physical from magic
- Bonus attack damage ratio increased to 1.1 from 1.0
- No longer has an ability power ratio
Ricochet - Remake
- Sivir’s next basic attack bounces to 5 additional targets dealing 20/35/50/65/80 (+ 1.0 Attack Damage) physical damage to the first target and 25% reduced damage to each subsequent target. 7/6/5/4/3 second cooldown. 40 Mana cost.
On The Hunt
- Now additionally applies the buff to allies who come into range while On the Hunt is active rather than only on activation.
- Attack speed bonus changed to 30/45/60% from 30/60/90%
- Allied attack speed gain increased to half of Sivir’s bonus from a third
- Cooldown adjusted to 100/90/80 seconds from 90

Taric

Shatter ability power ratio increased to 0.6 from 0.4
Radiance ability power ratio increased to 0.7 from 0.6

Vayne

Fixed a couple small bugs introduced to Condemn with Fizz patch

Yorick

Fixed a bug where Ignite's tick damage dealing the killing blow caused Omen of Death to fail to reanimate its bearer
Fixed a bug where Leona's Sunlight passive and the Dominion center Sigil could cause an immediate double kill against the Omen of Death target
Fixed a bug where if Ignite killed the Omen of Death bearer, they would not be reanimated
Fixed a bug where Vayne's Silvered Bolts sometimes caused Omen of Death to fail to reanimate its bearer

Items

Health Potions now restore 150 health over 15 seconds (instead of 200 health over 20 seconds)
Madred's Razor
- Proc chance increased to 20% from 15%
- Proc damage reduced to 300 from 500
Mana Potions now restore 100 mana over 15 seconds (from 100 over 20)
Wriggle's Lantern proc damage reduced to 425 from 500

General

Chat window location will be now saved between games
Improved the targeting algorithms; it should now be much easier to select units that are obscured
Damage from lane minions to champions reduced by about 15%
Jungle Adjustments
- Small camps now respawn faster, but have reduced rewards
- Small camps now have a Healing Sigil, healing the killer based upon how much health they are missing
- Neutral monsters now have their health, damage, experience reward, and gold reward increase with game length, instead of having health increases with each respawn
- Neutral monster experience range reduced to 400 from 800 (the killer always gets experience)
- Ancient Golem camp experience increased slightly and gold reduced slightly
- Crest of the Ancient Golem now grants 25 flat MP5, but grants 1% regen from maximum mana, from 1.5%, and provides energy
- Lizard Elder camp experience increased and gold reduced slightly
- Blessing of the Lizard Elder melee slow % reduced to 8/16/24% from 10/20/30%
- Dragon and Baron Nashor are now immune to armor and magic resist-shredding effects
- Baron Nashor will now push wards away if you try to place one too close
- Monsters now heal 5% immediately when they retreat (instead of after 1 second), but are easier to re-aggro

Volibear Patch New Skins!

2011-11-29T11:00:00.000-08:00

Here are just the new patch skins for the volibear patch in League of Legends. They look pretty awesome. Good job riot for the Akali, Lux, Gangplank, Warwick, Janna, and Tristana skins. Enjoy. I also included the in game models for all the new volibear patch skins.

Silverfang Akali skin + In game model

Imperial Lux skin + In game Model

Tristana Skin + In Game Model

Warwick Skin + In Game Model

Gangplank skin + In Game Model

Volibear, The Thunders Roar

2011-11-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

More information is provided for Volibear, The Thunders roar. Mechanics and pictures are included in this blog post. An in game model of Volibear is also included.


Volibear, The Thunders Roar

Abilties:

Rolling Thunder: Volibear drops to all fours and runs faster if chasing an enemy champion. The first enemy he attacks is knocked into the air.
Frenzy: Volibear's repeated attacks grant him additional attack speed. Once Volibear has repeatedly attacked four times, he can perform a vicious bite on his target.
Majestic Roar: Volibear lets out a powerful roar that damages and slows enemies. Minions and monsters are feared as well.
Thunder Claws (Ultimate): Volibear channels the power of the storm causing his attacks to blast his targets with lightning that bounces to other nearby enemies.
Chosen of the Storm (passive): Volibear heals rapidly for a few seconds when his health drops to a critical level.

Lore:

Though the northern reaches of Freljord are some of the most unforgiving lands in Valoran, the Ursine have survived upon the region's barren, stormy tundra for centuries. As a fierce and respected warrior of the Ursine, Volibear devoted his life to the protection of his people and loyalty to his elder brother, the tribe's chief. When his brother was killed during a hunt on the tundra, the tribe looked to Volibear as his successor. It was an honor and a burden that Volibear had never expected, but he shouldered the charge with pride. However, by Ursine tradition, the tribe could not recognize Volibear as chief until he returned from a journey to the peak of their sacred mountain, a place forever shrouded in a thundering maelstrom. There, Ursine chieftains must speak to the storm itself, gaining clarity and wisdom to empower them as mighty leaders.

Donning the chieftain's traditional armor and enchanted gauntlets, Volibear began the long and perilous climb up the slopes of the mountain. When he reached the peak and gazed into the raging storm above, he saw a horrific vision of a Freljord utterly consumed by war. Amidst the carnage, the Ursine fell dead upon a bloody battlefield. Believing the vision to be an omen of things to come if he did not act against them, Volibear traveled to the capitol of Freljord. The Ursine had not ventured across the southern mountains in centuries and his appearance was met with unease. However, Queen Ashe recognized Volibear as a wise and powerful ally. In what Volibear considered the first step against a war-torn future, they forged an alliance. As part of their agreement, he joined the League of Legends in the name of a unified Freljord, representing the primal might of his nation on the Field of Justice.

''Few can weather the storm that follows in the wake of Volibear's roar.'' - Ashe, the Frost Archer


In Game Model of Volibear, The Thunders Roar

Jungle League of Legends Remake

2011-11-26T11:30:00.000-08:00

To explain Jungle changes in the new League of legends patch, Guinsoo posted an in depth post to clarify any problems. With the new Jungle Remake it'll definitely be a different meta, so to get a head start you should read all the information guinsoo provided. This will help create ur league of legends jungle strategy

Hello all,

I don't intend for this to become anything like a blog but I want to address a few points I've been seeing on the forum, and expand a bit on what the Patch Preview showed/explained. I've been involved with the jungle adjustments since they got started about 6 months ago so I'd like to post some more detailed information about the changes and their intended effects.

The small camps are where the biggest changes have been made. As the patch preview noted, they all respawn faster and they all have a sigil, but it's just a one-shot heal that heals for an increasing flat amount based on health missing. It also doesn't scale with game length, although we are considering that on the backburner (unneeded for primary set of adjustments). The primary purpose of this heal is to support low-level summoners, who generally will remain at the lowest amount of health. The reward per respawn rate has been slightly increased; if we reduced the rewards of the small camps by the amount we reduced their respawn timer by, junglers would fall significantly behind due to the increased run times. The initial spawn timers for camps have not been increased; they remain at 1:40 and 1:55.

Some things you can expect from the new jungle:

1. The time to 4 is slightly longer for most (likely all) champions. I have seen a lot of threads suggesting that the jungle has become more OP, and while I can't say that's not the case, one consequence of the shorter spawn times on small camps is that a full clear will not quite get you to 4. However, a full clear plus any small camp will get you to 4, so you have a lot of flexibility in terms of where you start and end, and if you want to gank at 4, you can set your route up to end at any small camp to gank where you want.

2. The jungle is a little less survival limited, and a little more time limited. In the current jungle on live, you have to be able to sustain yourself at least until 4, because the jungle is hard, and that's the primary inhibition. Only once a champion meets this primary criteria do others come into consideration like clear time, gank ability, transition to endgame, etc. In the new jungle, it's a little more about ability to clear the camps and ability to optimize your time. As the patch preview noted, the fact that the small camps are generally constantly respawning means you are choosing between farming your jungle, ganking, going back to shop, or counterjungling/map control, and this was a primary goal: inject more choice, unpredictability, and decision-making into jungling. However just because you're not farming your jungle constantly doesn't mean it's a waste, there's no reason that while you're ganking top bottom can't send one person to quick clear Golems. They will be back up before the jungler gets back there. Same with Wraiths, mid can clear them quickly between waves. With good coordination a team can get more farm out of the jungle, and more ganks from their jungler.

2b. By shortening the respawn timers, the jungler must choose between multiple strong actions. Currently with long gaps between jungle respawns, it creates situations with less choice than we'd like. With more things that must be tended to, the junglers job is made more difficult, while the physical jungle is made a little easier. This also ties into the predictability of ganks.

3. Ganks are a little more unpredictable. #1 and #2 (among other factors) create a scenario where the jungler has more health at all times, and the jungle is basically ready to clear at any time, so if there is a good opportunity to gank he might be more likely to take it. On the test realm we have seen more level 2 and 3 ganks than we initially expected. Ideally this should be lane-mandated and flexible: for example if a lane is being pushed hard, it should be easier for the jungler to get the gank without setting his team too far behind.

4. Counterjungling is probably a little stronger. We pushed a lot of the small camp rewards out of the small monsters and into the big ones. Taking the healing sigil and 95% of a camp's reward while leaving a monster to hold the respawn is quite strong. Additionally, Ancient Golem and Lizard Elder camps give a little more exp reward and is a little more central to a jungler's fast clear to 4, so we may see more tension and fights around these enemy camps early in the game. Still, feedback has been consistent that counterjungling feels less bad to play against because of the faster respawning camps, so that sounds like a win-win to me. I note that I say probably because we adjusted this ratio down about 2 weeks ago due to feedback that counterjungling was still too strong. We do have a feature ready where counterjungled camps respawn 100% slower (X%), but in testing counterjungling proved strong enough that we did not move forward with it. I suspect this is related to the increased time scarcity for junglers.

5. Nashor and Dragon are now immune to shreds. No more 15 second Nashors. Yay! Dragon might be a little undertuned health-wise, and we're watching it. He's tougher 1v1 or 1v2 but probably a little easier for a full group, especially later in the game.

6. I don't think the jungle has been oversimplified for experienced players. It is a little easier for new players, and they will struggle to some degree in the jungle anyway (unless prepared), but with newer players the game in general is very unpredictable. Have you ever watched a game full of new players? Lanes can go untended for long periods of time, farm is very low, kills are usually very high. The jungler should learn quickly that other things must be done to be successful; plus who doesn't want to get involved in some fights? For level 30 summoners, the easier jungle is offset by more frequent encounters with monsters, an increased need to gank due to health potion and minion changes, increased incentive to counterjungle, etc. There are a lot of moving levers within the jungle and a harsh incoming-damage-based barrier to entry is not necessarily the only way to make the jungle interesting, varied, and have sufficient balancing mechanics.

7. Similar to above, while I think there might be more champions it's possible to jungle with, I don't think there will be many more good junglers. As with any class, there are the better options and there are the worse options, to varying degree. The biggest 'class' of jungler that probably got weaker the sustain junglers; almost all of which are good in lane, and still, having high/full health when you gank at a less predictable time is always good. We did initially see some weird stuff like jungle Annie, but it kind of fizzled out because all she really has going for her is the vicious 6 gank. She's too gold-reliant to jungle.

8. I do see these changes actually making jungling a little less required. I think currently there are some interesting things you can do in a 2v1 lane, but the disadvantage of not having a jungler vs theirs (when he has full farm on higher-yield monsters, plus the only team with repeated available ganks) is too great. In other words I think teams always have to take a jungler right now because giving the other team the only jungler is too strong. I can see one team running a 2-1-2 comp or a 1-1-2 with a roaming support that can jungle (Alistar, Maokai), or on the other end of the fence a team with a jungler and a roamer that can counterjungle. This may not happen, and isn't really a primary focus of the changes, but I'd be curious and excited if it did.

Overall the set of jungle changes have been the result of a lot of iteration and have been testing in a pretty stable state for some time now. This post was pretty impromptu so it really doesn't reflect the full attention we have given to these set of changes, but I was hoping to shed a little more detail into the changes than the patch preview and a lot more information as to the reasoning behind the changes, and what sorts of behavior and action we've seen in testing. I might have a few additional thoughts that I will edit in.

Guinsoo

As well, Stonewall008 made a short video on all the jungle league of legends changes, enjoy the strategies for the remake

Raise your ELO in League of Legends (How To Play) Guide

2011-11-24T14:07:00.000-08:00

Want to raise your ELO in LoL? Read this league of legends guide an make sure to follow it. Teaches you everything on how to play well in League of Legends.

Know your Role. What does this mean?

Warding Everyone has to do this, whatever lane you are in FUCKING WARD IT! your team can help you of course, but don't always rely on them when you are in base buy 1 ward 75g is not that hard to get. Here is a link of good warding! locations. I have marked them in black dots on the map, based on the side you are on warding their jungle is only good when you have pushed passed that tower. If they have pushed your tower then warding your jungle is a must!!!!!
Support: Well if you are going to play support no matter what the class is (you asshole last pick not taking an actual support). This commonly happens with 4th and 5th pick, they refuse to see that they will have to play support and do not pick the sustain they need to IE Soraka, Sona, Ali etc. Which is fine no problem, but not only do you hurt yourself, but the team as well. As support having good map awareness is key, know jungle routes and how long it will take for a jungler to clear. With CV changes this is very helpful so you can make sure you see where they are without having to waste CV all on searching for jungler. Also with CV you need to check to see if your team is going for a gank light up the are the enemy player is heading to.
AD Carry Know when to go in, i can't stress this enough. People assume just because you initiate the fight the support has to be there and when you die it's their fault for not following you. If AD carry is your best that is great no problem, but know what your support and the enemy support is capable of. Very important, question why don't you ever harass if enemy has a Sona early on? Well her Q will do double damage and her W will lower your damage by 20% when she has 3 stacks. People wonder why Sona can burst early on or why their AD didn't die when you do so much damage. Just fucking farm to victory. You know you did your job well if you keep up with the CS of enemy team even if they are pushing into your tower.
Top and Mid These other 2 lanes have the same basic function. Farm, farm, and farm some more. Get those items if you can get the kill great, but focus on farm more. 16 creep kills is ~300 gold so roughly 3 waves. These do not diminish like hero kills. They are constant so 100 CS is 3 hero kills and more. So even if you die in your lane because you did something stupid keep farming. Furthermore, WARD YOUR FUCKING LANE. Know how much your items cost most top and mid will save for catalyst or brutalizer both around 1300 gold mark. But you had to go back you are low hp out of mana etc. 2 Options when in base (1. buy complete item) or (2. buy 1 ward, pot if need be, and part of the item). Almost always go with option 2 unless you are dominating your lane, but even then option 2 is safer, better, and you will still dominate your lane.
Also, if you are playing mid or top simply staying in your lane and farming and killing your enemy is not enough. Go gank other lanes. Mid especially. You have free range to go top and bottom and help gank with or without the jungler. Top it is a little tougher to do that with, but Mid has no excuses. But what about my tower? Simple push your creeps into enemy tower if they had to go back, this option works great even if they are there to deny them CS. When you go back see if you can help gank bottom or top and do it. You will either get a kill or make them use a flash and thus making it easier for jungler to gank.
Jungler Finally the hardest role to play in my opinion is jungler. A jungler is only as good as his team. Plain and simple if your teammates are good they will set you up for ganks this is the dream of every jungler. If you are stuck with this role, key things to remember is while clearing your jungle also look around the map. You have a few seconds while auto attacking to look at top, mid, and bottom see who will need your help the most. Which lane is over extended. Look at chat your team should be telling you who has used their flash etc. Keep track of time. Blue/Red 5 minute respawn, Dragon 6 minutes, Baron 7 minutes. Keep track, tell your team Dragon times when to be ready. You have to tell Top to be ready 2 minutes ahead of time. TOP GET YOUR ASS DOWN THERE FUCK YOUR TOWER! Read section above for what you need to do ahead of time. I know i have been discourage from jungling in ranked, because the majority of blame will fall on you if you lose, but i know how to set my jungler up making both our lives simpler. As a jungler also know how much money you will have from clearing, possible ganks factoring in wards every time you go back. Since as a jungler you will spend the most time going back to base, you have to help top mid and bottom ward as well. What bugs me the most and i have seen this done with many junglers is they don't get an escape IE Flash or Ghost. This is a must not only for escaping, but for ganking too! These spells are better then exhaust, cleanse, ignite simple as that.
But the things above are not something you can just read and will know how to do. You MUST play every role to know their weakness and strengths. I'm not saying you need to be great at every role, but you must be great at least with 2 and with many heroes. You can't play ranked knowing only 2 heroes and have 3 rune page setup all for Top or Mid that will not work. Play in normals as the roles you need practice on or just plain need to learn how they work.
Lastly, just because you watch the streams of high elo players and see them do something crazy with a hero. DON'T DO IT you are not as good, you suck. Yeah i know it hurts, but you do and that is half the battle. Knowing you suck, knowing you will fuck up so plan ahead. Those guys in top ELO are not up there by themselves they duo queue to get up there. But once up there, life is golden right? FUCK NO! Even up there people either choose to ignore the simple rules above or are just fucking bad, and those lucky fucks got carried up there. Now please don't take this as me saying not to watch CLG, Epik or any of the TSM streams. In fact do watch them. My suggestion is pick the stream that fits with the role you want to play the most. You will pick up things from them. IE Reginald running movement quints on his Cassi( not confirmed yet, but i saw his movement speed vs Cassi's normal speed ). Great idea they will not tell you these things, because they don't think about it or care to share etc. That is their right and i'm sure they want to keep as much of their strat a secret as possible. But if you pay attention to their buys/stats you will see the rules above i got from watching their streams. Everything i've learned is from them and by playing 200+ games of ranked myself.
If you got through all of this, Thank you. I hope this helps you because i will probably end up playing with you. I got so frustrated the last few times i've played went from 1500 to 1390 because my team doesn't know what to do. I try to type most of this in game when i can. But i figure this will be a better to do here and hopefully come across more people who follow these rules.
Oh almost forgot. Here are a few rules i've created for myself to follow(sometimes).

If you are on a losing streak, stop playing for a little take a breather, smoke some trees, rub one out, do some exercise whatever to take your mind off the game for an hour. You will get angry and become jaded and you wont help anyone in that state of mind.
If you are 1st or 2nd pick, imo you should go AD bot mainly because i think this takes more skill to play and if you think you are better then everyone on your team do it. The others will gladly take mid top since they are calling it anyway. If you are 4th and 5th pick SHUT THE FUCK UP. Look at what your team is picking and harden the fuck up and play the other roles your team needs. 3rd pick, i think you have it the best and also the most important pick. You of all the picks should be counter picking the lane you are going into. Know what most heroes counter.
If you are captain and are in the 1200 to 1300 elo range. Don't ban akali, morgana or shaco. People that low suck with those heroes and won't be able to bring out the best of those heroes. Which only helps you!!!! Sometimes it all about the mind games let them have those heroes. if they are amazing players it wont matter what hero they play you are fucked. If they are average or shit and saw high elo players do great with them and made it look easy, "HEY I CAN DO THAT TOO LETS TRY!" WRONG! WRONG! that akali just fed teemo top gg.
Know the best time for you to play in your time zone. This isn't a proven science, but there is some logic to it. Avoid weekends anytime. Hell take weekends as practice champs time. Weekdays is the best time to play imo. People who have jobs/family/school will have something to do. For me i found playing early and late weekdays was the best time. The pool of idiots is lower and increasing your chance of wins.

But again even i break my own rules and i hate myself for it later by raging like a BITCH!
Please feel free to add in anything i have missed or you think might be helpful. I want this to reach the top and help all those looking to get higher rating and GOOD LUCK!

Giant Armored Bear Champion, Volibear, The Thunders Roar

2011-11-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Golden Compass anyone? The new champion for LoL will be a giant armored bear, named Volibear. We dont know what he does yet but if its anything like the movie its probably gonna be pretty cool. Anyone wanna play an armored bear champion? Wish I knew who was the designer for this one.

Volibear, The Thunders Roar

Every once in a while, there comes a champion so controversial that even the executives can’t agree on what to do with them. Some might claim that the combination of two awesome elements can only yield up an even greater awesome of truly epic proportions, while others might cling to the superstition that too much awesome isolated in one particular being can only lead inevitably to disaster.

The two awesome elements that we’re talking about in this case are, of course: bears and gigantic suits of armor.
For many of you, Volibear, the Thunder’s Roar is no doubt the best news you will get in the time of your natural lives. For others, we understand the anxiety that might accompany the thought of facing down a massive, armored bear. If you’re one of those summoners afflicted by a phobia of bear armory, we’ve arranged to include the following comic to help you face down your fears.
Ursine enthusiasts everywhere rejoice! Your bear in shining armor has nearly arrived!

Black Friday League of Legends Sale

2011-11-19T10:20:00.000-08:00

A bunch of skins will be on sale for that day in league of legends, Riot will be putting 21 skins all for sale 75% off of regular price. The post below will show the exact offers of which skins go on sale. This is the best time to stock up on skins! Legacy skins will be sold this day, then will be retired.

Summoners!

On Monday, the 28th of November, we will be retiring 21 of our more classic skins from the League of Legends store to make room for the next generation of awesome champion apparel. These retired skins, known as Legacy Skins, will no longer be available for purchase, but may reappear in the store under very special circumstances. But before this happens, we will be hosting a massive sale on Friday, November 25, to commemorate their departure.

Naturally, all Legacy Skins will still be playable for anyone who owns them after they have been retired, and will still be visible to other players in game and at the load screen. You will have to own a Legacy Skin, however, in order to be able to view it in a champion’s profile. In the event that you’re the owner of a champion with only two skins remaining for purchase following this initiative, don’t worry! These champions have some fantastic new skins in development that we’ll be releasing in the near future.

And so, in preparation for the kickoff of the Legacy Skin Project, we’ve decided to offer one of our most ambitious sales to date. Starting next Friday, the 25th of November and running through midnight Pacific Time on Monday the 28th of November, we will be placing 21 classic League of Legends skins on sale for 75% off! Don’t miss your chance to pick up these awesome skins as they become collector’s items!

Additionally, if you want to pick up one of these highly collectable skins, but don’t yet own the champion in question, we’ll also be offering any champion that sports a prospective Legacy Skin at 20% off for the duration of the sale.

A full list of all 21 skins that will be reduced by 75% before they go into the vault as part of the League of Legends Legacy Skins Project can be found below:
Sasquatch Nunu

Nottingham Ezreal

Blacksmith Poppy

Masquerade Evelynn

Scuba Gragas

Spectacular Sivir

Mr. Mundoverse

Toxic Dr. Mundo

Swamp Master Kennen

Hextech Sion

Yellow Jacket Shen

Red Riding Annie

Leopard Nidalee

Dragon Knight Mordekaiser

Sonoran Kog'Maw

Kingpin Twitch

Professor Ryze

Shamrock Malphite

Highland Tryndamere

Pharaoh Amumu

Badger Teemo

A full list of the champions that will be discounted by 20% during the sale can be found below:

Nunu

Ezreal

Poppy

Evelynn

Gragas

Sivir

Dr. Mundo

Kennen

Sion

Shen

Annie

Nidalee

Mordekaiser

Kog'Maw

Twitch

Ryze

Malphite

Tryndamere

Amumu

Teemo

But remember that bargains this good only come around once in a great while! Don’t miss your chance to pick up these collectible Legacy Skins at massively reduced prices starting this coming Friday, the 25th of November!

Hopefully you dont empty out all your pockets on these black friday sales for league of legends! And happy shopping. Feel free to browse around my blog as well, I try to keep updated

League of Legends Skin Viewer

2011-11-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

If you wanna see what any skin looks like before you buy it, I came across a great website to do so. There you can see any skin you are thinking of purchasing in LoL and make a better decision on what you want. Very useful site, cause who likes wasting 10$ on a skin that doesn't even look good in game? Try before you buy!

http://lolskinviewer.com