League of Legends - F2P MOBA (like DOTA) part 2

[Firsttime]

Thinking of buying Brand over the newly released hero.

Thoughts?

I like Skillshot heroes...

If you want to be proficient at the AP caster role Brand is essential. Him and Annie are pretty much the bread and butter AP's that will fit into most comps and win most lanes.

 

[RPD]

So since I swore I'd never spend more money on this game (past buying the two digital packs and a few skins) I'm closing in on 6300ip. Trying to figure who I want to buy, preferable someone good at Dominion. I was thinking the new champ looked good, but they always nerf them right after release. I have rune set ups for most any type of champ, but I tend towards tanky ones.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Thinking of buying Brand over the newly released hero.

Thoughts?

I like Skillshot heroes...

brand can be absolutely devastating when you combo his spells right. definitely a solid hero choice.

for laning 1v1, i find maxing E first works best in order to harass. amazingly i did pretty well against an akali, even after lvl 6. i thought i was gonna be SOL for sure.

brand and kassadin are my 2 straight AP chars, i enjoy both a lot.

 

[HumblePie]

So I was trying to play a little solo ranked before heading to bed. From the champ select I have 3 people stating they are trolling. I knew it was lost because they were arguing who was going to have the most deaths at the end. I'm serious. They all had 25+ by the 30 minute mark. I still went 7/5/13 with gangplank but should have been much better. Those three asses were seriously out to ruin other people's fun. I really don't understand the mentality of it. Either play to win or do something else for fun.

 

[zebano]

brand can be absolutely devastating when you combo his spells right. definitely a solid hero choice.

for laning 1v1, i find maxing E first works best in order to harass. amazingly i did pretty well against an akali, even after lvl 6. i thought i was gonna be SOL for sure.

brand and kassadin are my 2 straight AP chars, i enjoy both a lot.

Speaking of Brand, any thoughts on how to lane against him? His q feels faster than Morgana's and is harder to dodge because of it. I can dodge w's all day but a good brand will hit you with e or w>e using the splash. I mainly play Cassiopia and Karthus (and Morgana = easy mode) so I don't have a lot of HP to work with. In both cases if I can land a couple of shots I can do serious damage but Brand has such massive range that is difficult. If he had less range or a weaker passive I think I would be ok, but the combination is brutal.

 

[NikolaeVarius]

I've learned to never duo queue ever again. Worst game ever in recent memory.

Also need to learn to stop feeding with Riven. She's fun but I can't seem to figure her out

 

[Snock514]

Speaking of Brand, any thoughts on how to lane against him? His q feels faster than Morgana's and is harder to dodge because of it. I can dodge w's all day but a good brand will hit you with e or w>e using the splash. I mainly play Cassiopia and Karthus (and Morgana = easy mode) so I don't have a lot of HP to work with. In both cases if I can land a couple of shots I can do serious damage but Brand has such massive range that is difficult. If he had less range or a weaker passive I think I would be ok, but the combination is brutal.

Try hiding behind minions to avoid the Sear (his Q) which is his stun.
Also, you might want to start off with level 1 boots to easily avoid the pillar of flame(his w), and if he uses conflagration on you, you want to be extra careful. His skills get a bonus affect when they are ablaze (his passive.)
His ultimate is pretty simple to avoid, just run from any and all friendly and neutral targets to avoid it bouncing. If you aren't the best at avoiding then start with merc treds and maybe buy a banshee's viel. MR ftw
Sorry if that doesn't make 100% sense, just take a look at his skills and passive then it will.

 

[zebano]

Try hiding behind minions to avoid the Sear (his Q) which is his stun.
Also, you might want to start off with level 1 boots to easily avoid the pillar of flame(his w), and if he uses conflagration on you, you want to be extra careful. His skills get a bonus affect when they are ablaze (his passive.)
His ultimate is pretty simple to avoid, just run from any and all friendly and neutral targets to avoid it bouncing. If you aren't the best at avoiding then start with merc treds and maybe buy a banshee's viel. MR ftw
Sorry if that doesn't make 100% sense, just take a look at his skills and passive then it will.

Yeah I guess levels 1-4 aren't the problem. I start boots + 3 pots and dodge the W pretty well. The problem becomes that he quickly gets to the point where he will w the caster creeps -> e (bounces to me) -> q and If I don't doge I'm stunned, eating his passive + 2 autoattacks. He's much like Morgana in that he can push and harass incredibly well, the only difference is that he doesn't have a black shield but rather an extra damage ability. My jungler however repeatedly ganked top because top was losing and I was managing to stay alive/farm (101 creeps to his 107 at 13 minutes). The only difference is the damn range. If I want to get close enough to q/e him (Cassiopia) I am well within his range.

It didn't help that he got his teams second blue and are Udyr got first, second, third and fourth blue... =(

 

[HumblePie]

Yeah I guess levels 1-4 aren't the problem. I start boots + 3 pots and dodge the W pretty well. The problem becomes that he quickly gets to the point where he will w the caster creeps -> e (bounces to me) -> q and If I don't doge I'm stunned, eating his passive + 2 autoattacks. He's much like Morgana in that he can push and harass incredibly well, the only difference is that he doesn't have a black shield but rather an extra damage ability. My jungler however repeatedly ganked top because top was losing and I was managing to stay alive/farm (101 creeps to his 107 at 13 minutes). The only difference is the damn range. If I want to get close enough to q/e him (Cassiopia) I am well within his range.

It didn't help that he got his teams second blue and are Udyr got first, second, third and fourth blue... =(

It's all about anticipation. Before his pillar even starts Brand has a cast animation. After the animation THEN the pillar on the ground starts to form. From the moment he starts until the pillar goes "off" you have a good 2-3 second window to get the hell away. The trick is paying attention to Brand's cast animations first.

Also it is pretty easy to identify where brand is aiming his pillar usually. If he is behind his minions then he is going to cast it on your minion wave. If he tries to move around or closer into the minion wave then he is aiming for you. At which point you need to adjust your movement accordingly and your actions. As a gap closing melee character for example I wait for him to do that crap. Use the gap closer and then step to the side to avoid his Q which will be headed directly at my face otherwise. Easy to dodge his stun that way. Once you get his range down he's not hard to dodge at all if you can recognize the cast animations he has. Only his Q doesn't have much of an animation, but he needs to line that up to hit you with it. If he hasn't fired it and you are in a direct line then expect it and move to one side or the other erratically if you have to. Or move to get behind a minion.

 

[Ultralight]

So I was trying to play a little solo ranked before heading to bed. From the champ select I have 3 people stating they are trolling. I knew it was lost because they were arguing who was going to have the most deaths at the end. I'm serious. They all had 25+ by the 30 minute mark. I still went 7/5/13 with gangplank but should have been much better. Those three asses were seriously out to ruin other people's fun. I really don't understand the mentality of it. Either play to win or do something else for fun.

That just plain sucks. I am so very new at this so I have a few questions in regards to such a situation. 1) Does reporting them do any good at all? and 2) What does Riot do in response?

My own situation was different. I played only my second live match ever the other day. I am a noob and know it. I am trying to learn this game. One of the people that joined my group obviously had extensive play before running in a new account. Long story short he was all over my case. Did I die? Yes, six times but I also had a kill and 10 assists (playing MF). I am thick skinned so what he said didn't bother me but why even play in a game when you know noobies will be present trying to learn as they make mistakes? What is the purpose in that? Ego? By the way, we also won.

On a side note, I admire you guys who can play smart, fast, and furious.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Report people who are blantant asses/trolls, but you might not want to bother at low levels as people aren't going to care about their level 3 account getting suspended for a few days.

 

[Firsttime]

Chances are he sucks ass. He probably can't compete at level 30 and made a smurf to try to own/rage at new players. Just ignore 99% of what people say in game. Find a friend to play with, add people from your games you thought were good and invite them to your games. Play with people you enjoy playing with and the game is much more enjoyable, even if you loose. I have a group of people I used to play with very regularly, several of them were very far below our skill level, but they were fun to play/vent with and so I don't care.

As for Brand, he relies on zoning in order to hit skill shots, he's definitely one of the strongest mids, that said I'm sure Cass can hold the lane against him, especially if she counter zones with her w, I was in that game and you did fine, me less so. I didn't realize off the bat I was going to have to solo with Taric lol, that worked out subpar. I prefer bot lane I think. That said my AD Taric is 6-2 in the last few days haha.

 

[zebano]

Chances are he sucks ass. He probably can't compete at level 30 and made a smurf to try to own/rage at new players. Just ignore 99% of what people say in game. Find a friend to play with, add people from your games you thought were good and invite them to your games. Play with people you enjoy playing with and the game is much more enjoyable, even if you loose. I have a group of people I used to play with very regularly, several of them were very far below our skill level, but they were fun to play/vent with and so I don't care.

As for Brand, he relies on zoning in order to hit skill shots, he's definitely one of the strongest mids, that said I'm sure Cass can hold the lane against him, especially if she counter zones with her w, I was in that game and you did fine, me less so. I didn't realize off the bat I was going to have to solo with Taric lol, that worked out subpar. I prefer bot lane I think. That said my AD Taric is 6-2 in the last few days haha.

You had locked in a support, that last player choosing Janna was just a terrible choice unless they wanted to go AP and hold a solo lane.

RE: HumblePie the pillar is no problem, it's the e + passive which sucks. Especially the fact that he can pillar + e to splash if I'm hiding around my minions (to avoid q). I feel like I can dodge 3 or 4 q casts but as soon as that one hits you, you have to back and that just sucks. I guess I just have to keep dodging. Being outranged is no fun heh.

 

[Abel007]

Was mid against Brand last night as Captain Teemo! Not my choice for mid but my team tossed me into it. The range on Brand is very far compared to Teemo. I couldn't make a move toward him without getting smoked by one or two of his spells. One of my strong suits is the DOT, and I typically peg a champ with it and run away. Slowly working their health down to a manageable Flash/Blind/Ignite combo. That just was not doable vs Brand. I did muster some small attacks on him from time to time when he cast his pillar on my minions. I then knew I could move in and shoot him in the face. I even had a difficult last hitting minions. I died one time to him in mid, and then the team fighting began. I considered it a victory. Especially after our team won the match.

 

[HumblePie]

You had locked in a support, that last player choosing Janna was just a terrible choice unless they wanted to go AP and hold a solo lane.

RE: HumblePie the pillar is no problem, it's the e + passive which sucks. Especially the fact that he can pillar + e to splash if I'm hiding around my minions (to avoid q). I feel like I can dodge 3 or 4 q casts but as soon as that one hits you, you have to back and that just sucks. I guess I just have to keep dodging. Being outranged is no fun heh.

The trick is anticipating the W + E combo of Pillar and Conflag. If you know he's aiming for that then you have plenty of time to back off for a second out of the way so it misses. Unfortunately most AP mid lane hero's aren't going to have the range to deal with him to well. Malz has his silence attack, anivia frostball, and Xerath has the range. But most other's don't. And since AP hero's don't get gap closers then Brand is an amazing mid against other most other AP champs. Stick him against a melee champ with a gap closer or a champ with the same or greater range and he's worthless in mid. Simple as that. It's all about counter picking or changing lane matchups as needed. Just because you picked karth doesn't mean you need to go mid for example.

 

[Ultralight]

Report people who are blantant asses/trolls, but you might not want to bother at low levels as people aren't going to care about their level 3 account getting suspended for a few days.

Understand; obviously not worth the time.

 

[Fenixgoon]

Speaking of Brand, any thoughts on how to lane against him? His q feels faster than Morgana's and is harder to dodge because of it. I can dodge w's all day but a good brand will hit you with e or w>e using the splash. I mainly play Cassiopia and Karthus (and Morgana = easy mode) so I don't have a lot of HP to work with. In both cases if I can land a couple of shots I can do serious damage but Brand has such massive range that is difficult. If he had less range or a weaker passive I think I would be ok, but the combination is brutal.

since humblepie has already said a lot, E has a relatively short range when cast on someone who has been W'd - so as long as you keep your distance from units ablaze, E will not hit you. positioning becomes that more important.

the other thing, which im pretty sure humble said, is that Q is a direct-line attack. brand can only throw Q in a straight line. since it hits minions, just hide behind a minion wall.

it's always good to keep tabs on what spells he has available. i think most are 10-12s cooldowns.

 

[Taejin]

That just plain sucks. I am so very new at this so I have a few questions in regards to such a situation. 1) Does reporting them do any good at all? and 2) What does Riot do in response?

My own situation was different. I played only my second live match ever the other day. I am a noob and know it. I am trying to learn this game. One of the people that joined my group obviously had extensive play before running in a new account. Long story short he was all over my case. Did I die? Yes, six times but I also had a kill and 10 assists (playing MF). I am thick skinned so what he said didn't bother me but why even play in a game when you know noobies will be present trying to learn as they make mistakes? What is the purpose in that? Ego? By the way, we also won.

On a side note, I admire you guys who can play smart, fast, and furious.

use the /ignore function. i use to regularly if people are starting to just rage at me.

 

[HumblePie]

since humblepie has already said a lot, E has a relatively short range when cast on someone who has been W'd - so as long as you keep your distance from units ablaze, E will not hit you. positioning becomes that more important.

the other thing, which im pretty sure humble said, is that Q is a direct-line attack. brand can only throw Q in a straight line. since it hits minions, just hide behind a minion wall.

it's always good to keep tabs on what spells he has available. i think most are 10-12s cooldowns.

Yep, about 10 seconds like most. With Karth having a 1 second CD on his Q you should be out farming him easy enough. Also if Brand spams his abilities at low level she's going to run out of MP pretty darn fast unlike Karth who can spam Q all day. Now Karth defile on the other hand drains MP fast.

 

[nsafreak]

Yep, about 10 seconds like most. With Karth having a 1 second CD on his Q you should be out farming him easy enough. Also if Brand spams his abilities at low level she's going to run out of MP pretty darn fast unlike Karth who can spam Q all day. Now Karth defile on the other hand drains MP fast.

That depends on how they rune/build brand if they're going to be spammy. I spam pretty hard with Brand most of the time and I usually start out with 2 Doran's rings in the early game. These along with my runes allow me to spam almost indefinitely.

 

[kevliken]

Talon is free this week. My favorite champ

 

[HumblePie]

Talon is free this week. My favorite champ

He's meh in my opinion. He is decent at lane harassing early doing either 1v1 or 2v2 bot if his partner has range as well. His mid game is pretty good as he can take down squishies that haven't bought any armor or health items. He can take them down really fast actually.

His late game though is sort of meh in my opinion. He doesn't do enough sustained DPS for late game team fights. He can be easily CC'd and focused down since my talons build for pure burst DPS to rely on their ult for surviving. If you build survivability items on him then his ability to take down softer targets late game practically goes away.

Not saying he can't be good as he does have decent damage and a gap closer as a melee, but he's not made for sustained DPS at all. As a melee AD character I have mixed feelings about that.

 

[zebano]

Talon is free this week. My favorite champ

I've been banning Talon lately. 750 range on rake and 700 range on his gap closer + silence = dead Cassiopia or Karthus and that's simply no fun. He's a much much better version of Pantheon in my mind, a burst AD champ but with better tools (more range and an Ult that gets him out of trouble).

 

[Snock514]

Everyone watch IEM NY. Phreak and Rivington the 3rd are the commentators! http://iemnewyork.leagueoflegends.com/

 

[zebano]

Everyone watch IEM NY. Phreak and Rivington the 3rd are the commentators! http://iemnewyork.leagueoflegends.com/

I'm not very happy with their scheduling. They basically decided to hold the matches during work hours =(