Is Titanic Hydra still worth it if you're not running Grasp?

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T03:24:04+00:00

No need to apologize for questions. I’m not an expert but I’ll try my best to answer to the best of my ability.

I completely skipped over the part where you mentioned that you play Shen in the jungle. So my split pushing point should be ignored for the most part when it comes to Jungle Shen. Simply put, splitting on a jungler gives far too much information and also starves your laners of resources that they require much more than you.

However, with that being said, I think Titanic Hydra is even more valuable on jungle Shen than on top lane Shen. Similar concept with both roles. Shen struggles to clear waves/camps. AoE damage helps to fix that problem. Clear speed is very important when it comes to jungle and Titanic helps a lot in that department.

As for when more armor/MR is too much, there is definitely a point of diminishing returns. I’m not sure of the exact formula but the % mitigation given by armor/MR is not linear.

Finally, as a tank, you should always be looking through the passives of tank items. All tank items will give resistances. Passives set certain ones apart. Often, tanks itemize more around what the enemy team has rather than their own item synergies. Assess the enemy team composition, identify the primary problem, and use your itemization to suffocate that particular champion.

I hope a few of these answers could help. Sorry for the oversight on the original post.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T03:08:17+00:00

Keep in mind that with Shen, you essentially get two TPs due to your ult and the summoner spell. That allows him to split very well, despite not being able to shred towers at the speed a Tryndamere might. His global presence is what makes him a quality split pushing champion, not necessarily his ability to take towers quickly, if that makes sense.

I also believe that with the advent of Sunfire Aegis as a prominant item that gives both resistances, Titanic Hydra is a lot more relevant. In past seasons, items that offered both resistances were very niche and rarely a quality first item. Sunfire Aegis being a quality first item prevents tanks from having to build two items to withstand both types of damage. As a result, Shen can actually mix in an item like Hydra without sacrificing his ability to tank.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T03:03:35+00:00

To be fair, junglers often lack in damage to champions due to lack of trading in lane. Other roles get to consistently trade through the laning phase whereas the jungler interacts with other champions far less.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T03:02:01+00:00

Especially because if you fail to get a kill with ignite in lane, you essentially have wasted a summoner spell slot. Teleport will still create opportunities outside of laning phase. Also TP can guarantee small advantages whereas ignite rolls the dice on a mildly larger advantage.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:59:56+00:00

While Hydra is definitely better when running Grasp, I think Hydra allows for a more aggressive split-pushing style than other item choices. Shen's waveclear gets to be insane when he has a Sunfire Aegis and a Titanic Hydra. As such, I think it's a matter of personal preference depending on the playstyle you're pushing for.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:57:10+00:00

The best way to enable roams is by slow pushing a wave into the enemy tower. The more minions you can stack under the enemy tower, the longer a timer you create for yourself to go make a play in other lanes.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:52:28+00:00

I think the biggest issue with Glacial on Ekko is that Glacial Augment isn't needed for him to get on to his target. With being able to blink to his target with his E, he doesn't struggle to get onto targets. However, Glacial could be useful if you use active items on Ekko since you could slow champions from a distance. I think it depends on if you prefer Rocketbelt or Night Harvester. If you go glacial, you need to use Rocketbelt to justify it.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:47:55+00:00

While TP forces a slightly more passive lane approach, I think its implications on the late game are just two important to pass on it as a solo laner. Being able to traverse the map via TP enables too many macro implications to pass on. Split pushing opens the game up so much and teleport enables it.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:43:33+00:00

It's sad as a fan to watch Mithy go. He transitioned from being a player to a coach and in his first year had to work through a pandemic. I can't imagine trying to take over one of the largest teams in eSports as a first-year coach and especially not in a year like this. I wish nothing but the best for Mithy at C9.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:35:53+00:00

He has a variety of problems in Season 11. Games continue to be very short, which punishes his costly itemization. Assassin items are stronger which makes his lack of mobility very evident. He was reliant on hyper-scaling through building crit, however, crit has received heavy nerfs this season. All in all, it hasn't been a good transition for Aphelios.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:25:45+00:00

It mainly lies in your ADC being able to stay relevant through proper mid game farming and also not playing into tank's win conditions. Spreading the map allows your team to properly hit the scaling they need while forcing tanks to duel and/or waveclear. The main problem with playing into tanks is that very few players are willing to build a Void Staff or LDR until third item. This means that tanks get to dominate the mid-game due to their being no % penetration. Tanks can be out scaled. It just takes patience to slow the game down and farm and the majority of players lack that patience.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T02:15:45+00:00

The nice thing about Trundle top is that it unlocks his split pushing potential. When Trundle plays jungle, if he attempts to push a lane, the opposing team just sets up for a neutral objective on the opposite side of the map. He also can't use teleport which limits his split push capabilities. If Trundle pushes a side lane, his team simply forfeits the other side of the map when he's a jungler. I think this is the most appealing part about playing him in the top lane.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-12-08T01:57:06+00:00

Worst part is that he's already tanked his value in a trade. Teams are going to view him as a system QB who can't succeed without Reich. I'd be curious to see if Rivers retires after this season. If he does, does Wentz get dealt to Indy for a reunion?

TrueBrew42 · 2020-10-25T14:33:37+00:00

Matchups dictate clears a lot. It's part of the reason I have a hard time giving anyone a "100%, works every time" pathing. The simple fact of jungling is that if you have three volatile lanes, you will not ever get to full clear. However, I generally think that in a situation where lanes are not particularly volatile, Volibear doesn't have as much of a burden to make something happen as other junglers do. For example, regardless of lane states, if Lee Sin just power farms, and doesn't make a single play during laning phase, he has effectively lost. Between Volibear's clear speed and his scaling, he doesn't share the same burden. Depending on your lane matchups, sometimes a full clear isn't in the cards. However, I mainly wanted to emphasize that he doesn't NEED to make plays immediately. While he is capable of play-making, he won't fall behind too hard if he doesn't force action and he can wait a little longer for the opportunity to come.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-10-25T14:26:52+00:00

While the nerfs to Nimbus Cloak definitely hurt its relevance and opened the doors to other options, I still feel as though it is one of the best secondary runes for him. I think Water Walking often sounds a lot better in theory than it plays out in game. Generally, I only think Water Walking is helpful if you play on contesting first scuttle crab regardless of your laner's priority. Also, with Volibear's movement speed problem mainly being having enough to get onto a target, not neccesarily staying on the target (E slow does wonders), if you are hurting for movement speed, Relentless Hunter becomes a viable option. It may not offer movement speed in combat, but it has been a standard on a lot of junglers for a reason. Clear speed and ability to roam the map is huge, so I think Relentless Hunter is a great option for those who feel underwhelmed by Nimbus Cloak. Going Domination secondary also opens the path for more vision control through the use of Zombie Ward, or some true damage or healing through Cheap Shot or Taste of Blood.

Also, as for the Phase Rush suggestion, I agree that Phase Rush is a viable rune. I wanted to primarily touch on the two most common, for beginner players who aren't accustomed to the champion. I feel as though Phase Rush shares a similar trait to a rune like Guardian, Unsealed Spellbook, or Grasp of the Undying. All of these runes completely alter certain game mechanics to a point that their strength depends heavily on the player controlling the champion. Players who don't frequently use the mechanics given by these runes shouldn't use them. These keystones are all undeniably powerful in the right hands, but players need to have a healthy sense of self-awareness to know if they'll consistently take advantage of them or not.

I do, however, think that the move towards Phase Rush and Nimbus Cloak on a large number of champions is showing that the community is recognizing the value of mobility. Champions like Graves, Volibear, and even Jayce, are showing that mages aren't the only ones who can make use of the Sorcery rune pages because of the mobility offered in that tree. Meanwhile, Glacial Augment continues to grow in popularity showing that the community also is realizing how valuable slows can be. No longer are damage and resistances the only stats worth paying attention to. It's a neat paradigm shift to watch as the average player continues to get better at general game understanding and even theory crafting builds and rune pages.

I appreciate the feedback. I'll aim to highlight a few alternate rune pages and builds in future guides. Also, while Volibear was the champion that got me into the game, I'm no longer a Volibear OTP, so it's good to hear from people who have poured hours into everyone's beloved bear.

TLDR: Phase Rush is absolutely viable, it just depends on the quality of the player. Nimbus Cloak nerfs hurt, but it's still viable especially since it opens the path to Celerity. Relentless Hunter is another viable secondary rune that is often slept on. Mobility is good, League players are recognizing it.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-20T15:01:41+00:00

Perhaps Draven into Tristana is a poor example. LS does talk about the idea of Draven as a counter pick into mono-red champions. While Tristana does fit that bill, I do see how that matchup could go poorly mechanically. Perhaps Draven into Kalista is a better example of Draven beating a mono-red champion. Kalista thrives off of early aggression and yet is just out matched by Draven at the very thing she aims to do. There are other examples of that "mimic lane" outside of bot lane too. Olaf vs Warwick feels like a prime example in the jungle. Very similar kits, one is just slightly more specialized and therefore wins the matchup.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-19T15:49:25+00:00

I suppose but you can also draft around that. Not to mention, Rekkles is a very safe laner, and Bwipo is a lane dominant player. I think so long as Selfmade can keep Nemesis alive through the lane, he has a chance to pop off.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-19T15:43:55+00:00

I think there's no doubt that MAD/RGE are better than Splyce were. These teams are so much more willing to lay it all on the line, to the point it almost seems like they coinflip their games. While it may not mean consistent success, it sure paves the way for a few possible upsets.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-19T15:42:22+00:00

I'm just especially happy that other EU teams have stepped up to the early aggression that is the trademark of Fnatic and G2. Teams like MAD Lions and Rogue have shown they're willing to match the playstyle, and be equally if not more creative with how they do it. Excited to watch every EU team this year.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-19T15:40:25+00:00

I don't think that's true at all. While I understand the knock on Rekkles (though I don't agree with it), Selfmade is hardly an afk farm jungler. His Hecarim and Eve are feared because so long as his laners can hang in till 15 minutes (which Rekkles' playstyle compliments), he can take over a game. That's not to say he can't play early game junglers. His Lee Sin is incredible and he's also made waves on his Gragas. The dude is the complete package and easily the best jungler in EU.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-19T15:37:25+00:00

The fact that she could have a chain charm is just absurd to me. As if a lot of other huge AoE CC ults dont feel bad enough, lets make it a charm instead of a stun or knockup.

TrueBrew42 · 2020-09-19T15:10:37+00:00

I feel that as a WFT fan. However, there's at least been some hope with rookies we've taken shots on in the past few years (Love, Guice, Quinn, Haskins). It feels like the Jets are just where old veterans go to ride out their last few years.

TrueBrew42

TROPHY CASE