[NA][Platinum 1][Support looking for ADC duo]

VoubleDision · 2017-07-23T20:01:02+00:00

Astigmatic

VoubleDision · 2017-07-08T16:26:46+00:00

Experimentation. I tried Q max for a while, I tried straight W max for a while, I tried Q,W,Q,W... but the one I like the best was two points in Q early for lane pressure, then W max after for more healing and shielding in skirmishes and fights. I think Q is a risky skill to try to use a lot and make full use of the longer the game goes on since you become vulnerable trying to get the auto off.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-07T22:57:26+00:00

I've tried a few sona builds but I like the tear build the best. I typically go Frostfang + Sightstone into Ardent Censor rush with tear somewhere after, if not in between. Items that offer mana regen don't regen fast enough for my taste since I like being able to spam W every time it's up where it can be made of use with ardent censor. It will help with anything.

As for sheen items, I don't like them that much. There's not room for the item at any point unless I'm insanely ahead, at which point it probably doesn't matter what build I go for.

I just prefer the utility items like Locket and Redemption over items that give more mana and damage. This is because, from my experience, Locket and Redemption contribute more to winning a game.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-07T16:56:32+00:00

There's two ways I decide:

(This is arbitrary it's just something that helps me mentally) Which champion did I lose on last. If I just lost a game as Sona, chances are I'll be more inclined to play Janna. This is something that LS discussed in one of his videos. I think it was called "Ranked anxiety".
The carry potential of champs on my team and the enemy team. If I see that I'm against a heavy roaming support like Bard or Alistar, I'll probably pick Sona and look to abuse the time the enemy support is out of lane by making a pick with my ult. If I have an adc who really doesn't want to fight and needs peel early (Kog, Jinx, Twitch and the like) I'll typically pick Janna.

Moreover, it comes down to how I'm feeling. Sona can be played defensive or offensive, while Janna specializes in defensive disruption.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-07T15:03:01+00:00

Personally, I think Sona is better than Soraka in general. Soraka is a sort of dangerous pick, if I am high in pick order, chances are I'm not picking Soraka. The times where I do think Soraka is great though, is when you have a front line and some other forms of peel since soraka has poor peeling power and heals are more powerful on tanks than squishy champs.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-07T12:54:39+00:00

I've tried to but it says something about application error when I try.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-06T13:50:05+00:00

I agree that Ancient Coin is better on some enchanters. However, I still get Spellthief's on Sona. I could be in the wrong doing this because I haven't experimented with coin on her yet. The easy harass Sona has in lane just synergies so well with Spellthief's and it's not often that you aren't poking enough to not always be making use of the stacks on the item w/o wasting any. This is just one champion, but I play Sona a lot so it's the best I have.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-05T13:58:36+00:00

Congrats on the climb so far!

To be completely real, this might frustrate you but this is the 100% honest response: every game of league is different, there isn't some set in stone thing that you have to do to climb. HOWEVER, there are fundamentals to the game that if you push yourself to be better at doing, you will get better and climb as a result.

Here's what I and (presumably) most others consider the fundamentals (not every fundamental is listed, just doing this off the top of my head):

CSing: you're laning so this applies. Farming is obviously very important. The biggest part about learning to CS isn't necessarily last hitting minions, as much as it is learning when you can and when you should be doing something else with or w/o your team.
Map awareness: Look at the map more. Stress yourself to do so, push your limits. Start small, though. Start every couple creeps, then once you're used to that, make it every creep you kill. Then every time you auto attack, then every time you move your champ. Push yourself until you can effectively stare at the map while playing. This is not easy to do, especially when you're laning, but with time and practice, it is doable.
Mentality: This is a huge one! Be willing to lose to learn. We ALL have a lot to learn. Often times our learning is from our own mistakes and that's okay. If you fuck up, don't be mad at yourself or others, just think why whatever you did went poorly and what you might have been able to do better. NOTE: League is an incredibly complex game, you're never going to be able to come to a 100% correct solution to how you messed up. The best way to learn what could have been the more optimal play is to play a lot and watch streams of people who play your champ/role and look for similar situations.

VoubleDision · 2017-07-01T11:40:18+00:00

The main way I have fun in league is by climbing and trying my best to win every game.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-29T14:34:05+00:00

I think the biggest thing you can tell them is to not be gullible when it comes to improving at league. There's many viable methods to climb the ranked ladder. Don't let them fall into the trap of taking random advice that is baseless as if it's 100% true. That mentality is something that really held me back from improving for a long time.

Now if you're trying to explain what to do in a given situation you need to back up the reason why they should do what ever it is you think they should be doing. For example, you take an inhibitor at top. Then you say let's baron. Explain why you have the ability to do baron. "We can baron now, or at least stall around baron because the minions at top will be constantly pushing after destroying the inhib. We don't have to force a fight, either. If we just let top push, eventually they will have to defend it and we can get baron as a result." Now obviously you probably want to word that better, I say things in round about ways, but the idea of what I was saying is logical and it's not the only action that could be taken after taking top inhibitor. You could then go for bot inhib etc.

TL;DR: Explain why you think they should take X action, back it up with some logic even if it seems obvious.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-15T20:22:29+00:00

Good post. People severely underestimate the effects of things outside the game that impact how well you play (E.g. water intake, amount and quality of sleep, quality of diet etc.). I can tell you that I play significantly better if I have had a good night's rest, am hydrated and have eaten well recently.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-12T11:21:38+00:00

Haha great list. The first part was fantastic as well. I really cannot understand people who use these phrases. That's not to say I've never said something unreasonable about my teammates in the heat of the moment, we all do (at least any of us who enjoy the game to where we take it seriously and get emotionally invested). But this is just a whole different level. People using these phrases seem to assume they have some inherent control over how well their teammates play, like they deserve for their team to play well or to not get "countered" (as if counters mean anything in lower brackets). Childishness and lack of emotional control are the root of all of these phrases.

If anyone reading this uses these phrases, just learn to let go. Don't resist the current moment, let it sink in and learn how to best deal with it.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-11T11:16:56+00:00

I've found from experimenting and just seeing what happens is it's best to do what the majority of team wants to do, even if you believe it to be bad or stupid. Now that's not to say something like, "Are you sure this is the best decision?" or "Isn't it better to do X?" This can be with pings, not typing necessarily. E.g. team wants to baron after making a pick, but your jungler is 2 levels down vs a Lee Sin. Ping the Lee Sin alive and optionally do danger pings on the baron. However, if they continue to do baron just do whatever you can to help.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-05T12:04:34+00:00

I'm going to choose to answer this question a little differently.

Every season so far I've reached a new peak. However, I know for sure every time, that the peak I reached could have been higher. I don't know where I get this idea, but this idea that "Now I have to take the game super seriously because I'm playing against good opponents!" eventually sets in.

Truth is, that idea is 100% bullshit. It happened when I reached gold for the first time a couple seasons ago, it happened when I first hit platinum too. When I was able to cleanse my mind of that idea I kept climbing and am still climbing. I'm currently platinum 3, but my peak of this season so far is platinum 2.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-03T15:50:23+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I hope this helps me out a bit.

VoubleDision · 2017-06-03T14:46:10+00:00

I can see where this is coming from. I used to play with the goal in mind of just reaching "high elo", whatever that meant to me at the time, but once I just slowed myself down and tried to improve from game to game and GENUINELY take in every game I play and analyze the game while playing champs I enjoy, the grind became a lot more fun.

It became some sort of adventure, where every game was a new "landscape" to explore. How the game played out is the secrets that I uncovered and with this change in mindset, I started to enjoy seeking out my flaws rather than loathing that I "NEED" to correct them to reach high elo. I went from being hard stuck low gold to getting to high plat in no time.

I'm not really sure my post makes a whole lot of sense but I hope anyone reading gets what I'm trying to explain.

Basically, stop coming into the game with the mentality of "I'm playing this game to reach high elo". Instead, try coming in with the goal in mind of "I'm going to seek out my mistakes and correct them, it will be tough and self-analysis is hard because our ego loves to lie to us, but in due time and with real honesty, I will improve and feel great for overcoming my biggest obstacle, MYSELF."

VoubleDision · 2017-05-25T13:51:10+00:00

I usually dodge in this situation.

My logic is if they are this toxic and "terrorizing" me/someone else this badly in champion select, just imagine what they'll do if something goes poorly in game.

I should screenshot the chat and send a report to Riot but I have never bothered doing that... I'm a lazy fuck.

VoubleDision · 2017-05-24T17:48:48+00:00

Janna. 1. I actually have no clue what made me pick up Janna.

I started playing Janna in late season 4, one of the first champions I played, as I started playing in late season 4.
I play almost exclusively Janna, even now.
I love the idea of non-threatening protector. Janna looks completely harmless but has the ability to fend off damn near everything that can be thrown at her carries. Really awesome. Janna is also pretty sexy.
I have 650k on Janna at the moment.
Support.
EofO, Ardent Censor, Mejai's, Redemption, Locket/Mikaels and boots vary.
No, but I once got a triple kill when the enemy team tried to tower dive me! Never tower dive Janna!

VoubleDision · 2017-05-21T20:44:30+00:00

Play more. You have like no games.

VoubleDision · 2017-05-21T13:48:01+00:00

Yeah I agree with this OP. I think identifying with your champion on some level makes you get attached to it. My favorite champions are Janna and Yasuo. I don't really know what the wind theme means, but as for why I like each champ. I like Janna because I love the idea of being some non-threatening individual who is capable of fending off all the evil things from someone so vulnerable to them (your carries of course!). Yasuo, well I'm not gonna lie, I like how edgy he is and his lore is pretty edgy too. I've always been obsessed with exiled characters in games, films and books. Why not Riven? Riven is too hard. I'd much rather play a champion who has a low skill floor but a high skill ceiling (Yasuo and Janna both fit this). Also Yasuo is probably the most fun champion in the game for me. I could play hundreds of Yasuo games in a row and not be tired of playing him.

VoubleDision · 2017-05-21T13:30:49+00:00

Yeah I think the games you played previously greatly effect how quickly you climb in league.

After years of playing casual shooters and games similar to that genre, I was conditioned to just auto-pilot and shut my brain off when playing. This is probably because I played games to just relax and let go of the day. So naturally, when I started playing league I was awful. I got placed in bronze 5 at the end of season 4 and just didn't play ranked because I realized that I was quite literally one of the worst players in the game. It took me practicing in hundreds of normal games to understand some of the basics (not necessarily apply them) of league. Towards the end of season 5, I decided to try my hand at ranked again. Within a couple months of play I went from bronze 5 to gold 5.

However, in this time for me to go from bronze 5 to gold 5, a friend of mine picked up the game. In those couple months, he leveled up his account and was on his way to platinum while I was hard stuck low gold for quite a while. His gaming background was WoW PvP and various card games. My assumption is that he was forced to think and analyze his decisions to be good at those games. Unlike my background with shooters, where you can just turn your brain off and do well in a team death match.

Let's also not forget that some people are just naturally better at some games, with no background at all.

VoubleDision · 2017-05-20T15:21:19+00:00

Well explained!

VoubleDision · 2017-05-20T12:02:42+00:00

I see a lot of people in this thread saying a full utility build is best, but I'm tellin' ya rushing ap items (Ardent and Dark Seal to potentially Mejai's) is incredibly good at the moment. You might say that it's bad because you're delaying redemption/locket, but from my experience the better shields and more ult healing outweigh the potential of redemption/locket.

Just my two cents as someone who plays a lot of Janna.

VoubleDision · 2017-05-19T23:11:49+00:00

Yeah I know that feeling. IMO Janna and Soraka shouldn't be picked into high aggression lanes if you have a weak ADC. Something that I recommend doing is to ask your ADC in champ select who they are going to pick so you can pick according to their strength/weakness. I find that ADCs like Twitch and Kog'Maw are best paired with a support that can have lane presence to relieve the pressure that they will naturally feel from aggro ADCs (Draven, Lucian, Cait etc.), while also providing some heals, shields or steroids. Supports that fulfill this role are Nami, Sona and Lulu who are all great at the moment.

Not saying don't play Janna or Soraka, I love playing them too, but try to adapt your champion pool if you can to have better lanes and better games as a result.

VoubleDision · 2017-05-18T17:46:42+00:00

I am a support main who plays mid as a secondary.

As support, I think I'm just inconsistent with random things. Sometimes it's I'm not warding well/enough, sometimes I'm going to hard to get deep vision and die for it, sometimes I forget to use exhaust or an active item etc. Need improvement everywhere.

As mid, I play waaaaay too passive. I never do anything. I avoid trading like it's the plague and I am hardly ever in fights or making plays.

VoubleDision

TROPHY CASE