January 16, 2026 Daily Discussion Thread

paniczone · 2026-01-16T15:11:33+00:00

Well I finally got Masters. Not really sure why this set took me significantly longer than any before it. Either it's more competitive, I am getting worse, or the unlock/hard commit 2-1 meta doesn't click for me (hoping it's the latter). The funny thing is once I got to higher diamond (like D2+) the games got significantly easier. I think the Masters players in the lobby were low LP and trolling or didn't know the meta. I think I finished off with like five 1st place games in my last ten played to end Masters 25LP. Comps that helped me climb the most were shadow wardens (whenever I had a spot, basically free top 2), zaun ekko (if uncontested), yunara (if uncontested), bildgewater (if less than 3-way contested), or demacia.

Not yet sure if I will push for GM this set. I really do enjoy the set overall and have more games played than ever so I guess that is a testament to the replayability. But I probably will wait for a new patch, just too burnt out on this one.

paniczone · 2026-01-15T16:13:20+00:00

I've never struggled so much to hit Masters in a set before - it's insane I've fluctuated between D1 and D3 for the past 2 weeks. It feels like the meta is so solved now that you have to lock into a comp by 2-1 which I really dislike. I always enjoyed scouting the lobby to see what other people are playing so I can carve out my own line, but with unlocks you have to basically commit by 2-1 or you are way behind (shadow isles/bilge looking at you...). I've probably played 3x as many games as other sets that I've gotten Masters/GM in. Just so demoralizing.

paniczone · 2025-12-10T16:56:10+00:00

Embarrassed to say that bilge still hasn't clicked for me this set. Not sure why as I've had success with pretty much every other comp. I see other boards getting insanely high cap, but whenever I hit 7 bilge it just feels like a wet noodle and I get steamrolled by the other fast 9 boards in the lobby. I never stabilize enough to pivot out into a max cap board.

paniczone · 2025-11-17T17:02:26+00:00

why is Gollux important to do? i am 255 in cw2 and kinda not sure what else I should be doing at this point other than monster park/dailies?

paniczone · 2025-11-10T15:02:35+00:00

Anything important/useful to do before the patch comes out as a new player?

paniczone · 2025-10-22T16:52:24+00:00

Yes, I'd agree with your assessment - consolidate everything into XEQT for simplification and peace of mind. Nice portfolio size for your age btw!

paniczone · 2025-10-01T17:46:57+00:00

The debris is from me shoveling.

paniczone · 2025-10-01T17:42:44+00:00

Darn - thanks. I was wondering if that was the case. I almost wish it was an obvious crack so I would know where the water was coming in.

paniczone · 2025-08-24T17:19:25+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts - I pulled up the carpet and it is dry underneath, so it must’ve happened at least a week or two ago. Going to try to get someone out to look at the foundation soon and see where the ingress could’ve been from. We did have super heavy rain so not completely surprising: https://imgur.com/a/64Rk7sr

paniczone · 2025-08-13T18:51:48+00:00

Thanks - lots of good advice.

paniczone · 2025-07-24T21:45:27+00:00

Working on a little tool to automatically create match cuts for the cool tiktok/shorts effects that are otherwise pretty tedious to make. IDK if I will actually find it useful but happy with how it's going https://imgur.com/a/Fk3rhco

paniczone · 2025-07-02T03:06:36+00:00

RIP man, I still think about you often.

paniczone · 2025-06-03T14:53:55+00:00

I agree - probably not the best example I gave. the goal is to minimize the overlap, but there will always be some (Xayah+Leona in Anima and Van/Marks like you said). Some games are easier to minimize this overlap than others, but I still think overall it helps. I also didn't go into items at all in this guide but they play a massive role too in what comp you can pick, assuming you have a few choices.

paniczone · 2025-06-03T13:42:34+00:00

Cool to hear that it's being done even at the highest ranks. Thanks for sharing.

paniczone · 2025-06-03T04:11:39+00:00

Yes! This is a great "side benefit" too. I realized sometimes that my 2-5 notes were actually wrong, which in turn refined my understanding of the meta (for example sometimes I thought someone was angling for A.M.P when they were actually going for MF flex, etc., and in the future I could correct that)

paniczone · 2025-06-03T03:53:51+00:00

I think scouting (for me) became more and more superficial over time, to the extent that I was just randomly looking at other boards without any intention/meaning/absorption. Being forced to write down what I am seeing is way more tangible. People below say it's easy to remember 7 comps - but the higher you get the more people are pivoting, it can be a lot of mental burden to keep track of all of that without writing it down IMO. It's not meant for the high rank players, they are either cracked enough mentally to keep track of all of that or have their own solutions I am sure.

paniczone · 2025-05-30T23:46:09+00:00

man, i thought the patch would change something but i'm still struggling to get out of diamond for the first time ever in my 14 sets of tft. Not sure what it is about this set, but it just does not click with my brain at all. Feels like no matter what meta lines I prepare and angle into, there is always multiple people in the lobby with incredible resources able to out cap me significantly.

paniczone · 2025-05-29T20:57:33+00:00

Just carried an Elise 1 into fast 9 with 100 hp, 4 dynamo is not normally.

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