I got Master maining post-nerf Rengar, AMA

[quote=SpawnOfHell]I've never done an AMA before but since I hit Master I thought it might be fun. Ask me about [[rengar]], top lane, solo queue, whatever. Just keep in mind I only have basic knowledge of roles outside of top and jungle so I'm afraid I'm not much help there.[/quote]

[quote=Lugignaf]Was your main build tanky or sort of assassin-y? And when you did go the full burst-gar route, how did you decide when to go in, when not to, etc. I wanna know the targeting things since I'm trying to play Rengar sometimes and I'm shite at him.[/quote]

[quote=Vapora Dark]Do you ever think to yourself "man I'd be Challenger if I just played Talon instead"?[/quote]

[quote=utopus]Which of the pros have you played with? Who's the nicest of them?[/quote]

[quote=SpawnOfHell][quote=Lugignaf]Was your main build tanky or sort of assassin-y?[/quote] I usually go tanky. [[sunfire cape]]-[[spirit visage]]-[[titanic hydra]] for top lane, [[enchantment: cinderhulk]]-[[titanic hydra]] for jungle then either [[dead man's plate]] and [[spirit visage]] if we need a tank or [[youmuu's ghostblade]] and [[duskblade of draktharr]] if I need to assassinate. [quote]And when you did go the full burst-gar route, how did you decide when to go in, when not to, etc. I wanna know the targeting things since I'm trying to play Rengar sometimes and I'm shite at him.[/quote] This is kinda hard to answer because the question is so broad and because there's so many situations to account for but usually I never go in until the initiation's over and I account for anti-engage spells such [[howling gale]] and [[steadfast presence]] all times. Sometimes I'll even wait until the fight's halfway done to wait for important abilities or summoner spells to be blown before I engage. If your team disengages it's easier because most players get really sloppy when they start to chase and will do all sorts of stupid shit like split up or blow their cooldowns on the chase and not save them for you. It's really hard to contribute to 5v5 teamfights if the enemy team knows how to respond properly so it's usually easier to look for the person that's overextended in a lane and avoid teamfights altogether. On the other hand, I've noticed on my smurf that a lot of lower elo players will have the whole team engage on the enemy and not account for their backline and they're really bad at disengaging and switching targets i.e. they'll stick onto their initial target until they're dead and then move on so if you notice their support's not sticking to their carry then chances are you can get a free kill. [quote=Vapora Dark]Do you ever think to yourself "man I'd be Challenger if I just played Talon instead"?[/quote] [img=https://i.gyazo.com/8f42eca994347be66be6779bb07f9bda.png] i wish [quote=utopus]Which of the pros have you played with? Who's the nicest of them?[/quote] I honestly don't remember. The ones that I recall are retired players like Dyrus, saintvicious and bigfatlp. I played vs KiWiKiD last week or so too and there's probably a dozen smurfs that I didn't recognize. Mostly they just stay silent in chat.[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]Can you give a rough outline of how you play the early game? Fast double buffs and gank/scuttle at 3? Farm till 4? Early invades or river fights? Hitting 6 as quickly as possible while watching for opportunities? [quote=Vapora Dark]Do you ever think to yourself "man I'd be Challenger if I just played Talon instead"?[/quote] D A N K[/quote]

[quote=Vapora Dark][quote=SpawnOfHell][img=https://i.gyazo.com/8f42eca994347be66be6779bb07f9bda.png] i wish[/quote] ew thats fucking disgusting [quote=SpawnOfHell]Mostly they just stay silent in chat.[/quote] Pretty much my experience with pros too. I imagine that after a while they get tired of everyone that ever runs into them in-game wanting to have a conversation while they just want to play solo Q. Funnily enough the only pro I've ever seen talk in solo Q was Marin, formerly from SKT, who thanked me when I told him I loved him (no homo) in all chat. All the other Korean/Chinese pros I ran into at the time, and all the EU pros I've ran into, just stayed completely silent when people talked to them, aside from some of them calling out timers/summoners etc. Although really I think it's more to do with them not wanting to flame their fanbase in solo Q. :^)[/quote]

[quote=SpawnOfHell][quote=PsiGuard]Can you give a rough outline of how you play the early game? Fast double buffs and gank/scuttle at 3? Farm till 4? Early invades or river fights? Hitting 6 as quickly as possible while watching for opportunities?[/quote] It varies. All of the above are viable ways to play early game depending on team comp. Usually I'll clear the entire lower jungle then gank mid at level 3 if their mid is immobile or clear double buffs and gank/countergank top through the lane brush. If I decide to do neither of those because the lanes are too slippery then I'll just farm until I'm level 6 and gank with ult. Generally I'll try to save my ult for ganking bot to evade wards but obviously use it anywhere if you're confident you can get a kill. Invades- I don't usually invade. Junglers with weak early games aren't meta anymore and invading someone like a [[nidalee]] or [[elise]] will just get you killed. Most of the meta junglers will try to invade me instead so I'll often mix up my route while warding entrances to throw them off.[/quote]

[quote=Mowen]How do you play against Teemo top? Or in general when you have a poor matchup top? I played against a Teemo and got completely wrecked. I've also played against Rivens and I can kill them at level 2 but then after they hit 6 I feel like I can't do anything anyways? I feel like Rengar is usually seen as a lane bully, and he feels pretty useless if he gets behind since he can't burst people. So I really struggle with the unfavorable matchups. Also, thanks for doing this. :) Rengar is one of my favorite champs so I was so happy to see this![/quote]

[quote=Roguish Bard]What unfavorable top lane match ups should I avoid with [[Rengar]]? I used to love playing him top lane before he was "reworked" and have been afraid to since. I recall [[Renekton]] being the worst. Probably still is?[/quote]