VexRoth - All That Is Ranked

[quote=VexRoth][img=https://i.gyazo.com/cb91585d83add3b4222e2ca365b1bffd.jpg width=900] [br] Good team. Had a bugsplat that knocked me out of the game for a moment, but fortunately it wasn't at a key moment, so my character just walked back to base.[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth][img=https://i.gyazo.com/2eeb90385155c3290a0508fc51e23e23.jpg width=900] [br] I don't really know that this game was. My rough guess was that [[Xayah]] was a smurf that really wanted to duo Baron with [[Rakan]]. She managed to get it on the third try at a fairly high cost to the rest of our team actually making any sort of progress in the game. How the enemy team didn't manage to take our entire base with her and Rakan trying that I'm not quite sure, but hey it is one in the win column.[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth][img=https://i.gyazo.com/262378733eef85e4598d5776415fbba0.jpg width=900] [br] Good team despite some overstays that were somewhat painful if not game changing. Dumb death when I tried to get into position in the tribush behind [[Jinx]] and [[Thresh]] and [[Orianna]] was standing in the bush. Dumb because I knew she was missing and had been spotted in the jungle. I thought she was walking back toward Mid to collect the wave that [[Ekko]] had shoved in and it turns out I was mistaken. I liked the [[Ezreal]]'s playstyle. He was aggressive, but also cognizant about waiting for backup before going really ham.[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth][img=https://i.gyazo.com/b400e4b0f7ced6885ac9df025b32a3bf.jpg width=900] [br] Dragon Lady for the win. Their [[Kindred]] put a lot of focus on our Top lane which let me counterjungler them a couple of times once of which included their entire Bot side while they didn't take any of my Top side in return after tower diving the Teemo for a kill. Bot lane did well and then traded with [[Teemo]] to pick up a kill on [[Nasus]] and the Top turret. The team definitely made some macro errors while we were trying to pressure their inner turrets and base turrets but since we always had the lanes pushed we never lost too much. I bounced around killing Kindred marks (jeebus I hate those things since if you want to get them before Kindred your pathing can get less than efficient, fortunately [[Shyvana]] is good at farming so the camps with marks go down quickly), farming my jungle, counterjungling when it seemed safe, and supporting my laners by flanking out of position targets. For the notebook. Teemo loses to Nasus at a certain point in the game, but if you can support the Teemo with ganks, that comes a lot later if the Teemo is worth their salt and uses the advantage you give them. This one was not too shabby. This is actually a game I would love if someone could watch because I could see when we started making the errors that could cost us the game. 1. 3 mid sieging their Mid outer lane turret, 1 top or bot, and me in base I could feel that the three in Mid were overplaying their hand and sure enough they ended up getting wiped before I could get to them. (maybe I should have stayed out with them?) 2. I think there was a point where we were trying to 1-3-1 and our ones were not playing safe. 3. At some point Leona and Teemo went 2 v 4. They killed two of them, but got killed in return, so it ended up being a wash besides giving me some time to farm up. And I could see these thing developing but didn't quite know what to say to try and reel my team back in. Is it just the games I've been in or is [[Ziggs]] rather strong at the moment. I don't see him that often, but I can recall at least three games in the last month or two where one has been a beast.[/quote]

[quote=Ronyk]Hiya VexRoth! In your opening post you had mentioned you were open to advice and suggestions. You've been doing well lately, so I searched around for your recent losses, and I think I've got some helpful advice! For reference, I'm specifically talking about (and looking at) your [[Sejuani]] game 5 days ago, and your [[Nunu]] game 4 days ago (these are the last 2 games in the previous page). In your Sejuani game, you wrote about how poorly your teammates did, and ended with this: [Quote=VexRoth] Without stronger performances from my laners I don't know that I could have changed the outcome of this game. [/Quote] In your Nunu game, you wrote out a very defeated-seeming: [Quote=VexRoth] [[Fizz]][/Quote] The reason I’d like to focus on these games is because there’s something you could have done to (maybe) change the outcome in both of these cases! Let me explain… When you’re playing as a tank, like [[Sejuani]] or [[Nunu]], you have what I like to call “The Burden of the Build”. This is especially true in games like the [[Sejuani]] game, where you were your team’s [i]only[/i] tank. Both of these games are significant because the enemy team definitely [b]does not[/b] have a balanced damage output between Physical (AD) and Magical (AP) damage. In your [[Nunu]] game, the enemy team had [[Mordekaiser]] up top, [[Amumu]] Jungle, [[Fizz]] mid, [[Vayne]] ADC and [[Tahm Kench]] as a support. Already in the champion select screen or the loading screen, you should be deciding what items are worth more against this team, and which items are worth less. I see a [b]LOT[/b] of percentile health damage on their team (or percentile missing health), and I see a [b]LOT[/b] of magic damage. As the tank, you (more so than any other role) need to adjust your build to the enemy team [b]every single game[/b]. You ended up finishing your Jungle Item with Cinderhulk around the 10 minute mark, and didn’t get your first piece of Magic resistance until after you finished your Warmog’s at around the 20 minute mark. The Warmog’s is working against you in this lineup. A Spirit’s Visage, followed by some other health/MR items would work wonders, ending it all with either an Omen or Thornmail for Vayne would have been to proper way to build. Your Top Lane had enough forsight to pick [[Galio]] into that team (unless they picked after he did. I don’t think I can find a way to see pick order). Now, what’s very interesting is that your team [i]also[/i] is mostly magic damage: [[Galio]], [[Katarina]], [[Nunu]] for AP damage, with [[Varus]] for mixed damage. Your enemy jungler/tank [[Amumu]] only had two completed items (compared to your three), but had more Magic Resistance than you, and helped his team’s damage by building Abyssal Mask while a part of a magic-heavy team. Before you read my next bit, I’d like you to predict my advice for the [[Sejuani]] game. You’ve probably noticed by now that the enemy team is practically all AD. You dod a [i]better[/i] job of building against that than in your [[nunu]] game, but there’s still room for improvement. You bought your Ninja Tabi early (Good instincts!), then started building… something, with the kindlegem, and didn’t realize how badly you’d be needing armor until you were killed around the 18 minute mark. I don’t feel like I need to go into as much detail for this game. Now, the good news: You are consistently the number 1 or 2 person on your team for number of wards being used. Too many people let their wards rot in their inventory. In both of these games, you managed to keep pretty close to your enemy jungler in terms of gold and xp, even though it was a losing game. My suggestion to you is (if you hadn’t started already) be a shot caller. You’ve got warding down, and if you’re using your minimap, you’ve got way more map awareness than your teammates or opponents (in these two games, you were dropping ~20 wards, while most of the other players dropped between 0-4). Learn to bear the “burden of the build” when playing tanks, and make calls for your teams. Stay positive VexRoth, and congratulations on your recent victories! I’m looking forward to seeing more of them. If you want me to analyze any of specific games of yours, just say so when you post them. You’ll always have more to learn from losses than victories. TTFN ^^ (Tata for now)[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth]Ronyk, Thank you for the point about my builds in the [[Sejuani]] and [[Nunu]] games. % health damage is not something I always consider when building against the enemy team at is is something I should be considering. I'm taking [[Nunu]] out of my ranked pool because I feel like his playstyle would require more dedication than I'm willing to commit to him. I'll spend some more time looking at [[Sejuani]] itemization from higher level players and I would like to keep her in my ranked pool as I think she is still fine even after the nerf to her Q cooldown. I think I've been playing enough carry junglers at least in my normal games that I haven't paid as much attention to tank itemization so I've been defaulting to the cookie cutter builds for tanks. Re warding. I have been trying to do better with that. I'm a sads that Riot wants to remove [[Tracker's Knife]] and is planning some nerfs to [[Zombie Ward]] which I've been running on a lot more of my champions. I feel like there should be a reward for being willing to invade the enemy jungle and being limited to just your [[Warding Totem]] when opportunities arise to invade (e.g. the enemy jungler shows Bot while you are Top side) feels bad, especially because it is generally expected that a jungler will switch to a [[Sweeping Lens]] or [[Oracle Alteration]] at least when you start to contest objectives. So, there is a point in the game where you may not even have a Warding Totem, which limits you to having one [[Control Ward]] out on the field, assuming you have the room in your inventory. Wondering if this means the value of [[Ghost Poro]] goes up? I already do some shot calling. It is relatively easy in the games where I see the flow of the game. I do find it getting murky when my team is behind. Questions like Top laner winning everyone else failing, do I just try to get my Top laner even further ahead to the point that they and I can take over the game? How do I do that when their Bot lane and jungler is already diving our inner Bot lane turret? And there are some games where I feel like I have difficulty finding my voice even I am seeing what is happening. My last [[Shyvana]] game was like that. Thank your taking the time to take a look at my match history and offer your analysis. I very much appreciate that and the encouragement, Ronyk. It was helpful. PS one thing that is on my mind is that I've been looking at my play through the Mobalytics lens. At the moment my chart looks like Pac-man. Good at everything except aggression, which it translates as I don't start the plays. And I would say that is true, I try to look for advantageous situations that my team has setup and help them capitalize or support my team when they are in a rough situation (such as looking like they are about to get tower dove) so we can turn that situation to our advantage or lose as little as possible.[/quote]

[quote=Ronyk][quote=VexRoth]Questions like Top laner winning everyone else failing, do I just try to get my Top laner even further ahead to the point that they and I can take over the game? How do I do that when their Bot lane and jungler is already diving our inner Bot lane turret?[/quote] I've seen the same question asked to some people MUCH more skilled than I at jungle. They've all said that in the solo/duo queue environment, continue trying to snowball for your lanes that are already ahead. Hx4defender offers high Elo jungle coaching, and has posted some of his 1 on 1 coaching videos on youtube, and one of his pieces of advice I've heard often is exactly that, and he doesn't suggest ganking a losing lane unless the gank is a "for sure" thing, or they've shown that they can earn a solo kill. There are strategies to help you "find your voice" and different ways to approach how to cover the gap when your team is behind, depending on circumstances, which I can go into at another time. The most important thing about "finding your voice" speaks to your confidence while playing. Like you said, your Mobalytics chart puts you pretty far ahead of others at your rank, in everything but aggression. This means you could probably carry some games by playing a gank-oriented jungler, preferably someone with good waveclear. Consider picking up [[Nocturne]]. [b](Edit: I was hungry and moody when I wrote this... and I had only skimmed your post before responding. You said you like playing carry junglers in your normal games. Which ones do you enjoy playing? If you have the time and you want to improve, consider watching your replays after every game. Watch the teamfights at 1/4 speed, and go backwards to make sure you notice every detail - do you do things like move-cancel auto attacks? How's your positioning, etc. Then watch the game at normal or x2 speed but JUST pay attention to the minimap. Do it again from your opponent's point of view. Take notes of whatever you notice that you think is important. Do this after victories if you feel like it, but be sure to do this kind of self-coaching after every defeat, but feel free to give yourself a chance to cool off if you're feeling heated. When doing these self-coaching sessions, be sure to focus on what you could have done differently or better, and not about your 0/5/0 teammate)[/b] One way or another, you're on your way up. Keep up the good work ^^[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth]I'll make a concerted effort to snowball my already winning laners to see how that works for me. I've tried [[Nocturne]] and enjoy the champion minus the cons of: -Low gank potential pre-6 -Lack of mobility for counterjungling -Closing out games with him -Inability to deal with tanks unless you specifically build for it -Useless if behind He is someone I play in normals when I just want to rack up 20 kills where their team comp looks like ripe for it. Enter [[Kayn]] who I've had a lot of success with in normals games of late, but I've been hesitant to pull the trigger on for ranked because: -I have had some trouble closing out games with him (this is more historic - I've had better luck of late) -Struggled on if I get behind (moreso with Rhaast than SA, however [[Dark Harvest]] seems to give Rhaast more umph) -Shyvana exists, though frequently banned -Xin Zhao exists -My team comps often lack a tank and [[Rhaast]] doesn't really fill that void So right now my champion pool basically looks like: [[Sejuani]] - tank [[Xin Zhao]] - gank heavy/good duelest [[Shyvana]] - farm everything, get drakes, hope my lanes don't lose too badly before I get level 6 [[Evelynn]] - if my team needs an AP threat Optionally drop the middle 2 for [[Kayn]]. To do list: -Review [[Sejuani]] itemization -Practice snowballing my winning lanes[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth][img=https://i.gyazo.com/f001530947e359d9dae278788249a454.jpg width=900] [br] [[Orianna]] stomped our [[Azir]]. Fortunately, our Top and Bot were better than their counterparts. I screwed up once and pathed Bot even though I had an idea that their was a chance they might have tried to dive [[Yasuo]]. They did though he trade 1 for 1, but I could have prevented that with the help of Azir. Also died stupidly over a ward on the Top side of the map, though in that instance it kept them busy enough that our team got Baron while they were focusing me, but that wasn't what I was trying to do so it was stupid.[/quote]

[quote=VexRoth][img=https://i.gyazo.com/fa313c36c415de8ed5de11b4cdc1e1f1.jpg width=900] [br] I knew I could invade [[Evelynn]] without much risk so I did just that and killed her several times. That enabled me to secure two rounds of her buffs and keep her down in levels. With her out of the game and my laners also fairing well this one was pretty straight foward. We won quickly enough that I was able to get a dancing Rift Herald. :-)[/quote]