League of Legends (LoL) Question: What is "off-meta"?

Posted in General 9,017

What is "off-meta"?

Asked by DutchWolf114 on December 9, 2018

(EDIT: I've published the guide on this, look for it under my guides. I plan to do a forum post about this at some point to continue the discussion, but currently work is keeping me busy so it'll be a while till I get round to it)

Hi Guys,
Some of you might recognize me as "that guy that writes short off-meta guides" (and if you play on EUW I might be "that annoying troll that thinks support is a thing"). For my next write-up, I want to include a short discussion on what an off-meta pick is, what can make it viable and why you would play it. Rather than just relying on my own brilliance (I am humble af after all), I figured I'd crowd-source some high-IQ energy, so here we are:

What is off-meta?
What makes off-meta viable (or not)?
Why would you go off-meta?
Why don't you like off-meta picks?
When is off-meta trolling (and when isn't it)?

Looking forward to your input guys, lets get philosphical up in this *bleep* :)

Kind regards,
-DutchWolf

PS. I did do an off-the-cuff-rant about this subject in one of my guides already, which I will copy-paste below for reference.

rant

Answers (4)

(85) |

For me, off-meta consists of things that are rarely seen. Meta is often easier to play and the best builds are well known, but off-meta things can also work well as long as you know how to do it and when it fits your playstyle. An advantage is that many people don't know how to play against uncommon picks. I find it fun to theorycraft and think about new things that could work, even though it might not be the most efficient thing. Be open-minded and as long as you play to win and help your team, off-meta isn't trolling. Some things that were considered off-meta have become meta actually. Think of tank top.
I hope this can help.
~Silverman43

(10) |

Hey mate,
Thanks for your reply.

So, you go by the textbook definition of "off-meta" as in "anything that is suboptimal in the current patch"? Would you consider mid off-meta at the moment (worst pickrate on NA in the last month according to OP.GG)?

(85) |

I don't really consider mid off-meta even though he isn't played much and he will be picked even less now his winrate dropped. As long as you use a frequently used build for him and play him mid, it is sort of meta. He won't be that strong, but still. That's the moment where people search for new ways to play him more effectively. *couch* jungle *couch*
All of this is just IMO.

(11) |

For me, off-meta is putting a champion in a spot or role other than the one for which they were intended. Since Riot seems to be trying to give each champion a niche (largely due to the the limbo that most versatile characters find themselves in like Maokai or Volibear), using them in another is off-meta. However, Riot encourages experimentation, so I think they prefer to build a niche and let the player base discover a secondary one. Then they decide if it's acceptable or not. (Support Lux/Brand? Sure! Jungle/Top Alistar? No!)

Beyond that, I think it's a question of how off meta and how much it works. Support Lux is off meta, but she works well there. You simply build towards her utility rather than damage.

Off meta is most useful when "abusing" an interaction of somekind. Poppy is fantastic as a support when laning against a Leona-Tristana with a Kha'Zix jungler, for example. Otherwise, other champs do the same things better in the role. Brand support is most useful when the rest of your team somehow forgot to build any damage.

I personally love off meta picks, but I think most people dislike them because they are less sure how to strategize with them on the team. Thus they label it trolling. I think it's only trolling if you're really not trying, and maybe if you use it in ranked without a plan. Taking Kayle support is fine if you're really pushing for the late game and build her around that, but if you just want to see what happens, stick to normals, to be polite.

Best of luck for the guide!

(6) |

That is a really good definition of off-meta. It is nice to see another player who really understands what off-meta is really all about.

(10) |

Hi Majestueux,
Thanks for your reply! I've already published v1.0 of the guide/essay. Currently I don't have time to really update it in any significant way (irl getting in the way and all), but when I do I'll see if I can incorporate some of your points in the text.
Kind regards,
DW114

What is off meta? - Picking a champion with a different build or lane (or both, gunblade jungle teemo hell yeah) than they would normally play in.
What makes off meta viable (or not) - A lot of it is the surprise factor. Like at the start of preseason when people started playing dark harvest in lanes, no one realised how muc damage it would do so it ended up being really good. However can a lot of the time be bad, which is normally why it isn't played.
Why would you go off meta? - makes the game interesting. Playing teemo jungle is fun and weird, and always underestimated.
Why do/don't you like off meta picks? - A lot of the time they are really fun, but a lot of the time annoying when they are on your team and don't work (has flashbacks to zed jungle without smite)
WHen is off meta trolling (aand when isn't it) - Depends on the circumstances. Stuff like full ap support lux can work, so i wouldn't call it trolling, but stuff like full ap garen.... no.

(41) |

What is off-meta? - take a champion for a role that most of the players won't think it would fit there or do a build that most of the players don't think it would fit the champion.
What makes off-meta viable (or not)? it viable for finding new strategies and making the game more fun.
Why would you go off-meta? some times it would be easier to win that way as it diffrent so it hard to counter or making the game more fun (soraka adc leona support is SO fun)
Why don't you like off-meta picks? - making the game more interesting and you may find a new way to win (LCS MF support for example)
When is off-meta trolling (and when isn't it)? - when you do much worse then you would do with a normal pick/build, if you feed too much, something like the same as trolling anyway.

Loading Comments...

Load More Comments