So it seems that grinding is going a bit slower than I had expected... I had anticipated reaching level 10 today, but with RL duties to worry about, and a life to live outside LoL, it is looking like I still have a ways to go. So, I started experimenting with Garen, since I have already decided that he is going to be my main, at least for a little while.

Most of the time, I wind up finishing games before I even finish half of my planned final kit, so I played a game this morning, and purposely attempted to draw it out by not pushing so heavily. Now I realize, when playing against live opponents, that I am probably going to have to worry much more about things like some ganker popping out of the jungle at random to burst me hard while I am already trying to tangle with two champs, but while I am still learning (and playing against tut bots solely), it seemed safe to go off my beaten path a bit.

I started by moving Garen onto the top lane, where a lot of people recommend he be played (out from my traditional mid-zone, if you read my prior entry). Playing against the tutorial lineup, I have to say it was actually much MORE challenging than playing him at midfield. For one, I was constantly facing 2 v 1 matchups (my Master Yi bot showed up occasionally to try to help, but usually he wound up getting gang-banged before he could do much of anything when he did... he's a hard hitter, but squishy as hell, apparently). For another, on the frequent occasions that I died, I had a longer trip back to the front. Teleport helped with this somewhat (part of why I take it), but overall, it meant that knowing when to grit my teeth and fight on and when to run like a rabbit being pursued by a whole den of foxes was even more important.

I found that I had to give ground a lot more than I was used to in the first part of the game. Then, I hit level 8. Suddenly, the tables turned. With all of the gold I had accumulated so far, I was able to finish my main three items, and also had my extra Judgment spins and my ultimate ready to punish the two heroes that had been farming me so far. Now, rather than having to flee before them, I waded in to the thick, popped off Judgment, then finished one with Decisive Strike as they tried to run, and the other with my ultimate. Shortly after, I cleared the lane, then moved on to mid to help them mop up their inhibitor, then finally down to bottom to take vare of the last obstacles. Before I had even finished clearing bottom, the game ended with a resounding victory.

I have read up on a lot of the recommended item builds for Garen, and I found that I don't often conform to many of them. I prioritize my items differently. I have debated a lot about trying to build a more "traditional" Garen, but given my playstyle, I am not sure it would work out as well as I would like. To me, he's a lot less of a paladin stalwartly defending against a horde of foes, and more of a greatsword wielding berserker wading in and disemboweling anyone too slow or too stupid to get out of the way. This is why I favor a combo of attack power and attack speed on my items (including using the Berserker's Greaves as my footwear upgrade) for my build... I want to hit as hard and as often as I can. I have pretty much decided that when I unlock my SS fully, I am going with TP and Flash for maximum maneuverability.

I feel like I am getting better every day. My training over the next couple of games is going to focus on not pushing too hard too early, and building myself up like I did today, to take full advantage of my kill potential. Hopefully I will hit level 10 before the end of the weekend, so I can play a few PVP games before next week. I will let you all know how it goes when I get there!