Where does Flash go?
Riot·4/1/2014, 11:35:09 PM·0 votes·10,962 views
It’s the most important question in League of Legends. The answer defines you as a Summoner. A spellcaster. A person. The answer looms over every player on the Rift like the specter of unnecessary deaths and missed kill opportunities.
The answer has torn teams apart, friendships asunder. It divides entire populations, the constant debate raging on forums, battlefields, and the Twisted Treeline. It’s a question that every player (above level 12) must answer, one that they will be judged on for years to come. You know it well, and the only thing left to do is answer it.
Do you put Flash in D or F?
XDG’s Benny could not agree more. “When I first started playing this game, I would always take Ghost as a summoner spell. I would usually put Ghost on D. Then there were games where I would simply take Flash and put that on D. When I couldn't decide whether D or F was better, I just thought to myself, ‘Hey, D for Defensive’ and it stuck.”
Flash’s less flashy brother Ghost is something to take into consideration here. Sure, F could stand for Flash, but why not keep all of your mobility skills in the same slot? Reminding yourself of the defensive D is a great way to do that.
Benny doesn’t judge the opposite side for not using D. “I don't know if there's anything wrong with people going with Flash on F, or if I'm the weird one for thinking that.”
Kerp makes a good point. With the F key arguably harder to get to from the standard QWER hand positioning on the keyboard, keeping the more frequently available Summoner Spell in D makes a whole lot of sense. And with Flash’s cooldown being a full minute and a half longer than other popular Spells like ignite, Ghost, Barrier, and Exhaust, and that’s not even mentioning Smite’s miniscule 40 second timer, it’s only logical to keep it where you won’t accidentally press it from time to time.
Other F Flashers, when reached for comment, didn’t get back to us. Were they ashamed of their placement of the premier mobility spell? We’re not sure.
The records match those stats. In North America, the record of teams with a majority of players who put Flash in D vs. teams with a majority of players who put Flash in F is 31-65*. Meanwhile, in Europe, it’s 63-33. Could this mean something about cultural differences? It’s hard to say. But we’re sure of one thing: no one can agree on anything.
And the record across both regions is 94-98, just barely in favor of F. As for now, there is no clear winner to this great debate either.
*In the rare case of a tie, Ghost was counted as a Flash. This only happened four times across 192 games.
The ‘D’-fenders
“Flash in D, of course. D stands for Defense and F stands for Fire also known as Ignite,” Copenhagen Wolves top laner YoungBuck responds when asked where he puts the hotly debated Summoner Spell. That’s hard to argue with. When you need to get out of a sticky situation, Flash is the spell you turn to. Whether it be diving over walls, juking into a bush behind you, or getting out of Baron’s pit, Flash is there for you.
XDG’s Benny could not agree more. “When I first started playing this game, I would always take Ghost as a summoner spell. I would usually put Ghost on D. Then there were games where I would simply take Flash and put that on D. When I couldn't decide whether D or F was better, I just thought to myself, ‘Hey, D for Defensive’ and it stuck.”
Flash’s less flashy brother Ghost is something to take into consideration here. Sure, F could stand for Flash, but why not keep all of your mobility skills in the same slot? Reminding yourself of the defensive D is a great way to do that.
Benny doesn’t judge the opposite side for not using D. “I don't know if there's anything wrong with people going with Flash on F, or if I'm the weird one for thinking that.”
Team ‘F’
Millenium mid laner Kerp led the charge for the dropping Flash in F. “I usually put Flash on F because I just got used to it. Flash has a longer cooldown than Ignite so I used it less frequently at the start.”
Kerp makes a good point. With the F key arguably harder to get to from the standard QWER hand positioning on the keyboard, keeping the more frequently available Summoner Spell in D makes a whole lot of sense. And with Flash’s cooldown being a full minute and a half longer than other popular Spells like ignite, Ghost, Barrier, and Exhaust, and that’s not even mentioning Smite’s miniscule 40 second timer, it’s only logical to keep it where you won’t accidentally press it from time to time.
Other F Flashers, when reached for comment, didn’t get back to us. Were they ashamed of their placement of the premier mobility spell? We’re not sure.
Looking at the Stats
Interestingly, whether LCS pros are a D or F Flasher seems to be correlated with what side of the Atlantic they’re playing on. Of the top 3 NA teams, two are filled with a majority of F flashers -TSM and Cloud 9 - while CLG reigns as the top D dependent players. In Europe, it’s skewed heavily in the other direction. All three top squads after Week 10 - Alliance, Fnatic, and SK - have a majority of players who put Flash in D.
The records match those stats. In North America, the record of teams with a majority of players who put Flash in D vs. teams with a majority of players who put Flash in F is 31-65*. Meanwhile, in Europe, it’s 63-33. Could this mean something about cultural differences? It’s hard to say. But we’re sure of one thing: no one can agree on anything.
And the record across both regions is 94-98, just barely in favor of F. As for now, there is no clear winner to this great debate either.
*In the rare case of a tie, Ghost was counted as a Flash. This only happened four times across 192 games.
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