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I think the "meta" is often a dumb concept

Macilento·1/29/2015, 10:49:21 AM·2 votes·996 views

This is just an opinion i have based on both my games, and watching competitive League.

From what i can understand the "meta" changes a lot based on how the pro teams want to play the map, and what kind of team composition they want to run and find the most effective. For example right now from what i see so many teams run the heavy engage tf comp with Jarvan Sivir and Annie and Gnar. It works really good and that creates a "meta game" when many other pros and people uses those champs and style.

So this is pretty clear to udnerstand and there is nothign wrong about it.

What i don't understand is why some champions who are not buffed or nerfed in long time just become suddently OP as fuck when they did the same exact thing in ages. Examples: Janna was never ever used in pro play, then suddently at world 2014 they said "well this champ disengage wonders and lanes good against most others, this is OP". Why? i mean Janna is the same as always and did the exact same thing to my knowledge before world 2014. She always had that disengage role so why she is now op? Lissandra same story, never ever play (only a EU played her but in season 3) never used for long time, exact same role and kit, can engage and lock down a team. But only now she seems to be meta and viable. I think that is pretty dumb.

That's why i love pro players like the Unicorns of Love, who actually every now and then break the meta apart and wins with that. Jungle Tf, Poppy top, Swain, they show that if you use some champions with a brain the "meta" is nothing. Really crumbles apart.

So i would like to hear from you what you guys think about the state of the meta, and if you agree with me

12 Comments

Deep Terror Nami1/29/2015, 11:16:44 AM1 votes

Too many people look at what is popular atm and call that "the meta". That's just flavor of the month. The real meta is what roles are played in each lane (1 top, 1 jg, 1 mid, 2 bot adc/supp). If you aren't doing something different than that you're still in the meta imo.

SEKAI1/29/2015, 11:36:28 AM1 votes

Jungle Tf, Poppy top, Swain don't break the meta.

The very act of playing solo jungle is being a part of meta, it's just unconventional picks which to his credit, does help to differentiate from the bible of meta, but that doesn't mean he's broken it.

Breaking meta would be doing something like triple lane, double jungle, double mid roamer, 5 assassins etc.

Meta exists and is a very real thing, it's the most effective way to win the game so pros would obviously spam it whenever possible/discovered because they still got to feed themselves that night. Which is precisely why games shouldn't get too big of a pro scene, or at least it shouldn't have gone professional.

Duke Anax1/29/2015, 1:02:41 PM1 votes

A lot of people don't quite understand what meta means. Metagaming is the art of figuring out how to play without actually playing.

By taking a good look at everything, people have figured out strategies that usually work well and champions that are best suited to execute these strategies. This is the meta.

It's the most efficient way to approach a game on Summoners Rift. You need to know it to have a good chance at winning the game.

However if both sides use the same strategies, neither has an advantage, so you need to mix things up a bid. So people started taking assasins mid to deal with the mages and rangers top, to deal with the tanks.

That's what the Pro's do. They don't or can't actually change the meta, because the meta defines itself, just by the game being as it is. The Pros are looking for ways around the enemy using the meta. They are actually breaking the meta.

Sometimes they figure something out that is effective and becomes popular. These Strategies are what's actually changing over time, not the meta itself.

Learn 2 Swim1/29/2015, 1:06:36 PM1 votes

Riot enforces a meta even though they don't understand the meta theyre enforcing.

Nerfing every champ nonstop in cycles and destroying different build paths with items and abilities AS WELL as nerfing champs so they can only play a specific lane is going to kill this game in the long run. TBH it already is.

PPPPPPPPPPPP2701/29/2015, 1:14:32 PM1 votes

{quoted}

This is just an opinion i have based on both my games, and watching competitive League.

From what i can understand the "meta" changes a lot based on how the pro teams want to play the map, and what kind of team composition they want to run and find the most effective. For example right now from what i see so many teams run the heavy engage tf comp with Jarvan Sivir and Annie and Gnar. It works really good and that creates a "meta game" when many other pros and people uses those champs and style.

So this is pretty clear to udnerstand and there is nothign wrong about it.

What i don't understand is why some champions who are not buffed or nerfed in long time just become suddently OP as fuck when they did the same exact thing in ages. **> Examples: Janna was never ever used in pro play, then suddently at world 2014 they said "well this champ disengage wonders and lanes good against most others, this is OP". Why? i mean Janna is the same as always and did the exact same thing to my knowledge before world 2014. She always had that disengage role so why she is now op? Lissandra same story, never ever play (only a EU played her but in season 3) never used for long time, exact same role and kit, can engage and lock down a team. But only now she seems to be meta and viable. I think that is pretty dumb. ** That's why i love pro players like the Unicorns of Love, who actually every now and then break the meta apart and wins with that. Jungle Tf, Poppy top, Swain, they show that if you use some champions with a brain the "meta" is nothing. Really crumbles apart.

So i would like to hear from you what you guys think about the state of the meta, and if you agree with me

I hate that logic very much because it is missing something. There have been a ton of changes from last year that made their overpowered. The reason pro players are professionals is because they are amazing at adaptation to champions.

Janna was not usable because Lulu was a lot better in offensive power and had good peeling. What about the fact now IE > BT? Janna gives champions more damage which influences crit unlike Lulu who increased magic damage on allies.

Fredart1/29/2015, 1:17:59 PM1 votes

Fuck the meta, Sorry but I don't plan on going pro, I'm here to have fun, and there is little fun to be had with following how the "pros" play the game. You can talk efficiency or w/e but in the end the point of a game is to have fun while wasting time. I see nothing wrong with going 2 top or 2 mid instead of 2 bot, since its still 2 lanes of 1 and one lane of two. Sure its different roles and sure there's a chance my allies minds will be blown causing them to intent feed/afk but hey, nothing wrong with not following the crowd off the proverbial bridge.

PyroAmos1/30/2015, 2:44:32 AM1 votes

I would love to see a team double jungle/support (top/adc solo lane with their supports clearing the jungle then going lane to support between jungle clears)... looks really good on paper, triple member ganks mid when both the jungler go mid instead of lane, double smite for securing objectives, jungler/support that may be 1-2 lvls below the rest of their team instead of jungler 1-2 lvls below and support 3-5 lvls below.... unfortunately no teams really try stuff like that... some do lane swaps, but after 3 or 4 minutes usually go back to 1-1-1-2 mode... a lot of champs could fit well in this that have good jungle clear speed & support aspects (volibear, nunu, fiddlesticks come to mind), instead of going into team fights wtih 4 champions and a support to peel/heal, would have... 5 legit champions and a lot more dmg threat (which also peels for other team mates simply by drawing fire as a threat)