Level up with the Trinity Force podcast!

RiotGlyceroll·Jun 30, 2015·30 votes·42,615 views

We’re not all born Challenger, which is why some members of the community devote countless hours to help produce educational content to improve your knowledge of the vast world of League of Legends. The Trinity Force Network is a group of podcasts that cover everything from training and tips, eSports, patch rundowns, developer interviews, to a special podcast devoted primarily to Oceanic news.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FY-DIR-K2J8

Adam Cogswell, founder of the Network, has been working for years to perfect the science of podcasting. The Trinity Force Network community has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few months and continues to grow at an exponential rate. Read on to learn more about Adam and his growing network of podcasts!

Why did you decide to start the Trinity Force Podcast?

Phew, that’s a story. So it was near the end of Season 1 when I had been playing more League than any other video game. My friends Auslander and Ranhert were chatting about starting a League of Legends radio show complete with whistles, funny noises, and any other sound they could pipe in via Skype. They were both apprehensive about letting me take over because the radio show idea was generally a joke. However, the next thing we know we were all on Skype recording our first episode of the Trinity Force Podcast.

What’s your favorite topic during the podcast?

I LOVE talking about patch notes on the Proper show. It makes me a better player when I can look at a change, dissect it, and explain why and what is going to happen with the champion and meta. Humorously, we can take what is seemingly the smallest change and turn it into a 10 or 15 minute conversation. Like the latest Lulu change: It wasn’t that big on paper but we all agreed that the power shift favored lane Lulu just as much as it did support Lulu.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmSbggZK-pw

How each of the current podcast teams come together?

The Proper podcast started as 3 guys who were just doing it to have fun. After a couple of years, and meeting a lot of like-minded people through the hobby, we finally ended up with the five people who are currently on the show. We also have an AWESOME producer that goes by the name of Lancifur. We wouldn’t be able to produce the Proper show if he didn’t put in the time to make sure it’s put together, and out on the website, on time each week!

The LCS Rundown is the brain child of my friend Domenic. The LCS started to grow and we were brainstorming ways we could incorporate both the LCS and general game theory into one podcast. That’s when the idea for a new podcast was formed.

Next are the OzLoL guys: They’re the longest running Australian podcast that talks about the OPL and patch notes. We love the show they put together because it’s a unique concept: Focus on a single region and become the go-to for all information about those teams.

Finally, the Four Wards podcast is the most recent addition to the Network. A bunch of us realized that we had new listeners who couldn’t keep up with some of Proper’s discussion. So we put our heads together and decided to create a podcast to help new players move forward (four ward, get it?) in League of Legends.

Each of the podcasts serves a purpose in the Network and they make up over 5 hours of content a week. We’re trying to design the podcasts so that you can grow with the Network both as a player and a community member.

Any tips for players looking to start a podcast or to start shout casting?

Do it because you love it.

I see a lot of people make the mistake of trying to create content because they want money or fame. When it comes to content creation, you should do it because you love to do it. You should be willing to put your content out regardless if you have 100 or 100,000 views! If you show the people who digest your content that you’re doing it because you love to do it, they’ll love to support you.

Also, make sure that you find people who are going to support you no matter what. When someone asks me what I do for a living I put a big smile on my face: I’m a podcaster! Yes, I talk about a video game via the Internet! This astounds most people but it goes back to the original point: If you show that you love what you do, and you’re not afraid to talk about it, it’ll show in your final product.

Be sure to check out the Trinity Force Podcast and the rest of their shows on both iTunes and their YouTube channel!

Want to give your favorite community/content creator a spotlight? Let us know which ones you’d like to see below!

83 Comments

pwnophobiaJun 30, 201533 votes

Hey guys! Adam "pwnophobia" Cogswell here. I'll be poking around the forums over the course of the night to answer any questions you have about the League of Legends podcast scene. And a big thanks to Riot Glyceroll for this opportunity. I hope you all find something that you are looking for within our community!

DurkaderkJun 30, 20153 votes

The best LoL podcast out there , really enjoy the show. Keep it up!

mobilerelicJun 30, 20153 votes

Congratulations Pwnophbia on being on the main screen of League i have been playing with people on the tforce network and its always fun to play with you guys.

DraykonslayerJun 30, 20155 votes

I haven't seen an episode yet, but I don't suppose you've made any "Tons of Damage" jokes? I'd Phreak out. Anyway, keep up the good work!

Pain is OrangeJul 1, 20152 votes

I just have to say, your podcast is the ONLY way I survived a particularly grueling commute for four months after 10 hour workdays. Keep it up!

Wise Papa SmurfJun 30, 201512 votes

Congratulations TForce! Let me be the first to congratulate you on making the big time! Hopefully your hard work brings some much needed light to the podcast scene and helps all of our shows grow.

Keep it up and we hope to see you on the rift again soon. Love,

Blake, Sam, and Ernie, The League of Legends Anonymous Podcast Crew

DeClawdJun 30, 201510 votes

Thanks for the shoutout Glyc! Well spoken, Adam. So happy to see this 😁

Deep Terror NamiJun 30, 20159 votes

Cool. Looks like I can get tons of info here.

OznogasaurusJun 30, 20158 votes

Riot can't nerf this T-Force.

DeClawdJun 30, 20157 votes

Just remember, to better position for a charm on Ahri, just say her name out loud. "R E. "

anotherproblemJun 30, 20156 votes

Been listening to the T-Force Podcast for about 2 years and I am glad that you guys have finally gotten the attention you deserve. Keep up the good work to help us improve!

DeClawdJun 30, 20155 votes

Did you guys hear the one about the who's a counter that most take for granite?

RagingPineapplesJun 30, 20154 votes

Honestly, wouldn't know about this network unless my dad wasn't the nerd he is and started listening to the podcast. Have to thank him for me knowing about this. It's pretty awesome, keep this up guys

zlnnnnnJun 30, 20152 votes

The horrible website that replaced Badmins music downloads :(

pwnophobiaJun 30, 20153 votes

Oh, sorry about that! We tried to redirect it to this link: https://soundcloud.com/badministrator

But the DNS wasn't cooperating. We decided it was time to part ways with Badmin as he decided to upload them to Soundcloud instead. :)

KyngSlayerJul 1, 20152 votes

i bet Phreak made the name item 3078

Jester of QuebecJul 1, 20152 votes

Not sure if I really want to listen to those ''tips'' all of these guys seems to be gold or low plat. Since I'm already Plat I'm pretty sure they have nothing to teach me, but I guess Bronze and Silver can take these tips.

pwnophobiaJul 1, 20153 votes

While you may find that you know a lot of what we are talking about the fact that we have a community full of people from Masters to Bronze is invaluable. I urge you to join us in the in-game chat channel and in Teamspeak and take part in the community. Who knows, maybe you can offer advice about a piece of the show that we forgot to mention?

PLANT BAEJul 1, 20152 votes

Best podcast going. Has made me significantly better at this game while remaining entertained throughout. Congrats guys!

LC ChrisJul 1, 20152 votes

I just want to congratulate Adam and the rest of the Trinity Force podcast and their network. This is such a cool thing for Riot to do and let's hope it brings a communal eye to our corner of the world in podcasting. These guys do such a great job of creating consistent and helpful content to a wide range of players, keep up the excellent work!

Chris, host of "Leaguecast"

pwnophobiaJul 2, 20151 votes

Thanks, Chris! We still need to chat about exchanging hosts for an episode. We had planned it awhile back and never made it happen.

Dunkrius2gJun 30, 20151 votes

Where is phreak? item 3078

DeClawdJun 30, 20153 votes

{quoted}

Where is phreak?

He's in the day vid...Turley

DraykonslayerJun 30, 20153 votes

Or doing Tons of Damage

Twinz2not1Jun 30, 20151 votes

when does Tahm Kench come to NA summoner 30

DeClawdJun 30, 201519 votes

When the Tahm is right 😂

DraykonslayerJun 30, 20153 votes

You just need a couple more puns, and your comedic career will be Kenched. (Clinched... Sorry, that was a stretch)

tplegs0708Jul 1, 20151 votes

no, Zac is a stretch :D

DraykonslayerJul 1, 20151 votes

Pretty good, you've just been slingshotted to a whole new level. Now, Let's Bounce! But first, there's an Unstable Matter at hand.

ProbeMeJul 1, 20151 votes

Winner!

DraykonslayerJul 1, 20151 votes

That's ProbablyMe(7) :P

ProbeMeSep 26, 20151 votes

Slayer of Draykons

VigneJun 30, 20151 votes

PogChamp

VigneJun 30, 20155 votes

Be sure to join the ingame chat room tforce as well!

InsaneSamuraiJul 1, 20151 votes

I have something I could use advice on. For 2 years(yes really), I've been speaking with support about the vast majority of my random games being so skewed that anyone could tell something was wrong. There are very clearly new players, trolls, or people with absolutely no interest in teamwork or communication on my team almost every game, while it was usually blatantly obvious how much more experienced, organized, and skilled the enemy teams were. For two years I was told the same thing over and over again. "It's just bad luck. There's nothing wrong with the system. You're just experiencing negativity bias, it's not really that bad." If it was bad luck, don't you think it would stop at some point? If there is nothing wrong with the system, then how can it hold absolutely no value in teamwork and communication? And finally, I took logs for a while, it really is that bad.

If my problem is the unpunished, raging sociopaths that are represented on almost every team of randoms, and Riot has only spoken like they care about how big of a problem it is and never actually done anything to improve it, is this game just not for me?

FrownpowerJul 1, 20152 votes

Hey InsaneSamurai, I will try to answer your question as best that I can, however it is quite complex. I'd say that the majority of the league community especially lower elos have poor communication in game and haven't learned how to team fight. So if you are bronze-low gold, you probably do run into more people who haven't developed those skills in a league of legends setting. That being said, as part of the Tforce community you can join in on the in game chat channel Tforce and find people to play with that will not only help you get better, but will better communicate with you while in game. Thanks for taking time to read the article, hope to see you in the tforce chat soon.

Pharoah RamsesJul 1, 20151 votes

I've decided to quit League this past week for this exact reason Samurai. (I have played casually since S1, and I'm unranked) I took a break recently when Witcher 3 released, now every time I try to play a game (less than 1/day on avg now) I get matched up with some of the worst people in this community.

So I'm done. There's no point wasting 30-60 minutes/game. I have never found a more hostile, awful community - nobody whatsoever wants to work together, there is no sense of Team, and it is always someone else's fault for their loss. (Hypocritical, right? - except its usually that asshole in Top or Mid who feeds, their lane snowballs, then it is suddenly the team's fault for not roaming to help their lane when the rest of the team was busy doing their job)

Not to mention 500ms ping spikes every game lately (usually it was 1 in 20 games, now its more like 2 in 3 games).

This game has so much potential, but this community eats away at that every single second. I used to have a blast, even playing solo, when no friends are online... Now I can't even have fun with a 4 man premade because that 5th person is probably going to be so bad they manage to drag the rest of the team down. Go figure. One person can't carry and win the game every time, but that same one person can absolutely lose the game for the team every time.

Could I be the common denominator? Sure, it is definitely a possibility and my match history would suggest this, however my gameplay is for the most part very consistent regardless of a win or loss as support, and in each of my most recent games lately I've had some of the fewest deaths on the team.

Not even remotely worth the time or effort to try to work through the ranked hell system in hopes of being matched up with better players... I wish this game were not so hostile, its like every time I launch it I get slapped in the face. Part of me wishes it would die off already so everyone would move onto something better. It would be LOVELY if there were an option to select a queue that is NOT filled with bronze through gold people, they can duke it out together. I'd much rather play with plat/diamond and professional players than the chum I get queued with most days - and playing against such opponents should actually result in people improving and learning. Playing against and with trash just results in frustration.

But everyone seems to be content with this festering cesspool of a community, so nothing will really change.

/rant

AsderitionJul 1, 20152 votes

You should try hanging out with us, over in the Tforce in-client chat room.

To be honest, EVERY video games has that toxicity you are referring to. But with such a massive player base, and so many more players to choose from, we tend to focus on the negative all the time. Look at call of Duty, a decent amount of those players aren't even kids trying to do our moms, but we base the entire franchise off that one bias. I have plenty of great friends that play CoD, some being the nicest folks I know. I suggest listening to the second video posted by Glyc, Riot Lyte and Ghostcrawler were interviewed by the TForce Proper and they delved into some of the topics you mentioned. It's at least worth a listen, right?

I think your outlook is a little too harsh. At TForce, we try to be an inspiring community, bringing players together to achieve a common goal, to get better at League of Legends. Of course, we aren't the entire player base, but neither are the toxic players.

Remember, if you want something to change, be the spark that starts it.

I have been playing this game a long time, 5 years, actually. I love it. I wouldn't trade my time with League for anything. It's all a matter of perspective, friend. I hope you reconsider, take care!

Pharoah RamsesJul 1, 20151 votes

Appreciate the reply. I'll give it a listen.

Honestly, I don't want to quit the game - but I've been burnt out on the player interactions. My competitive side wants to improve, keep progressing learning the supports inside & out but I must say I'm finding it harder and harder to keep at it. Been on tilt for weeks, at least looking at my current losing streak. The more hate and resentment I direct towards this game though, the more I realize I've loved playing it, I'm just frustrated.

I also understand that the toxic people are not the entire community here - I'm just pointing to the fact that in my experience, at my ELO/MMR (Unless there is no metric for normal queue), the vast majority of people are not fun to play with - they make it a chore... Of course you do run across the rare nice person who is actually willing to try and bring everyone together - but I'm sick of trying to be that person, its tiring, I just try to be quiet and follow the team, be a bodyguard (Support main). I think without a full premade team OR VoIP (with everyone utilizing it) there is little hope for actually working as a team. I'm guilty of ignoring pings when I'm in the middle of a fight - I'm sure a lot of people are... But when my friends in Teamspeak ping AND call out what is being pinged I know exactly what's going on... The ping system doesn't work ~~well~~(for everyone).

In a different direction; I think @Riot could take a fairly simple approach which would rapidly impact the community and player experience... Just add a VoIP service for each team. I imagine it would still be a large development project, even just incorporating existing VoIP software into their engine, but it would be a huge change in how we interact in-game. Currently, there is no voice, therefore there is no "human" element which breaks down barriers making it easier for people to be an asshole without feeling much remorse(Hiding behind your keyboard). You add voice to the equation it is simple; emotion is now introduced and the experience becomes a little bit closer to an actual human interaction - which naturally discourages being a complete douchebag (There are of course always social exceptions). I believe the Tribunal system would still stand and work well for people abusing VoIP - and a simple mute button exists in EVERY feature so when someone steps out of line they're muted. If they're acting like that it is likely that they are not being a positive contribution to the fight in the game. Riot could easily program the system to redflag for potential VoIP abuse if a player gets muted in a game, just incorporate a simple event and mutecount. If there's a mute & a report after the game boom instant escalation to tribunal or some other level of organization.

Not to mention asking/telling someone to calm down and listen to a game plan really quickly over VoIP is FAR easier than typing out a wall of text mid fight. I'm quite shocked it'd been almost 6 years and still no VoIP.

TsylentJul 3, 20152 votes

Join the TForce chat room in the client. We have a teamspeak that anyone in the community can use. So you can have VoIP at least in your normal games, and can count on at least a certain amount of courtesy in your teammates. Looking forward to meeting you if you're up for it!

Pharoah RamsesJul 6, 20151 votes

Joined the TForce Chat, made a 5 man team, won the first game we played. Also the community videos are quite helpful and well done.

BUT

The other team's mid left less than 10 minutes into the game, so it wasn't even a real win.

My stance on the community still stands; a growing majority of it is pure garbage which needs to be cleaned out.

At least there's a few niche groups here and there of friendlier people.

TaredomJul 1, 20151 votes

My cousin got me into this podcast, have been listening to it and it's affiliates for about 6 months or so now. Fantastic podcast, keep up the exceptional work guys! Best things to take from this podcast would be attitude and maintaining a solid team morale, as well as warding and practicing CS.

One frustration to note so far was an episode recently that didn't have Adam, and Chira was hosting, only thing that irked me about the episode was that when he was going over the isolation bonus for Kha and went into what Kha evolves out of the jungle, he insisted that evolving his ult was better than evolving Q when his evolved ult is bleh at best, it doesn't really add anything to the champ. Aside from that, remarkable podcast and I generally share the same opinions or you all are wonderful enough to educate me on anything I don't know.

pwnophobiaJul 1, 20153 votes

{quoted} One frustration to note so far was an episode recently that didn't have Adam, and Chira was hosting, only thing that irked me about the episode was that when he was going over the isolation bonus for Kha and went into what Kha evolves out of the jungle, he insisted that evolving his ult was better than evolving Q when his evolved ult is bleh at best, it doesn't really add anything to the champ. Aside from that, remarkable podcast and I generally share the same opinions or you all are wonderful enough to educate me on anything I don't know.

Hey Taredom! I'll be the first to admit: We are not always right and sometimes our opinions are biased based on our own play. The Kha'zix R / Q debate sparked a HUGE conversation inter-network. We argued to evolve W over Q and vice versa. What it ended up coming down to was that both parties were right for the situation they were arguing. So overall it was a good thing that Chira brought up Kha'zix and the way he likes to play him because it sparks discussion. We hope that if you have future arguments that you bring them to /r/tforcenetwork and let us, and others, know why you don't agree!

TaredomJul 1, 20153 votes

{quoted}

Hey Taredom! I'll be the first to admit: We are not always right and sometimes our opinions are biased based on our own play. The Kha'zix R / Q debate sparked a HUGE conversation inter-network. We argued to evolve W over Q and vice versa. What it ended up coming down to was that both parties were right for the situation they were arguing. So overall it was a good thing that Chira brought up Kha'zix and the way he likes to play him because it sparks discussion. We hope that if you have future arguments that you bring them to /r/tforcenetwork and let us, and others, know why you don't agree!

Not gonna lie, simply receiving responses from you and Chira absolutely made my day! My experience with Kha is limited so I won't pretend to be a professional at him by any standards but I feel like out of the jungle in most cases you'll wanna go evolved E > Q > W (E first for the extended range, resets for tower diving if you know you'll get the kill and of course the late game, Q to counter jungle and for clear speed, although those first two I feel can be switched depending on what kind of aggression you intend to go for and W for the late game slow and to tag more targets) Many players are very sad with the current state of the evolved ult, it sounds amazing on paper but in practice it just doesn't compare to what the others give. It's strange, stealth defines certain champs such as Rengar or Talon but Khas identity falls into his leaps and outplays with isolation. Again, my opinion is just that of a novice Kha player so take it with a grain of salt, it's just my views.

Back to fueling your egos, your podcast is phenomenal and I tune in pretty much the same day that they're uploaded to the site, would donate if I could (Wife, 3 kids and a mortgage, lifes a bitch) but if any of you would like to add me to play a game or two, I would be more than down!

Also strange question, what's your favorite kind of beer?

pwnophobiaJul 1, 20152 votes

{quoted}

Not gonna lie, simply receiving responses from you and Chira absolutely made my day! My experience with Kha is limited so I won't pretend to be a professional at him by any standards but I feel like out of the jungle in most cases you'll wanna go evolved E > Q > W (E first for the extended range, resets for tower diving if you know you'll get the kill and of course the late game, Q to counter jungle and for clear speed, although those first two I feel can be switched depending on what kind of aggression you intend to go for and W for the late game slow and to tag more targets) Many players are very sad with the current state of the evolved ult, it sounds amazing on paper but in practice it just doesn't compare to what the others give. It's strange, stealth defines certain champs such as Rengar or Talon but Khas identity falls into his leaps and outplays with isolation. Again, my opinion is just that of a novice Kha player so take it with a grain of salt, it's just my views.

I think the "accepted" path is W/Q > E > W/Q. Unless you're skirmishing a ton the evolved Claws will allow you to secure kills and W will allow you to farm faster for 11. I agree with the ultimate point, I'm not a big fan of it now they reduced the damage taken when you pop it. Kha just doesn't have the impact that Talon and Rengar have in the game because he's not as dominate once he hits level 6. Sad state of affairs for our bug friend :(

Back to fueling your egos, your podcast is phenomenal and I tune in pretty much the same day that they're uploaded to the site, would donate if I could (Wife, 3 kids and a mortgage, lifes a bitch) but if any of you would like to add me to play a game or two, I would be more than down!

Hey, I have all those too! It's amazing that i find time to do anything Network related....

I was chatting with the girlyfriend last night about her finding a second job when I said "I'll find a second job to help if I have to!" and that's when I realized I already have one, haha.

Also strange question, what's your favorite kind of beer?

India Pale Ales! Ohio has a fantastic selection of them. I generally brew American Pale Ales at home (lower ABV) but I've currently got a DIPA fermenting that'll taste like a tropical island mixed with grapefruit. Plus, it'll punch you in the face @ 9% ABV ;o

TaredomJul 1, 20151 votes

{quoted}

<3

I think the "accepted" path is W/Q > E > W/Q. Unless you're skirmishing a ton the evolved Claws will allow you to secure kills and W will allow you to farm faster for 11. I agree with the ultimate point, I'm not a big fan of it now they reduced the damage taken when you pop it. Kha just doesn't have the impact that Talon and Rengar have in the game because he's not as dominate once he hits level 6. Sad state of affairs for our bug friend :(

Truer words have never been spoken, Talon isn't in the best shape due to his changes from cutthroat to cutfoot (a mildly inconveniencing paper cut at that, .25 seconds is brief to say the least.) Rengo on the other hand... hehehe

I've been listening for some time now and don't think I recall your cast really touching base on junglers controlling the flow of the game (you may have in the older episodes, haven't listening to those yet) I feel like that would be a really interesting topic and as a jungler I often feel it's my responsibility to control when the game gets pushed out of the lane phase and into the mid game, and then again into the late game, do you think this would be a subject that T-Force proper would be interested in?

Hey, I have all those too! It's amazing that i find time to do anything Network related....

I was chatting with the girlyfriend last night about her finding a second job when I said "I'll find a second job to help if I have to!" and that's when I realized I already have one, haha.

I found myself in the same boat, wife was pregnant with number three and was laid off so I picked up the torch and worked all day every day until my son was born and she was able to work again. Also was forreal about the games, I do understand if none of you can, you all seem to be very busy people and honestly simply getting to chat with you here has been incredible, I feel like I'm at fanboy status haha

India Pale Ales! Ohio has a fantastic selection of them. I generally brew American Pale Ales at home (lower ABV) but I've currently got a DIPA fermenting that'll taste like a tropical island mixed with grapefruit. Plus, it'll punch you in the face @ 9% ABV ;o

My god that sounds amazing! I tend to find myself leaning towards the more stout drinks, Guinness being my go to.

pwnophobiaJul 1, 20153 votes

Also was forreal about the games, I do understand if none of you can, you all seem to be very busy people and honestly simply getting to chat with you here has been incredible, I feel like I'm at fanboy status haha

Add me in game! We'll make it happen

ChirajaedenJul 1, 20153 votes

With the removal of damage reduction during ult and the increase in isolation potential from the new changes Q is more viable to evolve now than its been in the past. Historically it hasn't been as good and not nearly as powerful as getting another instant of time to dodge damage, reposition, or wait out cooldowns as another charge of ult has been. BUT TIMES MAY BE A CHANGING.

Thanks for listening and we love opposing opinions :) adds discussion fuel.

bK HYperJul 1, 20151 votes

Any chance you need or would accept more people on the cast?

pwnophobiaJul 1, 20152 votes

Hey Hyper!

At this time we are not looking to expand any of our shows but the opportunity may arise in the future! Keep your eyes peeled to /r/tforcenetwork or our twitter @TForceNetwork for more information.