Communication and Team Composition should go hand in hand.

UpDownLeftRightAB·5/19/2018, 3:32:46 PM·1 votes·479 views

This should be obvious, but given how I never seem to get the tank players, I'm guessing people have decided that being a one trick pony is better than being a player who wins more games. I get that Riot has designed fun champions like Riven, Urgot...and stuff... but they aren't a tank and they are most likely going to face a tank in lane. If a bruiser doesn't completely outclass and faceroll (5+ kills before 10 minutes) they are most likely going to be little more than a meatshield (HP with no resistances) if there is a full vision 5v5 teamfight (mid lane ARAM style) because they don't have the amount of peel and initiation any of the basic tanks like Malphite or Maokai can bring. I do not think that means you shouldn't play these fun champs, there is just a time and a place for everything and it isn't every game. I'd actually wish this was back like in season 2 or season 1 when that totally was viable, where team composition took a bit of a backseat to having fun.

That kind of brings me to the point. How does this work with communication and bringing team composition into it? I'll say that Bruisers make better peelers for their carries since their damage just helps kill whoever is threatening the carry and they make great ambushes, but having 2 of them is pointless. 2 Bruisers don't bring enough CC or Beef that 1 Tank and 1 Bruiser have or 1 Tank and 1 Assassin have, and with tank damage having been amped up again with the rune changes, 2 Bruisers is worse than 2 Tanks even. They lack the hard initiation and hard peel in return for barely more single target damage. In short, don't pick 2 Bruisers (looking at you TOP and JUNGLE. COORDINATE don't just autolock), it is the worst team comp.

Ideally, you want a good mix, stacking too much of one thing is bad in this game, like Bronze 5 destined bad if given enough games. I don't know how many times I try to coordinate with people in pick/ban and either get complete silence or some idiot just memeing, I get that players are scared they will get banned for even speaking, but come on... I know they've removed the ability to report people for REFUSING TO COMMUNICATE in a team game, but that doesn't mean communication isn't important, it just means focus on what you can do with communication and not being an antagonizing dick about it Someone die, great it's already in the past(can't revive them and redo it, time doesn't go backwards), focus on what YOU can do next not what THEY did wrong, tell them after the game if you really care about their performance. What you can do is go, "hey X help me do Y. Spam ping an objective" then play it a bit back and PRAY that they decide to communicate. If not, tough, there is nothing you can do to make them not be anti-social and decide to help the team out with the most valuable skill we have in this game, communication.

Sorry for the rant. But I just don't like the way the general community in-game is headed over the past 9 years. Even though I rarely speak in my games most of the stuff I do is led with pings or a short play call, I'm not going to try and teach the game in the game, there is a time for that called after the game. I see too many people trying to do the "correct" play with zero communication, if you communicate you can even do the sub-optimal or wrong play and still come out on top. But whatever you do, do it with 100% of the team, not 60%. If you do that from Pick/Ban to a nexus explosion, you'll find the game a bit more enjoyable even when Riot seems to be deciding patch notes with a decapitated chicken.

I use Bruisers as an example because they are just more common than say 2 mages or 2 assassins and that versatility that they bring can either add something that compliments the team more (Jax with a AoE stun comp) or literally does nothing and feels useless (Riven as the sole frontliner in a poke comp).

PS. Jax and Riven together in either comp isn't as good as say Jax with a tank or Riven with a tank and communication in Pick/Ban can help avoid this handicap.

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