Riot doesn't seem to know what skill cap means

Hibeki·Dec 14, 2014·1 votes·841 views

Skill cap means that to adequately play a champion it means you need to play them ALOT to be able to do anything with them.

There is not a single champion in the game that I have had to play more than 3-4 games without getting used to how they feel and how to combo.

This does not mean they have skill caps, you keep using that word VERY loosely.

Skill means you have to use your knowledge of the game, champion, their champion, and situation to your advantage and to do something with it.

Knowing which order to press QWERDF is NOT skill, so please stop using skill cap as a way to describe less noob friendly champions.

7 Comments

Sailor MintDec 14, 20147 votes

That's the definition of* skill floor*. The bare minimum required to have some success on a champion.

The actual skill cap is how much potential the champion has when mastered.

It's pretty easy to point out champions with extremely low skill caps. Pre-rework Sona. Outside of her ultimate and some of her basic laning combos, none of her gameplay relied on anything beyond standard positioning and game knowledge.

The ChinDec 14, 20143 votes

Skill cap does not mean you need a lot of games to play a champ. It refers to the highest potentials of a champ.

So you can play any champ after a few games... That's far from the skill cap of that champ, in fact that's pretty much the complete opposite of the skill cap, that's like the skill floor. That's just the bare minimum needed to play a champ.

If there's anyone that doesn't know what skill cap means here, it's definitely you :p

Caustic CrusaderDec 14, 20142 votes

Hebiki doesn't seem to know what skill cap means

SeCKS EgaiDec 14, 20141 votes

[{quoted}](name=Caustic Crusader,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=E5aVaHbT,comment-id=0003,timestamp=2014-12-14T08:26:40.519+0000) Hebiki doesn't seem to know what skill cap means

The only reason lee sin's winrate was never through the roof was from all the people failing because of their lack of skill using his more complicated mechanics. It's a lot harder to learn to use a lee sin DECENTLY than it is a Katarina.

Cale017Dec 14, 20141 votes

Knowing a champion feels, and knowing what the correct sequence of skills constitute a combo for them, does not mean that you have fully mastered the champion in every situation that might arise. I thought I had mastered the way Elise attacked and moved after a handful of games with her, and was going pretty consistently positive with her, until I went up against an Elise who had played her MUCH more while I was on maybe my seventh match with her, and I got completely and totally outplayed.

That player's knowledge of the champion, of the game, and of the situation at hand were all much better than mine even though if it had been a different jungler I might have been able to do a lot better that match. Knowing what order to push something isn't the same as applying it in a situation where factors are changing constantly, and having the innate feel for the champion you're playing to know just how far you can push your luck trying to lock down a kill or rush for an objective before you're throwing your life away.

HibekiDec 14, 20141 votes

It doesn't mean I've mastered them. But mastering a champion is hard for any champion, regardless of skill cap. Champions with a skill cap means you need a large amount of skill to play them, which there is never an example to which of being so.

Cale017Dec 14, 20141 votes

No champion should require a large amount of skill just to play. Remember that a player shouldn't be punished for trying to play something that's above their skillcap. There needs to be things about every champ that are simple and straightforwards, but give the sort of room necessary for making higher level plays.

For instance, no part of Rumble's kit is inherently difficult to use. Press Q, you get fire. Press E, you shoot lightning. Press W and you go fast. Clicking and dragging for your ult is probably the most mechanically intensive part of Rumble's kit. But there is a CLEAR difference between noobs using Rumble, competent players using Rumble, and people who have actually mastered Rumble.

A noob will more than likely suck with him. His last hitting is awful early game, and he can be a bit janky to use overall. But the concepts are simple, so against other noobs you probably won't completely feed.

A competent player will practice Rumble until they've got a feel for his kit. They'll learn how to better manage his Heat resource, and when to take what skills. They'll be able to last hit pretty reliably.

A master is someone who's going to have a rune page JUST for Rumble. The type of player who can get 5 out of 6 minions, while his flamethrower is active, while also harassing the enemy out of lane. He'll be able to snipe a fleeing opponent over a wall with his ult, and know just went to charge into a teamfight while overheating himself to turn the tide of the skirmish.

High skillcap doesn't mean that you need a large amount of skill to play a champion. High skillcap means that the more skill you have with them, the more you will be able to do above and beyond the average player.

Take me for instance. I can play Lee Sin if necessary. No part of his kit is difficult, the hardest thing he ever really has to do is land his Q and make sure he's ulting someone in the right direction. But just because I know his combos and play patterns does not mean that I'm going to do nearly as well as a Lee Sin main, who could probably ward jump circles around me. And therein lies the difference. Not that Lee Sin takes skill to play, but that Lee Sin takes skill to make the sort of overwhelmingly precise and stupidly well timed plays that he's all too well known for making.