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Advice one what champion to main top/mid

Mog the Mighty·3/4/2016, 9:23:55 AM·6 votes·3,308 views

I've been attempting to scale up in ranked with little to no success. At the moment my go to champs are Varus/Karma. While my win-rate with Karma isn't awful, I find her to be extremely boring. I play her top/mid/supp. Taking Karma top gets a lot of raised eyebrows though. Varus on the other hand is extremely fun to play but I suck with him. I win lane by out farming my opponent for the most part but when it breaks down to team fights I get picked off too easily. Unless I'm completely in sync with my team, I'll just become a liability towards mid/late game.

Here is where you guys come in. I've decided to put Varus on the bench, he can come out for normals. I suppose what I need now is a champion that I can take top/mid and potentially carry with. My thoughts would be either Nasus/Olaf/Voli/Renekton for top, and Zed/Talon/Veigar for mid.

I've gone with these champions because from my failed matches I've noticed that my weakness comes from my inability to position properly. I have a tendency to end up cut off from my team. The way I see it is... If I'm going to continuously put myself in danger like this I might as well play a champion who can make a play out of it. Thus, the tanks and assassins come into play.

So guys, which of these champions if any would you consider to be the best bet for climbing the ranked ladder? Would I be better of just picking one lane and one champion to master? How would you suggest I improve my capability as an adc? It feels horrible to let my team down as soon as we hit the mid/late game.

At the moment I'm sitting at Bronze IV. While I feel like I have the potential to climb, with my performance thus far, I feel like I've earned my spot in the lower rungs of League quite fairly.

29 Comments

Surfer Ashe3/4/2016, 9:36:29 AM2 votes

AHAHAHA Varus was your problem mate. If you want immobile champs that actually DO damage, Ashe or Jhin are superior choices.

I mean, I hate to say it, but if you want out of shit-tier, play meta. Othewise, play champs that carry well by themselves/with little-to-no team reliance and practice at them.

My roster usually is Mid (Lux, Xerath, Lissandra, Velkoz) and ADC (Sivir, Jhin, Lucian) - long range BS, heavy lockdown, or spell shields,

Jacknife3/4/2016, 9:41:38 AM2 votes

You're definitely more level-headed than most, I commend you for that.

For top laners, Renekton or Olaf would be your best bets off your list for dive champions. Renekton's early game is always something to be feared, and putting him in range with a carry will guarantee death for them. While Olaf needs a bit of snowballing (I play him quite a bit, and getting ahead early for me typically isn't the hardest) you can make the manliest of plays. If those don't suit your interests then my last pick is Volibear. Nasus needs a lot of farm to become a threat, and with the way games end (in low bronze it's tough to say how a game will go) you may not reach your powerspike in time.

I'm no expert on mid lane, so I'm probably not one to listen to, but for your purposes I'd say Talon is what you're looking for. He can jump in really quickly, his burst is insane with items, and if you can pull his combo fast enough, you'll gut a carry before they can realize what happened. Zed may be a bit out of your skill level (I don't mean to insult in saying that), and Veigar is pretty much AP Nasus, although he's really good against other AP mids. With all assassins however, the key to mastering them is understanding the flow of a fight and noticing the perfect moment to jump in. If you're going in first, your're either fed out the ass or don't know what you're doing (also try to roam and get kills off top/bot lane if you can).

Anraton3/4/2016, 10:03:43 AM2 votes

About your top lane choices ... they are all classifieable as juggernauts (http://boards.na.leagueoflegends.com/en/c/gameplay-balance/YhwXAzem-riot-about-juggernauts?comment=00000011) and as that .. they have the big weakness of being immobile/kiteable.

As for the assasines/dive champions .. they are relativ squishy and you'll die quickly if the enemy team catches you ...

In my opinion you are trying to fix your problem from the wrong end .... you try to yust make it work by taking another champion.

My suggestion:

Think about what is your playstile ...

stay back and hit whatever shows up? -> Marksman / Poke AP
jump in from the flank and assasinate the squishy -> Assasines / Dive Champions
be there to make your team strong ... supportive champions (not necessary Support Spot! (Lux, Morgane, Zilean, Lulu, Janna(uncommon!) mid)) [keep in mind i only called a few examples - not the full list of playstyle (would be impossible :-) ]

Think about what champions fit to your playstile - playing a champion against his intended playstile most time gets you bad win ratios (AD Karma may sound funny but ... well i think you get the point)
You know how you want to play and whom - now think about the where -> Choose lanes to your champions
try to focus on 2 lanes - make use of the draft mode primary and secondary configuartion.
Adapt masteries and runes to camp + playstyle + position

One last word: Getting caught out of position will always lead to problems - try to fix it instead of trying to capitalize on it

EDIT: "getting caught out of position" and "drag attention of 2 or more players" (Splitpush) is NOT the same and while first will get you into trouble, last can make win the game.

Ðelofasht3/4/2016, 10:36:27 AM1 votes

In my opinion Voli would be your best bet to take top, and Talon for mid. Voli is a safe laner because of his passive, it is hard to burst him down, he also has some solid disruption or engage for you team. Renekton and Olaf tend to have problems with team just stacking armor against them, while Olaf can get around that more he doesn't bring any hard CC. Voli has it all, a slow, a displacement, and built in lane safety.

As for mid with Talon, it is by far the easiest, stay in lane till lv 6 push wave and go gank bot for a double then snowball away. As long as you are not super far behind on Talon at lower Elo you are going to be a force down there. I strongly suggest building in such a way that you can push a lane fast no matter which champ you pick though, when the whole team gets ahead by way of towers the game is much easier to win.

Imperial Japan3/4/2016, 11:20:09 AM1 votes

Just take one champ for both roles? Some champs which may work (although most are to oriented) are Wukong, Pantheon, Yasuo, Fiora, Yorick (? Lmao who's this), etc

MunchCrunchLunch3/4/2016, 1:04:27 PM1 votes

I wouldn't main veigar now. too many assassins and counters to him in the meta. and even if you counter pick someone. hes still kinda weak early and mid game and easily picked off like varus. ekko can be played both top and mid. really good in both .

CrimsonCobra33/4/2016, 1:16:07 PM1 votes

Renekton is very strong, but if you aren't good at positioning, you will die. Renekton's kit relies on proper positioning. (His E + W(+Q) + E combo doesn't work if you don't position yourself well.)

Therefore, you may want to go with Olaf. Olaf is also extraordinarily strong right now. I played against him as Renekton recently and while I was able to trade well at first, I quickly lost due to the ridiculous lifesteal he has at the moment. (Take Warlord's Bloodlust.)

As for mid, while I personally love Veigar, he's not meta at all right now. Talon is very strong at the moment, and Zed will always be a good choice. You could also take the risk that Veigar will be revamped with the mage update and become better though. I wonder when they'll have the 'assassin update'...

pripustas3/4/2016, 1:23:29 PM1 votes

Take Lux for mid, she's op, and very easy to play. For top I would say Mundo and Malphite.

KillerKell3/4/2016, 1:56:27 PM1 votes

If you want Top AND Mid in one Champion, while being able to shore up the weakness of most Low Elo Teams (tend to forget Tanks, Engages) but still having Damages... might I suggest:

Chogath

He can be built Full Tank. He can be built Off AP (where every AP Item has either HP, Armor or MR). He can be build Glass Cannon + ROA and survive off his Ult Passive for HP.

Toss a Rylia's on him and you get a 0 Mana AoE Ranged Slow, generating from the point of attack.

So you get Utility in Rylia's Slows, Knock Up and Silence. You get Tank that your team might not have thought about. You get Sustained Damage via building AP (Vorpals) and Burst with his True Damage Ult. You can play back more if you have a Front Line (Knock Up, Silence onto Enemy Front Line), you can attack Back Line front the Front Line (Knock Up, Silence through Front Line, Vorpal into back line) and you can dive (with Flash, or wading through the Front Line) like the Mega Tank you could be.

Works equally well in Top or Mid, works equally well as a Split Push God or sticking with Team.

Very balanced. Doesn't require the knock up to be effective, can always wait to use it in a Team Fight to ensure it hits even if that means on the Front Line that's engaged, but mastery of the Knock Up can take Cho to the next level.

Clears waves with Vorpals so can be tough to Siege against and tough to close out against, can stall games in your favor. Tanky enough to head for Turret and tank some shots to improve your teams engage. Can fight under Towers, both Offensively and Defensively.

You will still need some help from your Team, but Cho makes it much easier for them to help you. And he can delete almost any Squish in the game with his Ult, no matter how fed they are.

Teleport is great on Cho, so you can TP/Flash, you can TP/Exhaust for more Defensive, you can TP/Ignite for more Offensive, you can TP/Heal for more Sustain. He's slow... but if you play safe early you'll be tank enough to not need Flash to bail you out late, but hey Flash is great so take it over TP if you like and just focus shoving in your lane literally all game, let your team come to you to force the 5v5.

Hardstuck G43/4/2016, 2:36:09 PM1 votes

Varus' job is not to teamfight, it's to poke over and over until he can make a monster play, just a tip. Try to poke, get full charges, keep yourself farmed etc. Either way, Renekton is the easiest to pick up and dominate, and Talon is really good compared to the other two. Go wreck everything my friend

Spoofghoul3/4/2016, 6:17:34 PM1 votes

i would advise to play Sion because hes fun

Shuriman Curator3/4/2016, 6:36:46 PM1 votes

For mid i highly recommend Vel'koz. Super fun to play.

Kaxi3/4/2016, 6:58:26 PM1 votes

Try to learn a champion who can play both lanes. Gangplank Jayce Galio Akali

If you're trying to climb, though, I recommend playing hard carries. Lux Leblanc Annie Trundle Olaf DrMundo

Stackers at lower elo aren't bad. Most don't know how to punish.

Masala Chai3/4/2016, 8:01:03 PM1 votes

Maokai .

Maokai is pretty good top lane, and AP Maokai is pure cheese, not very effective but very cheesy.

Cruk3/4/2016, 8:35:10 PM1 votes

MonkeyKing Can play him top and mid or jungle, always "relatively" meta. Strong lane phase, good team fight, can split push. Itemization can vary based on being ahead or behind. Just focus on champs that can play both top and mid. Diana and Ekko are options too.

Xosra3/5/2016, 4:58:22 AM1 votes

For mid I find Morgana is actually very powerful. She has her shield to counter cc and mages and her q gives her great defensive power vs assassin's. Her W is great for procing thunderlord and wasting Yasuo's passive.

darkmatchwaldo3/15/2016, 6:20:51 PM1 votes

To improve your capability on playing ADC focus on three things.

Farming In bronze the bot lane is typically a battle royale where both teams just try to kill each other over and over. Instead of trading, focus on positioning yourself so that you can farm safely without taking harass. Instead of trying to kill the enemy, aim to out farm them. You'd be surprised how far a 30+ cs lead will take you. Champions that excel in this playstyle are . Anyone with great range or waveclear.
Positioning When people are grouping for a teamfight you need to ask yourself "where do i need to be standing five seconds from now?" and move to where you think you'll be safe but not completely zoned out. The biggest thing is making sure you don't get separated from your team when moving through choke points. Always get a at level 9 and if you're unsure about a certain bush, use that to check it instead of face checking.
NOT DYING I cannot express how much my level of play went up as soon as i stopped dying 6 times in laning phase. If they have kill pressure, respect it. If the have a respect his zone. Don't do stupid things for the chance to maybe get a kill. Don't push by yourself without vision. Play smart and you will improve. The more times you die, the more powerful you make the enemy team, the less time you spend out on the rift farming. Your team mate is stupidly face checking the enemy jungle with 3 are MIA, DON'T FOLLOW HIM. Your support gets caught by 3 when you guys are roaming, LEAVE HIM TO DIE. If you can keep your deaths under 4-5 in a game, you'll see a significant improvement in your performance. It's all about knowing exactly how much damage you can do without putting yourself in a position to get CC'd or jumped on.

Lyless3/15/2016, 6:41:19 PM1 votes

You can't move up in ranked the way it is. Too many feeders and afks.

shadowseraph6665/14/2018, 12:06:51 PM1 votes

maybe a little late sry about that but why did nobody thought about Kennen kennen?