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It's so sad you have to be a meta sheep in order to climb...

option paralysis··69 votes·3,363 views

I never played something just because it's op so I can climb in my 3-4 years of playing. If I liked the champ, I played them. But, if you wanna dig yourself out of d5 shithole you gotta play things like fiora and draven with dd/pd and be an obnoxious piece of shit. I ban fiora, someone plays draven and one shots everyone, I ban draven, well hello my name is caitlyn and you need chemotherapy now + fiora because she isn't banned. Yeah, you can say "well its meta duhhhhhhhhh", but its meta because its broken as fuck and you have to play against it every game. No fun in it at fucking all. I actually saw a while back challenger player on stream saying "I hope they nerf jayce so I can stop playing him". Jesus christ, meta sheep at its finest. Try playing Wukong top into darius/fiora/renekton/galio, etc.. while having a lee sin constantly camp you. Wooo, so much fun. Sucks to be me for not picking some other broken piece of shit champ, right ? Idk, sorry for the ramble, but I'm just tired of always having that 1-2 champs going through ban phase and being an obnoxious asshole, that 100% destroys the fun in the game.

98 Comments

hhaavviikk13 votes

meanwhile someone reached diamond with ADC darius, so much for having to meta sheep to climb

GayFluffyUnicorn5 votes

Meta sheep, otp or cheese picks. ADC darius is the latter and only works up until a certain point without his premade. just saying not trying to talk him down or flame him or anything. Atleast that's the last thing i've seen lets see how it works out for him in the rest of the season

Stusauce1 votes

I dunno, I remember when qtpie was in his promo series for challenger playing almost exclusively jungle teemo at the time. Obviously that's because he's a great player, but the fact remains: if you're good enough you can climb playing anything.

Edit: to be clear that was in reference to your statement "it only works up until a certain point..." It's obviously still a cheese pick, I'm not disputing that.

LegacyDAP1 votes

And Mordekaiser Jungle (ap0calypse, also a toxic inter) in Challenger and high diamond on multiple accounts lmao

CrabPeopleReform12 votes

you complain about draven being meta since 1 week yet lee sin is meta since s2

BabyNaix12 votes

I think it has more to do with not playing the worst champion in a role than playing what's necessarily meta. You'll be fine if you play something that's pretty average or never really bad. For example, in the top lane you can play darius or malphite and it's never the wrong choice. However, if you play lissandra, or aatrox or wukong you wont be able to carry even if you get super ahead of your enemy laner.

Dr Poro2 votes

Wukong is actually pretty similar to malphite. They're both mechanically easy, with rather weak pre-6 and an AMAZING teamfight ult. Also both have very similar winrates atm.

BabyNaix1 votes

Ok Fair enough maybe Malphite is a bad example. POppy or galio might be better. I'm just trying to think of a tank that can survive lanning but is useful in team fights.

Sun Wu Ryuumoku1 votes

Aatrox is really good atm. Read patch for god sake...

AirKingNeo2 votes

Aatrox was nerfed recently by removing BoRK Cleaver synergy.

Hence his winrate dropping from 3rd to 23rd.

GULAG 4 U1 votes

The highest (and best) winrate build was BORK into PD. Not BOTRK cleaver.

AirKingNeo1 votes

That's because you buy Phantom when ahead. Similarly, Dcap earlier on mages has a high winrate due to being good / more accesible when ahead

Sun Wu Ryuumoku1 votes

yeah, but he isn't weak as lissandra or Wukong (lissandra is worse imo). Aatrox has a decent laning phase and "decent" team fight.

GULAG 4 U2 votes

Aatrox isn't really bad. His laning phase is very brutal in many matchups.

Weathered7 votes

The challenger comment is a little different. They are at such a high level that it's really difficult to have any wiggle room if you don't play the best champion fit possible (meta), so they are nearly forced to adapt to it. Other ELOs it is a lot easier to climb even with not-meta picks if you perform at a level that is better than the person picking meta, while in Challenger everyone is so good that the champion picks make a difference.

TEA Nietzsche 5 votes

It's possible to make a point without making excuses for being in D5 ;(

Dokkaebi2 votes

That's what the boards are.

If you are under diamond like 99%+ of the players, your argument is invalid.

Glory ln Death6 votes

Meanwhile, on Reddit, your opinion is invalid unless you're a pro, a coach, or an analyst.

It makes Boards seem much more welcoming.

MIC Cavalry1 votes

I think it's more that, if you're under diamond you should at least have your facts straight about some topics and you shouldn't complain about things that can be solved by becoming better at the game.

I don't think anyone tries to invalidate argument just by rank, at least from what I've seen

HalcyonDweller1 votes

It is actually far too common.

People will always be elitist assholes when they are too lazy to teach or provide a real counterargument to people's ideas.

PiVoRx1 votes

D5 is not Diamond

Pathfinder Yasuo4 votes

It's such fucking cancer because RIOT doesn't nerf the shit that's broken for MONTHS

How long has Twitch/Caitlyn been a meta 55% winrate pick? 20 patches?

Since BEFORE LETHALITY META

Then they go and BUFF Draven's damage when he was at a 49% winrate???? :Thinking: does Riot even have a brain?

DrWannabe1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Pathfinder Yasuo,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ExuWENs6,comment-id=000b,timestamp=2017-06-22T19:09:40.889+0000)

It's such fucking cancer because RIOT doesn't nerf the shit that's broken for MONTHS

How long has Twitch/Caitlyn been a meta 55% winrate pick? 20 patches?

Since BEFORE LETHALITY META

Then they go and BUFF Draven's damage when he was at a 49% winrate???? :Thinking: does Riot even have a brain?

I don't think they ever buffed draven, they just made deaths dance more broken

Glory ln Death2 votes

They did give him a few buffs, but it was 3-ish months ago.

Pathfinder Yasuo4 votes

They buffed his Q recently right after they lowered his mana cost on his W and increased the duration on his W

deadlychuck4 votes

Riot wants the average game to be more like pro-play. The problem is that the more it become like pro-play, the more you're forced to play the meta, because pro-play isn't about the actual gameplay, it's about the results. Shit might be unfun and tedious, but what matters is how well and consistently it works.

Elikain2 votes

I don't really mind pro play like games but in pro play, there's hardly any innovation. Pros play something that is proven to work through experience and there's a few champs in each player's pool for a given role, accounting for target banning and letting the pick pass to the enemy team.

But we hardly ever see those picks because most of the times, teams actually switch their picks with one another, depending which team goes first or second. I don't know, that seems a bit boring to me. I can't really expect 90% of the champion pool to be viable but at least a good chunk of it would've been nice.

Stalinium1 votes

I honestly kind of disagree with your statement... this little fuckshit is SUUUPER strong in pro play right now Kennen , and was even played in the ADC role recently.

They'll change stuff up, but only if it's OPaF

Elikain1 votes

Kenne's on-hit build is not something Riot wants to keep. They've said it. They will make appropriate changes to Kennen.

ModFrom The Cosmos4 votes

To clarify, meta really only matters in higher elo, we're talking low diamond and up. It is perfectly viable to climb to that elo on any champion with practice, good mechanics and decision making.

It is also worth mentioning that some non-meta champions are incredibly effective in lower elo. Master Yi, Blitzcrank (Although he's become meta in recent weeks), Malphite, Sona, Morgana, Kassadin, Cass etc.

Really all the meta means is that the best players have decided which champions are most effective with minimal downside at the highest level of play which doesn't necessarily translate below Platinum. This is also why Rioters often speak to the struggle of balancing for low elo at the same time as ESports level of play.

https://gyazo.com/1cabb37c663f26712ad5794bc922b77f

GelsominoKiller1 votes

I completely agree with you.

I was going to disagree with OP first, until he made the D5 remark.

Below that treshold, not playing meta is not an handicap. Even in low diamond, you can play a wide variety of reasonably uncommon picks and do good. You may need slightly more competency than your average fellow comrade, but nothing out of this world.

Playing meta has obvious advantages, I don't deny that; however, I feel many solid unconventional (or situational) picks are too often left out of the sheepish mentality: the ones that can take advantage of them can climb really fast.

powerbats1 votes

[{quoted}](name=From The Cosmos,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=ExuWENs6,comment-id=001d,timestamp=2017-06-23T07:28:04.620+0000)

To clarify, meta really only matters in higher elo, we're talking low diamond and up. It is perfectly viable to climb to that elo on any champion with practice, good mechanics and decision making.

It is also worth mentioning that some non-meta champions are incredibly effective in lower elo. Master Yi, Blitzcrank (Although he's become meta in recent weeks), Malphite, Sona, Morgana, Kassadin, Cass etc.

Really all the meta means is that the best players have decided which champions are most effective with minimal downside at the highest level of play which doesn't necessarily translate below Platinum. This is also why Rioters often speak to the struggle of balancing for low elo at the same time as ESports level of play.

https://gyazo.com/1cabb37c663f26712ad5794bc922b77f

Right now Blitz is almost 100% ban in lower elo's since he got popular in LCS. As far as the meta goes the higher you go the more stratified it gets since as LCS has shown most of the pro's only play x amount of champions. So out of 136(?) champions perhaps a small pool of around 40 is always chosen because those are the best.

Remember when Poppy/Maokai were mandatory top lane if you didn't choose one you weren't given a good chance of winning. Now it's the same thing with Fiora/Rumble/Riven etc.

TekkenPlayer3 votes

I felt this way being a Lux HeimerdingerAzir Fiddlesticks player until I found out that champions like

Zyra AniviaSyndra Orianna Draven Ahri Caitlyn are so much better for climbing out of silver (the tilt land of league imo)

The fun was eventually drained out to the point where I can only have fun with semi viable champions like Trundle Gangplank Jhin Singed Bard

GelsominoKiller1 votes

Honestly, in silver you can play almost everything and carry yourself.

The point OP makes becomes more and more relevant as the rank goes up.

Glory ln Death3 votes

Tilterella has 3 accounts in Challenger. He plays 50% Sion and 50% Kayle/Orianna jungle (sometimes mid or support). Although he's been doing quite a bit of Heimer, lately, too.

Yep. It's impossible to climb if you don't perfectly follow the Meta.

Escheton2 votes

To be fair, thats the OCE region. Big fish, small pond.

LegacyDAP1 votes

OP is also in D5

69469238DEL12 votes

eh, once you get to Diamond you have to play whats good, I'm P3 and I'm gonna be sad when I can no longer climb with Master Yi MasterYi

Pluniverse2 votes

I've been maining fiora and riven for a year so the gods are smiling upon me

Tobias Brackner2 votes

What are you even complaining about?

Metas are there because they naturally arise.

Learn how to beat the meta.

Flawless Fetus2 votes

It is sad. It sucks. Unfortunately, it makes sense. Meta is determined by what is strong/what wins games. Best way to climb is win games. Obviously, meta is how you win.

Tobias Brackner1 votes

Not at all, especially in LoL. The LoL meta is determined by the arbitrary whims of pro players who provide the most half-assed reasons behind their choices.

deadlychuck3 votes

Even pro-players pick what they think to be the strongest. So it's meta slaves being lead by meta slaves. It's like a game full of fucking lemmings

aqours fanboy2 votes

Try playing Diana jungle now.

Better bring your S+ game.

PiVoRx1 votes

or MasterYi XinZhao Shyvana Udyr

THE RlVER KlNG2 votes

It's not even an exaggeration anymore. If you don't play the core handful of OP meta champions you are putting yourself at a detriment.

Paradise Proxy2 votes

you have to be a meta sheep to win

am i going to be seeing these kinds of threads all summer

Stusauce1 votes

That's why I like where Irelia is at right now. I can play her and not be accused, like I used to be, of being a meta slave. She's good enough I can win with her, but not so strong she gets pick/banned often.

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