What constitutes a "main"?

Athenes Lulu·Jun 10, 2016·14 votes·2,028 views

I have heard people calling themselves "x main" while their x champ/role games are less than 10% of what they play on SR, especially in their ranked matches. And in other cases, I have came across people "maining" 10 different things, but that is pretty much his champ pool, or 90%+ of the games he has played.

So what does it mean to "main" a champ? How experienced and/or often should a person play a certain champ/role to be considered as his "main"? We all know one tricks (or almost one tricks) are pretty obvious with playing a single champ and/or role 95%+ of the time, but what about those who don't?

Yes, everyone is allowed to have a opinion, so there isn't really a right or wrong to this.

62 Comments

redniwediSJun 10, 201621 votes

There's no set definition, but generally it means you have a certain amount of dedication toward a particular champion.

For myself it means having found a champion that is simply fun to play. Everyone knows what it's like to get tired of playing a particular character in a game, but this champion never seems to grow old. Whether they are strong or weak you simply want to play them, and when you take a break from League they are the reason you end up coming back.

I've been a Garen main since I started playing back in season 1 and I haven't regretted a moment of it. I'll play other champions, and sometimes I won't touch Garen for weeks, but I always end up coming back to him in the end. One particular look at my match history might not immediately show that I main Garen, but if you were able to see my lifetime games played you'd see that I've put an absurd amount of time into learning the finer details of playing him.

Sure, he's not the most intensive champion, but he has a lot of mediocre to bad matchups, and I'll gladly jump into one head first just so I can learn a little more. Different people have different definitions of what makes a main, but this is my take on it.

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20164 votes

That's dedication. In fact, long-term dedication. I do that with Lulu (support) here and there sometimes, and no matter how hard I tried, I always end up going back to just playing Lulu support.

But does it count if someone picked up a champ recently (say 2 years after a champ is released) despite playing League for a very long time? He isn't dedicated, yet claims that he's an "x main".

redniwediSJun 10, 20162 votes

That's honestly up to the player. Personally I think planning to dedicate a lot of time to a champion is all it takes. Everyone who mains a champion had a first day, so it's not too much of a stretch to say they could main a champion that early.

I don't consider it when someone changes who they main a lot, but if they actually intend to main a champion I say they main them from day one.

Blue Moon WolfJun 10, 20161 votes

I can relate. I've mained Wukong back in season 2(ish) around when I first started playing. I've looked at the idea of maintaining other champs ( Gnar in particular), but I always end up back with my monkey. He may have one of the most basic kits atm, but he's very rewarding if you take the time to learn him and figure out what works with him.

GaleWinUnleashedJun 10, 20163 votes

Basic he may be, but Decoy is fantastically versatile =P

Blue Moon WolfJun 10, 20161 votes

Indeed. meat shield, distraction, diversion, minor source of damage, draw out enemy ults. What can't it do? :D

BeeCuzJun 10, 20164 votes

The champion in the center of your profile is your main.

Fondling GemsJun 10, 20161 votes

Not true, Taric is my main but Naut is my most played champ because pre Tartic update when Vayne was strong you couldn't pick Taric into Vayne or Sivir at all.

I love playing Taric and he is my favorite champ, but he is not my highest mastery. (Although he is catching up)

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20162 votes

Not always true, the center champ can be 30k, the other 2 are also around the 30k range. Top champions? Also the ~30k range.

"Main"? Maybe not.

Daddy AntsJun 10, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Cancerous Lulu,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=GXHFz9Tq,comment-id=00000001,timestamp=2016-06-10T02:01:36.461+0000)

Not always true, the center champ can be 30k, the other 2 are also around the 30k range. Top champions? Also the ~30k range.

"Main"? Maybe not.

My center champ is Sona at almost 240k while my side ones are Soraka at 105k and Annie at 65k.

It's clear what my main is then.

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20161 votes

{quoted}

My center champ is Sona at almost 240k while my side ones are Soraka at 105k and Annie at 65k.

It's clear what my main is then.

Talking about people who actually has an almost equal amount of mastery points on his top 3's.

Yes, these guys exist, but I know what you mean.

PhDs NutsJun 10, 20164 votes

{quoted}

The champion in the center of your profile is your main.

I have three times as many mastery points on the champions to the left and right of the champion in the center of my profile.

cuz Mastery 6.

Milodic MellodiJun 10, 20164 votes

A "Main" is when you're experienced at and comfortable with playing a certain Champion to the point where you have full confidence you can greatly benefit your team just by being yourself, and it reflects in your games. I'm a Tristana Main and I wouldn't have it any other way, I've outplayed enough Draven's and Jax's that if I could melt their weapons down and make bars out of them I'd be pretty damn rich.

DorkunedAurasJun 10, 20162 votes

Jax's lamp is brass. not worth much.

GaleWinUnleashedJun 10, 20162 votes

Then that's an awful lot of defeated Jax players, isn't it?

Auto AttacksJun 10, 20164 votes

So for me a main can mean 2 things. Either the champion you want to pick into every match up, if you don't have one of those, then your most played champion. You however can not have more than one main, because the definition of main is singularly preferred. I cringe when people are like "Yeah I'm a Fizz, Zed mid main, I main Zac and Graves Jg, Main Vayne adc, main top nasus teemo, and I main sona, soraka support" Like no bitch thats your champion pool, and if they answer with "no I play tons of other champs" They are Bronze 4 at most!

WoonStruckJun 10, 20163 votes

wineglass shatters

A miserable pile of freelo.

At least nowadays.

Hardly anyone has a tried-and-true main now. Especially not with how drastic the difference between the top picks and everyone else is now. And the reworks.

GayFluffyUnicornJun 10, 20161 votes

i'm playing LB since season 3 so i'd say i'm not maining a freelo champ ^^

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20162 votes

Remember that one time where LB was super weak and stuff?

How did that go?

Jungle Lux GodJun 10, 20163 votes

A main has a very specific definition: a main is your best character. When you want to win, that character is the one you play. If someone does a $1 million dollar 1v1 money match against you, this is the champion you are going to play not because they are the strongest champion in the game but that they are your strongest champion.

However, a main in the context of League of Legends gets a little bit blurred since it's a team game with a banning phase and distinct roles. Sometimes it's worth picking a champion that isn't your main because the team comp your team has drafted would work better with some other champion you play. Other times, you play two different lanes and find that your main can only play in one of those two roles. In even more cases, you could be a Zed main that finds his main banned in every game he plays. Finally, your opponents might have picked a counterpick to your main, forcing you to play someone else.

I have no problem with calling myself a Nautilus main, but if you look at my match history it doesn't look like I've played him too much. However, he's still my best champion. I started playing League of Legends in Season 3, and every time the jungle has been changed since then Nautilus is the champion I've defaulted to relearn it, whether it was the preseason jungle changes made each season or mid-season updates like the season 4 update to Spirit of the Ancient Golem or the Season 5 introduction of Cinderhulk. I also started playing ranked in Season 5, and I managed to place myself in Silver 2 playing almost exclusively Nautilus.

BluePolarizerJun 10, 20162 votes

I have 380K points on Hecarim and 400+ ranked games over 2 seasons. I consider myself a Hecarim main.

Illâoi Evê SiônJun 10, 20162 votes

Apart from what everyone else has said in this thread, I think it's also a champion you can simply have fun with. League can get frustrating at times. If you have a champion you can just pick into a normal to relax and repeat their quotes horribly, that champion might be your main.

"Bearded Lady", NagaKÄHHbouros names don't matter, action does.

xxxDogmanxxxJun 10, 20162 votes

I main Taliyah now. I take "maining a champion" to mean that given no outside factors such as team comp and current meta, I'd rather play that champion than any other champion. Right now, Taliyah is that champion for me.

Zone of EndlessJun 10, 20161 votes

Being a main means to play it a lot. That's all it really is. No need to worry about something like that.

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20161 votes

But what if it's something that someone doesn't even play a lot of?

If that's the case, then that shouldn't be a "main".

Icestar1186Jun 10, 20161 votes

A "main" is a champion that you are experienced with and enjoy playing.

Friendly RamJun 10, 20161 votes

someone who you love to play and are good at.

Lady HammerlockJun 10, 20161 votes

i just main things generally so i primarily main casters and marksmen

Cerulean LaserJun 10, 20161 votes

Someone who you primarily use = most used champion.

Irelia BotJun 10, 20161 votes

A General preferred champ to play in even less then ideal situations.

SasogwaJun 10, 20161 votes

For me, the main is the champion you play the most. And when I'm talking about one of the champions I play a lot ( I have a good several hundred games on it) I say "it's one of my mains", not "it's my main". It doesn't mean the same thing to me.

franticFurballJun 10, 20161 votes

Playing whatever the current flow of champion favoritism declared win.

Supreme Senpai69Jun 10, 20161 votes

When you know all the ins and outs of that champion. AA speed, ability range memorized, all that good stuff. I main Veigar but I don't always play him, not even in the slightest. (Recently started playing him again post-rework, otherwise I hadn't played him in like a month)

The Yetii RiderJun 10, 20161 votes

Let's see...

Back when I was a Sona main I owned every Sona skin except Guqin, I played Sona every chance I got, and I'm pretty sure she was the first champion I got rank 5 with when the mastery system was introduced.

Now that I'm a Yeti main I've changed my summoner name, racked up 456k points on Nunu, own 3 Nunu skins including the legendary, I got 256 ranked wins on Nunu last season (I'm not playing ranked this season) and Nunu is my only rank 7 mastery.

I think that's what it means to be a 'main'.

billxxJun 10, 20161 votes

I just go by their most mastered champ.

TragicTricksJun 10, 20161 votes

For me a Main is a champion

I know how to play,
Who i enjoy playing -Who i feel comfortable with

For example Fizz

I love playing him

I feel comfortable to play him anywhere i even go support as him( if my friend is adc)

Im pretty decent at playing him

Hes just a champ i will always like and want to play. If i been having a few rough games with my other champion, I will always go back to Fizz

GaleWinUnleashedJun 10, 20161 votes

Lulu main ftw!

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20161 votes

Oh no you are part of the dark side too.

GaleWinUnleashedJun 10, 20161 votes

Nothing like Whimsy to make a Gnar feel sad when he tries to jump in and ult =P

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20161 votes

Do this to anyone who relies on mashing buttons in order to make massive CC moves and that's how I sustain myself.

GaleWinUnleashedJun 10, 20161 votes

Works pretty nicely on Hecarim when he tries to hit you with Devastating Charge, too. Cancels the damage and he jumps past you.

DaneQueedJun 10, 20161 votes

I think a main champ is usually mid-long term dedication of frequently playing them. I'd say its 1 champ generally and others fall into 'secondaries' or just stuff you play if you HAVE to classify it. Experience with a champ is relative to your own skill level so its hard to say how good you should be with your 'main'. But I would expect you to perform better than all your other picks, and hopefully go even in bad matchups since I would assume you know what you're getting into.

The experience comes into play since you've been around the block and been in situations where you've branched out with itemization, skill order, and lane matchup knowledge or judgement calls in teamfights. Its all stuff you should usually pick up by frequently playing said champ. These factors play a huge role in success (imo) because you dont need to think about your damage threshold, skill timings and worry far less about cooldowns and can focus on controlling your lane better or being more aware of your map play opportunities.

Athenes LuluJun 10, 20161 votes

Some players can easily theorycraft, jump straight into action, and make it work effectively in a span of a short time. On multiple champs.

However, that champ is something that player doesn't even play too much as, so does it still count? Or talk about people who can play something extremely well because he learns rather quickly.

HadesBladesJun 10, 20161 votes

When i use main to describe myself its because I am so fond of a champion that I play them in excess for however long.

Like right now im a katarina main, ive reached lvl 7 on her mastery i have over 430k points for my mastery on her as well, my name is actually refering to the lvl 7 mastery name you get on this assassin. I have played her continuously in any and all positions.

TL;DR: Someone that loves a champion fondly and feels that they have dedicated time and effort into that champion more so then the average player would.

Lilly MayJun 10, 20161 votes

I just wanted to add to what a lot of people are saying about mains referring to the champion you play the most, feel comfortable with, enjoy playing and put a lot of dedication into by saying a player can also have a main for each role they play. For example, I'm a mid and adc main, and I'd say my main mid is Ahri, and my main adc is Jhin. Can I say I only have one main? Eh that's hard for me cause I really love both of those Champs and switch who I play the most based on what I feel like playing, so I don't really have just one main and I think that's okay for lots of people. It's hard to choose just one favorite champ out of the 130+ we have and counting

deadlychuckJun 11, 20161 votes

Personally i think it's investment. I've played more total games on champions other than the one i consider my "main", however i rarely put as much effort, theory crafting, and practice (not just playing actual targeted practice), into other champions.

I use to main malzahar, until the mymu. Now i can't even stand the champion. Though i've probably played more games on other champions i use to play a lot of. That said i've "mained" him at least since season 3... so...

QjTHqo3RTqJun 11, 20161 votes

Means the champion name is your summoner name.

I think.

Athenes LuluJun 12, 20161 votes

Unfortunately a lot of people with champ names in their IGN don't even play that certain champ.

I know, it's sad but true =(

QjTHqo3RTqJun 12, 20161 votes

Yeah I know some people like that, I'm part of a Body Pillow trio, but the other two have level 4 with their name*[slayer-jinx-wink]*

ApocalypsicJun 11, 20161 votes

I have put so much time and effort into Riven learning match ups, play styles, combos, itemization. Currently climbing with her and I still have so much to learn.

All in all I consider her my main, she's sitting pretty in the middle with that mastery 7.