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Honest question about missing my skill shot on purpose...

Warrior Princess·3/26/2018, 12:26:36 PM·23 votes·2,756 views

I know the title sounds ridiculous, but I play support - usually Lux or Zyra. And very frequently I try to block/zone the enemy adc/support in by putting my Lucent Singularity or my zyra plants behind the team, and then Q'ing around them to make them panic/block them in. My strategy for this is for the team to be stuck, and give my adc the chance to burn them down. I'll also do this if say my team and I are chasing someone and I go around and try to use my skills in front of them so the enemy team has no choice but to turn around or take the dmg.

However, lately I keep getting flamed by my team and called things like "autist" because I'm "missing my skill shots" I've tried explaining this strategy to my team and they end up calling me a retard, lol. So is this strategy of mine just as stupid as people are telling me it is? I honestly don't know, because I'm pretty low in the ranks/elo.

49 Comments

Zero Shingetsu3/26/2018, 12:52:51 PM44 votes

Anyone who slings autism around as an insult needs to be tuned out and/or muted immediately. If they can't take the brief amount of time it requires to actually look up what autism is and how it affects one's behavior, they clearly lack the basic intellect required to be worthy of your ear. Deliberately missing skillshots is a perfectly valid tactic. Getting in the opponent's head is part of the game, and a big part at that.

If you were playing bots I'd say otherwise. But the whole point of PVP is the mental game. Otherwise, bots would simply be more worthwhile opponents. If you can get in the opponent's head, get in their head.

Sun Tzu says to leave the enemy a clear route of escape. This seems counterproductive to winning a battle until you realize that the purpose is to prevent the enemy from fighting like demons knowing it's do or die. If Sun Tzu is willing to play the mental game by deliberately holding back force, I feel like it's perfectly viable for League players.

Done253/26/2018, 1:01:44 PM23 votes

You're not missing if it goes exactly where you want it to.

o brigid o3/26/2018, 12:50:32 PM20 votes

More often than not, landing your skill shots is more worthwhile than using them to zone.

However I am lvl 7 with both Lux and Zyra support and I do this when the situation calls for it... particularly if I think we can kill them, but I don't want them running so quickly back under their turret. I think it is hilarious when someone is so worried about the damage from my Lux E that they won't walk through it, but they'll take 5 times more damage by waiting because my ADC is wailing on them the whole time.

I also will miss some of my skill shots early (in the first couple minutes), like a Lux or Morg Q, to make the enemy think I'm just not that good with them and that they know how to dodge me. Then I will actually shoot them to hit and surprise them with a quick first blood for my adc.

Khristophoros3/26/2018, 1:17:51 PM9 votes

99% of the time the most optimal play is landing the ability on an enemy

BobaFlautist3/26/2018, 3:57:38 PM6 votes

Don't try to explain yourself to someone that's flaming you, they've already demonstrated themselves incapable of reasoning.

Using skillshots to zone is valid, especially if it gets results, but it's usually more valuable to just land it if you can -as you get to a higher skill level, people are less inclined to panic and will just take the safest/most logical path.

However, leading the shot to where you think they're gonna dodge is almost always a good plan.

Ztoka3/26/2018, 6:48:05 PM6 votes

Sounds like you aren't doing anything wrong to me. Just utilizing a tactic that could very well work in many situations. I have more of an issue w/ my lux support building item 3031 as her first item and even don't complain when they do..

HalcyonDweller3/26/2018, 4:08:01 PM5 votes

tldr of all the comments is that it's a viable strategy some of the time, but not necessarily worthwhile too often. Regardless though your teammates who flame you are garbage people and you shouldn't pay them any mind.

Ignika D3/26/2018, 7:34:14 PM4 votes

when you miss hitting sivir but she used the shield anyways baited*[slayer-jinx-catface]*

420 grams3/26/2018, 3:24:24 PM4 votes

Nah, zoning or putting them in a "pickle" is a great strategy. Make sure you kindly explain to your teammates that they should pay attention when you do it to take advantage of it

Kaìju3/26/2018, 12:46:11 PM3 votes

Just hitting them is more worth it.

swanington3/26/2018, 1:58:26 PM3 votes

Yeah I've run into this as well.

If you have X intent while using an ability, and then X is achieved through that use, then you didn't miss.

I still get those people who are "LOL NO U MISSED RTARD" even if you try to explain it.

And yes, it is usually good to land your shots instead but that depends on the ability you're using and the situation at hand.

You have a jungler near by and can make the enemy dodge towards the river? Good times.

FurriesAreHot3/26/2018, 3:01:56 PM3 votes

Lux and Zyra, zyra ESPECIALLY, are tailored for Zoning, which is what you describe here. Using large abilites to change the path of your opponent or they risk taking more damage. What you need to learn is when to zone, and when to just damage them. Usually in lower elos, the lack of team coordination makes zoning less effective.

It Hertz When IP3/26/2018, 8:53:04 PM3 votes

It's called zoning, and being able to do it properly is one of the things you learn to get out of bronze.

JackMcSnipeyz3/27/2018, 11:59:46 AM3 votes

Depends on the situation, in theory you arent wrong. Tho i wouldnt waste a zyra snare or lux snare to make the enemy panic, but other AoE lingering abilities like lux E or swain's W can be used creativly according to your decision. As long as it works, it's not stupid.

Spacesuit Spiff3/26/2018, 7:55:30 PM2 votes

If youre low elo your opponents probably don't necessitate that sort of tradeoff. Just hit them, position for zoning if you want but clip them while you're doing it.

Its not a bad idea interently, but you gotta handle your teammates with kid gloves and if they stupidly panic at your nuanced play, that's a huge invisible cost.

Nuanced playstyle is good, but see if "just kill everyone" is an option too, because that'll make it harder for people desprate to be mad to decide youre trolling.

Eunson3/26/2018, 3:47:38 PM2 votes

Killing them is the best way to zone imo.

Snowman Arc3/27/2018, 11:03:35 AM2 votes

Well, what you refer to is called zoning. Zoning is indeed a strong tool to catch out enemies or protect your team, but it's something that doesn't work all the time. Generally it's more important to just land your skills and deal that damage, especially early game.

For example, as Lux, if you intentionally use your E for zoning, in higher elo, you will probably die. At least, I will move in because I know you don't have anything else to use at that point and I will either kill you, or at least win a heavy trade. For later in the game, using abilities for zoning is good, only if the zoning effect is more important than the actual CC or damage it provides. For example, you can't really waste a Anivia R just to cut enemies off, because it's a huge tool in a teamfight. Big damage and great slow. You can use Viktor's W for zoning though. It deals no damage, and it can help protect your team by fear of getting CCed if they walk over it.

There are endless examples on how these situations turn out. Most of the times, landing your skills is more important though. In lower elo, people just don't realize that when the enemy missed an ability, that's the time they can move in and win trades. They just sit there, waiting for your E to go off, then maybe they will try to all in, but that's when your E will soon be back up and then you win that trade.

As you get in higher elo and more experienced, you will see that using abilities to zone, and doing it constantly, will 1) be bad for the fighting part and 2) tilt your team. I wouldn't like having someone in my team missing all their skills on purpose, because they wanna zone out people. It will probably feel like you are trolling.

Foxynth3/26/2018, 7:13:29 PM1 votes

I'm low elo myself, but I can tell you one thing that is SUPER important. If you can't or won't land it, use it to zone. If you can, pin them down.

What separates good players from the top tier is the recognition of patterns. If you're throwing this skillshot ahead of someone and they walk straight into it every single time, good! If they back up, then you need to kind of recognize that, and maybe try a different strategy, for example throwing your lucent singularity ahead of them and seeing if they back up; when they do, root them and force them to walk into your singularity ANYWAY for the team kill. Things like that. Don't get upset that people flame you for missing your skillshots, they're skill shots. They can be dodged.

Dead flag blues3/26/2018, 1:07:48 PM1 votes

Depends of the situation, that's all. Sometimes it's better to use them as what is called "zoning" (is what you're referring too, aka applying "mental pressure" to the enemy), sometimes it's better to poke enemies with it

giantZorg3/26/2018, 8:45:54 PM1 votes

Reminds me of enemies complaining when I killed them with my plants as Zyra. I max E, so Q doesn't really do damage, you get way more damage by placing it to get as many plants as possible. There is also something similar with Nami Q which is notoriously difficult to hit. Sometimes, you throw it just slightly behind the other champions model. Then he can't walk backwards and has to come to you.

I Main Swain3/26/2018, 8:50:03 PM1 votes

i will say that generally speaking its best to hit them with the skill shot, but the mind game is definitely important as well as the act of simply blocking their passage. i do it all the time with swains w. put it in front of them so theyll either hit it or have their path diverted. sometimes as well you can do it as a movement/flash prediction that those same people calling you autistic get wet over when they see them in pro plays.

LakanLode4/2/2018, 12:57:05 AM1 votes

Literally just googled this wondering if the same flamers come up in other games.

Don't mind low elo scrubs. Zoning is a strategy. You can explain it once; if they continue flaming they're just members of the typical league troll community.

SSShutTheDuckUp3/26/2018, 9:48:20 PM1 votes

As a similar to your rank (and probably skill) Zyra player I kinda see your reasoning. However I rarely see myself doing something like that. If I miss my E i just save the mana on Q, unless I can invoke at least 3-4 plants near enemies and land an AA on one of them, so flowers focus them. Sometimes I'd do it without trying to hit E first, just for poke (as long as I am not in danger of getting a Thresh hook in my face). When actual trading Q's hitbox on seeds usually alows you to hit both them and champions and as Q plants do not slow missing the burst from Q is a kind of a waste. On lux - I comepletely agree, the potential for both slow and damage are really helpful in cutting enemies'paths of retreat. On a second though you can absolutely do the same with Zyra ult, however as the non-teamplayer I am I just prefer to one-shot people with it whenever I land an E.

Trias0003/26/2018, 10:53:40 PM1 votes

I don't understand what you're getting at. If someone is running away and you can aim your skillshot in front of them, so that they either get hit by it or have to turn around and let your allies catch up to them, then that's not really the same as missing the skillshot on purpouse. You want to hit it, but in this case if you miss it's still beneficial. Obviously there are many situations where you can force the enemy to go the opposite direction to where you aimed your skillshot, but that doesn't mean you're missing it on purpose.

PickIe Rickkk3/26/2018, 10:58:11 PM1 votes

It's a retarded strategy. The damage from the ability will likely outdamage anything your ADC does in the time. Landing your ability doesn't mean your ADC can't attack them..

but it's good to see people thinking outside the box these days with stupid shit that one shots you

Saezio3/26/2018, 11:54:51 PM1 votes

It is a good strategy to maybe keep the enemy adc from getting the melee cs but you NEVER want to do that when actually trading blows 2v2 especially early because then you lose such a big chunk of damage because you lose the passive damage too.

Jungle Lux God3/27/2018, 4:24:24 AM1 votes

Between playing a lot of League of Legends, Brawlhalla, Rivals of Aether, and more over the past 5-6 years and following different fighting game scenes for a much longer time, I've learned that zoning is an extremely powerful tool when used correctly. There are tons of abilities that are strong not because of when they land it but because of the threat of landing it.

Sion's Q is a good example because it's so easy to use to zone people out in the later stages of the game: you charge Q, and your opponents have to either walk around it or take the damage and knockup. Use it properly, and it makes for a really powerful control tool in the later stages of the game, but use it improperly and it looks like you're trying to chop down the bushes like they're Legend of Zelda's tall grass.

It's also worth noting that it's not always worth it to try and zone out. Lux E in particular is really good for zoning people out, but it's even better when you actually use its hitbox because of its range, reliability, and slow (not damage since you're playing support, which I assume doesn't do a whole lot of damage).

Supreme Senpai693/27/2018, 11:34:07 AM1 votes

Lux's E slows and Zyra's E snares, so it'd be better to just 'land' the CC. Your strategy is good in theory but falls apart in practice. I'd just try to land the skillshots tbh. The only time you should zone like that is with, say, Anivia's Wall. Othewise it's not super worth.

Rare exceptions can be made, like with cutting an enemy off with GP's ult. But in that case, the enemy has to choose "Do i die to that ult or do i try to live by fighting the enemies chasing me?" In these scenarios, the zoning ability should absolutely kill the enemy if they venture onto it. Otherwise, it's not really zoning.

Like, if you E behind the enemy as Lux, you've wasted most of your damage. The enemy isn't zoned at all. They're just gonna jump on you and murder you guys. Because now, you can't E them

Jerry SeinfeId3/26/2018, 5:55:37 PM1 votes

i think it depends.

As jinx i will often place my chompers behind a rooted/stunned enemy, the reason being that they are left with 2 options. 1: Walk forward, into the root. 2: Walk around it and waste time either way.

As lux though, Using your Q to zone doesn't seem like a great idea tbh. Using your E to force them to walk into your stun is fine i think.

Pika Fox3/26/2018, 3:46:29 PM1 votes

Sounds like you just need to report them. If thats their immediate reactions/responses, they shouldnt be playing league.

Automated Riven3/26/2018, 6:03:06 PM1 votes

The problem with zoning is that if the opponent reacts properly they have a better chance of living (IE less damage equals higher life expectancy). But it can work. I wouldn't recommend zoning with cc abilities tho. The time you buy zoning is far less then the time you would buy cc'ing them.

FooDang3/26/2018, 3:21:41 PM1 votes

I dont have a video to see exactly where you are putting these skillshots so I can't comment on the autism. I will say this, damage is almost always better. Zoning without doing damage will be on a rare occasion. Sounds like you do the latter frequently, enough to be called autistic. JS