Uh, what can I do to imporve at this game so that bad matchups dont stress me out?

Acemaster81·Feb 23, 2019·2 votes·1,587 views

Okay so in my most recent ranked game, I was up against a mr7 Katarina when I had Sol as a first pick. Until this point, I had no idea that Katarina had a reset on her shunpo (I played against a lot of unskilled players and they never used that low cd shunpo against me). Once she had used it, I went to stun her, then start using my W to attack, but unlike the unskilled Katarina's that I had faced, as soon as the stun was over she was instantly attacking me with no way for me to retaliate other than to use an exhaust. I don't have a clue what I could have done instead since this was within the first 5 minutes. So my question is how to deal with players who counterpick and are decent at their champion?

So far I had seen what would counter or I have had difficulty laning against , any advice on how to deal with them would be appreciated.

35 Comments

PhieldworkerFeb 23, 20191 votes

What I did top lane against people who were hard matchups (mostly ranged top laners) I would play them in norms a bit to see their weaknesses or why they could overpower my champs in lane. Then that way you know when they are strongest or when you can move forward. That helped me a lot and so now I don’t fear counter picks.

Edit: if you know it’s a counter pick like a high mobility assassin, just go for last hits and AA harass. Let them push the lane in so you can farm safely. Just focus on getting farm and getting strong. You’ll learn the other stuff later. Also look up match ups (Sol vs x champ) and watch how they lane against them.

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

How do I do that with these 3 Talon Katarina Fizz when I am playing AurelionSol vs and the laning phase has just started? Especially When the moment the stun ends she can easily attack me since she has shunpo resets/ or a low cooldown and deals extra damage with Electrocute to boot?

BalenFeb 23, 20191 votes

with aurelion sol versus kat you just hard roam, you don't think about fighting her. Don't even attempt fighting her. Getting gold and helping the team is more important than winning the 1v1 on aurelion sol

PhieldworkerFeb 23, 20191 votes

I haven’t played a ton of Sol so I can’t pretend to know and I know he can shove wave hard. But in the beginning don’t walk up to the wave where his stars hit. Let them melee minions so their wave shoved into you. Then you just last hit minions. Being able to play close to tower against high mobility assassins is key because it gives them less save space to jump on you.

Once you start getting close to six you can shove so you can roam and blast other lanes down.

Super good video to watch and practice.https://youtu.be/GhALMCGyGPc Even when akali was at her prime I was able to stay relevant with orianna.

ŚtrongMentalFeb 23, 20191 votes

as per what riot support told me... you cant...

Any ranked reset that happens I wish to be added to the list of players who request one on themselves - please refer to this tweet https://twitter.com/RiotSapMagic/status/1098820557385084928

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

I meant resets as in the resets Katarina gets on Shunpo, not ranked resets

ŚtrongMentalFeb 23, 20191 votes

" So my question is how to deal with players who counterpick and are decent at their champion? " You don't... hens the ending statement, you cant...

The last bit is to draw attention to a serious issue in every elo, not just diamond+

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

Could you explain what that issue would be? I'm curious because this isn't a "git gud" or "don't play Aurelion" response.

ŚtrongMentalFeb 23, 20191 votes

basically? 1 trick... Play as much of one champion as you can stand until you have faced every match up at minimum 5 times (at minimum) understand thats A LOT OF FUCKING GAMES... you will become more adapt to deal with said match ups, nothing about getting good, if the enemy player is competent in their champion (whether intentional pick or counter pick) Its going to be hard - just as playing tryndamere into teemo is not fun, but it is doable if you bait out the blind...

So my response holds water - You can't until you adapt, and you cannot adapt until you have played the counter match up X times - so play more games

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

1 tricking is an issue at every elo? I understand why someone would 1 trick, but since I can't get mid every game I must play other champions like Kayle, Soraka, Ashe, Twitch, and Nami. However, jungle is my worst role, I forget what I am doing, don't gank effectively even after watching guides online. I usually never play that role unless I am forced to, otherwise I am being flamed in chat for not ganking or dying to the enemy jungler when I run into them.

ŚtrongMentalFeb 23, 20191 votes

Annie is a good champion to start playing, queue mid and support - you'll get one of the 2 roles every time... EVERY time... theres your solution

BalenFeb 23, 20191 votes

So its very difficult to not get frustrated at certain champs, some may just counter you or your playstyle, but I can at least give advice on how to face them if that helps? Akali : pick a mage or long range champion that has some mobility (ahri, lucian) or pick malzahar cause of R. Poke her out early and then just be careful after 6. Pre-6 is your window to dumpster her, but sadly cant get too close cause her dps at close range is still high early. Fizz : freeze lane and hard poke, he literally cannot do anything to hurt you pre 3, pick a range that can auto, or use hit and run tactics like ekko can. By the time he hits 3 he will be basically useless compared to you either in minion gold or exp. Be careful at level 6 but you should have magic resist items by the time he is level 6. Katarina : weak to hard cc, like REALLY WEAK to hard cc. Use that against her. Gragas destroys kat Orianna : Shes just really strong right now, at most you can all in her but that's not really an option due to items like zhonya's and oriana's ability to shield herself, so I suggest roam a lot. Yasuo : Yasuo is weak to champions that do lots of burst and can get out fast, so try ekko, ahri, or leblanc against him. Also ninja tabi just destroys his overall damage if you are having extra difficulty. Viktor : viktor can be destroyed by those who can all in but also have range, my personal favorite against him is jayce, try that out. If the viktor goes tank make sure to rush penetration items such as last wisperer or lethality items. Taliyah : Despite her E countering mobility, you want to have a mobile champ against her, ekko can sidestep her Q to mitigate some of the damage, and can also dodge her w to avoid her one-shot combo. After she E and W she only has Q to rely on, so go in then. Malzahar : honestly I got nothing, this champ is really basic which in turn makes him semi broken, all I can suggest is pick a champ that can rush qss or pick a champ that can rush adaptive helm. Otherwise, You can pick a champion with a spell shield such as siver and nocturne who can block his r. Otherwise just focus on getting rid of his little voidlings in lane, without those his push power is mediocre at best. Lissandra : Shes honestly just strong and is very reliable, the only real way to beat her is to dodge her Q's or just be fed. Qss helps a little too. Ziggs : He is oppressive and will go for turret, so don't let him do that, take a champ that can all in and scare him. (ekko, yasuo) Zed : Pick literally any mage and rush Zhonya's, you literally take away his ultimate ability for free just by using it properly. Not to mention his damage compared to other champions is relatively low due to his higher mobility. You should have a fine time against him. If you aren't a mage you are still basically stronger than him due to him being VERY weak right now. Just rush something like guardian angel or get some HP. Also stay behind minion waves at all times, his Q damage is reduced if it hits a minion first.
Lulu : She is honestly just a really strong champion due to polymorph and her ultimate, so I suggest just banning her if she becomes too much trouble. Heimerdinger : play a ranged champion that can outrange his turrets, if you pick first and you aren't a range champion go dorans shield an no matter what get resolve as either primary or secondary rune tree for second wind. Second wind destroys his poke based kit. AurelionSol : all in. Just all in the guy or hard cc him. He is very reliant on his stars for damage and is honestly relatively weak. If you are ahead you also need to put constant pressure on his turret so he is unable to roam, which is his strongsuit. Also don't roam to follow him unless you are predicting where he is going to be or unless you have teleport. The best option in that situation is to just push tower as hard as possible, make him lose cs, and get turret plating.

BalenFeb 23, 20191 votes

Also if you are in ANY matchup where you know the enemy will poke you hard, just going resolve secondary just for second wind is a very good option. Remember don't rely on just one set build, adapt to the enemy and you will have better chances of success.

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

How do I freeze a lane? Also, If I wanted to roam against an assassin who pushes the lane, like the mr7 Katarina did against me whenever I wasn't in mid, how would I deal with that?

BalenFeb 23, 20191 votes

to freeze a lane you ONLY last hit the minions. No added damage, to maximize this you can even watch your minions attack to make sure whatever damage you add is minimal. Freezing lanes can allow you to control enemy positioning, making it so the enemy can be in an optimal spot to be ganked, or to deny cs. For example the other day I was against an ornn as darius and got first blood, so I froze wave knowing that I was stronger, if he came up I just started destroying him so he was forced to sit under turret most of the game. That ornn had 20cs at 15 min while I had around 120, his jungle couldn't help either cause I had it pushed toward my side of lane. To the other thing, I suggest just not getting caught out in those situations by kat and to have the area warded up. Also you just have to consider how fast the opponent can clear your minions, say you have a large wave at the enemy turret, it will take a while to destroy and in doing so would give you about 2-3 full minion waves of time to work with, which is about 20 seconds per wave. Or if you see a very good gank opportunity, sacrifice a wave of minions to pursue a gank instead if you know for a fact it will succeed. Also ask jg for help, if an enemy is pushed up a lot a proper jungler will gank you and either relieve some pressure off of you, burn summoner spells, or even get a chance to kill the opposing laner. Use those assist pings, most people have to be told what to do, just don't be rude by spam pinging.

The Highest NoonFeb 23, 20191 votes

Play smarter. You're the one that first-picked a mid laner. TF did you expect to happen?

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

Responding with "play smarter" is about as helpful as saying "git gud" in my book, which spoiler alert doesn't do anything to help unskilled players other than stating the obvious. As if I didn't already know I wasn't playing well. If you had said how I could have played differently that would've been appreciated.

The Highest NoonFeb 23, 20191 votes

{quoted}

Responding with "play smarter" is about as helpful as saying "git gud" in my book, which spoiler alert doesn't do anything to help unskilled players other than stating the obvious. As if I didn't already know I wasn't playing well. If you had said how I could have played differently that would've been appreciated.

Hm, true. That's why I thought to mention "First pick" as well. When you first pick an easily-counterable mid-laner, you're easily gonna be countered lol that's not a matchup problem that's a you problem. Ya shoulda traded with someone.

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

Guess my favorite mid laner is something I can only play if I am not first pick? Any fun mid laners I could have chosen against an assassin?

The Highest NoonFeb 23, 20191 votes

{quoted}

Guess my favorite mid laner is something I can only play if I am not first pick? Any fun mid laners I could have chosen against an assassin?

Anybody you're good with against an assassin. But the point I was trying to make is, you first-picked as a mid-laner. That's why you got countered. Since it's easily assumed that you're talking about either Draft or Ranked, you could've champions traded with someone else.

PhieldworkerFeb 23, 20191 votes

Unless you’re in high plat counter picks don’t really crush you if you know your champ and match ups well. Just saying.

The Highest NoonFeb 23, 20191 votes

{quoted}

Unless you’re in high plat counter picks don’t really crush you if you know your champ and match ups well. Just saying.

And apparently he didn't.

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

I also said stress since I can get stressed and that definitely affects how good I am playing. To the point I forget about items or other details.

Deliberate InterFeb 23, 20191 votes

For starters, stop playing Sol. Play Annie top and mid for 200 games, look up and learn how to lane, how to trade, how to control your camera, how to click and what to itemize and when, then start building a champion pool from the ground up after your "Diet" so to speak

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

I didn't say I only play Aurelion Sol, I know how to lane a bit, what overextending is, warding I am looking up and trying to do more and more, roaming is something I am learning when I should/ should not be, but knowing how to freeze a lane isn't something very obvious to me so that's why I want to know how to do that. Swain and Veigar are also champions that I use when I don't think I can play Sol or when I want something different when I am in mid. Otherwise what I play in other roles are

Top: Kayle Rumble ( I need to play more toplaners)

jg: Warwick Shyvana (Don't play it often even in normals as I need more practice and knowledge)

bot/ support: Soraka Nami Ashe Twitch Zilean

Champions that I don't feel confident enough to play even in normal games as of now: Shyvana Fiddlesticks Corki Diana Evelynn Poppy TwistedFate

Deliberate InterFeb 23, 20191 votes

I mean only play annie, learn when to play in which pocket of the lane, specifically what is overextending, what isn't, when to trade, what trades are positive neutral, what trades are positive postive, what trades are wrong (and to avoid them) how to use your f keys to watch other lanes, how to play against poke, how to play vs all in, how to work with your jungler, how to not be ganked, when to ward, how to count enemy jungler cs to figure out what camps they did (and where they are), your power spikes, back timing etc

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

Play in the pocket where the river is warded or where the jungler isn't, trade when the enemy uses a damaging ability to farm or when you can predict what minion they are about to kill and you are confident you can attack without them retaliating, but some champions have lower cds. I know what overextending is and when I should push the lane to my tower (When I see the junger where the junlger is on the map and they are in a place where they cant get to me right away, if bot or top lane is roaming then I can't and must not push otherwise its going to be a 3 v 1 or more gank.)

I am guessing positive positive means a trade where they don't/ cant retaliate

Positive neutral must mean that the trade was equal, but one laner has an hp advantage I assume.

Wrong trades I guess would be fighting a Katarina as Sol.

Counting the junglers cs I need to know about more

I know that I have an advantage if I can reach level 2 as Sol before my opponent. I can potentially all in them while they still have one skill at their disposal.

When would be a good time to ward?

I know to back when: -I have pushed the lane -Have enough gold to buy an item -When the opponent has gotten me low and has high kill pressure or I feel the jungler might be coming in that case its better to walk away from the tower or risk being dived.

I mainly want to know what I am not familiar with how to do, like play against all-ins or timing when to ward.

Deliberate InterFeb 23, 20191 votes

Those aren't the worst start but those "Rules of thumb" aren't completely good enough by themselves and can even leave you to making the wrong decisions like playing river ward side when the enemy jungler's route has nothing to do with that approach for example. Especially as you start to climb, you'll really wanna know what you're doing

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

The only other places I could think to ward would be the raptors on my side if I cant push or maybe the bush behind the blue buff camp?

Edit: Because I want to be a decent player in every role since getting mid is not always guaranteed, I also thought playing the jungle role would help me with learning what routes certain junglers take to both improve my game knowledge and mechanics. Such as learning what the junger may want to do at certain parts of the game. I am not good at it yet as I run around taking whatever is available since I haven't gotten routes memorized yet, because I forget what paths I should be taking or what I can do to track the enemy jg, when I should gank, not feeling comfortable if I should invade or not, whether or not I can/ should contest the scuttle crab or buffs, and I am sure there is a lot more I am not aware of. I feel like Warwick is easier than Shyvana since he has a large gapcloser, aoe cc and damage reduction, a large and consistent ms boost to help gank, and natural lifesteal.

Deliberate InterFeb 23, 20191 votes

there are 13 popular ward spots for mid lane on blue side and 14 for red.

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

Why more on the red side?

Deliberate InterFeb 23, 20191 votes

different rotations based on jungle proximity to lanes and the way dragon pit opens up

chipndip1Feb 23, 20191 votes

You could research and experiment with a defensive rune set.

Runes and masteries are way more influential than most people give credit for. Me personally being able to switch from Aery for offense to Guardian for defense has helped significantly for my bot lane supporting. Maybe you can find a defensive rune set for your bad match-ups as A Sol?

Acemaster81Feb 23, 20191 votes

I am glad that I spent a lot of BE on rune pages rather than champions then. I can simply get rid of rune pages on champions that I have yet to understand how to play/ master so I can make multiple builds for my picks.

chipndip1Feb 24, 20191 votes

{quoted}

I am glad that I spent a lot of BE on rune pages rather than champions then. I can simply get rid of rune pages on champions that I have yet to understand how to play/ master so I can make multiple builds for my picks.

Try it out. Idk if you'll be using something like Aftershock, but I imagine there's something in there that can take the edge off the lane so you can survive it.