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Am I stealing kills or are my laners just crying?

Corghan·11/8/2015, 12:00:44 AM·2 votes·790 views

I don't get to play this game very often, but when I do I'm usually playing and I run into the same problems often enough that I need to ask the community at large if I'm the one at fault or not.

Scenario 1: A skirmish breaks out and I go in with Despair running, my tears get the last hit and someone screams "wtf!! ks!!"

Scenario 2: A team fight breaks out and I hold my ult until someone runs. By the time they do everyone is low on health and I pick up more than one kill. Again, the ks bomb blows up the chat.

Scenario 3: A laner is chasing someone through the jungle. I cut off the escape route and kill them. (I mean, it's my jungle, they're fair game right?)

Bonus Scenario: If I can't jungle I'm usually playing Support. Basically, if I do anything other than soak damage, somebody says I stole their kill.

Am I wrong to kill enemies and clear lanes for free farm? Or is my job only to soften up the targets and let the laners get all the gold?

EDIT: Thanks for all the input guys. You've given me a good bit to think about.

9 Comments

SKOBODO11/8/2015, 12:05:10 AM4 votes

Scenario 1: Sounds fine.

Scenario 2: It sounds like you are at fault here. Amumu's ultimate is often best used early in a fight. It's a great initiation tool, try to catch multiple people and have your team follow up and clean up the fight.

Scenario 3: Sounds fine.

Bonus Scenario: As a support, you'll want to gift the kill to someone else if you can without sacrificing much. If you or someone else would have to sacrifice an ultimate or a Summoner Spell to secure the kill it might be better to just take it.

LegendaryLemur11/8/2015, 12:11:43 AM3 votes

First off, it's always better to secure a kill than give them any chance of getting away. If you are in any way unsure, you should be doing everything you can to make sure the target dies.

That said, if you are playing a champion that offers a lot of utility and less scaling off of gold (usually a support, but also a high-utility jungler like amumu (who does spit out decent damage with his w and e, but really if he gets in the middle of the enemy team and gets his ult off it's job well-done) and even some laners like lulu could fit the bill here) and you can hand off the kill to someone with better scaling (assassin/marksman/burst mage) then it's probably in your team's best interest.

Scenario 1: If they aren't going to escape you should probably turn off the tears and hand off the kill. Again this is only if it's 'guaranteed'.
Scenario 2: Your ult stops the other team from autoattacking, in addition to preventing them from moving. By holding your ult you are allowing the enemy team a lot of up front damage that you could deny. This is a questionable decision at best, in my opinion.
Scenario 3: I would take the kill here. Unless your jungle is extremely well warded or you know the whereabouts of the entire other team, there is too big a risk of an escape/it turning into a larger skirmish.
Bonus Scenario: You should be setting up kills whenever possible, but when your (Leona) W takes a kill (or whenever there is any doubt of an escape) no one should be getting on your case. You probably shouldn't be the one clearing lanes for free farm, but it's better you take the farm than let a tower go down. If there's a huge wave heading towards one of your towers, you've pinged it and no one else has gone to collect it, then go for it.

soh1gh211/8/2015, 12:23:50 AM3 votes

just get the kill most times its too risky and the person might escape

Stephenizgod11/8/2015, 12:14:42 AM2 votes

Hmm scenario's are hard to judge because i don't know all the details but i will say that regardless of who gets the kill, its gold for your team. If you ks 5 people it doesn't matter unless you buy stupid items and don't help push afterwards. Don't get the kill then start taking CS though, i hate when junglers do that... let me get the kill and take my farm or get the kill and let me farm, you do not get to do both... Just don't flash and blow CD's for a kill that is already secured I.E. someone who is at 50 hp and is ignited.

Supports should not be getting kills unless you are like Annie or Morgana, two mage/supports that scale well with items. Leona does not need kills so its best to give it up, if there is no one around or you think it will be too dangerous for your teammates to get it then by all means. Do not go out of your way for a kill, depending on the situation.

xJLx MCHammer11/8/2015, 12:48:24 AM2 votes

Don't worry about who takes the kill

IcyPepper11/8/2015, 12:15:10 AM1 votes

Basically the rule of thumb is that as a tank, you want your laners to get the kills but sometimes you have to take the kill.

As someone who plays carries every once in awhile when not jungling/supporting, I've learned to clench my teeth and understand that if they hadn't "KS'd," I wouldn't be getting shit.

Erockandroll11/8/2015, 1:47:23 AM1 votes

I typically think of KSing as intentionally taking a kill that was meant for another player. Just poaching other players kills is always in poor tastes. But in heated moments, especially when securing the kill at all is in question, all bets are off.

I say intentional, because I have had complaints about KS from people, who were in no position to take the kill at all.

scenario: top lane nasus needs help. I was playing Sona. He got killed just before I could reach him. So I avenged him. And for that, he called me a KSer.

Interestingly enough, I've been able to secure a lot of kills that my allies couldn't when playing sona. As the support, I was the only one stacking MS. And was able to chase a lot of stragglers down.

Wicked Waffle11/8/2015, 2:46:21 AM1 votes

Scenario 1: If the laner is a hyper carry and he could've finished the other person off, then you're in the wrong. If you are a hyper-carry or if your laner was about to die, you are in the right. Scenario 2: Why the fuck do you hold your ult until they run... hit them while they're grouped and your team will kill them while they are stunned. This one you are definitely in the wrong. Scenario 3: Same argument as above. Bonus Scenario: You're in the right.

WalkingInACircle11/8/2015, 2:55:11 AM1 votes

It's called kill security.