So I need some help picking up a top laner

Rain Smurff·Feb 29, 2016·2 votes·2,530 views

So, I normally just play mid and I keep climbing, almost got to plat last season with just Ahri. I however, keep loosing since I cant get my role. I use to be a mid/support main, but I cant support all the time in Dynamic Q. I was thinking of picking up top lane to a decent level, maybe practice the basics of top lane and understand how the lane works. I need help picking up a strong champion this season on the top lane that I can use to hold my own and possibly carry with this season.

Any suggestions? I was thinking Fiora, but...she seems really hard.

35 Comments

48983507DEL1Feb 29, 20162 votes

You could try a ranged top laner like Lissandra or Vlad. It seems like a good way to transition from mid to top.

RiotRiot SotereFeb 29, 20162 votes

Agreeing with this. When I first transitioned to toplane, I found melee laners to be much less forgiving than ranged ones. So Quinn, Teemo, Lulu were the first couple I could become proficient in.

Malicious MetalFeb 29, 201610 votes

.>> <<

Filthy ranged top laners...

48983507DEL1Feb 29, 20161 votes

Malicious, it's amazing the places you pop up at.

Malicious MetalFeb 29, 20161 votes

Well, being a forum dweller I can't help it but have the urge to add something to every discussion ^^'

MelledoneusFeb 29, 20162 votes

http://ak-hdl.buzzfed.com/static/2014-06/14/11/enhanced/webdr06/anigif_enhanced-3819-1402758843-15.gif

RottedApplesMar 1, 20161 votes

hi i like teemo

IqqiFeb 29, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Riot Sotere,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=uMZfMNrE,comment-id=00090000,timestamp=2016-02-29T21:40:25.934+0000)

Agreeing with this. When I first transitioned to toplane, I found melee laners to be much less forgiving than ranged ones. So Quinn, Teemo, Lulu were the first couple I could become proficient in.

Suggesting Teemo...... [slayer-jinx-unamused]

N00B PWN3RFeb 29, 20162 votes

Why don't you play Ahri top? As long as you win lane, you are good enough to play her top imo.

Only Play DariusFeb 29, 20161 votes

Ahri has insane mana consumption (seriously I don't understand how people play her I run OOM within seconds) and toplane she doesn't have access to blue and is much farther from the fountain. I don't know how Ahri top would work out.....

N00B PWN3RFeb 29, 20161 votes

Start item 1056 , get 800 gold minimum before going back, buy .

Go back to lane with item 1056 = good damage, good health, never go OOM.

Only Play DariusFeb 29, 20161 votes

I guess. I personally have never seen it work out, at least not against meta tops since she isn't that good against tanks

Yuumi or LoseFeb 29, 20162 votes

Trundle.

Ruin LanceFeb 29, 20161 votes

fiora is actually very easy to play. she definitely does have a decently high skill cap. nothing compared to say yasuo or lee sin though. nautilus is pretty good. if you get fed and the enemy adc doesn't have 11 kills by 15 minutes, you're probably going to have a really good game.

WeiseAzirFeb 29, 20161 votes

Nautilus tele in bot keep the adc alive. your Vayne or Caitlyn will wreck hard if they are good

LostFr0stFeb 29, 20161 votes

I think your hunch on Fiora is accurate, she has a bit of the Ahri feel to her kit if you know what I'm referring to.

I'm sure you'll get the hang of her after a few games.

RalanrFeb 29, 20161 votes

Garen is a good champion to learn for top.

Tyrone LannisterFeb 29, 20161 votes

Renekton is pretty damn good

LintheFeb 29, 20161 votes

Im kind of in the same boat.. Fiora and Riven are hard...

Garen is a good choice... I also like Malphite... Kind of depends on what type of champ you want

FurretHasAGlockFeb 29, 20161 votes

If you want to transition from mid to top, try going yasuo, zed, galio, malphite, or just tanks. Those are generally easier to play in top, first off, because the first 4 can mid lane as well as top lane, and tanks, because they are usually mechanically simple, protect your ADC, and kill the enemy adc.

FurretHasAGlockFeb 29, 20161 votes

ALSO! Forgot to say, I'm a gnar, karma, galio main, so if you want to try any of those top feel free to ask!

EndlessSorcererFeb 29, 20161 votes

Renekton, Maokai, and Irelia are generally flexible and reliable options.

TouchMyNautyBitsFeb 29, 20161 votes

Pantheon's pretty nice in top lane. He can even play mid (or could at least). He's got good harass with his Q and these new melee items have helped him out a lot. He can carry hard thanks to his mobility as long as you close the game before 30-35 minutes.

And finally he's got major swag points. Pantheon

GigglesOFeb 29, 20161 votes

[{quoted}](name=Stop Feeding Mid,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=uMZfMNrE,comment-id=,timestamp=2016-02-29T20:47:39.415+0000)

Any suggestions? I was thinking Fiora, but...she seems really hard.

Take vlad, max Q, Get wota, cdr boots, a visage, with a rylis if you are taking a ton of damage Q farm. However, if you are able to stay fully healed use Q to harass the enemy. 1/2 the time it works to the point where you can get a level or two advantage. The other half of the time, you just need to use Q to sustain and not have to go b, until the enemy runs out of mana.

I personally prefer scaling hp yellows and per level ap for all of my other runes. I also take tank masteries with the mastery that gives 300 hp (It also gives alot of hp late game on cannons and ect... that die near you). You should get pretty tanky, and still have quite a bit of damage. To finish off my build I normally take a combination of zhonyas, dcap, ludens, void staff or liandris torment, and any other ap/hp item.

Just a warning, warmogs is sort of a newb trap, I'd also suggest keeping e maxed at your 4 stacks after level 5 or so. The build puts you near 3-4k hp, and 600-800ish ap if you finish it out with a Dcap. BTW if you do take all scaling per level you will have a "fun" early game, but your late game is pretty amazing.

VexfulFeb 29, 20161 votes

Right now, top is basically high dmg champs that are going tank ( Fiora Akali ), unstoppable walls of defense ( Nautilus Malphite Darius ), and of course Pantheon . The AP champs of top took a good hit this season so I'd avoid those but that is my personal opinion there.

It Hertz When IPFeb 29, 20161 votes

Cho'Gath is pretty noob-friendly, as evidenced by the fact that I do ok with him. Nasus is also pretty easy so long as you can focus on farming for the first 15-ish minutes.

ExecutorDillFeb 29, 20161 votes

I recommend:

Shen Volibear JarvanIV

Because Tanks are in a good spot right now.

Voli deals a crap ton of dps while being tankier than a armored truck. Has a winrate of 54% (which is high af). Shen has great team utility and map presence while putting out fair amounts of dmg (not like voli tho) Jarvan is jarvan. But he's getting buffed on the pbe so he might be new meta. I'm looking forward to those buffs especially the ones to his ult as this would make J4 a staple pick for my toplane roster.

EDIT: Poppy is also really good.

IqqiFeb 29, 20161 votes

Vlad top feels really strong. Practically golden if once you make it to lvl 9.

I miss Swain top.

Only Play DariusFeb 29, 20161 votes

Garen is a great toplaner to start with. Easy to play but still viable.

Darius is expensive but he is a blast. He takes a bit of practice but is so satisfying to play.

MonkeyKing is pretty forgiving as you are still useful even if you did poorly in lane.

Tryndamere is good as he teaches you the importance of objective control and map pressure since he rarely contributes in team fights.

Fiora Riven are somewhat squishy and dependent on outplaying their opponent rather than just farming so I would avoid them if you are new to top lane.

Poppy Malphite Nautilus Maokai all great choices if you're looking for a tank

Nasus My favorite toplaner. As much as I love him I advise you stay away from him if you are learning him in high gold. At that elo players know how to punish his glaring weaknessess and even good Nasus players struggle, someone who is new to Nasus AND toplane will get destroyed every game and learn nothing. If you want to learn Nasus I recommend you make a smurf account.

AaravosFeb 29, 20161 votes

Pick up some tanky dude. They are probably the strongest class for top lane, they are usually simple, safety, and they can teach you the basic of top lane. Nautilus Poppy Malphite Shen TahmKench . They are the best atm.

If you need to counter tanks Darius Trundle Fiora .

For ap damage Lissandra Lulu

Other honorable champs Gangplank Quinn Graves . You can pick marksmans but if you want to learn the basics of the lane don't do it. They don't rly belong to the top lane and hopefully riot will act soon.

Play Akali Fizz item 3748 item 3742 item 3053 item 3025 if you just want to be a bastard and play something off-meta.

Guyy FieriFeb 29, 20161 votes

I like Kennen and Gnar personally. Ranged, good base damages and high CC which allow you to build more durable without sacrificing a lot of usefulness (although I usually build Kennen full AP). They provide strong initiation which is always a good trait for a top laner to have. Gnar is a little tougher because of managing his rage bar but in general, neither of them have awfully difficult mechanics.

RottedApplesMar 1, 20161 votes

you could play teemo c:

MrBuffingtonMar 1, 20161 votes

Volibear Trundle Sion DrMundo Malphite Chogath are very strong, relatively easy to pick up, and have a pretty decent time surviving in lane due to healing/shields, get super tanky naturally and can still put out a lot of damage.

I think Volibear is one of the most underrated solo-q champions; the guy(bear) builds full tank and still chunks people for massive amounts of damage with his W.

Puppet33rMar 1, 20161 votes

Fiora is not as hard as you might think. She would've been if you had to build squishy and well-timed riposte was your only way to survive a fight, but with juggernaut items and her base stats it's just not the case. I would recommend fiora and lulu as they are simply the strongest top laners at the moment.

Rain SmurffMar 1, 20161 votes

Appricate all the input, thanks guys ^