So, I don't get it.

Niyumi·May 18, 2016·1 votes·631 views

Yesterday, I bought Brand. I wanted a long-range poke champ with some good damage and teamfight power, and thought he fit the bill.

So, I had never played Brand before. Not once. My very first game with him, in high silver, I went 7/1/9, against an Azir who knew how to drift and abuse the champion well.

Now, my concern (while it may not be valid, since I've put a lot of time into this game in general, and have been gaming since I was little) is that a champ with as much power as Brand is so easy that I can do not only fine, but good, on my very first game with him. A lot of champs are like that too: LB, Kat, Yi, Jax, and so on. All very, very easy champs, but all very strong in my first game with them.

So, if they're so easy that I can do well with them my first go... why are they so strong?

4 Comments

brisker6May 18, 20163 votes

Play him for 50 games and tell me if you feel the exact same way and I will take this seriously. I don't mean to sound like a dick, but one game doesn't reveal much.

ultra boostedMay 18, 20161 votes

If you're in high silver, you're still not near the level of play where Azir's skillcap is being reached. Additionally, you said you put a lot of time into this game. That means on mechanically simple champs, you'll be focused on macro-play, which you get rewarded by with a better win %. Mechanics =/= game knowledge, and sometimes an Annie can outplay an Azir because she knows the limits of her champion better than he did for his.

TehNACHOMay 18, 20161 votes

I wanted a long-range poke champ with some good damage and teamfight power, and thought he fit the bill.

That's funny. You picked up a mid-range combo/burst champ that focuses on stupid damage and team fight power rather than (from how you seem to phrase your sentence) having those as accessories.

So, I had never played Brand before. Not once.

May I ask if you've played other Mages at all? Brand is, input mechanically speaking anyway, extremely simple and extremely similar to a wide assortment of Mages. He's not Azir with his unique soldier mechanic, he's no Cass with her poison zones and E strikes, his mechanics are really just that of any run of the mill mid to long range mage. To rephrase, if you played champs like Lux or Xerath or really almost any other mage, hell, even some supports, there's a lot of bleeding over in terms of the skills you developed in a different champion that can be carried to playing Brand.

against an Azir who knew how to drift and abuse the champion well.

I really hope being able to drift is not your litmus test for proficiency at Azir.

I looked you up on Lolking and found you are only silver. I can promise you, Silver Azirs err more on the side of not actually knowing what they're doing no matter how fancy their abilities appear to be.

Now, my concern (while it may not be valid, since I've put a lot of time into this game in general, and have been gaming since I was little) is that a champ with as much power as Brand is so easy that I can do not only fine, but good, on my very first game with him.

Legitimate concern, sure. Statistically however, this is not the case. Brand's actually just barely suboptimal early on for the really inexperienced. What's more likely is you have either skills bleeding over, or the game may have just been a fluke.

LB, Kat, Yi, Jax

44% 49% 38% 42%

Actually, no. They look strong because they're all kill/combat based champions, but that does not actually make them strong. These percentages are the average performances of people just beginning with these champs, none are on average doing above average (50%).