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"The worst thing you can do in a MOBA is die."

Samus72·11/19/2019, 5:21:36 AM·9 votes·6,711 views

The title is a phrase that a top Youtube video maker on game strategy has said repeatedly.

I don't consider myself an incredibly aggressive player in multiplayer games. I would rather heal or support instead of be a tank or damage dealer. One of the main reasons for this is because, to me, to die is to give your opponents experience, gold, or other bonuses. I won't be the first in to a group fight. But I will shield or heal my teammates. But when it is obvious that the battle cannot be won no matter how much support I give, I'll run away. I consider that to be smart game play. The alternative is letting the enemy kill you. In the case of LoL, death gives the enemy team XP and gold. Not to mention that the longer the game goes, the longer spawn time you have.

I play many games where team members have double digit deaths. The player will dive in to unwinnable fights. Examples would be a jungler trying to gank three enemies alone. An ADC diving in to get a kill but is killed themselves because they've dived too deeply and cannot get out before minions or a turret kill them. A lot of Yasou, Kayn, or Master Yi players will have twelve or thirteen kills. But they'll also have fourteen or more deaths. That, to me, seems incredibly reckless and just not a good way to play. Even when I try to heal people who do this, they are frequently cut down by three or more enemies. And it seems like players just shrug and dive right back in the next time combat avails itself.

I once asked a League player several years ago what an acceptable number of deaths in a game was. I was told that more than four deaths in one game was something to avoid. I always felt that was good advice to follow. However, I'm getting a lot of flack from players lately for not diving in to unwinnable fights or not wracking up a better KDA score. I've been accused of poor play for not having any kills as Soraka. I don't believe people who tell me that. But I am beginning to wonder if a low KDA is a bad thing after all. But I'm pretty sure that if I dive in with abandon, the same people who are upset that I'm not dieing enough will give me grief if I die too much as well.

So, what is acceptable when it comes to deaths and / or aggressive play?

17 Comments

RebeccaUCuber11/19/2019, 12:07:14 PM5 votes

Dont listen to "see enemy-me fight" type of players. They cant really play this game. They dont care abiut obj and most of times they are the reason you lose a game.

This players can get to gold/plat cos now, dmg is so high that if u have good micro u can snowball so hard you dont need even team coordination (with hypercarries).

Sadly when enemy becomes better they just insta fight AT SIGHT cos "Moar kills".

It's just about a wrong game mentality that Riot implemented in newer seasons to collect more new players. Instakills, mobility and one shot, lcs plays.

With this promise of a such "fullfilling" gaming experience, ppl just forget about everything about kills. I still dont get how kills are more fullfilling than calls, teamwork and objectives.

Its all just a mentality mistake that makes ppl toxic and also without a clue...especially when ppl accuse a Soraka/Maokai/etc... to not having kills so they are bad.

Dont listen to this ppl and play safe (you are a support main right?) without exageration of course. Observing a teamfight and knowing the outcome BEFORE ir ends it's a really important ability. If you predict that right, you know when it's worth or not.

Don't ever help chasing an enemy for all the map cos 90% if the times you or both are gonna die. Peel people that dont jump into 4 ppl being behind no matter what they say "i can carry". Peel the player that is playing WISER, and protect him if he has a lot if gold in bounty.

The title is really true and if u didn't die in stupid fights, even if u lose, you did your job.

Burst meta lures bad players to kill obsession, while good ones find best opportunities to get ahead and wimning the game along with a competent team.

Hope i helped you ^^

floo11/19/2019, 1:18:31 PM4 votes

Kills don't win you games, objectives do. The highest level of play in League usually has far less total kills because players are aware of what they risk when dying.

There are multiple factors to say if it's worth to die 1 for 1. Denying minions, shutdown on you or your opponent, objective pressure etc. Dying 1v3 is just stupid.

My last game in plat promo consisted of only me and my support knowing how to push sidelans (as Jhin and leona.. oh boy). Meanwhile all other 3 players just searched fight whereever they could, against Malphite Twitch who would regularly demolish them in seconds. Thankfully the enemies didn't know how to play other than fight as 5 so it actually worked well to take sidelans while they baited.. Moral of the story, try to take the best out of these situations if others just fight without sense over and over.

But generally try to keep your deaths at a minimum while denying your enemy as much gold/exp as possible.

Broseidon2511/19/2019, 5:25:49 AM3 votes

Bruh... What would Jackie Chan think of you? He would say stop letting the deaths get you down, you need to get back up and fight my student. Dont make Jackie upset. Death is acceptable when the outcome is victory. Victory! Crave that sweet sweet victory! ;) amen

afmghost11/20/2019, 1:17:52 PM3 votes

This irritates me too. I remember one time I was playing Caitlyn a few years back. My entire team had more deaths than kills, but both were in the double digits. I have a score of 5/2, and they complained that I wasn't contributing. I told them that I took more than I have up by playing conservatively, but they weren't having it. Here's my thing: If everyone on my team had scores similar to mine, we'd be leading. The problem is that most players live in their own little world where they're just gods at the game, and no death is their fault. Hell, I remember a game where I went Graves and forgot smite. I was struggling to get what little gold and xp I could get. I managed to kill the golems and had like 20hp left when my top laner dies. Right on fucking queue, the manchild Mia pings me.

TwitchInMyPants11/19/2019, 12:20:34 PM2 votes

Someone with a score that looks like 8/9/0 and trash cs thinks they're doing good and they'll complain the support has too low of a KDA

Objectively they're just generating less gold than they could and all of those deaths are feeding someone else. Even if they can get enough kill secures to make money, they're spending a lot of time dead and someone is likely really, really fed based on their play pattern. If its them trading with someone else evenly that's one thing, but if the other person isn't playing like a lemming and has actual cs this kind of player is one of the biggest detriments to your team.

And that's just focusing on gold. If I consider death timers this kind of person is the one likely to pick a fight and end up giving the enemy team baron for free. People with nothing in their brain but to play aggro are pretty much the worst teammates, they play like people who've never played a MOBA before and have somehow convinced themselves its good play.

ClaireRedfield11/19/2019, 1:40:13 PM2 votes

Every game is different so it's not really possible to pin a number to that statement.

If you're playing a support role and you can clearly tell your carry is playing very well and is a vital part of the team and you see a projectile coming at them and you consciously put yourself in the way to die so that they stay alive to help the team that's an acceptable death.

Also some deaths are just unavoidable and that's just something you have to deal with.

If people are flaming you for not following their shitty calls that's their problem not yours. You are only in control over yourself and your job isn't to make them happy no matter how they feel about it. So long as your not purposely attempting to sabotage the game it really doesn't matter even if you review the game and figure out you made the wrong choice just learn form it and move on. Mute people if you need to or just say "you're totally right I'm so sorry" and just keep doing what you've been doing all along ignoring them.

Summoner SpeII11/19/2019, 6:12:06 AM2 votes

there is inting sion

P4ppino11/19/2019, 12:22:53 PM1 votes

That's not true. Inting is probably worse, right?

Need Gold 4 Tent11/19/2019, 5:27:07 AM1 votes

There are what you call "trades". As a solo laner, one of the best kinds of deaths you can have is to go 1 for 1 after turret diving the enemy with a huge wave crashed into their turret. Not only you get the equal 300g, you just lost him more 2 or 3 waves of minion exp and the wave is now reset with you having the upper hand to manage your wave however you want when you get back. Of course you'll have to consider the scaling but as a Yi/Trynd player, I consider a 1 for 1 always worth (except in situations where it fucks the minion wave) because I know I will outscale.

ThisName1sDumb11/19/2019, 4:01:55 PM1 votes

Given how well Yi scales, trading a kill for a death a lot of times throughout the game can be a valid strategy, given that the gold will end up doing more for him than it probably will for the enemy who kills him.