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Why we don't have more junglers and supports

Linna Excel·3/13/2014, 7:20:05 PM·3 votes·627 views

Aside from them being the positions you have to know the game and make calls from, I think I know why more players aren't supports or junglers.

Nowhere to practice and learn, particularly early in their LOL experience.

When you are just starting out LOL and after you've done the tutorials, it's on to games. There's basically 4 options.

  • Aram - no true support (laning wise) or any jungle
  • Bot games - no bot junglers to worry about (from what I've heard)
  • Custom bot games - I'll get to this
  • Normal games - have to deal with real players while learning two difficult positions.

Custom bot games are a bit of a problem and require more than 1 line to talk about. Frankly they suck for a real game experience. They are good for learning the basics to things like CSing and figuring out combos, but that's it. If you are trying to learn to be a proper support, this is just an exercise in frustration. For a jungler, you get no leash, you have no runes, and you never get to learn about counter jungling or being counter jungled. You also have to camp top which in real games isn't going to happen all that often.

For both roles however, there's a real killer: you don't learn when to make calls for dragon or baron. Those are key for those roles and the AI doesn't listen. You may or may not have a smurf on your team early on who can teach you those things either.

For beginners wanting to learn the jungle, as I said you've got no leash, no runes (need armor), and no masteries. Some champs can clear blue/red buff (nothing to teach you about jungle clearing order either) without a leash. But without runes or masteries either? Maybe someone who's good with the right jungle champ maybe, but for a beginner that seems like a tall order?

And for supports... being a support is rough enough as it is. Now add in a limited knowledge of the game and being stuck with teammates that also might not know how to play the game.

So I think a big reason we don't have more players who will fill those roles is because there's not a good place to learn those roles short of doing a lot of homework and then being thrown into the fire.

7 Comments

Tulare3/13/2014, 9:40:58 PM3 votes

In fact, I'd say that the introduction into the metagame in general is pretty harsh. Just to name a few concepts, it's not even remotely intuitive:

  • why 1-1-1-2 is preferred
  • that "support" is synonymous with "don't CS"
  • why it's bad to push a lane
  • when it's appropriate to leave one's lane to help another player

And you're right, support and jungle have a high burden of invisible knowledge. They're products of the metagame rather than organic products of the game mechanisms.

Tsiddique3/14/2014, 1:15:40 AM2 votes

Custom bot games are a bit of a problem and require more than 1 line to talk about. Frankly they suck for a real game experience. They are good for learning the basics to things like CSing and figuring out combos, but that's it. If you are trying to learn to be a proper support, this is just an exercise in frustration. For a jungler, you get no leash, you have no runes, and you never get to learn about counter jungling or being counter jungled. You also have to camp top which in real games isn't going to happen all that often.

Well, custom games aren't regular games. They are "custom". Meaning that people can make their own game types, such as Catch The Teemo, Hide and Seek, or Ultimate Bravery. If you ever want to learn a role, you have to play normals or draft mode. Bots can help, but anyone can do any position well in bots, they are way too easy, even on intermediate mode(get advanced out already Rito pls). Try making a premade game without a couple of your friends. Chances are they aren't going to berrate you with insults for some mistakes. Have fun. If your teammates are really getting to you, there is always the holy mute button or the /ignore command.