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What it means to main a champion...

Rew711·4/17/2015, 7:37:57 PM·23 votes·2,167 views

I must know all I can about the champion. I must know the strengths, which means I must go off the meta to experiment with different masteries, runes, and items; I will see which spells work best for me; I will see which order of abilities I should use. I must know the weaknesses, the champions that usually out play mine; the things that hurt myself and my team.

If I want to go top, I will be prepared for being alone and having to play against 2 people. (The opponent, and opposing jungler.) I will ward and be sure to hold my own and push my lane as far as I can. If I overpower the opponent, I will use my minions to weaken his tower until I can destroy it. After, I will roam to either mid or bot to help, or stay top and push further. If I am over powered, I ask for assistance and make clear what I can and cannot do so the help can do what is needed properly.

If I go into jungle, I will not stay in the jungle. I will stay and camp mid if I can. I will rush bot if needed. I will learn how to jungle with no needed assistance. I will have by now, known that it is better if I use the trinket upgrade to ward the jungle. I will help a teammate(s) rather than finish a monster. I will scare champions from pushing and never take CS; unless the champion has died and I will stay and guard the position until they are able to return.

If I go mid lane, I will have to understand that I am in the hardest position as I can be ganked from everywhere. I will have to play it safe and push when I can. I should be hardly ever away from my turret as every second matters in mid. I will have to ping when my opponent is not there, so my team can know if a gank is possibly about to happen.

If I become the ADC, I understand that I am my teams main power and I must try at all costs to push my team as hard as I can. I must carry my team. I must be careful and wait until later levels to go on my own; I need to acknowledge my support and remember that i cannot do much without them. I will focus on gaining CS from farm; I will either try to last hit or push while gaining CS regularly.

If I support, I understand that I must support the entire team. I will give everything to the team and not try to be the star (carry) unless it isn't something the team cares for, then you are free to kill. Try to keep your ADC (and all teammates) alive. Make sure to ward when you can.

I just don't like it when I see "I main ____ " and they are beaten because they didn't try in their position. I don't want to rant but maining a champion isn't the same as picking a champion who is fun and playing him for a week or two and saying "I main ____" after looking up a build for the champion and seeing the pros play them.

39 Comments

Lore Ventus4/17/2015, 8:31:39 PM11 votes

First picking your main in rank and not fearing of being counter pick. =)

Dunkrius2g4/18/2015, 2:03:11 AM2 votes

Darius Bring it on!!!!

"supposed champs that do well against Darius" Annie Aatrox Teemo Quinn Sion Renekton Garen Rumble Lissandra DrMundo Gnar Ryze Kennen Chogath Fiora Jax Gangplank Jayce Kayle Nasus Riven Swain Vladimir.

If i put Darius top, i will always fight someone from here. There will always be new champs to fight against, but i like challenges.

Rico Nasty4/17/2015, 8:39:14 PM2 votes

I think the only way you really main a champion is mastering all aspects of them, knowing how to play them situationally, and enjoying their playstyle. For example, I main KarmaKarma , and i've had over 200 games with her, can play her in every single role except for adc, and I love playing her simply because she's so challenging but so fun and rewarding. Her design attracted me, as well.

Embertine4/18/2015, 5:59:36 PM2 votes

I've been playing shyvana since season two. I have more games played with shyvana than any of the other 34 champions I own. I in fact play shyvana in roughly half to three fifths of my games. I have adapted my build on shyvana based on the changing item stats and availability of items each season. I had modified my leveling path for her abilities depending on which lane opponent I am facing. I have learned effective ways to suppress her lane counters, preventing many deaths, even if I do not achieve many kills.

I can safely say that I main shyvana.

A Miss Fortune4/17/2015, 8:01:32 PM2 votes

I feel the same way. Your main should be something you take pride in. I would say you officially mained a champion when you mastered every single part of them, have played I guess around 50 games with them, and at least a few weeks.

I mained Sona mid/support for example for over 120 games. That's an actual champion I have mained.

junglerboy164/17/2015, 11:27:08 PM1 votes

I would say this applies to role for me rather than champions. I don't usually experiment with builds much once I find one that works (shame on me for it), but I experiment heavily with how I play the roles.

r11na4/18/2015, 12:53:52 AM1 votes

I've only ever mained champions/heroes since I like to master a single char in all scenarios I pick that champ every game if I can.

Been playing League for about 3 months now, mained Poppy for about 50 games and really liked her... until I found out she was going to be reworked and from things Riot have said about Poppy, pretty much everything I like about her will be changed so that sucks.

Mained Yasuo for about 200 games but was tired of having to play so many ridiculously difficult matchups as he just far too weak early. I wasn't around when Yasuo was apparently OP, but now he is pathetically weak.

Switched to Hecarim and enjoy him a lot and will main him from now on. Feels great to be able to shit all over champions that made my life hell when I mained Yasuo. (FU Riven Darius Tryndamere) Difficult to play ranked though atm because Hecarim is FoTM and is banned half the time. But I can play Irelia as a secondary.

I main Champions Always.

Vi and Cupcait4/18/2015, 1:12:05 AM1 votes

For me, maining a champion means playing a champion in a certain role with a certain build, runes and masteries that works well with you and your play style.

For example, for most of my early LoL career, I mained Caitlyn . She was the only champ I played, and only champ I felt comfortable playing. However, I've matured since then and have branched out.

Now I have mains for several roles, and am learning new champs to main for the roles I have yet to have a main in. I main XinZhao when I go mid or top and I want to win, because the way I play XinZhao is basically an all or nothing, leave no regrets kind of play style. However, if I just don't give a fuck and I'm just trying to have fun, then I'll play Teemo , mainly because I know he's not my best champ, and I don't really care if I win or lose.

I usually try to avoid bot lane or jg if I can, but if I have to, I'll play it. Caitlyn is still the adc I main; mainly due to the fact that I never picked up another adc. When it comes to supp and jg, however, I don't have any champs which I can confidently say I can play them because I haven't played enough of them in that role with the build, runes, and masteries that I have for them. I will still play them, but I will let my teammates know that I am still learning the champs. (The champs are Udyr for jg and Blitzcrank for supp).

All in all, if someone were to ask me who I mained, I would instantly tell you XinZhao because I have been through a lot of close matches with him, and have went up against most other champs with him, and have held my own for most of them.

arcinex4/18/2015, 3:27:55 AM1 votes

{quoted}

I just don't like it when I see "I main ____ " and they are beaten because they didn't try in their position.

Lol @ you thinking it's because they didn't "try in their position." No it's because they're bad that's why they get beaten.

Current players I know of that actually "main" champions: BRNA and Annie Bot.

WhiskeyAgogo4/18/2015, 5:49:53 AM1 votes

I main Heimer.

-pick Heimer -opponent picks Syndra or xerath

  • me "indeed a wise choice" and win lane

... If I play anyone else mid. I lose. If I play any other position, I lose. Haha

BROLY 324/18/2015, 1:18:04 PM1 votes

If you wanna main a champ, you'll need to know what every other champ does.

AthenasVendetta4/18/2015, 5:17:03 PM1 votes

I am a support main...... :(

But then again I have 700+ Games as Support

{quoted}

No offence but how is it challenging? Darius kinda has one of the lowest skill bases in top lane and counters every melee champion until late game

I could say that about every champion in the game... Skill is NOT based on you not knowing how to play against a Darius, you died? Get over yourself. All I see here is you crying about him. He isn't a easy champion to play no more than a Ahri Lulu Renekton... Says: "Counters everyone until late game" hahahahah

Darius isn't about him to win... Its what do I do to win against Darius.

I would not say I main Darius... But I am very comfortable and very confident with him. No matter whom you pick. For all I care you could go Ezreal Caitlyn Vayne.

here are some questions to consider when facing him. Do I outrange his q and e? Engage on, better further away or closer to him? Was e used?

Cupkek4/18/2015, 5:37:40 PM1 votes

My tastes in champions tend to vary every few months and during each 'rotation', if you will, I try to learn how to main one champion for each type. I'm a terrible assassin and mid player so they can stay in the Never Played ditch.

Sejuani My go-to main tank. Only ever played in the jungle. Pantheon Nicknamed "Ol Reliable", my fallback option. Played in jungle or top lane. Amumu If we don't have a tank, this is my fallback tank. Played in jungle.

These are the few champions I feel I've truly mastered and can call my mains.

Jungle Lux God4/19/2015, 3:29:58 AM1 votes

Being a main of a champion doesn't necessarily mean that you know everything about them.

A main is someone that you know how to play, and you are comfortable playing them in any given situation. You don't need the greatest mechanics or the deepest matchup knowledge, but if you know how to play the champion enough relative to other champions than it is safe to say that you main the champion.

I will say that I personally main Nautilus because I have played him a lot since I started playing, primarily in jungle but also experimenting in top and support, and have learned to play him well at the skill level I'm at. When season 5 came out and the jungle was changed, he was my go-to champion for learning the ins and outs of how the new jungle worked because there was no other jungler I knew how to play and I was as comfortable on as I was with Nautilus. But I don't understand how to play every matchup, nor do I know the ideal runes, masteries, builds (although I do have a fairly good idea on how to build Nautilus) or ability levels (again, I do have a fairly good idea of this as well), but I'm still proud to say I main Nautilus because he is the jungler I play best.

Izbiz4/17/2015, 8:57:38 PM1 votes

Are you then saying that the majority of the players don't have a main?

Simple question, wasn't meant to be rude.

Toa of Death4/17/2015, 9:47:09 PM1 votes

This whole thing sounds like we're taking an oath. I like it. In a way we are taking an oath when choosing a main. You accept the responsibilities of that champ and their intended role. You accept that you will use this champ's power to help your team in any way possible.

Sypher The Poro4/17/2015, 9:48:39 PM1 votes

The only champion I main so far is Yasuo. I have about ~60 games with him in normals, one of the few champs I own a skin for, have a completed rune page, etc. I know him to the point where I can beat a Riven in a 1v1, and have in several games. I know that if I'm mid against an Akali, I would be much better off switching to top so I don't get murdered early and so Akali doesn't get super ahead. I know unless I'm 25/0 I need to build some magic resist before late game to survive. I also know while AP Yasuo is funny, it's useless. xD

DrCyanide4/17/2015, 10:13:28 PM1 votes

I think under a different definition of "main" I've had three my entire time playing:

  • Teemo, who was my main as I was climbing to level 30
  • Ziggs, who was my main after Teemo, up until he got nerfed and the assassins started controlling mid again (around this time many players swapped to Xerath)
  • AP Ezreal, who I mained after Ziggs

I think it's worth pointing out that at each time, what a "main" meant to me changed:

  • With Teemo, it was simply who I felt most confident on and played the most.
  • I had a hard time branching out to other champions, and a lot of that was that I didn't understand the game. I didn't like the recommended build for Teemo, but didn't really understand the concept of Ability Power, so I went full attack speed. I upgraded my poison first because I thought it made my mushrooms hurt more. Well... two wrongs almost make a right :)
  • With Ziggs, I was confident, felt mechanically sound on the champion, and played it the most.
  • I loved the feeling of tossing a bouncing bomb while flying through the air thanks to satchel charge, killing the enemy. I figured out what Ability Power was (and I play mostly AP champions to this day), but mostly stuck to the recommended build. I still feel mechanically sound on Ziggs, and really think the majority of the reason I left him was the change in the meta requiring a new champion for me.
  • With AP Ezreal, I have felt mechanically sound, more invested in my build, and like I've grown as a player, in addition to being comfortable on the champion
  • When the Assassins started coming in, I felt like the mobility creep was in full force. I tried other meta champions, but they never felt like what I was looking for. I wanted someone with the ranged spell-slinging nature I'd grown to love on Ziggs, but with the safety he lacked. I'd heard of a mysterious "Blue Build" for Ezreal, and decided to look into it, and came to find that there was actually the Blue Build and an AP Build. I watched over a dozen AP Ezreal videos, looked at about every AP Ezreal build I could find, and made several spreadsheets to distill out the build I wanted. I hit match after match to find out what I liked and didn't like, refining my Runes as I went. I feel like this was the time I grew the most as a player, adapting my builds and playstyles a little bit more than I had in the past. I haven't played as much AP Ezreal lately, but I did make a spreadsheet of all my games on him. I'm just past the 100 games mark with him, a 52% win rate overall and a 60% win rate on my last 20 games (and no, these games don't include URF). My comfort with AP Ezreal has lead me to try Blue Ezreal a few times when I've needed to go ADC, so he's becoming a flexible pick for me.

I suspect that I'm on the edge of transitioning to a new main, as I feel roughly the same about my recent games as I did when I transitioned from Ziggs to Ezreal (I can't pin down what feels different, just that something does and has for a while). Eventually I may swap champions enough to hit a main like the OP says, but I think it's still worth remembering that it's a process getting to that point.