I've considered maining someone to reach a high elo, but I don't want to spend all this time mastering a champ to only find out that he/she sucks in high elo.
Is it true that some champs are just bad in high elo, or is it just a myth?
Lao Fu the Tiger2 votesThings rotate in and out. Generally speaking, up to very VERY high elo (Diamond 2+), everything can be played to success.
Griefer1 votesand why is that?
Lao Fu the Tiger2 votesTo which question? Why they rotate around, or why they can all be played with success up into high elo?
The answer to the first one is just the nature of a game that has balance changes. It's not so much that one champion becomes strong so much as stronger ones get weaker as they get nerfed. Then some that were a lower tier now becomes a higher tier, and thus the constant rotation. The goal is to have perfect balance between all champions, but that goal cannot truly be achieved because one change to even one champion or one item has the potential to indirectly change many other champions. I can explain more if you'd like.
As for being able to play anything to success in higher elos, this is really dependent on circumstance. In Solo Queue, most everything has the potential to be good. Even "bad" champions such as Mordekaiser have win ratios fluctuating around 50% or so in Diamond. People use Elise, the "worst" champion at the moment, in high elo, and she has roughly a 42-45% win rate. Does this mean she's not as good a pick as other choices? It could be. But despite this, she's not a bad pick.
Team games are a different story, because with a coordinated team, composing a team and an overall strategy is much more important than in Solo Queue where he with the most kills wins. At this level, there are very many champions that truly are weaker, more disadvantageous picks than others. And these do rotate, but coordination and communication can make some champions' kits fundamentally weaker than others.
Fiora is a good example. At one point, her high elo Solo Queue win rate was peaking around nearly 60%, while her high elo team win rate was about 37%.
As for where you are right now, play who you want. Play who's the most fun. I can promise you, if you main any champion, and you learn them inside and out, you will outshine peopl using the "OP" champions who don't stick to a main. Some people float around and play OP champions, then when they're not popular anymore, move on to the next OP champions. Some people find 5-6 they love and play nothing but them. It's up to you which path you pick.
I main Swain. I know tons about his playstyle and what I can and can't do. And even if I get counter picked, my knowledge of Swain allows me to be calm and make way fewer errors than people who just pick up Viktor because he counters Swain or he's popular a certain month. It's all your choice, really.
Griefer1 votesThank you for your detailed reply. While I do agree with you that any champions can work in high elo, someone with very clear weaknesses like Nasus is easily bullied by his weak laning and his lack of farm. Low elos just let him farm while high elis pressure him until he's useless.
Someone like Lee Sin I can see work well in a higher elo, as he only carries early and depends on his team to carry themselves later on which low elos don't really do well.
I have like this terrible fear that if I main someone, I can't actually "main" them because League is such a dynamic game. It changes all the time and to find success you just have to adapt, and I just hate that.
I had such great success with Lee early season 5, and then Cinderhulk came and he's just meh now. His lategame is weak and his cc is mediocre to really peel late unless you are some kind of insec god.
What do you think are some champs that are good to main per role from any elo?
Lao Fu the Tiger1 votesUsually you have to look at kits as a whole and see whose kit will inherently be at least relatively strong (unless changed) no matter what. These usually are moreso tilted towards champions with kits that can help their teams. Gragas will always be a relatively strong pick due to his kit. Janna's peel will make her be decent. On the flip side, people like Katarina, who solely deal damage, can have massive fluctuations in win rates.
The real deal to me has always been just play who you want. Main them. There are plenty of Lee Sins still playing amazingly. There are plenty of Mordekaisers winning games. Plenty of Brands. Plenty of Anivias. They're not as common or popular, but that doesn't mean they're really weak.
Griefer1 votesPlaying Nasus and getting that farm is super satisfying, but seeing how he has a 52% in silver-gold and 45% diamond is just super discouraging.
Lao Fu the Tiger1 votes[{quoted}](name=I Hunt Yordles,realm=NA,application-id=cIfEodbz,discussion-id=bPwIu9rL,comment-id=000000000000000000000000,timestamp=2015-07-18T19:38:16.093+0000)
Playing Nasus and getting that farm is super satisfying, but seeing how he has a 52% in silver-gold and 45% diamond is just super discouraging.
Psh, 45% isn't that bad. Don't put too much stock in win ratios. There are times when a Nasus could be exactly what your team needs, and other times he's a really bad pick. Win ratios go down moreso because people know how to play counterpicks better at higher elos.
If you master Nasus, goes in Bronze go "Oh hey, Riven counters him. Even though I don't play much Riven I'll go her anyway because counter > skill." In upper elos, "Oh hey, Riven counters him. But I don't know how to play Riven (lol). But Garen does well and I know how to play Garen, so I'll use him."
People don't just play counters for the sake of countering; they actually have a higher knowledge of most champions. That's why win ratios balance out for pub-stompers like Nasus or Katarina in upper elos when compared to lower elo.
Griefer1 votesWhat are the chances of me maining a supposedly bad high elo champ and having good success with it?
Can you name some supposed "bad" champs in high elo?
Lao Fu the Tiger1 votes
Currently sitting at one of the lowest win rates in high elo solo queue, despite being a regular LCS power pick. His win rate is even lower than Nasus.
He's getting a huge change in the next patch, so no idea how he'll fare then, but this is one example.
Another one that is used occasionally in the LCS, sitting at one of the lowest win rates in Diamond solo queue.
Ryuku Cruxis1 votesIt's true. Some champs just won't work in higher elo, for their balance point is uncoordination, something not lacking the higher you go. Mostly pick assassins/fighters/bruisers, who job is to catch someone out, which is a mistake not often made in higher games.
They can't really be buffed or nerfed, because they'll either be pick or ban in high elo, low elo pubstompers, or just completely unviable.
Such champions usually get reworked into something more able to be balanced for all skill levels. Fiora is finally getting a rework soon, so maybe she can be a strong LCS pick without being even more of a pubstomper than she is now.
ModKnightsKemplar1 votesI have seen a lot of champs work in high elo because they are played by people who know them so well. Not all champs are EQUALLY viable at high elo, but when you look at win rates, you see that the game is actually fairly well balanced.
I mean, 55% is considered an EXTREMELY high win rate for any elo. I would venture to say that there aren't any champs that will automatically lose you games. If you're good with them, you can succeed.
Now, take that with a grain of salt. I'm in gold. I'm referring to streamers and such when I say I've "seen a lot of champs work in high elo."
Griefer1 votesI feel like the ones that are supposed to be bad at high elos work better as a situational pick tbh. Like no way gold and plats are gonna let me free farm nasus without having me at like 100 stacks at 20 mins
ModKnightsKemplar1 votesWell, it depends. If you're a really good nasus, you might be able to pull it off. And yes, you can't just blind pick it and expect to do well. But if you pick it into a matchup that you know works, it can.