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Meta Breaking

Eltu Tsamsiyu·12/13/2013, 10:56:19 PM·9 votes·554 views

Nami Jungle is probably one of the best jungles I've ever played. In bot matches. Beginner or intermediate, I can rack up the kills with a "support" jungle. Why is this? Is it because bots are so much easier than normal people? Well, that certainly has something to do with it. Is it counter-jungling and not being able to secure buffs? That's a big problem for any jungler, let alone a meta-breaker. Is it because Nami just can't jungle? In her Champion Spotlight video, they say she can solo lanes, so she should do just fine in jungle, right? Well, she can! People just don't want her to.

We need to have more flexibility with champions and their lanes, especially pertaining to "the meta." Why are champions listed by type, and not lane? Why are champions fighters or mages and not tops or mids?

The truth is, Nami CAN jungle, it's just that people are too used to her being a support and they can't handle someone doing something "they're not supposed to do." Every game I try to play with Nami Jungle, I do the best on the entire team (best kill/death/assist ratios) and I always get reported because "nami can't jungle." Where does it say that I can't jungle as Nami? Where does it say I can't ADC as Vi? If she can't jungle, then why can I lock her, take smite, and buy a Hunter's Machete?

I watched a mid Thresh dominate a game. Not on youtube, or in a meme, but in person. And it was ranked. But he was forced to go mid because support was already called and he didn't know and accidentally locked a support character. So, he wasn't trolling.

I once watched an AD Soraka help win a match. Wasn't trolling. Vi ADC won a game for me. Wasn't trolling.

Riot should release some kind of video explaining to people the importance of thinking outside the box. A jungle is supposed to gank lanes and secure objectives like Dragon and assist with towers. Why not have a jungle that has a heal/damage, 2 knock-ups, a slow, and a damage increase ability, all of which grant increased movement speed for a duration? That doesn't sound that bad: increase your damage, knock-up/slow them, wade into the fray, stun them, heal/damage/heal (or damage/heal/damage), increase damage, wash, rinse, repeat.

It's a great strategy for ganking and securing kills/assists. The only problem is that it's a support character who is coming to the rescue. It's a Nami Jungle.

I know that harassment and intolerance are an intrinsic part of the LoL experience that we just have to accept, but if I'm told that I can't play because I chose something no one else would think of, then I won't have an enjoyable League experience.* This game is not fun if I can't do something different. * What's the point of playing a game where all day, every day, all I can do is this character in this lane, period? At first, the only champion I had was Soraka. All I could do was support. All game. Every game. Stuck bot lane babysitting my ADC. W,E,W,E,W,E,Q,Q,Q,Q,Q,W,E,Q,Q,R, Heal, Clarity, W,E... That was it. Always the same combos, always the same build, always the same character, always the same lane. It got old fast. But then I got a new champion: Shaco. Then it got fun again! Until it hit the same old same old with him, too.

Is the only way to have fun playing League of Legends to buy all of the champions and runes and skins and then start a new account and do all of that all over again? I've spent well over $150 on my account, I AM NOT about to make a smurf account and waste all of the money I've dumped into my account. But I don't want my money wasted buying champions, thinking that's the only way to have fun.

The point of all of this is that I want to have fun, but I can't play the way I want because of stereotypes and cyber-bullying. Riot needs to do something. Anything. Make a jungling item that gives increased damage to neutral monsters as a passive (like the Hunter's Machete), but give it an inherent boost as well. Maybe even make it a "support" exclusive (I know that sounds crazy). Have it be something like "20 bonus armor ... UNIQUE Passive - Butcher ... etc." I know that sounds unbalanced, and that it would obviously be better than a regular hunter's machete, but I'm sure the idea can be explored more and developed better.

Let's look at my Thresh example again. He accidentally locked a champion that didn't fit his lane. What if that happens to someone else? I've done it before! My game client glitched once and it wouldn't let me pick Vi to jungle, so I was forced to take Shaco (actually it would only show a few of the many champions I owned and it would only let me select 2 of them, one being Shaco, the only "jungle" it would let me have). This was a ranked match, so I knew what I was up against, and I knew I would fail, but I didn't have a choice in the matter. An uncontrollable circumstance forced me into a position I knew wouldn't work.

Say someone calls jungle, they accidentally lock a support or mid, and no one has a "jungle" champion. What then? Just don't jungle? Let the enemy team have all of your buffs? All your gold? Rage quit? Or do you take an Explorer's Compass (increased AP and armor when in the Jungle [hypothetical item]) and do what has to be done? Just imagine the possibilities when anyone can jungle! When anyone can play any lane! I would be the hero. Quitters never win, right? If it costs us the game because I was forced to jungle a support, at least I would have had fun and there wouldn't have been anything wrong with it. Why? Because, if given the right tools and encouragement, anyone can jungle.

9 Comments

Spaxxamus12/14/2013, 5:57:13 AM4 votes

I agree with you whole heartedly.. While cookie cutter meta and builds can win you games it gets boring real fast.. Some of the best games I've had is with really odd combos :Taric - Vi combo bot or MasterYi - Zac .. people don't expect it and are at a disadvantage cause they don't know how to play against a different comp early game... and it's always great to get that WTF was that by the enemy team. And with some champs pigeonholed into support others are locked into jungling..

LilFatKid12/14/2013, 5:16:03 PM1 votes

I know what you are saying here. One of my favorite jungle champs is Soraka and i get bashed on it for every time i play it (unless i'm with my friends) to be honest i have seen almost every character play every role at least somewhat efficiently. just the other day i played Janna as an adc.. and the only reason we lost was because of an afk. i am all for any champ in any role :D

GruntsGoneWild12/14/2013, 8:11:51 PM1 votes

Uhhh Nami OP?item 2010

THExJACKAL12/15/2013, 3:37:17 AM1 votes

I understand what you mean. Almost every game someone says "you can't [insert lane] or Jungle with [insert champ] you're dumb." Or simply just get laughed at. I'm all about trying out new things, new items, or whatever. New combinations in the runes and masteries as well. The way I look at it, just because something is extremely popular and because "the pros do it", it never hurts to try something new. You MIGHT just come across a set up that completely dominates, and just MAAAYYYBBEE YOU might be the ONLY one to really use the champ that way. Especially since it's not popular. Different combinations bring up different results, some good, some bad, but regardless, each time you try it, you learn what works with YOUR play style. I've taken Shaco, who at this point is "supposed" to be a jungler, and have gone in every lane. I've found out how to use him in almost any situation and I can do work with him. That is one of the many benefits of playing in any lane, or in the jungle, is that you become VERSATILE. Being versatile is one of the most important things you can be in this game, or in anything for that matter. That's all I really have to say at this point, but I can go on.

hunnyflash12/15/2013, 5:02:34 AM1 votes

The problem people have with meta breaking is not that a champion CAN'T do something, even though people say "She can't do that".

The "problem" is that chances are, there is another champion who just does it better/offers more in that role.

Personally, I'm all for breaking the meta, as long as you're still useful for your team and carry your weight.

DiamondSamurai12/15/2013, 12:48:44 PM1 votes

To date, i've used Talon in almost all roles (i've yet to do a jungle talon, but i'll get to it...eventually >.>) and more often than not i can win the lane. I've even gone againstt a top lane yorick and i held the lane (the only reason i lost it later was because i jumped in blindly and had no mana >.<). But seriosly: I can get fed hard as ADC talon, or even hand feed my ADC as support talon.

While I do agreee that, just by their nature, some champions DO certain jobs better than others (be it due to current meta or just how their kit can be best utilized), breaking the meta and actually using those six inches between our ears can yield great, amazing, and fun results :)

Amak12/16/2013, 6:08:33 AM1 votes

Think of the meta like a sport. In the NFL, just because someone is a receiver doesn't mean that they can't throw a football. Similarly, the quarterback can also run and catch--both things quite well, in fact.

However, that doesn't mean that you should easily go swapping positions. Just like the meta in LoL, there is an established version of the strongest team makeup. To take this analogy even further, there are many different formations in football. Sometimes football teams do pretty crazy things to shake up the other team and confuse them, but the common lineup is pretty consistent, even within the rules.

Nami jungle would serve that sort of purpose. But the key difference here is that we're talking about a 15-second play when the other team has about 20-30 seconds to prepare their defense. In LoL, you're looking at 45 minutes and several minutes in the lobby to plan. It can work, but more often than not a good team with a solid meta-approved approach will destroy your off-color team composition.

The simplest way to know is this: if there was a stronger way to play, the pro players would have figured it out and would be doing it. These people play LoL for a living. I'm a pretty sharp guy with a keen eye for strategy, but I work a desk job and play LoL casually, so I'm going to defer any meta-building or breaking to the people whose job is to do that.

SSrikeShadow7/16/2014, 10:01:08 PM1 votes

The meta is simply the strongest way to play the game if you do the math. This game is really all about math and that's why the Asians dominate it - they can do calculations in there heads way faster than us.