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@Top lane mains: Why do you play top?

MrBuffington·5/29/2015, 7:06:12 PM·3 votes·4,745 views

No sarcasm, top lane is my worse role. I used to be decent but lately I just feel like I feed or, more often, don't feed but end up massively behind, or snowball and end up sitting in lane to defend my tower or roaming and losing two towers. I'm not really sure how to play the role anymore, and I'm not really sure why I should get better at it, aside from being better at filling. I know it teaches how to trade effectively, but lately, especially with the influx of mages, it feels a bit like a lesser mid lane.

Basically I'm asking why top laners choose to main top, since there's clearly something I'm missing here. What about top lane makes it fun and engaging? For example, I like support because not needing to farm frees me up to play the map, to control things through vision and dictate fights with utility and cc. I like mid because you get the lane interactions while also being center of the map, and able to respond to things or gank other lanes. I like jungle because you have the power to control the map and influence each lane. I like ADC because the role is mechanically demanding and you have the ability to take objectives through your dps. What is it for top lane?

Edit: also any tips you want to pass on? I like playing bruisers and tanks top.

29 Comments

Drunk Rummate5/29/2015, 7:37:03 PM3 votes

Just bite the bullet and learn rumble. He honestly looks a lot more confusing than he really is, and it's hard to not be useful when you play rumble. He's just a really good champion.

Merxamers5/29/2015, 8:16:07 PM2 votes

I usually play jungle and support, but when i play top it's either because 1) i feel like i have to carry that game, so i pick Jax or Nassus, etc., or 2) i feel like i can have a favorable matchup with my champion pool. Top lane is usually played by the most skilled player because they will receive the least amount of help from the rest of their team the whole game.

I feel that, more than any other lane, top lane requires a ton of experience just so you know how to handle every matchup, including your unfavorable ones. It's easy to play Darius against most melee champs, but what if you have to face a Jayce? Quinn? Gnar? What if you pick Sion and face a Riven? Experience can help you learn how to play safe when you have to, and how to exploit champion weaknesses and player mistakes.

StealWolverine5/29/2015, 7:54:26 PM2 votes

Top is generally an island. Just you and your lane opponent. The result of your lane is more in your hands than any other lane. bring tp and you can go bot to gank. (maybe even in time with your jungler) 3 levels ahead of bot lane. resulting in a double kill tower and drag. as a tank top your initiations often decide the results of the teamfight. you can rotate mid to help take down that tower, but i prefer applying a ton of pressure top and forcing their jungler to camp you. giving your team free drags. (does require map awarness and wards to make sure to escape) You can also play carry top laners (tryndamere fiora jax etc) snowball and carry the whole team.

redniwediS5/29/2015, 7:28:06 PM2 votes

I guess there's a few reasons I play top lane.

First and foremost it's due to my main champion, which is Garen. I play him in mid lane whenever we need an AD mid, and if I'm in a premade and we're doing something silly I'll play destruction man support, but Garen is typically most useful in top lane.

Secondly it's the first lane I ever learned. Mid and jungle I can do somewhat well at, but bot lane can be rather intimidating. I love trying the other lanes to improve my play in them, but whenever I feel like playing a relaxed match I snuggle up with my top lane safety blanket.

Lastly I would say top lane has the most variety out of any lane. You could end up against a full tank, a bruiser, a squishy or tanky mage, an assassin, or even a marksman. On top of this it is the most self reliant lane in the game. You can't assume your jungler will even visit that half of the map outside of their jungle, so you have to prepare yourself for handling any matchup by yourself, including 2v1 lanes where you're ganked heavily. It's not the most mechanically challenging lane, but when it comes to knowledge it's one of the hardest.

I guess to sum it up top lane is both where I feel the most comfortable and where I can get the type of challenge I'm after. I don't need to know that my reaction times are faster than someone else or anything like that, however if I can push a mechanically simple champion to their maximum I can fully test my knowledge of the game instead, and that's what I'm really after.

Yakas5/29/2015, 9:05:46 PM1 votes

I carry games and it's entirely up to skill. It's not a, let's see how much the jg ganks (mid), or see how much the support roams (mid), or see how useless my teammates can be (bot and jg), it's me against someone else and I typically win.

Daedalus11035/30/2015, 1:23:23 AM1 votes

Well, I recently got level 30 and have mained top to that point, and still do today. There are a couple of reasons I main top.

The roles you can play our team is so versatile you hardly get bored. You could be a huge tank, a carry bruiser, or a mage/assasin that snowballs the lane and wins the game.
You can literally play almost anyone top lane. While it's more suited to tanks and cruisers, most to all mid laners can get a free lane phase. Even some adcs and supports like vayne and sona can make their home on the top side of the map
One of the big reasons for me. You can carry without dying instantly, unlike the adcs or mid laners. Being able to dive in the middle of teamfights and mess stuff up without being deleted is very satisfying to me
The flexibility of teleport is so great. This is far and away the best summoner spell bar flash. Similar to your experience with jungle, mid, and support, it gives you the feeling of control over everything, and is a spring very much enjoy utilizing.
Top is the most even ground for a lane match up in my opinion. No ganks, no 2v2s, just you and the other top layer, fighting for the dominance that could snowball the game.

All in all, those are some of the reasons I play top.

T RexHasTinyArms5/30/2015, 3:25:40 AM1 votes

I like top because Heimer is my favorite champ and he really only works really well top and mid. I think he has more match ups that he wins super hard top lane than he does mid lane, and Heimer doesn't need ganks as much as most lanes (and can 1v2 better than most if he's ahead and the enemy jungle shows up). Letting the jungle just camp mid and bot usually lets the team have an easier time than if I'm mid, and if I do well and can dive and kill the enemy at level six (and then again when my ult is up next), then eventually the enemy jungle gets pulled top (wards OP to stay alive), and my team gets a free dragon.

Basically it's fun bc top lane you get to match up and just straight up fight someone and out match them if you're strong, and that's just fun. Plus if you like split pushing, top lane is da club for you.

TurquoiseYoshi5/31/2015, 4:12:01 AM1 votes

I only like top because Sion and his ult are so much fun.

Spicy Rice5/29/2015, 8:16:06 PM1 votes

TBH, the only reason I call myself a top lane main is because I played singed to level 30.

The main perks I see to the lane is that it is the most volatile. You could be dominating someone, but the moment they hit level 6, the tabels turn and you have to cower under turret. Top lane also brings alot of diversity to it. It is possibly the only lane that you can see pretty much any champ in. Ive seen baards, leblancs, sejuani, vi, ashe, and a ton of other non meta tops

I main trynd, jax, swain, and vlad, but I like playing pretty much all champs equally. Its why you will see alot of ekko top games in my match history soon

4nth0l0gy5/29/2015, 8:18:42 PM1 votes

As a jungle main, I'm pretty envious of top laners. They get to play a few of my favorite champions ( Maokai , Hecarim ) within the meta, they don't have to deal with nagging laners, they can get actual farm and as a result can still play assassins like Rengar ...

That being said, I'm proud of my greater impact on the early game as a jungler, so I wouldn't trade.

Only Play Darius5/29/2015, 8:24:21 PM1 votes

Because I hate interacting with my team, I just want to be alone most of the game. If my team shows me that they are worthy, then I will dedicate more time helping them out.

Come fck with my Nasus . 450 stacks in 20 minutes.