State of the Game: February 2019

As of writing, the current patch is 9.4, coming on 9.5. 

This week I want to just quickly talk about how the game feels as a Toplaner.

Currently, I’ve been doing two things constantly:

1. Playing Yorick every game I get to

   1. Yorick is hella strong right now, maybe too much so. At low Plat he is also almost never banned or picked for that matter, so at one point I had played almost 10 games in a row of just Yorick.

2. Banning Jax

   1. There hasn’t been one game this ranked season for me that has had a Jax in it, whether it be because I ban it, or another player also does. That champion is defiantly the most broken champ in the game currently. His early game is strong at about lvl 3, his late scaling and item synergy is insane, and he can build tank while dishing out tremendous amounts of damage thanks to his passive and ult passive alone.

I do these to climb with relative ease and for the most part it has been working like a charm. With less issues to worry about in the top lane, I can focus on roaming and making plays for the rest of the map. My issues with the current state of the game are just that the damage is still way too high, there are still a small number of hyper strong champs, and that the game is still often decided by either the Jungler or the bot lane.

As for how certian champs feel, I’ll go in a list of what I’ve been playing this season with personal antidotes.

Darius –

Still the powerhouse of the top I came to love but I often feel hopeless come later because I can’t carry a team when they need it most thanks to Darius’s innate weaknesses as a Juggernaut.

Yorick –

My most played this season by a long shot, Yorick feels like winning even in a vegetative state. I’m doing things, often it just feels like i’m existing for the sake of it. My one gripe is that the Maiden of the Mist feels terrible to control when  she latches onto a target, requiring you to walk long distances to stop her from “inting”.

Kled –

I’ll be honest, I’ve barely touched Kled this season. He was always my secondary after Darius, although he is my better champ as I’ve been told, but this season I just don’t have the drive to play him. Surely when Yorick eventually gets neutered, I’ll turn back to Kled.

Swain –

Swain continues to be my only AP champ in the top lane. Swain feels great to play, with Phase Rush that is. I have been seeing Swains now alternate between Phase Rush and Kleptomancy and I cannot understand why. Sure Kleptomancy leaves you rich but it also removes a ton of mobility from you that Phase Rush so generously provides. I’ll play Swain into most ranged and uncomfortable melee matchups, just so I can keep a safe distance until laning phase is over.

Aatrox –

Oh my baby, what did they do to you! Well now Aatrox is kind of bad, from riches to rags really. I got my early season abuse out of him just in time to get out of promos with a good record. I may return to him, although with hesitation.

Tanks –

You may notice these all are Fighters and Juggernauts, and that is for a great reason, Tanks are kinda Ass right now. In general, tanks don’t provide the damage that these big boys do, so the only real representation they get now is Sion and occasional Ornn. Sion is the bastion in the top for all tanks, no matter what he will remain, he is JUST. THAT. GOOD. Ornn is also fine, he provides enough CC and team fight presents to remain useful and his buffed W damage allows him to trade easily.

Overall, the season feels weird to me, most likely from the enormous amount of Yorick I’ve been playing. I am also under the understanding that LP and rankings in genral are messed up tanks to account transfers and the new Postional Ranking system, personally, I’ve noticed an uptick in the LP i gain so I’ve got no problems. All I hope for is a good season and to get to my goals!