First Glance: League of Legends Patch 6.22

Following the end of 2016's ranked season, Riot has finally rolled out the latest update to League of Legends in the form of Patch 6.22, with the said version of the game being released in the Philippines a couple of days ago.

The purpose of this new patch is to introduce changes that will likely become staples to the game come 2017. These changes, as stated in the patch notes, affected the jungle, masteries, runes, assassins, wards and the build path of selected items.

As an avid LoL player, I was excited to try out this new patch so I visited the nearest computer rental shop (PC bang) as soon as I had the chance.

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After two days of playing, here are some of the things I noticed with Patch 6.22.

Disclaimer: Most of the observations below are made based on eye test and my feel of the game alone. They are, in no way, based on or backed up by concrete evidence or data.

1. Power Farmers Rule
I kicked off the Patch 6.22 experience with a Normal Blind Pick game. Being a jungler main, I picked my favorite champion, Xin Zhao, and scored a victory to go along with an 11-1-5 KDA.

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I was actually surprised with the outcome of the game because I thought we were behind for the most part. I had a little trouble doing my first clear now that the Gift of the Toadstool buff granted by smiting the Gromp is gone. Having said that, I was farming most of the game and decided to come to lanes after completing Bloodrazor.

The following match, I decided to go support to check out the changes in some support items.

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For this game, I think me and the rest of my teammates, save for our AD Carry, played decently. However, the opposing team's jungler, Master Yi, snowballed out of control and gave us quite a beating.

I do not remember that player ganking a lot so I thought a few lucky picks paired with some power farming turned that Yi into a beast.

The next game, I decided to go top with Dr. Mundo and won my lane. Again, there was a Master Yi on the other team that was left unchecked and to no surprise, we lost the game.

Just like in my Nautilus game, this player did not gank a lot but it felt like he was always stronger when he shows up, deleting people including my full tank Mundo with ease.

I was not ready to give up on Mundo just yet so when it was my turn to jungle, I picked him again and focused on farming just like I did with Xin Zhao. I only came to lanes to grab the kill on some low HP laner and it resulted into a victory.

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Looking at this small sample size, despite the changes in the respawn time of some jungle monsters, I think power farmers will thrive in this patch. The changes to Krug and Raptor camps seem to allow them to earn more gold and hit power spikes faster than before.

2. Plants Are An After Thought
Summoners are without a doubt still getting used to the newest member of the jungle - plants.

In my first two days of playing with this version of League of Legends, I saw a lot of champs being blown away by the Blast Cone to the wrong direction, Scryer's Bloom being used randomly and Honeyfruit being taken by laners instead of gardeners.

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Next year, I expect people to eventually understand the proper use of these plants, but at the moment, most players are simply denying them from the enemy team.

3. League of Tanks
Season 6 somehow favored top and jungle carries over meat shields with Kennen, Jayce, Rumble, Nidalee, Elise and Graves ousting the likes of Maokai, Gnar, Gragas and Reksai.

However, with the buffs and changes on some tank items, and the introduction of Fearless and Courage of the Colossus, expect these durable dudes (and dudettes like Illaoi and Rek'Sai) alongside their beefy brethren to return to the Rift.

I tried Fearless on Nautilus, Dr. Mundo and Malphite and they were tankier than ever. Pair that with Fresh Blood and/or Battle Trance and they are dealing more damage while receiving less.

With this in mind, I expect to encounter Leona and Sejuani users to pick up Courage of the Colossus and create similar havoc in the future.

And let us not forget that people who finished the 2016 season in Gold or higher are also excited to flaunt their Victorious Maokai skin so expect to see more of him because I did.

Victorious Maokai, fabulous AF.
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4. AD Carries Are Still Screwed
For the past two seasons, more and more summoners are getting better at ganking bot lane and diving AD carries and their supports under turret. If Patch 6.22 is any indication, things are not going to get any better for all the marksmen out there.

Aside from the buffs to tanks, remember that assassins like Talon, Katarina, Leblanc and Fizz received changes in their kit so more and more people will try them out. This is bad news for ADCs since these champs can take them out instantly.

In my handful of games, the AD carries were non-factors because they were either not dealing enough damage to the tanks coming straight at them or they were getting deleted instantly by Talon or Katarina.

Despite the introduction of lethality, I think ADCs will struggle in the current patch since they will have a hard time dealing not only with tanks but assassins as well. Further, I expect them to be outclassed by top and mid laners, and some junglers to a certain extent, in terms of carrying.

5. Control Ward Frenzy
Riot was really hyping up the changes to stealth champions leading up to the release of Patch 6.22 so a good number of summoners, including myself, were worried about them and the threat they pose. I think this somehow encouraged more players to give importance to vision.

During my matches, more players were buying Control Wards, which is a good thing in my opinion. Too bad it did not reveal stealth champions the way Stealth Wards did, but hey, vision is vision.

Vision Ward R.I.P. 2009-2016
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Although Control Wards can only mess with the stealth abilities of three champions, namely Evelynn, Rengar and Twitch, it is nice to know that a growing number of players are finally realizing that vision is important in League of Legends. I hope this will be a sign of improved gameplay and experience throughout all the divisions, from Bronze up to Challenger.

League of Legends: 5 Things I Did (Which I Did Not Use To Do) To Escape Gold

Since 2013, I have been playing this rage-inducing, mind-numbing and stressful video game called League of Legends because I am a masochist and I like some competition every now and then.

Even though I have been roaming around Summoner's Rift for almost almost three years now, I only started playing ranked games during season 4. And during my first two seasons of ranked play, I had the good fortune of finishing in Gold III every time.

However, I reached a new milestone in the game as I finally reached the next level yesterday, 23 August 2016: PLATINUM, BAY-BEE!

Now, I know that being Platinum V is not that big of a deal nowadays. With the creation of the Master Tier, some argue that the quality of play in Diamond Elo and below is not as good as it used to, and that Plat is the new Gold.

Still, I am proud of my accomplishment. After all, there are still thousands of players fighting their way, or in some cases, getting their accounts boosted, to where I am.

Now, some of you are probably thinking, "Meh, he is probably not that good.",  and you are right. I have seen people in lower elo, except for Bronze, that are mechanically superior than me.

So how did I escape gold?

1. I Stopped Flaming

This has been one my biggest problems when playing ranked games. Whenever a teammate feeds or makes mistakes, I cannot help but insult them because I am very passionate about winning. Despite the chat bans and constant reminders on the loading screen that flaming contributes to losses, I continued to bad-mouth people who are not performing well simply because I felt that I am giving my best while they are doing the exact opposite.

However, when I stopped chatting and started to focus on my game instead, I noticed that I started winning more. In fact, during my last few games to Plat, I usually had a teammate who fed. Still, I managed to win by simply not talking to them and focusing on how I can help us succeed.

You see, if you are constantly going to look over your shoulder and call out people for playing badly, not only are you taking your focus off the game, you are also causing your allies to do the same, and this will only make them play worse than they already are. In addition, flaming will also result into uncooperative allies, which is very problematic for a team game like LoL.

Besides, at the end of the day, you will have no control over what the other player does, so why bother wasting your time talking shit about them when you can win the game with your own efforts, right?

2. I Cared A Little Less

Do not get me wrong about this one. I am very passionate about winning. However, in the past, I think I cared way too much and that is why I flame people when they are feeding.

Sure, I still get upset when I lose. But I am not anymore as rage-y as I used to. I do not harass my teammates whenever they make a bone-headed play and I do not go thermonuclear after every loss.

Nowadays, I started taking things one game at a time. I give my 100% every match and hope for the best. If I end up victorious, I celebrate a little and contemplate whether I should quit while I am ahead or try my luck and see if can notch another win. If I lose, I briefly ponder on what I could have done to change the outcome of the game and move on. By doing so, I took the pressure of winning off my back and enjoyed League for the chaotic game that it is.

In short, I am not as emotionally invested in LoL unlike before.

3. I Kept My Champion Pool Small

Thanks to the LCS, LCK and other professional League of Legends... uhm... leagues, I became fascinated with the idea of having a huge champion pool. After all, if you can play a lot of champions, you will be able to adjust against any kind of pick and will be able to utilize different play styles.

However, I realized that expanding my champion pool required a lot of practice. And for someone like me who works on an average 10 hours a day, time is one of the many luxuries I cannot afford.

So instead of wasting my time mastering almost 20 champions, I decided to build a roster of five easy-to-use and flexible champions in the form of Xin Zhao, Dr. Mundo, Jarvan IV, Maokai and Nautilus.

True enough, my five-man champion pool paid off and my winning percentage is at 66.7% with Xin and Mundo leading the charge at 71.4% and 85.7% respectively.

You see, a smaller champion pool allows you to play a selected number of champions that you are really good at. It does not matter if they are out of the meta or have received nerfs recently. As long as you understand their strengths and weaknesses, as well as your win conditions, they will help you get a W.

4. I Flexed Pick... A Lot

In the past seasons, I did not give my picks much thought. I simply picked what I liked to play (I am looking at you Xin).

This season, however, I took advantage of the times when I got to pick first or second to confuse the enemy team. With most of my champions being viable at top, jungle and support (except for Xin), I can force the other players to counter my pick allowing my teammates to counter their pick in the process.

For example, if I get to pick first, I usually select Mundo as my jungler. Since he is a popular pick in the top lane, the opposing top laner would most likely pick a counter to him like Shyvana. A Mundo pick even forces opposing AD carries to pick Vayne sometimes. This gives my team the chance to counterpick two roles while I farm in the jungle where I will not be forced to deal with the champs that counter mine.

5. I Camped A Lot

As a jungler, I used to be pressured to camp every lane because I thought I would have a better chance of winning if all of my laners are fed.

While this is true, it is easier said than done. After all, walking to a different lane takes time. Time that would have been better spent farming and earning more experience. And should your gank fail, do not be surprised to find the enemy jungler ahead not only in CS but in level as well.

This season, whenever I forced a flash out of a champion after ganking, I make it a point to gank that lane again and make return trips while that champ's flash is on cooldown. This allows me and one of my teammates to get fed in the process.

I also make it a point to camp champions without escape abilities in their kit. AD Carry Ashe? Camped. Top Lane Nasus? Camped. Mid Lane Syndra? Camped.

And that is how I escaped gold.