Twitch.tv (9th Blog Post)

       Shout-casting!

    
          As of today I will be shout-casting some of the games I play in my League of Legends matches, which can be found at http://www.twitch.tv/druidofthesun. I already have one video up where I played Jax top against Shen in a 5v5 match. If you want a direct link you can go here http://www.twitch.tv/druidofthesun/b/336990184 to check it out. It is 24:17 in length and its only 432p with not quite perfect audio quality (I'm going to try to get to 480p or maybe even 720p, as well as get rid of the little buzz in the background), but after watching it I thought it was only a slight problem. I could still watch the video without being annoyed, so I hope at least for now it will be tolerable.

Tribunal Update

Riot has changed and added some things to the Tribunal, the system that League of Legends uses to report and ban players ( Peer-to-Peer based system).

Screen-capped from leagueoflegends.com

This new feature to the Tribunal is part of a long-time ongoing "experiment" aimed at increasing voting accuracy (which Riot has been struggling with, and trying to get fixed since the Tribunal came out) and providing players with feedback about their voting record and effectiveness ( % accuracy to the final decision, comments, etc). After taking a look at some of the initial results, the Tribunal does seem to be more accurate, by about 10%, than when it started. Apparently Riot decided to listen to community feedback, since players have been complaining about this problem since the start as well, and realized there is room for improvement in the Tribunal Review System. The following bullet list is what Riot says they plan to do soon to increase the Tribunal's accuracy. I would summarize it, but some of it is vague and will likely be better understood after the changed come out.

• Adjusted “accuracy” and “streaks” in the Justice Review to be more precise.
• Player Justice Ratings have been reset to 1200. Recent Tribunal voters may have an initial Justice Rating.
• Fixed issues where some punished players would not receive notifications or Reform Cards. We’ve retroactively sent emails to these players.
• Innocent players were very rarely banned, while toxic players more often went unpunished. Because of this, we’ve adjusted the Tribunal algorithms to be less lenient.

3v3 Map Rework: Shadow Isle

The PBE has been updated and those in the Beta have been trying the changed 3v3 mode. All sorts of Shadow Isle and Harrowing content were crammed into this new update.

In-Game Screenshot

  New Champion
Elise, the Spider Queen, is now ready for testing on the PBE. After playing her a few times, she doesn't appear to be glitching in any way. However, her splash art and skin have not yet been implemented into the game.

Elise

Surrenderat20.net

Surrenderat20.net

Death Blossom Elise

Surrenderat20.net

Reminder: Everything on the PBE can, and often does, change before its released into the game.

Twisted Treeline Update
Of course the most exciting thing in this PBE patch is the massive update to the Twisted Treeline. The map has totally been remade, featuring a stunning new look (reminds me of Dota, dark shadowy terrain with unnecessarily detailed surroundings) and new mechanics. The top jungle has been completely removed and two shrines, each with passive bonuses when captured (90 second duration), have been placed on each side of the bottom jungle. The buffs generated by capturing these shrines are as follows.
One Shrine: Grants a team +4 gold/kill (minions and otherwise)
Two Shrines: Grants a team +10% Attack Damage and +10% Ability Power, in addition to +4 gold/kill.
Additionally, Ebonmaw (The dragon previously found in top jungle) has been replaced by Vilemaw ( an enormous spider that hangs from the wall, currently the biggest minion model in the game). The new creature is the only one you can find above top lane and its icon is the same as that of Baron. In addition to granting a team 194 gold per player, it also gives increased health and mana regen (similar to baron buff) as well as 20% CDR and 30% Attack Speed. Vilemaw has 5011 + 280 per player level +150 per minute health. By comparison, Baron has a much higher base health, 9876, but less bonus per minute (only +125) and no scaling based on champion level.

Season Two Championship: Taipei Assassins

The Taipei Assassins took the Season Two Championship Title last night with their 3 - 1 victory over Azubu Frost, as well as the Championship Cup (Pictured Below) and $1,000,000.

leagueoflegends.com

The crowd at the championship match was packed and lively all throughout the four game match. The cheers could be heard even over the announcers, and the fans gave a warm reception to the Taipei Assassins after their amazing victory. As they stood there holding up their new trophy, they stared into a whole arena of fans riled up at the thrilling event.

leagueoflegends.com

Game 1 1 - Azubu Frost vs Taipei Assassins - 0

Win	AZF	vs	TPA	Loss
Bans	Picks	Role	Picks	Bans
Jayce	Karthus	AP Mid	Anivia	Blitzcrank
Orianna	Ezreal	AD Carry	Vayne	Skarner
Kog'Maw	Sona	Support	Lulu	Jax
	Irelia	Top	Olaf
	Amumu	Jungle	Maokai

Azubu Frost started off strong, taking Olaf for first blood in top lane. However, their initial boost wore off quickly, as TPA quickly took a large kill lead. However Rapidstar picks up a crowd-gasping Quadra-kill in one of the games first team fights, bumping his 0 - 2 score to 4 - 2 in an instant. Karthus continued picking up multiple kills in each fight from then on, snowballing and carrying Azubu Frost to a first-game victory.

Game 2 1 - Azubu Frost vs Taipei Assassins - 1

Loss	AZF	vs	TPA	Win
Bans	Picks	Role	Picks	Bans
Nidalee	Anivia	AP Mid	Karthus	Blitzcrank
Kog'Maw	Ezreal	AD Carry	Caitlyn	Skarner
Orianna	Zyra	Support	Sona	Jayce
	Jax	Top	Shen
	Maokai	Jungle	Dr. Mundo

This game TPA gets first blood on Zyra. The early and mid game were pretty much secluded to heavy farming by both teams. Once team fights began,TPA now having Kathus instead this game, he once again snowballs and wins the game for his team. This puts the two teams at 1 - 1, and at this point it is Karthus - 2, Everyone Else - 0.

Game 3 1 - Azubu Frost vs Taipei Assassins - 2

Loss	AZF	vs	TPA	Win
Bans	Picks	Role	Picks	Bans
Jayce	Anivia	AP Mid	Orianna	Skarner
Nidalee	Ezreal	AD Carry	Vayne	Blitzcrank
Karthus	Leona	Support	Nunu	Sona
	Vladimir	Top	Jax
	Shen	Jungle	Dr. Mundo

 This game features no Karthus, as Azubu Frost bans him as their third ban pick. However, TPA had a sufficient back-up, Orianna, who devastated mid in both kills and cs. Once again the stronger mid AP Carry ends up on the winning side, in great part to their individual strength. This game ended with Azubu Frost actually surrendering after repeated lost team-fights causing both their nexus' towers to be destroyed, and TPA having just picked up a free Baron.

Game 4 1 - Azubu Frost vs Taipei Assassins - 3

	AZF	vs	TPA
Bans	Picks	Role	Picks	Bans
Nidalee	Lux	AP Mid	Orianna	Blitzcrank
Karthus	Graves	AD Carry	Ezreal	Skarner
Maokai	Lulu	Support	Nunu	Sona
	Jayce	Top	Shen
	Shyvana	Jungle	Dr. Mundo

Apparently Azubu Frost didn't learn from the previous game, as they did not ban Orianna and proceded to first pick Jayce, allowing the other team to once again pick Orianna. Toyz (TPA's AP mid) procceded to get first blood at 2:00, only making it easier for him to once again snowball and carry his team to an extremely large gold gap (around 16k by the end of the match). Not unlike the previous game, TPA wins by avoiding straight up team fighting, instead steadily increasing the gold gap via taking all the jungle while pressuring lanes. When they finally decided to push mid, they powered through it with Azubu Frost powerless to stop them, even with all their players on defense. After two landslide team-fights TPA scores an ace and finishes off the last remaining Tower and the Nexus, securing the Season Two Championship. Seen Below is TPA holding up their new trophy only minutes after winning the 4th game. TPA really came prepared for this match, and their determination payed off. Azubu Frost can still boast second best, as well as a nice $250,000 cash prize. Both teams played well and I hope we'll see them both in the Season 3 Championship Tournament!

leagueoflegends.com

Season 2 Championship Tommorow!

leagueoflegends.com

On their way to the Finals, Azubu Frost dominated every stage of the tournament. After going undefeated (3-0) in their first 3 matches, they went on to knock out North American champions (and defintely tournament favorites), Team SoloMid, 2 – 0 (only 2 games because of seeded 1st round). In the semi-finals, they faced Europe’s final remaining team, Counter Logic Gaming EU, for a rematch of the Azubu The Champions Summer finals. Azubu Frost emerged victorious again, 2 – 1 in the best 2 out of 3 (like all other matches besides the finals) match, moving on to face an opponent they’ve never played before, Taipei Assassins.

Kings of the Garena Premier League, the Taipei Assassins pulled out two upset victories. The first was over the Korean favorite Najin Sword, who went gone 3 – 0 in their first thee matches as well, but fell to the Taipei Assassins 2 – 0. Next, they faced European champions, Moscow Five, who have been nearly undefeated at live events throughout the season and were expected to make it to the finals. Moscow Five put on an impressive performance in game one, but Taipei Assassins (as they so often do) showed how amazing their late game is, defeating Moscow Five in the next two games and moving on to the World Finals.

With the Season 2 Championship Finals starting tommorow, one can only anticipate the sure to be a heated and amazing spectacle. Taipei Assasins have shown time and again just how powerful they can, and do, become late game. Azubu Frost might have won their games so far, but how will they match up with the excellent late game onslaught that the Taipei Assasins are sure to bring. Be sure to check http://clgaming.net/news/395-season-two-championship-playoffs so you dont miss out on tommow's action.

Season Two Championship: Day Two

leaguepedia.com

M5 BenQ vs Invictus Gaming

Moscow Five once again started out struggling, but took the lead with their successful team fights and put on an enthralling performance. Even when they were losing (sometimes significantly) they were able to control their team fights and earn comebacks. After Falling behind in both games, Moscow Five forced engagements across the map at multiple objectives. Despite heavy pressure on Darien in lane (and failed ganks), superior positioning in team fights allowed M5 BenQ to take back control in games one and two.

The cause of the matches' successes for M5 were Genja and GoZu Pepper. Picking the vulnerable but late-game powerhouse champion Kog’Maw in both matches, Genja lead their lane (due in large part to the aggression of GoZu Pepper). After Sona and Nunu bans in game one, GoZu Pepper ran support Zyra (an uncommon move to say the least) instead, locking down iG’s entire team with his ultimate and securing kills for the rest of his team.

NaJin Sword vs. Taipei Assassins

After just annihilating their Group B games, NaJin Sword seemed to come into their match full of confidence. That confidence didn't last for long as TPA showed exactly how they earned their seeded position. They dictated the first game of the match from beginning to end, starting off in style by picking up first blood before minions even spawned. Once the team fights started in that match,  TPA eliminated all hope of a comeback.

Even in the second game of the match, where NaJin Sword managed to take an early kill lead, TPA stacked gold generation items (A very effective strategy for Tournament length games) and stabilized the game. TPA's pull strategy with Blitzcrank and Skarner faced an unfavorable team comp in Sword's three strong initiators that almost wanted to get pulled in: Morgana, Jax, and Maokai. Taipei Assassins, however, still managed to make it happen. They pulled smart, and set up some great hooks over terrain that was hard for NaJin Sword to cross, allowing them to break up fights and waste Sword's strong initiations. Taipei Assassins picked up an impressive and well earned sweep over NaJin Sword.

Team Solo Mid vs. Azubu Frost

Without a doubt this game was scheduled to be the epicenter of Day Two's match-ups. Both of these teams have an incredible amount of support from the League community, and the fans couldn't wait to brag at the end of this showdown. The first game of this matchup was probably the most white-knuckle game of the tournament. TSM simply showed incredible tenacity, and proved hard to put down. Despite being at a significant disadvantage, Reginald on Karthus started Flash-initiating fights with Wall of Pain, and Dyrus started making plays in spite of early game setback. In the end, however, Azubu Frost proved just too reliable a team. Knowing they couldn’t stop Team SoloMid’s first Baron attempt, Frost traded the Baron for an inhibitor. This put TSM in an uncomfortable position, ultimately forcing them to pick a little bit of a disadvantageous fight before Baron buff expired. The 4 – 2 fight allowed Frost to clean up TSM’s base and ultimately win the game. The rather short game shocked some spectators, and TSM was eager to make up for it in the next match.

In the second match, TSM got off to a great aggressive start, this time taking a kill lead of their own. But once Azubu Frost hit their stride, they once again took the lead. CloudTemplar on Skarner seemed to be all over the map, dragging Team SoloMid members to their deaths every time his ultimate was ready. Frost closed the massive gold gap of the early game by repeatedly out-fighting TSM in team situations, a familiar story in this Season Two Championship. Frost's positioning was near-perfect in every fight, and after taking Baron, they quickly eliminated Team SoloMid from the tournament, closing the doors on any chance of a North American finals.

Tomorrow starts with the last quarter final match, CLG EU vs Team WE, followed by the semi-final matches to determine who will move on to the World Championship Finals. To watch these sure to be thrilling matches go to The Season Two Championship Live Stream Coverage hosted by League of Legends founders RIOT.

Season 2 Championship: Day One

This informational blog is about Day one of the Season II Championship.

leaguepedia.com

Yesterday, the first round of the League of Legends World Playoffs, eight teams faced off to move on to the quarter finals against the four seeded team (Team SoloMid, Moscow Five, Team WE, and Taipei Assassins).
Half of the teams advance today, every match will be a battle for tournament survival, there will be no second chances.

Group A

The first Group, group A, holds the following teams: Azubu Frost, Invictus Gaming, Counter Logic Gaming NA, and SK Gaming. The first game was an exciting back and forth between Azubu Frost and Invictus Gaming. Invictus definitely had the early lead over Frost and managed to hold onto it for the entire first half of the game. However, a disastrous Baron fight for them (Invictus) resulted in Frost pulling off a steal, giving them a huge advantage at not cost. This caused Frost to take the lead Late Game. By picking hard-scaling champions like Jax, Frost was able to last until their late-game strength kicked in and turned the match around.

The second match of the group featured SK Gaming facing off against CLG NA, who were each down one game after losses to Frost and iG respectively. Both teams went for global map presence, with SK picking up Shen while CLG NA ran three Teleport spells (A very noticeable but hard to get around choice) . After a sneaked Baron kill, SK Gaming attempted to "blitzkrieg" the CLG's mid lane. This opened a window of opportunity for Doublelift to split-push (with promote) while his team held the line. Suddenly, the base race was on and CLG was hit with surprise. Despite SK having the Baron buff in their favor, it became quickly apparent that CLG was in the lead as SK attempted to Recall and defend. A few quick teleports from CLG NA brought the game to a well earned finish.

Despite their impressive second game, neither CLG NA nor SK Gaming were able to advance past the group stage. Azubu Frost ended up getting TSM in the next round, while Invictus versus Moscow Five.

Group B

NaJin Sword, Counter Logic Gaming Europe, Saigon Jokers, and Dignitas made up the second group of the day, and the second round of games were just as fierce as the first. Saigon Jokers put on an impressive performance in their first match against NaJin Sword, but like the Frost vs. iG match, Sword managed to draw the game out until their superior late-game comp won them the match. Certainly something most players have seen before, but this time its in the World Championship. The rest of the group seemed to simply get crushed Sword as they rolled through Dignitas and CLG EU in quick games. Maknoon clearly earned the award for MVP of the day for his unbeatable performance in top lane.

Counter Logic Gaming Europe also advanced to the quarterfinals after defeating the Saigon Jokers. While the Jokers performed well in their match against NaJin Sword and had scored an "upset victory" over Dignitas, CLG EU was able to seize an advantage early on in their match. From there, they were able to snowball to victory, choosing to engage their opponents only when they had a huge advantage. NaJin Sword moves on to face Taipei Assassins tomorrow, while CLG EU will do battle with Team WE.

For those interested in the 12 PM PST Moscow Five vs. iG quarter finals, check out The League of Legends Tournament Page to watch all the matches streamed live.

Season 2: Week 45 Overview

This is an information blog post on this weeks prominent events.

• More Season 2 World Finals Tickets on sale - After adjusting the stage setup Riot was able to make a bit more room for the Season 2 World Championship. These Tickets are likely to sell out fast, as there are only a small amount to start with (Some 50 or so). Visit here if you're interested, but act fast. For those who don’t know, the Championship is being held at the USC Galen Center in Los Angeles on October 13th.
• Champion and Skin Sale - Another Champion/Skin Sale Combo is currently going on. You can pick up Katarina, Kog’Maw, and Graves, all for a lowered price of 487 RP. Sabretusk Sejuani, Demolisher Nunu, and Abyssal Nautilus skins are currently also the same price of 487 RP. If you would like to see the visuals on the above mentioned skins try visiting lolskinviewer.com or you could always do a Google image search.
• New Free Champion Rotation (Season 2: Week 45) - One of the last weeks of Season 2 has come around, and there is 10 Champions free to play once again this week.

Leagueoflegends.com

1. Karthus
2. Kayle
3. Malphite
4. Master Yi
5. Sion
6. Teemo
7. Xin Zhao
8. Galio
9. Urgot
10. Irelia

 

Expectations For Season III

This Informational Blog post is to inform the reader on the upcoming transition into Season III, and what we, the League of Legends Community, can expect from it.

Leagueoflegends.com (Main Logo)

 What can we expect from Season 3 (Upcoming sometime on the next couple months)?

• For starters, we can expect Ranked Elo Resets (and maybe even normal Elo resets), New Summoner Icon Borders colors (For corresponding ranking: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and the new Diamond Tier), and a free skin for those of Gold ranking of higher on any team.
• If Season 2 is any indication, we may also be in for new masteries, runes, items, Champ reworks, Impressive new Champions, new summoner spells, and a new twist on this ever changing game.
• Keep in mind that many of these changes won’t happen at the start of Season 3. The start of Season 3 will likely present us with some new gaming elements, but also give us a taste of what’s to come throughout the rest of the season.
• There has been some speculation that a new map will be added early in Season III. While I have not seen any proof or suggestion of this directly from “RIOT”, this would be a nice addition to the four maps already in place (earlier mentions of a new map have been made in the past, but none suggesting it would happen in Season III). Suggestions for a 3 Team Map (1v1v1 up to 5v5v5) have been made throughout the League Forums. On a similar note, players on the Forums have also shown desire for a map/mode with a team count of 5+, certainly something many players have thought about since the introduction of the 5v5 Summoner’s Rift map at the beginning of Season I. Both of these ideas, though certainly something to be considered, would possibly cause too much burden on the already high-capacity riot servers. Just how much however, has yet to be seen.

For anyone new to League of Legends visit http://na.leagueoflegends.com/learn to learn the basics of the game.
For those who would like to know the Lore behind the distinct elements in the game visit http://na.leagueoflegends.com/learn/lore