Gotta Catch ‘Em All

It’s been a very long time now that I’ve owned all the female League champs and since then I’ve been continuing to fill out my roster. For months now, I’m accruing IP and working out who I’ll purchase next. I purchased Renekton about a week ago in this way and I have really enjoyed playing him solo top. He is in fact my current favorite solo top champ. It rocks that I can still fall in love with a new champion!

Ideally I’d like to own *all* the League champions and I’m currently 35 short. Below are the champions I still have left to purchase.

  • Aatrox
  • Brand
  • Corki
  • Darius
  • Draven
  • Fizz
  • Galio
  • Garen
  • Jarvan IV
  • Karthus
  • Kassadin
  • Kennen
  • Kha’Zix
  • Malzahar
  • Mordekaiser
  • Nasus
  • Nocturne
  • Olaf
  • Rammus
  • Rumble
  • Shaco
  • Shen
  • Sion
  • Skarner
  • Talon
  • Trundle
  • Tryndamere
  • Twitch
  • Viktor
  • Volibear
  • Xin Zhao
  • Yasuo
  • Yorick
  • Zac
  • Zed
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Luv’in Taric in Season 4

So my new goal for 2014 is to buff up my Classic gameplay. I still love ARAM, and getting very close to posting 400 ARAM wins, but I’ve been avoiding leveling up my Classic gameplay for too long now. A new year, a new season…I figure it’s a good time to get started.

To begin, my plan is to tuck at least 100 Normal Classic wins under my belt before heading back into Ranked queues. I realize that may seem like far too few, but I did manage to snag a Silver V ranking before the end of Season 3. That being said, I’ve got to have a helluva lot more Summoner’s Rift experience if I want to consistently play Ranked well.

Despite the Season 4 changes, seems like no one ever calls bot support in Normal Classic. Luckily I love to play support! I am finding that Taric is a solid bot support, assuming a typical bottom lane on the opponent’s side, despite the Season 3 nerfs. His kit scales so nicely off armor, including his passive, and he has a heal and easy point-and-click stun. I’ve posted 3 or 4 wins in a row playing him.

On my to do list, however, is figuring out what I am supposed to do as a support when the team scatters to the jungle to farm in the typical ebb and flow of the game. I don’t find Taric, or really any traditional support, to be that good farming solo. I can ward but I’ve usually placed whatever wards I can by this time. Do I follow a teammate while they farm jungle camps? What is the general rule of thumb as a support during these game moments? Clue me in via comments but in the meantime, I’m going to see what I can find online.

Plat in ARAM

So I just nabbed my 301st ARAM win in a match that I felt certain we would lose. After a miserable start where we were over 20 kills behind, we slowly clawed our way back into contention and actually won in a relatively short 20-minute match. Got my shiny new platinum badge for wins in ARAM. WOOT!

ARAM Badges at 301 Wins 12.01.13

One More Win!

Despite incredibly awful lag of late…so much so that in several games I was just feeding inadvertently and so exiled myself to the platform…I have managed to rack up enough ARAM wins to be one away from 300! I don’t think I will get the plat badge until I have 301 wins but so, so close!

ARAM Badges at 299 Wins 12.01.13

24 Wins to Plat

So continuing to slowly make my way to Platinum in ARAM. While I did finally get through the provisional Ranked matches for Normal (yea!) and secured my silver frame for the duration of the upcoming season, I continue to be plagued by random lag spikes that makes me hesitant to jump into Ranked Normal matches. For example, in the ARAM match tonight that secured my 276th ARAM win, I was helping take down the nexus when I was stuck in a never ending “Attempting to Reconnect” moment that continued even after I got up and left and came back and required me to leave the game before it resolved. Not the sort of experience that makes me eager to jump into Ranked matches…

ARAM Badges 11.23.13

 

Preseason Splash Screen

I overall love the new preseason splash screen. Annie is to die for. With that smirk on her face, she almost walks out of the image. I think she is done to perfection. And the huge Blitz over her shoulder, a dull matte metallic color with his enormous fist dominating the background, is just so Blitz. My only nit is that I’m not as thrilled with Katarina. Something not quite right about her face, I think. I just don’t see Katarina. Regardless, I am enjoying it immensely every time I log in.

LoL Preseason Splash Screen 11.16.13

Deterrent? Me Thinks No

So logging in to an ARAM match today and lo and behold, seems that verbally abusive players now lose 16% more games, up 3% from 13%.

While I am glad Riot updated the fonts on the random blurbs as everyone summons, I generally feel that verbally abusive players aren’t gonna give a crap about this one.

Maybe that’s just me.

The Surprise

So suddenly I have a new plat ARAM badge, discovered only just now as I checked my ARAM stats post a satisfying win.

Is the towers cap different from the wins cap? Looks like it. Or will be wins go plat, too? Somehow I think not, as it typically turns at one over the cap, say at 201, not after 202.

But oooh….shiny new badge! Or is that medal?!?

RAM 202 Towers 202 Wins 09.30.13 - Platinum at 200 Towers