Lee Sin cosplays!

I love Lee Sin, I think he's my new favorite champion. He's an early game powerhouse, and with a couple of kills you can't be slowed down until late game. But then you drop off late anyway. I didn't think he would have any cosplay, but I found loads! Looks like I'm not the only one with a mancrush on our blind warrior.

I'm very impressed with all of these cosplays, Lee Sin is not an easy costume to make. Especially the one with the hood. I wish someone had made a ward for him to carry, considering they are his best friend. Anyway, be sure to comment with your appreciation for Lee Sin! Or hate on him, if he's too awesome for you.

Best costume NA! Or wherever that is.

New ranked system activated and ready to play!

For those of you who play ranked, the overhaul to the elo system is up and it looks awesome. Each bracket is divided into divisions, I myself got placed into Silver 4. Yes, I'm awful. But I'm actually going to play ranked now, so that should change soon.

ooooh doesn't it look new and shiny.

The new layout looks very nice, and since you can't drop down a bracket people aren't just going to stop at gold. It encourages you to push for higher, so get playing ranked people! I like the idea of collecting 100 points and then if you win the best of 3 you get to go up a division. It's a good idea on paper, but a little frustrating in reality.

I expect you all to try a few ranked games with the new system, and then post a comment with what you think! Have fun ladies and gentlemen!

Akali cosplays!

It's been a while since I put up some League of Legends cosplay, so let's have some beautiful Akali costumes shall we? And by beautiful costume, I mean the gorgeous women wearing them of course. Much better than the sweaty ass Garens I posted last time!

Everyone seems eager to dress up in her skins as opposed to original Akali, what's up with that? Regardless, they all look amazing. If you like League of Legends cosplay or even have your own to share, post a comment!

AP Yi Mid OP Guide For LoL (S3) - The Rise Of The Magical Sword

Master Yi is a fun LoL champion that offers two distinctive playing style, mid AP or ADC jungler. In this guide, I will focus on the AP side of Master Yi. AP Yi is a mid lane bully who does really well against a whole host of AP champions. There are only a handful of AP casters that I'm aware of can counter AP Yi well, there are Diana & Fizz.

AP Master Yi needs a strong CC based initiator in the team to help him shine during team fight. Despite AP YI dominance during laning phase, he will easily perish if the team does not have a good initiator as the game transitions into team fight phase. Initiators/Champions that work extremely well with AP Yi are Wukong, Malphite, Amumu, Garen (tank), Sona & Shen. Coincidentally, these initiators are also the type of champions you want use when going against AP Yi (OP healing ability). Your objective for playing AP Yi is to be the ultimate KSer (Kill Securer) in team fight with the help of your Highlander passive ability.

Primary Skill To Upgrade : Q (Alpha Strike ). Your bread and butter to harass your lane opponent and make him/her QQ. I prefer to finish this by level 9

Secondary Skill To Upgrade : W (Meditate) learn this after alpha strike to heal yourself when you are low in HP.

Tertiary skill : Q(Wuju Style). Ignore this skill until you have fully upgraded Q & W.

Ultimate : R (Highlander) Your initiating skill to chase and kill the enemy. Refresh all your abilities after each kill. Without highlander, you would not have your Quadrakill or Pentakill easily.

Summoner Spell : Flash & Ignite or Cleanse . Consider cleanse to replace ignite if you are going against enemy team with heavy CC heroes (Ie : Amumu, Sona, Twisted Fated & etc)

OR

AP Yi Pre Level 6 : Focus on farming creeps, harassing & zoning out your opponent with Alpha Strike. If your enemy is low in HP (<25%). You can flash in, alpha strike and ignite to get an easy kill. Play conservatively when you are up against AP casters that counter you (ie : Diana & Fizz).

AP Yi Post Level 6 : Again, focus on farming and harassing your lane opponent as much as you can. When your enemy AP caster is low in HP, it will deprive his/her ability to gank other lanes and also CS optimally. Try to purchase Deathfire Grasp as soon as possible because this item will give you a massive boost in AP damage.

AP Yi in teamfight : AP Yi should never be the one who initiates in team fight. You should be the last to go in and mob up the remaining enemies like a boss. Wait for your initiators and bruisers to initiate, wait patiently for the CC based enemy heroes to waste their CC skills on your bruisers, and then only you jump in with your Highlander (R), DFG & Alpha strike. If luck favours you and you get a kill off a low HP hero, your Alpha strike CD is refreshed and you get to Alpha Strike again and again until the your team gets an ace. Always remember to use your meditate when SHIT HITS THE FAN (Ie: not killing anyone with your alpha strike & you are getting surrounded). A single CC skill can disrupt your meditation and send your fragile AP Yi back to Noxus so you must use this skill wisely to avoid death.

Chasing low hp Ahri with highlander, and slain her with DFG, Alpha strike & Ignite combo

My favorite items for AP YI : Doran Ring (Early Game), Sorcerer Shoes, Deathfire Grasp, Rabadon DeathCap, Zhongya Hourglass & Void Staff (Sell Doran Ring). Get wards on the both sides of the bush after your first or second base to avoid jungle gank.

Alternative Items to consider

Vs Strong AP Team : Consider getting Abyssal Scepter instead of Zhongya Ring.

AP Yi Masteries :

Runes : 9 X Greater Mark Of Magic Penetration, Greater Seal of Mana regeneration, 9 x Greater Glyph of scaling cool down reduction, 3x Great Quint of magic damage

Season 3 ranked changes

My current ranked stats.

As you may know ladies and gentlemen, the ranked matchmaking system is about to undergo a huge overhaul. And yes, it's actually mostly for the better. I've been trying to find a reference to quote with the specific changes, but I can't seem to find one sadly. Essentially, elo is going out the window. Instead, a ladder system is being put into place. Each division will be divided into Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and Platinum. The key change here is that when you move up a bracket; then you cannot move back down.

I've played a lot of normals.

Lots of people I know are excited about this new change, as am I. However, since you can only move up or down within your bracket- instead of dropping down from Gold to Silver, for example; I think that might make it a little too easy for some bad players to climb to the higher ranks with a lot of luck. I mean, what if a horrible player gets carried by his teammates all the way up to platinum, and then becomes a liability for every team thereafter? Besides that little concern however, I think this is a welcome change to ranked that's been much needed for some time now.

Take a look at this handy image if you're still curious about the changes, it's very enlightening:

Middle mouse button or shift click if you can't read it.

I also like to think this new system will bring Riot one step closer to becoming a real E-sport. It will certainly make solo queue less frustrating. Hopefully people will stop raving on about elo hell too. What do you all think? Post a comment and let us know!

Champions that will make you better at LoL

Since all champions are specialized to do a particular job and have completely different skillsets, it stands to reason that mastering certain champs will improve your overall skill at the game exponentially more than others. Therefore to get better at LoL, you might want to prioritize learning to play some characters over others.

In truth, it's a good idea to play everyone at least a couple of times. Once you have played a character in several games you understand how they tick, what situations they can perform well in and their limitations. Perfecting your play on any champion will undoubtedly make you a better overall player. But if you're looking to bring up your game then try some of these guys, because they either have a high skill cap or require you to master mechanics that will help you whenever you play.

Bear in mind, I'm not saying you won't pick these skills up elsewhere or just naturally. I'm just suggesting characters that will utilize a wider variety of tactics or knowledge and generally help you in future matches.

Trueshot Barrage is a free kill at level 6 under the right conditions.

Ezreal- Getting good at Ezreal will accomplish a few things. First, learning to land his ultimate at any distance helps with any global ultimates. It's good to know when to use them, and when the enemy might send one your way. Secondly, Ezreal has two major skillshots that need to consistently be fired accurately to win a trade with any opponent. Skillshots are self explanatory. Many champions use them, so learn to land them or expect to lose. You will also learn positioning and how to escape. A good Ezreal knows when to teleport over a wall, and since it's on a fairly short cooldown it will teach you the limitations of flash when to use it. I've pulled off many effective retreats using flash because I've personally tested them using Ezreal in prior games. Positioning is vital to playing any champion and can dictate whether you get jumped by 4 players or manage to auto-attack them all to death without being touched. Lastly, kiting is a vital skill in any LoL players toolbox. As Ezreal you will mostly be more concerned about taking damage over dealing damage. Even the enemy support can strip chunks off your health if you let them get too close. Ultimately, Ezreal is just a brilliant champion for improving your game play. To master him you need to be doing everything right.

Crescendo is one of the best ults in the game for teamfights.

Sona- I can guess you think Sona has no place on this list. She does. Sona is an easy character to learn, and very easy to succeed on. This is exactly why she's the best support to learn how to support on. While playing Sona you can focus on warding and watching the map without being too concerned about your lane. Map observation is an important skill in every game. If you were watching mid when that Veigar burned his flash then you know he's an easy gank. When I play Sona, I usually ping an enemy coming in to gank other lanes before the lane even notices. There are several AOE stuns in the game, Sona has one of them. If you use them at the incorrect time, your team will not be able to seize the advantage. So learn to utilize her Crescendo when your team is in a position to deal lots of damage. She's also very squishy, one mistake and somebody will probably kill you. That will teach you not to facecheck or be stupid in general.

I love Shyvana.

Shyvana- Shyv has a brilliant clear speed. Which means you have more time for ganking and counterjungling. Both of which are vital skills. Learning to counter people in the jungle is useful for laning too. If you're at bottom lane and you know the enemy Udyr is currently doing blue, you can easily run up and disrupt him. Pulling off a successful lane gank is an even more useful tool- you need to know when to jump in and turn the fight. Shyvana also has the ability to pull off a successful tower dive from level 6 onwards. I see so many opportunities for people to dive and snatch some kills but they pass it up because they are afraid of dying. Check out this Shyvana guide, see if it helps.

Acceleration gate is like a free Shurelya's.

Jayce- I like practicing Jayce because you have to manage a wider set of abilities efficiently. Last hitting can be difficult for him early game if you choose not to waste mana on creeps. Using acceleration gate defensively and offensively can help your team immeasurably. You also need to know when it's the right time to switch into melee and start hammertime. Choosing to switch at the wrong opportunity might net you a kill but you will die in the process. Mastering Jayce means you need to know many nuances about ranged and melee champs, because your range drastically affects your playstyle. Jayce uses both, and therefore you need to know the limitations of melee and ranged. Finally, his knockback is useful for interrupting dangerous opponents. Using it on that Katarina instead of Ashe might save your entire team, so use it wisely.

I hope you understand the merit of learning these champions and the skills they require. If you can think of any other characters that will drastically help you get better at league in general, post a comment and let us know! And vice versa, if you think some of my suggestions are bad; let us know! Hopefully this article helps people, if it does I might post some more useful champions to learn. Good luck improving ladies and gentlemen, it's nice to see players actively looking to perform better every match.

Riot games are getting better by the day

After the brief server complications today I thought to myself; when was the last time Riot really fucked up? I honestly can't remember when they last took the servers down for more than a few hours. Yet a year or so ago it was common for the servers to be crippled for a day or more. Sometimes new champions would be so imbalanced on release I'd stop playing until they were fixed. In short, Riot has overcome no small amount of hurdles to reach the level they are at today.

As a League player since shortly after beta when some champions could get pentakills in their sleep, I have to say Riot games have really come a long way in a short time. It took Blizzard twice as long to get this awesome, and they still fuck up stuff on a regular basis. Although I do not appreciate everything Riot does, for example; Thresh has gotten to the stage where I hate playing against him.

Whilst I've always been quick to hate on Riot games, especially when it suits me- but I admire how much they've developed. I don't believe I've written an article yet about how much I truly love playing League of Legends, and how much time I've spent enjoying Riot's work. Thank you Riot, please continue your great job and don't fuck it up.

Please share a comment with us if you feel the same as me.