Looking for some nice art?

My friend has just made an Etsy account to see if anyone is interested in purchasing some of his prints for their living room or home!

So be sure to take a look, I think a couple of them are really worth the money!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/Abstractzz

League of Legends Wallpapers

I haven't posted here in a while, but I've recently collected a few very nice League wallpapers. If you like to rotate your background or just like pretty pictures in general, here's a few awesome desktop images for all you League of Legends addicts. Myself included. I think the Miss Fortune wallpaper is especially well done.

I don't see Brand played a lot at the moment, he's still awesome.

I didn't bother taking the time to count them all, but I'm guessing one or two might be missing.

I can't tell if this one has more champions than the last League wallpaper, but it seems to.

I'm sure I've posted this one before.

Doesn't she look pretty. Her breasts are actually normal size for once too.

Questions and Answers: Vi Matchups

Every now and again I browse the Guides and New players section on the League of Legends forums. If I find a question that I am suited to answer fairly well, I try to help out the poster by giving my 2 cents. This is a transcript of the original post and my reply.

Question: I main Vi, and sometimes going top is the only or best option. But there's champs I struggle against such as.

Renekton, everyone's favorite gator, I usually beat him Pre 6, after 6 I'm screwed unless I have a jungler with lots of cc. I usually start Cloth, 4 hp pots and 1 mana pot
Darius, can't beat this guy 1v1 pre 6, after 6 can't out dunk him lol I always start red elixir against him.
Singed, I know not to chase, but dat fling. It hurts :s I always start 5 hp pots, 3 wards, 1 mana pot.
Wukong. Went against him once. I never want it to happen again, not sure if it was cause he was smart, (engaging while my passive was down etc.) I started cloth 5

Tips for these matchups are very appreciated

Answer: Renek is just a monster and you won't be able to beat a good one consistently. If you're sure you can outplay and kill him pre-6, you're going to need that kill early on just to survive later. I'd just try to mitigate the damage in this lane by hunkering down and farming, and try to keep Renekton in the lane as long as possible. If you can sneak off for a gank when you have an ulti do it. But always keep an eye on Renekton, because he can ruin the **** out of other lanes if you let him run unchecked.

Darius is super scary for any laner because instead of punishing your mistakes by making you lose CS or being outtraded, you are rewarded with a free trip back to base. My favored tactic to beat Darius is really simple. Start with cloth armor and 5 pots, and farm defensively until i can afford a Giants belt and chainmail. Once you have these two it's virtually impossible for him to beat you in a trade, and if you can buy some more health pots you can outsustain him and eventually land a kill.

This isn't a perfect strategy for Darius, because if you play Vi masterfully I'm pretty sure you can kill him a couple of times early and build a vamp scepter instead. I just prefer to play it safe, because he's still a monster even with the ult nerf. Just know that you don't have to lose to Darius in the lane, you can just make it a stalemate.

Singed is just gay. I honestly try as hard as I can to get a solid trade on him between levels 1-10, because if you don't stop him before then he usually becomes exponentially harder to kill and you'll just end up dying. If you can land your full combo and avoid a good amount of poison you should win.

Wukong is potentially the worst of all match ups. If he's poking you and escaping every time you can try 2 things: Whack down a vision ward to catch him in invisibility, or charge your Q as soon as he uses his fake so you can slap him when he becomes visible. This is another lane that you can win by landing a couple of good combos early. If you wait too long, Wukong will happily harass you down all day.

The only other advice I can give you for Vi at top is spam the bushes to charge your Q, they will predict you're going to charge at them but they will find it much harder to dodge you. If you can't win your lane just freeze it and farm, and if the opponent decides to pull it and zone you out just gank mid or counterjungle.

I play a hell of a lot of Vi but I prefer her jungle. She's a solid choice for top but without a blue it can be frustrating to keep powerhousing the lane. Hopefully this advice provided you with a few ideas and helps a bit, good luck!

If you have any input or think you have better advice, post a comment and let us know!

So ARAM is finally something you can queue for, Howling Abyss!

I've been playing ARAM's whenever I was sick of normal matches for at least a year now. After my short break from LoL I'm happy to come back and see that All Random All Middle is an actual game mode. Riot even gave it a little backstory and a name; Howling Abyss. It's a great way to blow off some steam, and can still be incredibly fun even if you lose.

Ooh doesn't it look pretty.

Having fun whilst losing is something that is hard to achieve in the MOBA genre, which is why Riot decided to cut out some of the harsher penalties that initially came from DotA. That's why ARAM is so refreshing. You don't have to obsess over team composition, which can frequently tear apart people in champion select. You can get a team that is too good to lose, or you can get crushed so hard you can't leave the tower for the entire game. Most of the time it's somewhere in the middle. Regardless, it's out of your hands so you don't have to rage or worry about it.

Despite this, all random can become frustrating if you spam it too much. When you get an awful team multiple times in a row, it's not fun at all. Riot were on the ball making ARAM a match that you can queue for. The Matchmaking takes mere seconds to pop, you never have to wait long.

I got Orianna today, which was lucky. She's lethal on ARAM.

ARAM has become so popular, some individuals have even started to create accounts purely to get the best champion pool to win matches. If you fill your selection with champions like Mundo, Nidalee, and Ziggs; you will always be able to pick up a bunch of kills before you die. I think making an entirely new account just to win ARAM is a little pathetic, but if you spend most of your time playing them then it's probably a good idea.

Now we have Dominion and Howling Abyss to play! So Where's Magma Chamber?

The differences between DotA 2 and LoL

Which is better? Defence of the Ancients 2 or League of Legends? This debate is one I've seen countless times, and it's a complete waste of time. Once in a while someone who isn't out to pick an argument points out that the best MOBA game is the one that you enjoy the most. No truer words have ever been spoken. Preference dictates to you and your friends which game is better.

I think the DotA 2 pregame screen is much better.

DotA is unquestionably harder to play than LoL, for numerous reasons. However, LoL does have many qualities that require a good amount of gamer skill and experience to succeed. At high levels of meta play, both titles are unique and challenging. While both games take place on the similar maps with the same goal and route to get there, with some experience you will see they are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

That's not to say this UI isn't aesthetic and pretty.

If you're trying to decide which game is flat out better, you're in the wrong place. This article will outline how both DotA and LoL aren't the same game. If you're curious to find out exactly what separates these two addictive MOBA titles, you're in the right place. People who want to know which game would suit them better, take a look at this list and see if it narrows your choice down.

Differences between DotA 2 and League of Legends

- Runes and Masteries. On LoL, you can customize your champion before the game even starts. With runes and masteries, you can make characters tankier, faster, or hit harder. On DotA, you cannot do anything to adjust your champion before the match begins.
- Passives. LoL champions essentially have 5 abilities. 4 spells to use, and one passive. Most characters on DotA only have 4 abilities, so if they have a passive it will take up a slot.
- Attack animations and last hits. DotA is much harder to last hit. Not only do you have a slow animation to hit minions, but you also have to deny your own creeps. Put it this way: I was getting 5-6 minions every wave on LoL, but when I started DotA, I was proud to get 1-2 last hits each wave.
- Length of the laning phase. In my experience, LoL has a short early game. It's common for somebody to leave their lane at level 3-5. DotA's laning phase extends beyond the 20 minute mark in most matches, because the items are more expensive.
- Active items. DotA has countless items that you can use in combat. Every character you play will use at least one active item. LoL only has a couple of items you can use, such as Gunblade or Ghostblade.
- Summoner spells. There aren't any summoner spells on DotA, which is actually kinda cool. You don't have to worry about people flashing away when you gank them, or igniting you in a close 1v1.
- Brutal Punishments. If you die on DotA, you lose gold. There's no recall to teleport back to base. On LoL, most of the harsh punishments have been removed for a more fun experience. Personally, I like the vindictive loss of gold when you die, and having to buy teleport scrolls to get around.
- Ability Power. When playing a caster champion on LoL, ability power is vital to increasing your damage output. DotA doesn't have ability power. There's nothing to increase the damage of your spells. The closest thing is refresher orb, which resets all of your cooldowns.
- Jungling. In the current meta on LoL, a jungler is necessary. You will rarely play a match without someone in the jungle, because it's a very important role. DotA doesn't require a jungler. Most of the time, you will have 2 people in both of the sidelanes, and it doesn't ruin the match.
- Character availability. When you create an account on LoL, you can only play several select champions until you earn the points to buy more. Playing DotA immediately gives you access to every hero, without exceptions.
- Minimap placement. On LoL, the minimap is on the right side and out of the way. DotA has it on the left, which is bad placement. Whenever you're playing on the radiant team, moving your mouse to the bottom left to escape in a dangerous situation can lead to a missclick on the map, sending you running straight back towards your enemies resulting in death.
- Terrain. There are small differences to the maps, LoL has bushy areas that make inhabitants invisible to the outside eye. DotA has 'juke' points and secret passages between the trees to escape.
- Community. As a general rule, the community of DotA 2 is more elitist. However, the LoL crowd is far more ruthless and spiteful. Both sides have their ups and downs. I can't say which one is better, that's for you to decide. Also, DotA has voice chat ingame.

I'm not entirely sure I've managed to list everything. If you have something to add, please comment! Remember, I am trying not to be biased against either League of Legends or Defence of the Ancients. Sorry if I leaned towards one.

How long until the MOBA market dies?

Ever since DotA was initially released as a mere custom map for Warcraft 3, a new era for RTS games was born. Aptly named MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), this new genre has exploded in popularity in the last couple of years.

I enjoy playing League of Legends and DotA 2. In the past, I've even put a lot of hours into Heroes of Newerth whilst it was in beta. Because the MOBA community numbers in the millions, lots of game developers are trying to seize a piece of the cake.

In fact, there are so many of these games in production, that within the next year the market will be flooded and diversified to the point of ruin, just like the MMORPG genre. People say you can't have too much of a good thing. Take one look at the MMO market and say that again. Sure, there's a lot to choose from; but the premise behind Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games is to play online in with a huge playerbase. In fact, the term massive is getting more redundant by the day. Why? Because with every shit developer in the world looking for some easy money, new MMORPG games come out weekly. With each new release, a chunk of the people who play MMO games peel off to play it. Eventually, there will be so many games that when you finally find one you enjoy- you will be annoyed to discover that there are only 10 other players.

The reason I'm ranting about the MMORPG market is because this is happening to the MOBA market. Slowly but surely the genre is being overpopulated with bad titles. There's a Lord of the Rings MOBA, even Marvel and Blizzard are making their own versions for a slice of profit. And that's what it comes down to. The gaming industry is happy to kill off a brilliant genre of game for a little bit of money.

You can argue that more battle arena games are better and you would be partly right. It's like the arms race. More competition means developers have to step up your game and beat the other companies to the next level of content. However, that's not what will happen. Instead, all you will see is clones of LoL and DotA with copyrighted characters from another franchise. Instead of trying to innovate the MOBA genre, companies will simply fall into complacency and copy the others.

It's happened since the beginning of the gaming industry, someone makes a popular game that breaks ground and pushes the industry to new heights. For the next year, every major developer tries to copy them on the simple principle: 'If they can make money from it so can we!'. One step forward, two steps back. Up until recently, this shameless copycat behavior can be seen as nothing but an annoying tribute to some of the greatest gaming experiences ever produced.  However, with gaming becoming deeply tethered to the internet in the last few years, reproducing the same game with a different cover is damaging the online community and the industry. The worst part is that ultimately, there's nothing anyone can do about it.

I understand my article may make the issue seem more serious than it is. It's not killing the gaming industry, you will still be able to play your favorite MOBA games and enjoy them with your friends. They will still be fun, and you will still have people to play with. But in a few years when you're waiting for 30 minutes in a queue to play one match, how long will it take for you to find another genre and drop MOBA's altogether?

I'm sure this is a topic lots of people have an opinion on. If you have any input leave a comment and let us know!

Zac is pretty awesome

After barely playing LoL over last couple of weeks, I really enjoyed coming back to play Zac. He's not half bad for a flubber on steroids. I didn't expect him to be an ability power champion, I assumed he'd be AD.

Now I've only played a couple of matches on him, but I already feel like he's better at top lane instead of the jungle. He scales well throughout the game, although his potency drops a little once the laning phase ends. If you can dominate top, it's really easy to pressure other lanes with his catapult. Once you get your ultimate, you can put an end to any team skirmishes very quickly.

Zac's abilities cost a fair percentage of his current health, which can be restored by picking up pieces of goo that peel off him. This is a great mechanic, because it restores you based off the percentage of your maximum HP. When you're on low health you can sustain yourself fairly well by landing abilities and grabbing blobs of yourself.

So far I've only built Zac with items to keep myself alive while boosting damage, such as Rylai's and Abyssal scepter. If you can pick up an early Warmog's he becomes a great diver. However, I'm quite eager to see someone build him straight up AP. A glass cannon build on him could be very scary, but you'd be melted in a teamfight.

I've seen a few calls of OP in matches and on the forums, but I think he's quite balanced. His passive that brings him back to life is annoying to deal with, but with a couple of people that slime dies instantly. It's also got a very long cooldown.

I think Zac is a good addition to any team at low to medium elo. At high levels of play I don't think he'd be that useful with anything but a solid tank build. Once everywhere on the map gets warded, he can't get into a good location to land a slingshot. Let's just hope Lissandra is just as fun.

Girls Generation Ahri!

This skin has been floating around the LoL forums for quite some time now. Every Ahri player and his dog are out showing support for this amazing skin. It's not even the kind of skin I'd like, but I'll buy it just because it looks so amazing.

Adorable. A fine example of how sex sells.

If you like the look of Girls Generation Ahri, go to the forums and give it an upvote and a comment to increase the chances of Riot making it. It really does look nice, I'll buy it just because it looks unique. It's a brilliant concept, awesome design, and the support in the threads proves it.

It looks amazing ingame too!

Come on Riot, the artist has practically done all the work for you. You guys can do this, just like Pool Party Ziggs! Girls Generation shouldn't just be an Ahri skin, I want to see one for Caitlyn, Vi, Soraka, even the male champions!

League of Legends comics, again.

It's been a while since I posted some of these. LoL comics get better as time goes by. If you want to view some of the other comics I've posted over the years, check this out. Everyone loves League comics, including me. Enjoy!

Oh Teemo. That face.

I salute anyone who tried this.

Dear god, I want this champion. He needs a few nerfs though!

This is less common now, but honor whores are everywhere.

Every time. Every damn time.

Who honors people anyway?

Oh plagiarism, you so shameless.

So many people do this, it's the very reason I don't harass bad players.

I've won games with this very method. Play Singed. Laugh at other team. Win.

I hate it when people ignore the new pings, they are useful when your team isn't retarded.

All the champions 2.0

I found this on my searches among the internet. It's amazing how somebody manages to do all this! I posted another image with all the champions a while back, be sure to take a look at it too.

I can't seem to find the source for this image, if anyone knows and wants to comment so I can give them credit, be sure to!

See if you can find your favorite champion!

I''m having less fun on League lately

After progressing to gold and then finding out that winning four games and losing one sets me back down to zero points, I'm taking a break. I really enjoy League of Legends when I know I can slowly climb up the ranks, but I don't have the time to make it out of gold 5 if I'm only going to earn 5 LP for a win and lose 20 LP when I get a bad team or don't play well. It would take weeks of effort to move up through this.

At heart, I believe I can reach platinum. Everyone says that and gets ridiculed for it. I don't mind being laughed at, I watch streams; my own replays, read guides, and am always looking to up my game. I know I could reach that level but I just don't have the time especially when it isn't enjoyable to battle it through division 5 hell. With it being so hard to even make it up to my series, I've decided to take a break and play some other games. That way I can actually enjoy myself, and maybe get some perspective on improving my League play even more.

If you actually enjoy reading my content or feel the same, take a look at my RPG blog. I post updates more frequently there, and you might find a good game to play in the process! For all of you ranked players in the same position as me,  good luck climbing the rosters!
 

The new League system heavily favours luck.

After playing a good 500 ranked matches with the new system, I can only draw one conclusion. The new divisions and tiers are impossible to climb without a fair degree of luck. No, it's not Riot's fault. With the established meta and guides and videos everywhere telling you how to play; it's hard to be outright bad at LoL these days. Sure, there's still plenty of awful players; but compared to a year or two ago everyone has stepped up their game immensely. With the playerbase being marginally better than it used to be, it's much harder to carry a game successfully.

So with everyone playing their roles in at least a half decent capacity, it's much harder to stomp your way up the solo queue ranks. You have to rely on your team being at least half competent, at any rate. For example, yesterday I went 12-3 on Jax at top in 25 minutes. Game over, right? However, we had a Corki and a Thresh who both kept getting caught outside of our base. We never once had a 5v5, because before the fight started these two would get themselves killed. I tried to ward for them, I asked them to play safe- but all I got was insults in return. You can't win them all.

The new divisions place a large reliance on luck to move up for all but the best of players. This isn't Riot's fault. A year ago someone on your team could feed the enemy team 10 kills in the lane and you could kill your opponent in a different lane just as much. However, since everyone is better at the game chances are while you are stuck playing against someone with equal skill, the rest of your teammates are dying repeatedly.

Quite simply, even if you play your best and perform well early game in every single match- it still boils down to your team in the end. That's where the luck comes in. You can't win a teamfight unless your allies do their jobs properly. You can only help influence your team in the right direction. Ultimately, if you want to raise your rating- just keep playing as many games as you can and luck will get you there eventually. So, good luck folks!

Quinn and Valor

Her helmet looks pretty gay.

Quinn hasn't been out for long but it seems she's not a typical attack damage carry. In fact, all the research I've done indicates she would perform better at top or mid as a counterpick. Her short range makes it hard for her to beat a fair few carries at bottom lane. Don't get me wrong, if you know how to play her you can succeed anywhere on Quinn, she's not a bad champion. She's the second character on LoL to have a blind, following in the footsteps of Teemo.

There are already several ways to play Quinn, she works well as an AD caster mid, or a bruiser top. With the incredible speeds she can achieve with her ultimate she can gank other lanes with ease. I've personally been taking her top most games, because she can deal with almost every common top laner without too much trouble. She can bring a fair amount of utilitiy to mid and late game team fights, however she's very squishy and her ultimate is on a very long cooldown.

Regardless, Quinn is a fantastic champion. Expect to see her incorporated into the meta in the next few months. Try her in different lanes, see which one you prefer. Also, if you have any additional information on how to play her- let us know with a comment!

It's taken awhile but I've hit gold.

When I first got placed in ranked I was in Silver 3. After a little work I managed to work my way up to Silver 2. Sadly after that I was knocked back down to 5 by a long losing streak. Sometimes it is impossible to get out of a losing streak and you just have to persevere through it. There's a reason I haven't been posting much, and that's because I wanted to at least get gold for a little credibility.

I'm a little proud of myself.

Being in Silver 5 for an extended period of time has definitely made me a better player. You have to carry pretty much every single game to get out of there. I found that if I didn't take a leading role such as top or mid, we lost almost every time. For those of you wanting to get out of division 5, my best advice is to be patient and work your way out of there slowly. Make sure you play your best champions, and tell your team what to do if you have to. If you have a choice between an inhibitor and baron, take the inhibitor because then you can take baron easily. Don't get frustrated, you will lose more if you do.

Once I got back up to Silver 4, I climbed my way up to 1st division in a few days. A large factor in that was luck, but I managed to win a lot of the games for my team by playing hyper carries such as Jax and Diana. Finally, yesterday I undertook 3 series in the space of 10 hours. I was determined to get gold, and after a large amount of matches I made it. Now I need Platinum, yay. Good luck to everyone else trying to climb up the ranks!

Vi hints and tips

Vi is one of my favorite champions, even after the nerf she received. She's a very potent pick in many situations. I know it's an awful pun, but Vi is a very viable jungle at the moment. She can hold her own in top lane, but personally I think she is more suited to jungling. As a bruiser champion, she is able to initiate effectively and throw a veritable wrench in the opposing teams plans.

Vi can rape towers with her E.

Ultimately Vi is a rather easy champion to pick up. There is a degree of finesse to mastering her, which mostly lies around positioning your abilities correctly. After playing many ranked games with her and retaining a good ratio of wins and scores, I believe I can provide a guide with enough information to help other players master our punch happy friend. So take a look at this guide, it might help you improve on Vi. Bear in mind, I prefer to play her jungle so the advice will be centered around that.

Vi stands in dead Karthus and doesn't afraid of anything.

Vi: hints and tips
- When starting the game in the jungle, kill Wolves or Wraiths and proceed to take the nearest buff smiteless (you don't need a huge leash, just a reasonable one). Then head over to the other buff and smite it. You will end up at level 3 at the earliest possible stage which allows you to perform a potent gank with all of your abilities.
- Vi has a fantastic clear speed, even post nerf. Take every good gank opportunity, you should be able to keep up.
- When laning instead of jungling, you won't have a blue buff or a Spirit Stone. Therefore, manage your mana efficiently or purchase something like a Frozen Heart for more sustain.
- Lifesteal is good on Vi, but it's not always necessary. I prefer Blade of the Ruined King over Bloodthirster, but it's down to preference.
-  You can use your Vault Breaker to dash over a lot of the terrain walls. It's possible to make it over a lot of them without fully charging it. Practice getting over walls when you have the chance, it could save your life.
- Vi's passive may seem a little weak at first, but Blast Shield is actually incredibly useful. It allows you to win early trades, tank minion waves, and even return to a fight on low health and survive. Keep an eye on the cooldown, and use it to your advantage. With a few health items it scales well into late game.
- Vi is really slow, so plan accordingly. Try ganking lanes from the optimal angle at the right time. Sometimes it's a good idea to get sight wards so you can enter a lane without being noticed.
- Denting Blows (W) is a great steroid for taking down any target. Getting a little attack speed can compliment this.
- Excessive Force (E) has a huge area of effect. It can clear creep waves and camps with ease. It's also lethal for taking down champions. Try to position yourself well in a team fight because the splash damage can and will kill champions.
- Assault and Battery (R) is Vi's game changer. Using this ability correctly is vital. Most of the time you will want to use it to tunnel a dangerous threat in a team fight, such as the enemy carries. However, it can also be used defensively to peel for your team. Only experience will teach you how to use it best.
- Always remember that your excessive force should be hitting multiple targets. 
- When typically ganking a lane, you want to come in from behind your opponent. Either land a Q to knock your opponent back, or use it to close the distance for an ultimate. If you manage to successfully get on your enemy, it should guarantee a flash or a kill. Vi is amazing at ganking even without her ult, so don't be afraid to try before 6.
- Vi is not really a main tank. She can perform the role but she's more of an initiating bruiser. Bear this in mind in champion select, because she can't take the frontline alone.
- Manamune is actually a viable purchase on Vi if she's laning. I still prefer her in the jungle though.
- Don't underestimate Vi's knockback. I've turned many fights on low health with a good knockback followed with Blast Shield and Excessive Force.
- Remember your role in a team fight. Tunneling a single target won't always be the best thing to do. Always remember to peel when you can.
- Vi's E resets her auto attack, so press it just after hitting an enemy. It's also amazing for pushing towers. Don't be afraid to split push.

Ezreal hints and tips

As of late Ezreal has become uncommon to see in a match. Even more so after the small movement speed nerf he received. Ez is not a bad champion. But he is a situational one. To be the most effective on our prodigal explorer, it's vital to pick up a few early game kills and secure momentum to steamroll the mid game. There's a common misconception to Ezreal, that his late game is bad. That is wildly incorrect. He is only useless at the end of a game when either the enemy team has too much health or if the enemy carry out scales him. For example: you can't expect an Ezreal to compete with AD carries like Vayne, Kog, or Tristana unless he gets a good lead.

Ezreal isn't so great on the 3v3 map.

Fact of the matter is, Ezreal is a very difficult champion to master. To keep up with other champions you need to consistently land all of your skillshots, and gain a good lead early on. He can even win many 1v1 situations if you play him correctly. Regardless of the haters, Ez is a fantastic champion and I though I would provide a guide with hints and tips on how to play him. I am not the best Ezreal, but I have enough experience and research to play him right.

So for you lovely people who want to get better at Ezreal and master him- try to incorporate some of these hints and tactics into your strategy.

Sometimes you can't get ahead in the lane, so you just have to outfarm them.

Ezreal: Hints and Tips

- Some players are best on Ezreal using smartcast. Try it out and see which works best for you.
- Using your Arcane Shift is the key to winning most fights. Using it offensively can get you killed, whereas teleporting too late will leave you missing out on kills and assists. Remember you can shorten the cooldown by landing skillshots.
- The best way to win trades in the lane is to land your skillshots. You don't have to trade to hit your opponent with abilities.
- When any kind of confrontation is incoming, begin stacking your passive up immediately. The attack speed bonus can win you the day. 
- Early game you have an unparalleled ability to burst your opponents without trading. Practice landing an auto-attack, follow it up with a Mystic Shot, and finish it off with another attack. This combo should strip away a formidable amount of HP before your opponent reacts. You can decide to continue hitting them or port away on top.
- Don't take minion damage. At the beginning of the game it's your time to shine. Ez takes a lot of damage and doesn't have much health. Don't lose it to the creep wave.
- In a teamfight, use your ultimate at the beginning on as many targets as possible. Trueshot Barrage serves two purposes: To unload damage for your team, and to instantly bring up your passive stacks. Aside from teamfights, use your ult to snipe kills, start a fight, or even clear minions.
- Essence Flux doesn't do much damage when you're the AD carry. However, it does increase the attack speed of your allies. Use it on them when you push down towers, or in a team battle.
- It should only take a few games to get to grips with the terrain that you can Arcane Shift over. Always stay near a wall you can use to escape or reposition yourself.
- Don't be a hero. Too many Ezreal players play him like Rambo. If you get hit by one stun or the wrong champions sticks to you, you're dead. Learn when it's a good time to go out and poke for your team, and when to stay at the back. Staying at the back is boring, but you will have to do it a lot.
- Icebourne Gauntlet will not make you a good Ez player. It's a good situational purchase, if the opposite team has a lot of attack damage or if you are desperate for a slow. Trinity Force is still acceptable if your team is coordinated and can peel for you. Sometimes it's a better idea to just build Ezreal like a normal carry.
- Building a little health early can help a lot. A couple of Doran's blades or a Phage can help you survive against high burst like LeBlanc.
-  CS is important. Ezreal is a powerhouse in the lane. You should try to zone your opponent and get ahead. Use your Q to farm if necessary. Just make sure you're last hitting to the best of your ability.
- Always try to take part in the earliest teamfights. Ezreal can do a lot of damage and any kills will put you ahead. Staying ahead is probably the biggest key to winning a game on Ez.
-  Once again. Stay at the back! In a teamfight, you want to wait until all of the hard CC has been used and even then you can still get destroyed.
- When in the lane, try to poke them down a little with your skillshots before forcing trades. That way if they fight back you can kill them outright. If you get an enemy to 70% as you hit level six, using your full combo followed by an ultimate is a guaranteed kill.
- Remember to build to counter the enemy team. The same build won't always work, so mix it up a little. That doesn't mean buy armor or magic resist, that means buy armor pen and crit if the opposing team is excessively tanky, or lifesteal if it can win you a few fights.
- Warmog's and Guardian Angel are fantastic items if you're getting tunnel visioned by an annoying player. Once you buy it you can probably kill them 1v1.
- Try not to pick Ezreal against a bruiser heavy or tank based team. He can kite them, but he sucks at killing them. Always focus the weaker targets first.
- Red buff is amazing early game on Ezreal, as soon as your lane is over either ask your jungler nicely for one or just take it from somebody.

I hope my advice will help some of you play Ezreal better. I know a lot of it is common sense and knowledge, but sometimes even the best of players forget the basics. But remember most of all to have fun! Because that will make you play better too.

Preachy vs Phreak

I was recently informed that one of my friends, a fantastic player named Preachy managed to take down Phreak on stream. What's more, Phreak even called my buddy a bad Elise. I am quite proud of this feat, it's just a wonderful demonstration of how game creators aren't great at their own production.

I hope a lot of you have seen this, I found it hilarious:

Ahri is a fantastic mid, have some tips and tricks!

If you don't know who you're up against, or you just plain can't decide who to play in mid- play Ahri. She's my favorite champion for mid as of late. With a slow start to level 6, she scales very well into mid and late game. She can trade reasonably well in the lane, and with a little ability power she can farm with ease using the orb. Ahri's charm also gives her a potent hard CC which is useful for every situation. Her ultimate gives her excellent chasing and escaping abilities, giving her a burst of mobility over almost every champion.

I wish I waited to buy the Foxfire skin.

Ahri is a useful addition to any team. She puts out extreme damage in team fights, while retaining the ability to 1v1 and 2v1 in many situations. She can perform as an assassin and a mage. Landing a taunt at the right time will win your team a fight, and with such high mobility you can always access the highest threats.

My favorite part is not many people know how to successfully counter our foxy lady. People have a common misconception that Ryze beats Ahri in the lane. He doesn't. Kassadin and Diana are the hardest counters, but they can't shut you down if you play smart. So when in doubt, play Ahri!

I thought I'd provide a few tips and tricks for people trying to learn Ahri, since I've played her a lot and learnt a few simple things on the way.

I usually do very well in ranked on Ahri.

Ahri tips and tricks:
 
- Do not try to outright kill someone before level 6. You won't beat a competent player without help or your ultimate. You can trade fairly well against most champions however, so don't be afraid to fight back.

- Landing your charm is the key part to succeeding on Ahri. One charm means you can fire off the rest of your spells without missing. Most opponents will stay out of range, so if you're sure it's going to be 1v1 you can use your ultimate to quickly get in range and hit a surprise charm.

- Each Foxfire has an individual targeting mechanism. Therefore it's ideal to be away from minions before casting it to gain maximum burst. I usually use it as I roll forwards with my ultimate.

- Never go rambo with your ultimate. Just because you can move faster than any opponent doesn't mean they can't hit you with crowd control. Only charge straight in if you're sure you can get a quick kill. Remember to keep one charge or a flash to roll away afterwards.

- In a teamfight don't use your ultimate straight away. Continue to land your orb and standard spells until you actually need to ulti away or you have an opportunity to take down an important target. I always try to retain one charge because it saves me every game. Don't think of your ultimate as a damage ability. Think of it as a repositioning tool.

- Ahri with a Rylai's is amazing at kiting. If you can retain a high distance from people chasing you, you can keep firing your abilities at them until they die. Chasing a good Ahri can be as stupid as chasing Singed.

- Your orb deals true damage on the return path. Despite this, you will still have trouble taking down enemies with a lot of health. Focus on killing the ADC and squishies. 

Silver division feels like the new elo hell.

Silver division for the new elo hell!

So I've been dipping in and out of elo hell ever since I started playing ranked last year. Instead of arguing whether elo hell exists or not, let's just say it does for the moment. Anyway, I initially stopped playing ranked because most of the time, I was being placed with players worse than the ones I'd get in normal games.

The common response for people complaining about elo hell is to 'carry harder'. Not all games are winnable, but if you are skilled enough- you can carry your team to victory in enough games to get out. Which is true, to some degree. But what about the players who deserve to be in high gold, or low platinum? They are better than the average chumps, but they aren't quite good enough to carry themselves out of a low elo slump. They are just unlucky.

Yeah, I'm bad huh.

Now I'm not complaining at all. I get angry at some games, I never rage at my team though. I keep it to myself. I like playing down here, it forces me to try hard and perfect new champions to counter people. If I don't win the game alone, then we lose. This image proves it. The only games I've won today are the ones that I snowballed my lane hard- and then stomped other lanes too.

I just wonder how many other people out there are stuck at low silver like me. Well, I'm not exactly stuck- I can choose to play my best champions repeatedly and I'll climb back up. But it really does feel like the new elo hell. At least one in five games somebody disconnects or leaves. And every game has a troll, it seems I get them on my team more often than not. I would make a pun about Riot hating me, but everyone hates me.

Silver promotion!

After a series of victories I managed to up my Silver rank from 4 to 3. It's not much, but it's a start. Getting to 100 points for your qualifying matches can be troublesome at first, but I can't imagine it being as frustrating as losing your qualifiers and being reset to 0 again (which hasn't happened to me yet).

Jax's Vigilantes for the win!

There is a huge amount of disappointment on the forums with the new ranked system. People don't want to fight their way up divisions, they want elo to be visible again. However, the majority of the issues seem to be the same as they were before the new League Points were brought out. Trolls and feeders ruin somebodies game, and apparently it's the new systems fault.

I like the new system, I'm just a little upset you can drop down a division if you lose several times at 0 points. Sure, it's not happened to me yet but I bet it could happen if I get a bad enough teams repeatedly. What does everyone else think about it? You might as well leave a comment here, because Riot are ignoring the complaints on the forums.

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!