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I always want to upload images but I need 50 posts. I am going to start posting about every other post for a day or two so I can.

Sona is boss. Just went 2/3/29, 14.4k huehuehue

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Err, Olaf becomes really scary precisely in those situations where he’s head-to-head and losing health. It results in a LOT of kills for Olaf because the other champ doesn’t realize that it’s already too late to do anything about it, and with the proper tanky items he gets attacked by a team trying to save their carry from him and inadvertently makes him kill the carry even faster. A team can CC an ulting Tryndamere… they can’t CC Olaf.

His W is also a pretty great steroid, giving his attacks AND abilities spell vamp. His E is 340 points of TRUE DAMAGE, which is a pretty huge ender to a fight as that’s a surefire 3.5 bars of health lost by the enemy.

I’ve seen him a couple of times in Dominion and I might try him out myself. A long range slowing skillshot is useful, and his inability to be CC’d (via his ult) by any means other than silence (lol so wut) makes him pretty formidable against auto attackers, and with proper health itemization he carries that strength to the end game.

I also like his axe throw mechanic in general, it hasn’t been replicated by the game yet, although I guess Orianna can pick up her ball though it’s not necessary in the way Olaf’s axe throw is.

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Olaf owns, but is extremely difficult to play well. Here is the video I usually link to demonstrate proper Olafitude. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x47GoTCtuBE Olaf’s starring role starts about halfway through, at roughly 01:00.

Proper Olafing typically involves a Wriggles and tank items. Virtually all of your damage comes from Reckless Swing. Your goal is to be unkillable while you true damage the ever loving shit out of people. Everything you do is done to allow more RECKLESS SWINGING. Run in and slow with your axe. RECKLESS SWING Vicious Strikes Undertow RECKLESS SWING RECKLESS SWING lather rinse repeat. If they are stacking health to counter your true damage, invest in more lifesteal. Ragnarok to avoid being CC’d.

Olaf is typically in the jungle, and is better there. A laning Olaf, while inferior, will eventually become as scary as jungle Olaf, though, so don’t get complacent just because you see him in a lane.

The thing that is very, very hard to learn about Olaf is when to engage. Look at the video I linked, near the end. You’ll see him engaging two people while he has very little health, and winning (in fact, he goes to fight dragon at the end, where he will be regaining health). He can do this because he is ultra tanky and has lifesteal from Vicious Strikes (and probably some from items), and the lower his health the more health he’ll regain, because of his passive. You need to be able to judge which fights you can win, which takes a lot of experience. Expect to feed, badly, while learning this. You do not want to be charging into five people in the midgame.

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The irony of his spell vamp lifesteal is that he steals back health while using a true damage ability that costs health to use.

He’s a god damn enigma wrapped in a brobarian.

And of course, my obligatory favorite LoL comic featuring Olaf:

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Yes, I know that intellectually Pogo, thus why I charge in. I fail at execution :)

~C~

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Failure at execution is most likely failure at farming up, because it’s not easy to do. You gotta get some kills/assists and have a good jungle phase to be competitive.

Most Olafs fail. I’m not particularly good at him either even though he’s essentially my only reliable jungler.

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I love Olaf and have carried a few games with him. The biggest problem I find with him is that when they see you coming at them people will turn and run the fuck away. That’s not so bad, you might say, he has a slow! The problem comes in the form of so many other champions having a way to speed themselves up, dash, or really easy to use CC, while Olaf’s Undertow is pretty hard to land. Sometimes I’ve been chasing someone and thrown an axe perfectly at them, but they OUTRUN THE AXE. If you’re chasing someone like Ashe you can use your ult to not get slowed, but if you don’t catch her in 5 seconds you’re back to being slowed while she flees. Compared to practically every other melee hero who has a dash AND an easy slow/stun, Olaf is terrible at chasing people, but everyone runs away from him.

Also, a lot of people forget that you can’t activate his ult while stunned, it doesn’t break CC you’ve already got on you.

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They need to give his E a small dash!

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That’s actually not a bad idea. There are too many tanky DPS champs now that have this in their kit.

On the other hand, his ult is supposed to be used to exploit an error by their team, most notably letting someone else on Olaf’s team get an initiation in which case Olaf runs through the front lines and pisses off a squishy caster or AD carry.

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Just won a Dominion game 0-3, boy that one came down to the wire. In the last 20 points the team holding three points changed 3 or 4 times. They got top, we got bottom left. they got bottom left, then we got top. Fun times.

Get that post count up!

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So do I bother to build anything but Atmog on Yorick on Dominion or what? I can dimly recall Manamune being good on him but I just don’t see it now. Especially not on Dom with the enhanced mana regen.

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Had more thoughts on Xerath. Think I will use CDR blues and 2xCDR quint and 1xMS. You want to get off two Q’s before the creeps steal all your gold, and you want the constant harass Tear can provide. Your biggest defense is the enemy mid constantly being at about half health. Even if they can out burst you normally, you can keep them wary with constant long range poking I figure.

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Atmog’s was what you always built on Yorick in classic. It’s just that in classic you start with a Manamune to deal with his crippling mana issues early game while also getting damage, which is no longer required in Dominion. If you finish Atmog’s go to work on Triforce starting with Sheen, since that was the other thing you always built on him. His weird stat requirements (health and AD for his ghouls while spamming skills every few seconds to keep them up) pretty much mean that Yorick really only has one core build.

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So I played a bunch of the free guys last night (keep in mind, the first time I play a new Champion I always just use the suggested items. I simply am not interested in thinking about item selection while also thinking about a new heroes powers/ranges/etc. I’ll do that later)

Yorick: It’s a cute concept but enh…, it didn’t feel all that great. I suspect poor items hurt here. For a similar kind of effect I much preferred…

Sona: Sona was great. Cool look, cool sound, supporting teammates…I also got way more kills than I was expecting for a character of her type, the ability to switch from movement speed to offense or defense situationally was especially nice.

Ezreal: Ezreal was cool, but kind of labor intensive, with all the skillshots.

Skarner: So why do people hate Skarner? He seemed fine. not…spectacular, but fine. I wish he had a dash, but otherwise I liked him fine. His ult near a friendly tower was hilarious.

Leona: The only one I’d ever played before, but only a couple times. I usually play squishy ranged types, rarely tanks, so it was odd just wading into combats and not melting instantly. Leona ties with Kayle for my favorite looking female character in the game. She looks…regal and not like someone going to a Halloween party on campus.

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So Jungle Veigar is quite a laugh. Our team won, though mostly due to top Jax doing awesomely. I managed to force mid Pirate back twice though, and that helped Anivia no end and didn’t die much. Good fun!

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Gangplank is very flexible. I present: MadPlank!

Actually I just changed to that build late game (from IE+LW+BT) when they all started stacking health.

Also check my wikked ELO. Most games I play now are 24-3 stomps in one direction or the other.

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OH, the reason I went jungle Veigar? I suggesed at draft pick mode that I would take Xerath or Morgana mid, if that was ok with folks. The lead then banned those two. LOL.

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I do that all the time!

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Ugh. I hate Katarina.

Yes, I assume I’m playing her wrong and whatnot, but this game I’m playing with her is just really useless and unpleasant, I don’t like her at all. Worse even than Urdot, and I hated Urdot.

Game finally ended. 2/9/6. Bah.

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You would have still done more damage with the IE+LW+BT than with the madred’s alone.