Howling Abyss in League of Legends

The Game Room
1

This was a new map recently released. Compared to the other two maps, Howling Abyss is very straightforward.

I like it because it allows for very fast-paced games. There is no ‘farming’. There is one single lane, with 5v5 teamfights right out of the gate. The fact that you can’t heal at the fountain, bluepill back, jungle, etc means you really need to focus on teamfighting the whole way through.

Also fun because your character is chosen at random, and there are some champions that are hilariously awesome (and others awful). I particularly like it because on Summoner’s Rift, you typically have to dedicate an hour (to factor ‘long’ games). But in Howling Abyss, it seems like a 25 minute long game is a ‘long’ game. So its nice if you only have half an hour to play.

2

I hadn’t had time to play LoL for a month or more, and saw your post yesterday and thought I’d make some time and check it out.

It is a fun little map, very frantic activity, and that random draw on champs makes for some interesting match ups. My very first match, and my team had three supports and two tanks. Needless to say we lost, but dragged it out for ages :smiley:

I think it is pretty fun, and sure provides that quick game turnaround, but not sure it will keep my attention. If I’ve got time for a Summoners Rift match, I think I will still go back to that map in preference.

3

I love the new map, and play it a lot more than either of the old ones. The only thing I hate about it is how often people leave at the champion select screen. If Riot isn’t doing anything about that, they need to.

One thing I think I have noticed (although it may just be confirmation bias) is that a lot of the OP champs that people talk about (Soraka, Nidalee, Teemo, or the all-poke team) don’t always win. I’ve won against the OP champs and lost with them. I think it still comes down to summoner skill more than inherent champion abilities.

4

Any time there’s a title I just can’t parse on reddit, I look and it seems to be on the league of legends subreddit. Where do you start?

5

Until the last big championships, I knew nothing about LoL. To be honest, I’m still not a scholar, I don’t know strategies or individual powers, but I watched the matches with a friend of mine who was really into the game, and that helped me not only learn about it, but also kind-of ‘get into’ it. I equated it with watching a new sport on TV that I knew nothing of. It was kinda fun.
(I guess what I’m getting at is; one way to learn is just to watch, and if you can do so with someone who both knows and enjoys the game, that helps!)

6

That’s a good point. The LoL Championship Series has a Youtube channel:

As ArrMatey! mentioned, they just had the championship for the spring split. These are the best players in the world, so it moves pretty fast. But you can watch a couple of games just to see how it goes.

If you want to start playing, feel free to look me up. Same name there.

7

Or you can just watch the game s at lolesports :slight_smile:

Love watching the pros play… its mad stuff :slight_smile:

8

There are many champions that are easy to learn by simply watching a good player use them. Watch what abilities/items they use, and try to ‘copy’ it. While you won’t necessarily have the split-second timing and reflexes the pro had, generally the fundamentals are sound and unless you are up against a pro yourself the opponent will be just as susceptible to a novice.

Some champions are more complicated than others. On Howling Abyss, you have a steeper learning curve because you don’t have the serenity of killing creeps safely and only having to worry about 1 or 2 opponents bothering you. Personally I find champs with ‘binary’ abilities the trickiest to learn (Each of their abilities has an ‘alternate’ ability that gets used under some condition, like being in ‘cat form’ or hitting the opponent with some other ability’).

General, simple strategies for Howling Abyss:

Win together, or die alone: Remember that all 5 of your opponents tend to be clumped together. Get a little too close, and they are all going to gang up on you. If they have multiple stuns, you are pretty much screwed as soon as one gets into range. Be smart and work with your teammates! The lone rambo bulldozing through everybody only works if he has a significant gold/level/ability/skill advantage. In most cases trying this will give the other team 1 kill and 4 assists.

Wait up!: If you’ve just destroyed a tower, it can be tempting to rush forward and press your advantage. But if you had a few teammates die, and the rest of you are at 1/3 health, hang back and let your buddies catch up to you; recently respawned opponents will be at full health and likely outnumber you. If you get too agressive, they’ll just wipe you out ‘aced’ and kill your tower in retaliation, ruining your advantage.

Itemize for teamfights: Many champions in LoL are ‘junglers’ ‘assasins’ etc. Designed for a particular role that doesn’t necessarily lend well to a 5v5 25 min long teamfight. Typically single-target melee champions have a much harder time on this map, but they’re not impossible to use if you are smart. Prioritize your abilities and items for a teamfight- if everybody else is squishy, build yourself up tanky. Items that give ‘aura’ abilities, health regen and mana regen are hugely useful.

They’re not OP, learn to play!: Some champions seem blatantly overpowered on this map. Thats because they might have a lot of AoE abilities, hard-to-miss skillshots, or good sustainability. You have to learn to counter them. Katarina has an ultimate that can flatten 3 enemy champions pretty quick, but she can be stunned out of it. Similarly, Fiddlesticks has a devastating ultimate that can net easy pentakills against poor opponents, but you can also stun him out of it or stack magic resistance.