Monday, September 9, 2013

WORD OF THE DAY! 9/9/13!

headshot [hed-shawt]
noun
1. A shot aimed at a person, animal, or robot's head, usually with a firearm.
verb
2. To aim for the head or hit the head of a target with a firearm.

main [mehyn]
noun
1. Video game slang. Short for "main character a person plays", as in the character the player plays the most.
verb
2. To use a specific character more than other characters in a video game.

EX. One of my very favorite champions in the League of Legends is the Sheriff of Piltover & Queen of Headshots, Caitlyn.

As seen in videogamedunkey's classic films, WEO WEO CAITLYN & SHOOT BOYS, Caitlyn is a fairly competitive lane-controlling AD Carry and she is my main. I've gotten several deathless wins with her lately and, in ARAM, completely dominate the enemy team by controlling the lane with her traps. It has taken a few months to nail down the roles I enjoy most/perform best and I think I've found my place in the bottom lane.

In normal games on the 5 v 5 Summoner's Rift, bottom lane seems to be the least popular because it is often the trickiest lane-- it is a 2 v 2 lane, support and ADC vs. their mirrored counterparts, with the roles of the ADC to last hit minions, snag kills, and survive long enough to build momentum and achieve the "C" part of "ADC" & "carry" the team by putting out the most attack damage per second. The support's job is to ward, counter ward, not to kill minions that the rest of the team could be killing, and to protect/aid the ADC in bot lane. This makes support one of the least popular roles since their job is to help the team control the map and babysit the squishiest characters. Speaking of squishy characters, let's talk about why I love playing Caitlyn and think she is a lane partner that anyone would be happy to have in bot. Before we talk about how her character works, let's look at the lore so we can see the flavor of her mechanics.

As mentioned earlier in the post, Caitlyn is the Sheriff of Piltover. Caityln was just a teenage girl in Piltover, a steampunk city in the in-game world of League of Legends, when some robbers broke in and stole from her home. Taking her father's rifle, Caitlyn hunted the criminals down and retrieved the lost valuables. Unable to stop their daughter from pursuing a life of crime-fighting, her parents, a wealthy statesmen and an inventor, outfitted her with weapons and tools to help her wage a war against organized crime. Today, Piltover has a low crime rate thanks, according to many, to Caitlyn's efforts to clean the streets. Her beauty, brains, and bullets have made her a hero in her city and earned her a reputation not only in Piltover, but in the League, as a sharpshooting badass.

Another part of Caitlyn's lore is that she is hunting a catburglar who leaves notes with the letter "C" on them behind and that, after offering Vi the chance to stop committing and start fighting crime, she has worked to keep her new partner in line. While this does show off in a small way when they play together or against each other, I sometimes wish they had a little more synergy. Speaking of synergy, let's look at Cait's abilities.


Her base numbers allow her to deal more damage but at a slower rate than most ADCs, like a Sniper would. Her passive ability, Headshot, allows her to stack up to eight times, double stacks if she is in the brush, and fire a basic attack that deals 150% to enemy champs and 250% to enemy minions/monsters. This is useful for harassing your foes and mastering the use of this for last hits is key to bot laning as Caitlyn. Her Q, Piltover Peacemaker, shoots a skillshot projectile that strikes all enemies in a line and deals less damage with each target it hits. This is a great ability for poke, minion clearing, and getting kills that are just out of range. Her W, Yordle Snap Trap, puts down a trap that, if tripped by an enemy, snares them, deals damage, and reveals them for a short time. This is a useful ability for controlling a lane, catching a target in the bush, or escaping in a pinch. Her E, 90 Caliber Net, is a better escape that pushes her away from the direction it is fired and slows a target hit. Her ultimate ability, R, couldn't be more simple and telling of her sniper theme, as Ace in the Hole locks on a target, near or far, and fires a bullet that deals massive damage to the first target it hits in the line of fire. The only drawback is that enemy champions can block the shot.

All in all, I love Caitlyn's kit because it gives you a lot of options for picking off foes with her peacemaker, controlling a lane through her traps, escaping ganks with her net, and taking an enemy's head off with a sometimes tricky but always satisfying ult. Caitlyn doesn't make mistakes. I do. But that's okay; Caitlyn is always prepared with a plan for extraction and is always packing heat.

P.S. Check out this awesome concept art of a Neon Strike Caitlyn, to go along with her partner Vi, by Xelandra. I really hope they make this skin for her...because I haven't got a Cait skin... yet.

P.P.S. Tell me about your favorite League of Legends or other MOBA character and why you like them in the comments.