Played LoL for like 20 hours these past two days. I think I got 2000ip...
=|
Meh... anything I spend IP on these days is just for vanity anyway.
Edit: I'm getting really sick of top lane these days. You can always, ALWAYS bet you'll get ganked super early. Level 2 ganks all the freaking time. And with most of the good junglers these days, there's literally nothing you can do about it. Even if the gank is unsuccessful, the jungler will shadow top lane for like 3 minutes, making it impossible for you to farm or do anything while the enemy happily does whatever he wants until your own jungler comes. And if your jungler doesn't come... then you're completely screwed.
Oh, and that's not the only difficulty, oh no... If you draft pick, top lane is so stupidly easy to counterpick. If you are forced to pick first without knowing what the enemy top lane is you might as well just surrender your top tower. Take Singed? HERE COMES GAREN! Take Jarvan? HERE COMES TRYNDAMERE! There is literally nothing you can pick top that is safe from counterpicking. It's not like mid where everyone is relatively of equal strength, the main problems are banned, and power is determined more from timing than from skills. No, if you get counterpicked at top, you lose. That's it.
It's so freaking hard and the benefit is so tiny that it feels ridiculous playing it. Worst of all, there's nothing I can do about either of these problems. No amount of playing better will save me when Udyr decides he wants to stay around top lane forever.
You always have the option of taking top lane last. Trading picks is super powerful, if under utilized in pub games. The "easy" way to counter a camping jungler (especially early) is 'don't die'. With the new jungle even a 30 second delay that doesn't amount to a kill is a massive nerf to the jungler's power mid game. Doubly so if they're sitting in a bush sapping exp from their laner. This also frees up your jungler either invade, gank or simply get ahead in clears gold/exp.
There are some top/jungle combinations which are a headache.. basically Tryn or Gang + anyone. Or Lee Sin in general.. but more times than not responsible ward investment will keep you alive barring excellent play by one of their players or a mistake on your part.
With that said, I wouldn't want a Jarvan top on my team (no matter the matchup) or a Singed in a pub game. Singed has such weak laning pre-six. Everyone knows it, and those sort of blaring weaknesses can end games before they get off the ground. As for Jarmander, I'm not too keen on him these days. Even when played well, he doesn't benefit from insane farm nearly as much as someone like Cho or Irelia and he doesn't have the slight hint of carry which, I feel, is needed by a top laner.
On a slightly different note -- How do you lot feel about Sivir top? I've been toying around with it a bit and the double AD carry comp seems to work these days. She has unmatched pushing potential that can overwhelm most tops. And then, when mid game comes around, you suddenly have 2 AD + a mage shooting at their towers. Push comp #1 pubstomp. Of course, it does take certain precautions. Your support needs to be a pseudo-tank, be it Ali, Taric or Leona. It also helps if your jungler can take a beating. Bonus points if they're AP but almost anyone works.. Riven, the Dragon, Fizz, Mao, -Malphite-. I figure Rammus or Amumu would work but I haven't played around with it enough to know.
Special note goes to Malphite.. who, while slow to get off the ground, is hilariously strong. His ganks rival anyone at six. He can invade favorably once wearing doublebuff, has great lane holding, is immune to counter jungling (if you're responsible) and can build literally whatever he wants and maintain a certain level of utility/effectiveness. Back when Funfires could stack he was all the rage. The massive "nerf" (change) to his Q slow did make him a terrible lane partner for damage/damage bot but that meta has been gone for a year.. the MSPD leech is super fun on invades and his W is actually useful now. The AOE right clicks makes jungling a breeze this is the age of the AOE jungle clear and you can press it to become stronger against right clicks while making your own relevant.