First PVP – Champions Picked and Rookie's Gank
In the first PVP pick screen, the other four quickly grabbed their champions, leaving me behind. I planned to go with Lizer, but I deliberately delayed my pick. I needed to hear the explanation about traits first. In simple terms, traits were 'additional special stats.' There were three categories—attack, defense, and utility—and it worked like an RPG skill tree: once you'd allocated a certain number of points in one branch, you could unlock the next tier. You got a total of 30 points (and as the number suggests, you earn one per Commander level). Like any skill tree, the effects got better the further you progressed. After hearing the quick rundown, I picked Lizer without hesitation. Was I the only one holding out? The moment I locked it in, the message 'Prepare for war!' popped up, and the remaining timer switched to 10 seconds.
Once the timer hit zero and the loading screen kicked in, I finally checked what champions my friends had picked. Honestly, I'd been too focused on learning traits earlier to care. Top laner Jeongwoo went with 'V,' this tough big-sis type character wearing what looked like gauntlets—fitting for the brute force that was Jeongwoo. Han-gil asked him about it.
"Yo, top V? For real?"
"Told you it's good. Why don't you trust me?"
"Who says jungle champs are good top? Nobody."
……Should be fine, right?
Anyway, next up: jungler Han-gil picked Ryu Shin, this bald blind monk character who looked…… insanely agile. Super flashy champ, and with that mobility, he'd probably crush jungle clears and ganks. Mid got (forcibly) handed to me, so Hyun-su dropped bot as ADC with the mage character 'Gerard,' just like he'd announced earlier. Conventional wisdom said ADCs should pick late-game scaling auto-attackers for that high ceiling, but whether it was Hyun-su's limited champ pool or just to placate him, support Taek-jun greenlit the mage pick. And so Gerard it was.
Taek-jun, our support, locked in Kalista, the spear-wielding ghost character……wait, hold up. Doesn't that look like an ADC to anyone? Support, right……? I had to ask, just to be sure.
"……Is Kalista actually a support champ?"
"Nah? She's an ADC."
Am I hearing this wrong?
"This guy's at it again."
"No, hear me out—W for vision, Q for poke, ult to save someone! That's peak support!"
"Shut up, dude."
"Grnimti? (So what's your tier?)"
"Fuck, Diamond ain't shit."
"Yedasil~ (You'll be Silver next.)"
……This'll be fine, right?
* Amid the worries, the game started. We spawned at the blue team's base. Jeongwoo headed top, I went mid, and bot duo plus jungler rushed our team's 'Rock Turtle' camp. There's this thing called 'leash'—jungle monsters spawn before lane minions, so bot duo helps the jungler clear their first camp. Reasons? It's close to bot lane, and with two people, the clear's faster. Top can get a leash on the opposite 'Giant Toad' if needed.
Enemy comp: top was Trindamere, the big-sword dude; jungle Sateun, the black ghost character; ADC our team's support mirror Kalista; support yellow golem robot Blitzcrank. Mid was Danbi, a rotation-based character. Taek-jun, who'd been quiet, finally spoke.
"Hey, at least enemy mid's Bronze 5. Might be doable?"
The tiers go Bronze – Silver – Gold – Platinum – Diamond – Master – Commander, and Bronze 5 means bottom of the barrel even in ranked. Still a ranked player though—dozens, hundreds of games under their belt. No excuses like 'I'm a noob, so we'll lose.' Even if my knowledge and mechanics lagged, believing that would cap my potential. Winnable games turn losses that way. Looking back, months before quitting Go, I'd approach boards thinking 'gonna lose anyway.' Fixing that loser mindset wouldn't have saved my Go career, but maybe I'd have won a few more games?
Lost in pointless thoughts, the in-game announcer blared, snapping me back. The kill alert was blue—our team got a kill. Barely a minute in, minions not even out yet……?
"What? How'd you get it?"
The kill was top. Solo kill, obviously. Our triumphant general boasted:
"Told you it's good."
"No matter how I slice it, Trindamere's just…… nah, that early trading's strong though?"
I knew Trindamere's kit. Rage stacks on attacks, passive boosts crit chance per stack. Made his early trades nasty. Hell, strongest if you could even trade in the first place. Short range and crap mobility as trade-offs.
"Leveled W at 1, weird rune setup. No crits popped."
"Ooh, how'd you know? Diamond vision?"
"Only explanation."
What even was V's W? No clue, so I asked.
"What's W do?"
"Third auto: bonus damage, attack speed buff, armor shred."
"Whoa, broken? Tier 1 material?"
Skills like that screamed busted on paper. The solo-kill warrior explained:
"Short range, can't reliably land three autos…… unless it's Trindamere."
Clicked instantly. If you're forced into melee, stronger basic attacks win. Minions hit lane as we chatted. Danbi entered vision—probably hiding behind tower like me. As minion health dipped, I last-hit with an auto. Then Danbi's Q, Soul Orb, flew. It goes out and back, damaging each way—return's fixed damage. I'd read tooltips last time, so I flung Lizer's Q, Overvoltage, and sidestepped the return orb. Trade established. But rune differences meant more damage than expected. I snuck in an auto, so healths evened out. Tri-potion start (two health, one mana) let me recover fast—my edge. Plus, Danbi wasted Q on minions trying to hit me, missing last-hits. Solid win, feeling good.
Then……
Chat provocation. Trash? At me? Obviously, we're laning…… But I won the trade—why chat like that?
"Ignore it," Taek-jun said. Easier said. First blatant trash talk soured my mood. Mindset shift: from 'play hard' to 'tear 'em apart.' Ari'd already skill-shredded the wave anyway, pushing it naturally. I checked Han-gil's position.
"Han-gil, can you come if possible?"
"Finishing buffs."
"Not now—I'll bait Temptation. Swing by when I hit 3. Buffs should be done by then."
* Han-gil felt a twinge of unease. Taek-jun mentioned going easy mid—Yunho was a newbie. But this newbie dropped a precise order: 'Bait Temptation, gank at 3.' Level 3's full kit unlock—including Lizer's W, Spell Prison. Fine, skill knowledge. But baiting Danbi's only hard CC, Temptation? Newbie possible? Cleared Rock Turtle – Flame Golem – Mana Spirit, headed to mid's top bush. Same time, level 3 Lizer moved bottom—minionless side. I'd Temptation that spot as Danbi. No-human wouldn't. Health at 3/4, guaranteed. Sure enough, Temptation flew—Yunho's Lizer dodged diagonally. Closed gap, burned Danbi's CC. Perfect gank angle. Flash at minimum. Emerged from bush. Yunho's Lizer fired Overvoltage, chained Spell Prison. I ward – safeguard – sonic wave combo, landing wave. No hesitation—Resonating Strike straight in. Lizer E, Spell Shift, autos forward. Panicked Danbi flashed post-root. But wave was over half pushed—tower still far. Lizer autos closed gap post-flash. And Resonating Strike homings. No escape vs. homing monk glued on and distant Lizer slinging spells, CC'd and ultless. Another Overvoltage—sweet alert.
Fresh chat soon after.
Oof, harsh on a newbie…… Cold voice followed.
"Yo, come again."
Top's a solo lane anyway—no plans. Already perma'd Trindamere; he'd handle till lane end, probably die no more. Bot…… Hyun-su's iffy, but Taek-jun's got it. Dude solos 1v3 if needed. Diamond doesn't drop here. Even if Hyun-su feeds, he'll snowball back. Kalista pick screams 'I'll ADC if shit hits.'
Sounds solid.
"This game, mid's mine."
Pad leech? Unforgivable.