Current Rank: Silver V - 93 TP
OK. I'm last pick. This has to be a good sign. I'll take what I can get, and let's do this.
I am taking Sylvanus with an Artemis, into Cherno and Bacchus. The other team has Cherno and Pele, but we have a Plat SWK with Gold Ne Zha, so maybe we can balance it out. (I'm still Gold Sylvanus)
We start off solid, but the Chaac on the enemy team rolls over our supposed Plat SWK. We get beat hard early, but we fight back strong and take over. I give lots of helpful advice without BM-ing, and our team responds and we play well. We have 2 phoenixes down by the 30 minute mark. An ill-advised fight for FG, that I advise against trying, ends up costing us the game.
Frustrating, I shape a subpar team up with great leadership, only to have them quit following my lead at the end. And the enemy team crushes our Titan. At this point in the game, one mistake is fatal. Overall, though, this was a good game. No one was a dick, we rallied, it was competitive. Good Game.
Game II -85 TP
OK, I've been playing catch-up the last few games. My goal for this game: get ahead. I'm just going to get a god that can get ahead. Well, I'm first pick. So here's my chance. We ban out Baron, Cherno, He Bo, and Freya. I take Erlang for solo. Here's my chance to get ahead. The 2nd pick BMs the 3rd pick by calling him a noob, so I tell them not to worry about it and hope for a better game. Hopefully this defuses some tension. The enemy team has 1 second of bank time after the 3rd pick. I feel a lobby leave coming on. Second round of bans is Artemis, Geb, Athena, Pele.
I'm going to use a trick I picked up yesterday from an enemy Erlang I played, skipping a starter item and working towards a Berserker's shield rush: shield T1, TP, Health chalice. I get the shield at 2 minutes and score an early kill. I handle the lane and am able to go get full boots and TP back at 6 mins. Really good use of time, here. I push tower, and eventually Thanatos just gives up and leaves. I take T1 tower. I keep pushing T2, and make a couple of guest appearances in the mid lane.
As I'm prepping to take the T2 tower, the enemy team just ups and surrenders. Feels good, man. The Bronze Bastard gets promoted to...Silver II. #Grindy
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LVII
Current Rank-- Silver V: TP 98
I'm the #1 Silver V in the land, with a Fall split record of 18-19. I gotta win this game. Saturday morning Smite, after a series of fairly good casual games in multiple roles. Has to be OK, right? I'm 3rd pick, this works for me. It takes our top pick 45 seconds to decide on Arachne. We have 14 seconds of bank time left. Our 2nd pick takes Scylla Mid and I grab Sylvanus for Support. Hello, old friend. Top ELO lets bank go to 4 while deciding the last ban. Our last pick fails to select someone before bank time expires. What a group to miss a ranked game with.
I took a chance and stayed in queue with a 5 minute wait. I take it as a good sign that no one from the last lobby is in this one. I'm 4th pick. No pressure, I'll just go with what the comp hands me. Standard bans of Baron, Cherno, Pele, and Freya. The other team first-picks Merc. Our Top ELO goes Erlang. Our 2nd pick goes Rat jungle. The enemies take Agni and Bellona. Our last pick before second round of bans is Discordia. Bans: Athena, Geb, Ullr, Terra. I take Sylvanus, why not? The other team rounds out with Nu Wa and Sobek. What kind of team comp is that? I guess Nu Wa ADC with Sobek?
I am going with Guardian's Blessing, T1 boots, and Shell. 5 Health pots and 1 Multi. Our Rat is a troll, refusing to help anyone. And to make it worse, he starts talking BM to everyone in the game. And that's pretty much how it goes, we get owned by a better team and Rat just makes it worse by being a complete pain. A loss, go figure.
I'm the #1 Silver V in the land, with a Fall split record of 18-19. I gotta win this game. Saturday morning Smite, after a series of fairly good casual games in multiple roles. Has to be OK, right? I'm 3rd pick, this works for me. It takes our top pick 45 seconds to decide on Arachne. We have 14 seconds of bank time left. Our 2nd pick takes Scylla Mid and I grab Sylvanus for Support. Hello, old friend. Top ELO lets bank go to 4 while deciding the last ban. Our last pick fails to select someone before bank time expires. What a group to miss a ranked game with.
I took a chance and stayed in queue with a 5 minute wait. I take it as a good sign that no one from the last lobby is in this one. I'm 4th pick. No pressure, I'll just go with what the comp hands me. Standard bans of Baron, Cherno, Pele, and Freya. The other team first-picks Merc. Our Top ELO goes Erlang. Our 2nd pick goes Rat jungle. The enemies take Agni and Bellona. Our last pick before second round of bans is Discordia. Bans: Athena, Geb, Ullr, Terra. I take Sylvanus, why not? The other team rounds out with Nu Wa and Sobek. What kind of team comp is that? I guess Nu Wa ADC with Sobek?
I am going with Guardian's Blessing, T1 boots, and Shell. 5 Health pots and 1 Multi. Our Rat is a troll, refusing to help anyone. And to make it worse, he starts talking BM to everyone in the game. And that's pretty much how it goes, we get owned by a better team and Rat just makes it worse by being a complete pain. A loss, go figure.
Friday, September 28, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LVI
Current Rank: Silver V - 83 TP
Friday night ranked Smite. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. I pop a 1-minute queue and end up as 2nd pick...hmmm. We get He Bo, Freya, Merc, and Baron banned. Our top pick is talking about being ganked in lane by a hacking opponent in their last game, and I grow disheartened. He waits until 6 seconds of bank time are left and picks Poseidon. I hang my had in pain and shake it from side to side. It appears this top ELO is a troll. That's what I get for trying Friday Night Smite.
Well, the last pick in this lobby only had 3 seconds of bank time left and did not make a selection before it ran out. I am saved to lobby. I am going to play a casual game while that group of lobby jockies clown into the next wave of Ranked.
--Non-Ranked Game--
So this is something a little different, my run through a Casual game. I'm just going to fill whatever role doesn't get called. I've decided to focus on one thing in each gaming session to work on. This game, I'm going to work on keeping my cool, making good calls, and helping people in a positive way. Now, let's see how this group sorts itself out.
And...the system cannot find a match for me. Rather than wait another 3 minutes still within the window of the Ranked group I left moments ago, I decide to switch over to a 37-second Joust queue We end up with Anubis, Apollo (me), and Odin; going against Ra, Loki, and Cu Chulain. Let's do this.
My starting build is Hunter's Blessing and Dev T1. I opt for 4 health pots for max sustain. I go with Aegis because I fear the burst. I go back at 2 minutes for T2 boots. at 3:30, I go back for Ninja tabi and T2 Dev. I ult back in and get a double kill. I slowly maintain pressure for the next 8 minutes, finishing an Executioner along the way, before I die for the first time taking their T1 at the 11 mintue mark. I pick up the T1 Rage after this death, then I run out and get ulted by Loki and Ra both. And I'm dead for the second time.
I come out and farm long enough to get the gold for Deathbringer instead of Rage, so I take it. We roll to BDK and claim it. After that, we chase them back into their phoenix and I just knock it down so fast. Odin jumps in and I get a quick kill on Chu Chulain and Anubis cleans up the Loki. Ra puts up a solid defense and we can't push, so we back. I go ahead start T1 Malice, but we ultimately don't need it. We win another team fight at the titan, but have plenty of health this game. I finish a pedestrian 3-2-4 with only 4K player damage in 18 minutes, but I do all of the structure damage. A win is a win, feels good man.
Ranked Game - Take 2
Current Rank: Silver V - 83 TP
I am third pick with our 2nd pick taking Ama support. I think about locking in Erlang solo, but then someone calls out Cerberus was open. I really almost had selected Cerberus as a guardian since we had Ama supp, so I take this as a sign and change my selection. It looks like I'll be going into a Loki solo.
I strongly consider building Cloak first so I can get into Magi's blessing and absorb the ult. But maybe I should go towards Breastplate or Nemian. I decide to go with the safer play, taking the T1 breastplate. This Loki with his 2 is basically pinning me in place. It takes everything of all I got to match his clear. I get an early lull and immediately back for T2 boots.
I TP in and lay down some hurt as Loki is just pushing into my tower, and I defend well. The extra power spike from the boots help me push him, until he's backing and I've got my minions up to his tower. The game proceeds pretty much like this, with Loki 2-ing my minions and me using all my time to kill his. I'm basically just treading water.
Along the way, I pick up Reinforced boots, Nemian, Breastplate of Valor, and Magi's Cloak. I am vigilant with my VF1 calls, which I have to make often because Loki is always disappearing into the jungle and proxying almost every one of my waves. This effectively forces me to stay in lane for as long as possible, as I have to full clear each wave just to keep the tower up. Eventually the Loki sort of gives up on lane and just commits to ganking Mid and Right. I take the opportunity around minute 17 to push in and take his T1 tower. Only a couple of minutes later, the other team F6's. I tell you what, that feels good man.
Friday night ranked Smite. I'm a glutton for punishment, I guess. I pop a 1-minute queue and end up as 2nd pick...hmmm. We get He Bo, Freya, Merc, and Baron banned. Our top pick is talking about being ganked in lane by a hacking opponent in their last game, and I grow disheartened. He waits until 6 seconds of bank time are left and picks Poseidon. I hang my had in pain and shake it from side to side. It appears this top ELO is a troll. That's what I get for trying Friday Night Smite.
Well, the last pick in this lobby only had 3 seconds of bank time left and did not make a selection before it ran out. I am saved to lobby. I am going to play a casual game while that group of lobby jockies clown into the next wave of Ranked.
--Non-Ranked Game--
So this is something a little different, my run through a Casual game. I'm just going to fill whatever role doesn't get called. I've decided to focus on one thing in each gaming session to work on. This game, I'm going to work on keeping my cool, making good calls, and helping people in a positive way. Now, let's see how this group sorts itself out.
And...the system cannot find a match for me. Rather than wait another 3 minutes still within the window of the Ranked group I left moments ago, I decide to switch over to a 37-second Joust queue We end up with Anubis, Apollo (me), and Odin; going against Ra, Loki, and Cu Chulain. Let's do this.
My starting build is Hunter's Blessing and Dev T1. I opt for 4 health pots for max sustain. I go with Aegis because I fear the burst. I go back at 2 minutes for T2 boots. at 3:30, I go back for Ninja tabi and T2 Dev. I ult back in and get a double kill. I slowly maintain pressure for the next 8 minutes, finishing an Executioner along the way, before I die for the first time taking their T1 at the 11 mintue mark. I pick up the T1 Rage after this death, then I run out and get ulted by Loki and Ra both. And I'm dead for the second time.
I come out and farm long enough to get the gold for Deathbringer instead of Rage, so I take it. We roll to BDK and claim it. After that, we chase them back into their phoenix and I just knock it down so fast. Odin jumps in and I get a quick kill on Chu Chulain and Anubis cleans up the Loki. Ra puts up a solid defense and we can't push, so we back. I go ahead start T1 Malice, but we ultimately don't need it. We win another team fight at the titan, but have plenty of health this game. I finish a pedestrian 3-2-4 with only 4K player damage in 18 minutes, but I do all of the structure damage. A win is a win, feels good man.
Ranked Game - Take 2
Current Rank: Silver V - 83 TP
I am third pick with our 2nd pick taking Ama support. I think about locking in Erlang solo, but then someone calls out Cerberus was open. I really almost had selected Cerberus as a guardian since we had Ama supp, so I take this as a sign and change my selection. It looks like I'll be going into a Loki solo.
I strongly consider building Cloak first so I can get into Magi's blessing and absorb the ult. But maybe I should go towards Breastplate or Nemian. I decide to go with the safer play, taking the T1 breastplate. This Loki with his 2 is basically pinning me in place. It takes everything of all I got to match his clear. I get an early lull and immediately back for T2 boots.
I TP in and lay down some hurt as Loki is just pushing into my tower, and I defend well. The extra power spike from the boots help me push him, until he's backing and I've got my minions up to his tower. The game proceeds pretty much like this, with Loki 2-ing my minions and me using all my time to kill his. I'm basically just treading water.
Along the way, I pick up Reinforced boots, Nemian, Breastplate of Valor, and Magi's Cloak. I am vigilant with my VF1 calls, which I have to make often because Loki is always disappearing into the jungle and proxying almost every one of my waves. This effectively forces me to stay in lane for as long as possible, as I have to full clear each wave just to keep the tower up. Eventually the Loki sort of gives up on lane and just commits to ganking Mid and Right. I take the opportunity around minute 17 to push in and take his T1 tower. Only a couple of minutes later, the other team F6's. I tell you what, that feels good man.
Tuesday, September 25, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LV
Game 1
Current Rank: Silver V - 95 TP
Well, I've arrived. The promotion game. IF I win, I can rank up. If I lose, I will rage with the fury of a dying sun, about how awful my team was and what noobs they all were. I'll probably be the top-pick lord to a team of scrubmasters. I just need to accept it.
Just kidding. I needed to get that out of my system, in hopes that it will help me keep my cool if any of those things do happen. And if they do, I'll consider them challenges to overcome and not the result of some ridiculous conspiracy to hold me down in the depths of Silver ranks.
Anyways, I'm second pick. Someone throws out almost every boost, so I drop a skin and FP boost to try to start some goodwill in the lobby. Hopefully it carries through to the game. I pick Erlang just because he's open and I've played well with him in casual on this patch. I offer to trade if someone else wants to run him solo, but no one speaks up. The enemies third-pick Sobek, which I assume will be played into me. I've not gone against a lot of Sobek lately, so this could be tricky. OK, their last pick of Skadi to go with Ravana, Kuku, Sobek, and Xba has me confused. My guess is Skadi tank? I don't know what to build against this, so may go with boot rush.
Instead, I go with cloak. This was a huge mistake because I got Skadi as an opponent. She got Berserker. I hold my own for about 8 minutes, but eventually lose my tower without dying. This team breaks down. Duo is very weak. We lose. Of course we do.
Game 2
Current Rank: Silver V - 90 TP
Let's see if I can get back to even. I am second pick and due to calls in lobby, I end up taking Artemis ADC. Let's see if I can make her work. My lane partner will be the supp from the other team in the last game. I am going to zone in. Let's do this.
I'm with Xiang Tian, into Ullr and Sobek. I once again get a good laning phase through. Unfortunately, I start getting crushed as we move into the mid game. And then the jungle and tank decide its more fun to use the in-game chat to BM than to make useful calls. I'm getting really stressed out by the hate.
I pick it up as we transition to the late game, but our team lacks focus. We get it together great at moments, but can't stay focused. And I die way too much. Life sucks, when you're a Bronze Bastard.
Current Rank: Silver V - 95 TP
Well, I've arrived. The promotion game. IF I win, I can rank up. If I lose, I will rage with the fury of a dying sun, about how awful my team was and what noobs they all were. I'll probably be the top-pick lord to a team of scrubmasters. I just need to accept it.
Just kidding. I needed to get that out of my system, in hopes that it will help me keep my cool if any of those things do happen. And if they do, I'll consider them challenges to overcome and not the result of some ridiculous conspiracy to hold me down in the depths of Silver ranks.
Anyways, I'm second pick. Someone throws out almost every boost, so I drop a skin and FP boost to try to start some goodwill in the lobby. Hopefully it carries through to the game. I pick Erlang just because he's open and I've played well with him in casual on this patch. I offer to trade if someone else wants to run him solo, but no one speaks up. The enemies third-pick Sobek, which I assume will be played into me. I've not gone against a lot of Sobek lately, so this could be tricky. OK, their last pick of Skadi to go with Ravana, Kuku, Sobek, and Xba has me confused. My guess is Skadi tank? I don't know what to build against this, so may go with boot rush.
Instead, I go with cloak. This was a huge mistake because I got Skadi as an opponent. She got Berserker. I hold my own for about 8 minutes, but eventually lose my tower without dying. This team breaks down. Duo is very weak. We lose. Of course we do.
Game 2
Current Rank: Silver V - 90 TP
Let's see if I can get back to even. I am second pick and due to calls in lobby, I end up taking Artemis ADC. Let's see if I can make her work. My lane partner will be the supp from the other team in the last game. I am going to zone in. Let's do this.
I'm with Xiang Tian, into Ullr and Sobek. I once again get a good laning phase through. Unfortunately, I start getting crushed as we move into the mid game. And then the jungle and tank decide its more fun to use the in-game chat to BM than to make useful calls. I'm getting really stressed out by the hate.
I pick it up as we transition to the late game, but our team lacks focus. We get it together great at moments, but can't stay focused. And I die way too much. Life sucks, when you're a Bronze Bastard.
Monday, September 24, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LIV
Current Rank: Silver V - 79 TP
Time to see if this 10.5 minute queue was worth the wait. Our top ELO picks a Gold Mercury jungle. I'm second-picking Athena into Hercules and Scylla. My 3rd pick decides to pair with me as Anhur, and the enemies take Neith. Our team rounds out with Aphrodite and a Gold Sol. The last-pick supp for the other team is Ganesha. Let's do this.
This is my first time playing Athena in ranked in a while. I've been doing OK with her in casual, so I am hoping this time around feels better than last. I start with Guardian's Blessing, then T1 boots. I go 4 Health Pots with 2 Multi Pots, down from my usual 5/1 split.
Laning phase goes smoothly, as we stalemate duo. Our solo laner gets crushed in the early going. Our jungler gets frustrated and starts giving the solo Aphro major BM. I remind everyone we are a late game team and try to stay cool. Eventually, the Aphro starts getting under my skin too. I don't maintain my cool and I fuss back.
I end up getting shook and stuck at level 10 for what seems like forever. I'm more worried about Aphro lecturing me than I am at what the enemy's might be doing. I decide to remain quite after a struggle, because some of what Aphro was saying made sense. He was just being holier-than-thou about it and it made it difficult. However, when I swallowed my pride and listened, he was making good calls.
We ultimately turn around a rough start and begin dominating team fights. My weak 0-4-1 start becomes a 1-5-6 finish and our late game team comp really shines through. We methodically crush the other team and win in convincing fashion. The Bronze Bastard gets a win. My return to Athena in ranked is fruitful, if frustrating.
Time to see if this 10.5 minute queue was worth the wait. Our top ELO picks a Gold Mercury jungle. I'm second-picking Athena into Hercules and Scylla. My 3rd pick decides to pair with me as Anhur, and the enemies take Neith. Our team rounds out with Aphrodite and a Gold Sol. The last-pick supp for the other team is Ganesha. Let's do this.
This is my first time playing Athena in ranked in a while. I've been doing OK with her in casual, so I am hoping this time around feels better than last. I start with Guardian's Blessing, then T1 boots. I go 4 Health Pots with 2 Multi Pots, down from my usual 5/1 split.
Laning phase goes smoothly, as we stalemate duo. Our solo laner gets crushed in the early going. Our jungler gets frustrated and starts giving the solo Aphro major BM. I remind everyone we are a late game team and try to stay cool. Eventually, the Aphro starts getting under my skin too. I don't maintain my cool and I fuss back.
I end up getting shook and stuck at level 10 for what seems like forever. I'm more worried about Aphro lecturing me than I am at what the enemy's might be doing. I decide to remain quite after a struggle, because some of what Aphro was saying made sense. He was just being holier-than-thou about it and it made it difficult. However, when I swallowed my pride and listened, he was making good calls.
We ultimately turn around a rough start and begin dominating team fights. My weak 0-4-1 start becomes a 1-5-6 finish and our late game team comp really shines through. We methodically crush the other team and win in convincing fashion. The Bronze Bastard gets a win. My return to Athena in ranked is fruitful, if frustrating.
Saturday, September 22, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LIII
Current Rank: Silver V - 69 TP
Well, my new mic started crashing my PC into a restart loop. So that's new. Back to using a gaming mic from a certain well-known video game where people come together in a group and perform songs. So, yeah. Let's dive into the shallow end that is Saturday AM ranked.
Alright, I'm fourth pick. At least the top pressure is not going to be a factor. Everyone calls in chat what they want during planning. I don't make a call and fill as ADC. OK, let's see what happens. He Bo, Agni, and Erlang all go unbanned. I take Artemis and I'll be laning with a Fafnir. It looks like I'll be going against an Ares Rama enemy lane.
I'm going to start with Hunter's Blessing and level 1 Dev gauntlets. And some health pots. Classic ADC build. I play pretty safely early and avoid major damage. The Rama is out by himself in our lane, and both Bell and Pele decide to start red buff. Since there are 4 of us, we chase Rama and secure an early kill. Bell ports back to solo, and gets a kill against the Athena solo.
This is a great start, and we maintain the momentum most of the way. I get my T2 gloves and then push hard before I go back to finish them ahead of Rama. I have to buy some extra potions that slow my build down a bit, but they keep me alive on at least 2 occasions so I deem them worth it. Ultimately our mid takes the enemy tower first. The other team lacks coordination, and can't compete with the pressure Pele is getting everywhere. Bellona feeds big time on the enemy solo and jungle. We take Gold Fury twice and a FG twice. Great coordination, awesome work and a Saturday morning win in only 24 minutes for the Bronze Bastard.
Current Rank: Silver V - 85 TP
Well, my new mic started crashing my PC into a restart loop. So that's new. Back to using a gaming mic from a certain well-known video game where people come together in a group and perform songs. So, yeah. Let's dive into the shallow end that is Saturday AM ranked.
Alright, I'm fourth pick. At least the top pressure is not going to be a factor. Everyone calls in chat what they want during planning. I don't make a call and fill as ADC. OK, let's see what happens. He Bo, Agni, and Erlang all go unbanned. I take Artemis and I'll be laning with a Fafnir. It looks like I'll be going against an Ares Rama enemy lane.
I'm going to start with Hunter's Blessing and level 1 Dev gauntlets. And some health pots. Classic ADC build. I play pretty safely early and avoid major damage. The Rama is out by himself in our lane, and both Bell and Pele decide to start red buff. Since there are 4 of us, we chase Rama and secure an early kill. Bell ports back to solo, and gets a kill against the Athena solo.
This is a great start, and we maintain the momentum most of the way. I get my T2 gloves and then push hard before I go back to finish them ahead of Rama. I have to buy some extra potions that slow my build down a bit, but they keep me alive on at least 2 occasions so I deem them worth it. Ultimately our mid takes the enemy tower first. The other team lacks coordination, and can't compete with the pressure Pele is getting everywhere. Bellona feeds big time on the enemy solo and jungle. We take Gold Fury twice and a FG twice. Great coordination, awesome work and a Saturday morning win in only 24 minutes for the Bronze Bastard.
Current Rank: Silver V - 85 TP
OK, I could potentially rank up, here. So I'll probably be top ELO with a bunch of morning trolls. Ah well, if it is then it is. I just got to keep it from bringing me down. Well, what do you know? I'm last pick. Totally no pressure here. This makes me happy to no end. Well, our less-than-smart team decided to burn all the bank time with the 2nd pick and then the 2nd ban. And our 4th pick knows he's going to be ADC because we talk it out, and yet he still can't figure out who to pick after 20 seconds. And so we are back to queue. With people that are paying so little attention, I have to say I'm happy to be out of that group.
Game II - Take II
Let's see what the Smite gods send me, this time. I'm 2nd pick. Our top ELO goes Athena, and 3rd and 4th pick both want to go solo. I think Artemis is good with Athena, so I just decide to double down on ADC Artemis this morning. Let's see if we can get through the lobby. And if we do, let's see if we can do this. Nope, a bunch of idiots and we are back to queue again. This is ridiculous.
Game II - Take III
I'm 2nd pick this time. Good news, none of the prior lobby people are in this lobby. The first round of picks and bans goes quickly. I have hopes we could actually play a game, this time. I'm taking Sylvanus with Ullr against AMC and Athena/Guan. The other team has Pele, Athena, Ra...I'm not liking the look of this.
I think the best build for me is usually Thebes second, if I don't get behind. I also like going Stone of Binding second, if we get an early kill. Let's see which I do here. OOF, their Athena has 10 stars, lol. Guess she gonna do what she do. Let's do this!!!!
Well, no promotion for me. Nu Wa mid was one of the worst players I've seen. She wen 0-7-3. Typed the whole game. Had excuse after excuse for being bad. Baka let the enemy Pele run wild. We get routed hard, the solo lane goes down early. Duo lane played well this game, but solo mid and jungle all had a rough go. We lose. I waited through 3 lobbies for that shit game.
Friday, September 21, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LII
Current Rank: Silver V - 75 TP
Friday night ranked. This could be bad. I'm top ELO. Oh no. I take Erlang first pick after He Bo, Freya, Cherno, and Baron are banned. Well, someone on the other team quits. I think this is a good thing. There's a guy in my lobby typing without the space key, so I'm not sad to leave that behind. I am sad to see an 8 minute queue, though. Deathwalker is streaming, so I'll try one more and kill the time watching him. If the second attempt breaks down in lobby, I'm taking it as a bad sign and getting out.
I'm 4th pick this time. I like this slot a lot better. It somehow feels like less pressure. I'm just going to take what role falls to me and embrace it. Well, I'm going to supp for a Loki ADC. Spicy. I'm going to take Slyvanus. Why not? Let's do this.
Artio and Ullr are on the other side. I haven't played against many Artio's. I'm going to need to use my CC to keep her as stalled as possible. Well, I put in 3K more damage than our ADC; who does basically nothing. I should have known Loki ADC was a troll pick. Oh well, what can you do?
Friday night ranked. This could be bad. I'm top ELO. Oh no. I take Erlang first pick after He Bo, Freya, Cherno, and Baron are banned. Well, someone on the other team quits. I think this is a good thing. There's a guy in my lobby typing without the space key, so I'm not sad to leave that behind. I am sad to see an 8 minute queue, though. Deathwalker is streaming, so I'll try one more and kill the time watching him. If the second attempt breaks down in lobby, I'm taking it as a bad sign and getting out.
I'm 4th pick this time. I like this slot a lot better. It somehow feels like less pressure. I'm just going to take what role falls to me and embrace it. Well, I'm going to supp for a Loki ADC. Spicy. I'm going to take Slyvanus. Why not? Let's do this.
Artio and Ullr are on the other side. I haven't played against many Artio's. I'm going to need to use my CC to keep her as stalled as possible. Well, I put in 3K more damage than our ADC; who does basically nothing. I should have known Loki ADC was a troll pick. Oh well, what can you do?
Monday, September 17, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard LI
Current Rank: Silver V - 81 TP
Its the first day of 5.17, so we'll see how this goes. I'm 3rd pick. Got my Slyvanus. The enemy team responds with a 3rd-pick Geb. Artemis teams up with the Geb and my last-pick ADC takes Cernunos. I've played with some good Cern's lately, and hopefully the new buff will help him. On the laoding screen, I see that neither Cern nor Pele have any wins. The enemy team has 4 X's. Guess I can go ahead and chalk this one up...
Cernunos goes in front of tower and just stands there. He doesn't attack minions. He doesn't attack Artemis or Geb. They both converge and kill him. He says he was fixing key bindings. After he comes back, he goes to the front of the next minion wave and lets them kill him again. He tells the rest of the team that I wasn't helping. I instantly become as mad as I've ever been playing Smite. Intentionally feeding in ranked in one thing, but trolling to lose on purpose and ruin other people's games is just the most awful thing you can do in ranked play.
The game doesn't get much better. Cern continues to feed. He starts BM-ing Ra as well. We lose a 4v5 and I am so incensed that I actually report this player and also file a support ticket. I want this account banned. I need to go cool off, I'm so pissed right now.
Its the first day of 5.17, so we'll see how this goes. I'm 3rd pick. Got my Slyvanus. The enemy team responds with a 3rd-pick Geb. Artemis teams up with the Geb and my last-pick ADC takes Cernunos. I've played with some good Cern's lately, and hopefully the new buff will help him. On the laoding screen, I see that neither Cern nor Pele have any wins. The enemy team has 4 X's. Guess I can go ahead and chalk this one up...
Cernunos goes in front of tower and just stands there. He doesn't attack minions. He doesn't attack Artemis or Geb. They both converge and kill him. He says he was fixing key bindings. After he comes back, he goes to the front of the next minion wave and lets them kill him again. He tells the rest of the team that I wasn't helping. I instantly become as mad as I've ever been playing Smite. Intentionally feeding in ranked in one thing, but trolling to lose on purpose and ruin other people's games is just the most awful thing you can do in ranked play.
The game doesn't get much better. Cern continues to feed. He starts BM-ing Ra as well. We lose a 4v5 and I am so incensed that I actually report this player and also file a support ticket. I want this account banned. I need to go cool off, I'm so pissed right now.
Sunday, September 16, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard L
Current Rank: Silver V - 62 TP
OK, last time out I had 3 straight did-not-select-in-lobby that wasted 30 minutes of my precious time. Please god, let me just get into a game that actually happens. And I'm top pick. Sigh. Baron, Freya, Cherno, He Bo. I take Sylvanus first, the enemy takes Ao Kuang. I feel like I'm about to get stomped. I get Rama as my partner. We've got an Athena/Ullr pair playing into us. Let's do this.
I had a hard time starting out with this Rama. He doesn't press when I expect, and he wants to push when I want to retreat. Also, he's kind of toxic. Not radioactive, but not a healthy bit, either. I end up 0-5 and down a few levels. I get BM-ed. I BM back, but I don't press it. Luckily, it ends up being one of those one-time affairs. The Rama makes it clear he wants lane to himself, so I start rotating way earlier than I normally would.
This game is full of early-and-often rotations. I have to start farming jungle because I am waaaay behind. I build out CD Boots, Lotus crown, and Stone of Binding to start. I finish with Rod of Aescelpius, Pythag's Piece, and Heartward because Agni is bombing us all.
I actually learn a lot of things this game: how to ignore trash talk, how to focus and catch up, how to coordinate with a team showing different calls. I finish 0-6-14, just north of 0 KDA and feel good about getting a win for the Bronze Bastard.
OK, last time out I had 3 straight did-not-select-in-lobby that wasted 30 minutes of my precious time. Please god, let me just get into a game that actually happens. And I'm top pick. Sigh. Baron, Freya, Cherno, He Bo. I take Sylvanus first, the enemy takes Ao Kuang. I feel like I'm about to get stomped. I get Rama as my partner. We've got an Athena/Ullr pair playing into us. Let's do this.
I had a hard time starting out with this Rama. He doesn't press when I expect, and he wants to push when I want to retreat. Also, he's kind of toxic. Not radioactive, but not a healthy bit, either. I end up 0-5 and down a few levels. I get BM-ed. I BM back, but I don't press it. Luckily, it ends up being one of those one-time affairs. The Rama makes it clear he wants lane to himself, so I start rotating way earlier than I normally would.
This game is full of early-and-often rotations. I have to start farming jungle because I am waaaay behind. I build out CD Boots, Lotus crown, and Stone of Binding to start. I finish with Rod of Aescelpius, Pythag's Piece, and Heartward because Agni is bombing us all.
I actually learn a lot of things this game: how to ignore trash talk, how to focus and catch up, how to coordinate with a team showing different calls. I finish 0-6-14, just north of 0 KDA and feel good about getting a win for the Bronze Bastard.
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLIX
Current Rank: Silver V - 62 TP
First Attempt - I am third pick and take Sylvanus. Someone on the other team leaves the lobby, so we get to start again.
Oh no, this time I am top ELO. Freya, Cherno, He Bo, and Baron are the bans. I take Sylvanus to go with Anhur. And once again...we have 8 of 10 picks made and someone dumps from lobby. This is highly annoying. I guess I'll watch 5 more minutes of Obey v. Dignitas.
Alright, the third and final try. I'm not playing "wait in queue" any more today. I'm second pick this time.
OOOOOOKAY. 3 straight lobby leavers, I'm out of here.
First Attempt - I am third pick and take Sylvanus. Someone on the other team leaves the lobby, so we get to start again.
Oh no, this time I am top ELO. Freya, Cherno, He Bo, and Baron are the bans. I take Sylvanus to go with Anhur. And once again...we have 8 of 10 picks made and someone dumps from lobby. This is highly annoying. I guess I'll watch 5 more minutes of Obey v. Dignitas.
Alright, the third and final try. I'm not playing "wait in queue" any more today. I'm second pick this time.
OOOOOOKAY. 3 straight lobby leavers, I'm out of here.
Friday, September 7, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLVIII
Current Rank: Silver V - TP 60
Well our top ELO goes Baron support. I'm taking Bellona solo from the third spot. My lane opponent looks like it will be Athena. Interesting.
I haven't played Bellona in solo yet on patch 5.16, but I plan for reinforced shoes and then Berserker's. Nope, its Fafnir. And their Freya is DC.
And the other team surrender's at 5. I dig it.
Game II
Current Rank: Silver V - TP 68
I am once again the third pick. The enemy team kicks of P&B with Ne Zha. He-bo, Freya, and Cherno join him on the bench. With the first pick in game II the enemies select...Ra. We top pick Baron for the last pick, who is running him in Support. Pele is our second pick. I go with Artemis. We'll be going against Ares and Xba, so should be able to be patient like I want with Art.
I go my standard build of Hunter's Blessing and T1 Dev gloves. We get an early kill from Pele gank, and I take the chance to go back and get T2 Dev gloves. I ran back to join Baron support, and this makes a difference. I feel the extra power.
I play well. The idiot Baron makes a call to go up the left lane when we've killed 4. I call FG. What happens? I go with the idiot Baron, who gets killed by the Xba who is up. By then, two of res'd and come after me. I die in the 34th minute. We lose. This is the life of the Bronze Bastard.
Well our top ELO goes Baron support. I'm taking Bellona solo from the third spot. My lane opponent looks like it will be Athena. Interesting.
I haven't played Bellona in solo yet on patch 5.16, but I plan for reinforced shoes and then Berserker's. Nope, its Fafnir. And their Freya is DC.
And the other team surrender's at 5. I dig it.
Game II
Current Rank: Silver V - TP 68
I am once again the third pick. The enemy team kicks of P&B with Ne Zha. He-bo, Freya, and Cherno join him on the bench. With the first pick in game II the enemies select...Ra. We top pick Baron for the last pick, who is running him in Support. Pele is our second pick. I go with Artemis. We'll be going against Ares and Xba, so should be able to be patient like I want with Art.
I go my standard build of Hunter's Blessing and T1 Dev gloves. We get an early kill from Pele gank, and I take the chance to go back and get T2 Dev gloves. I ran back to join Baron support, and this makes a difference. I feel the extra power.
I play well. The idiot Baron makes a call to go up the left lane when we've killed 4. I call FG. What happens? I go with the idiot Baron, who gets killed by the Xba who is up. By then, two of res'd and come after me. I die in the 34th minute. We lose. This is the life of the Bronze Bastard.
Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLVII
Current Rank: Silver V - TP 44
Well, the last week or so was humbling. I'm 4th pick this evening, in my first ranked game in a few days. And my first on patch 5.16. Well, we have a non-speaking Chang'e locking in third...after solo and mid were locked in first two. I ask multiple times if she is Supp, she doesn't answer. We have a Baron solo, so three mages. I take Artemis, and our last pick takes post-nerf Ne Zha. Let's do this. Or whatever.
The enemy lane this match is Terra/Ullr. And our brilliant Chang'e just stays in base. We call a Pause vote. Sigh. The pause works, she returns! This actually starts working out OK. The Ne Zha jungle is smooth. We steal the enemy purple buff. We get a gank and a kill. I go back for T2 Dev Gauntlets and get T1 boots, since I have exactly 500 left.
We roll pretty consistently, with each lane taking a tower. The enemy Ravana jungle seems to be DC'ing. Not sure if it's an Internet thing or a rage quit thing, but we are continuing our slow creep. We get an 11-minute Gold Fury. I do a respectable 2-3-7 with 11K damage in a < 20 minute game. I'm happy with that. The Bronze Bastard finally on the good side of things again.
Well, the last week or so was humbling. I'm 4th pick this evening, in my first ranked game in a few days. And my first on patch 5.16. Well, we have a non-speaking Chang'e locking in third...after solo and mid were locked in first two. I ask multiple times if she is Supp, she doesn't answer. We have a Baron solo, so three mages. I take Artemis, and our last pick takes post-nerf Ne Zha. Let's do this. Or whatever.
The enemy lane this match is Terra/Ullr. And our brilliant Chang'e just stays in base. We call a Pause vote. Sigh. The pause works, she returns! This actually starts working out OK. The Ne Zha jungle is smooth. We steal the enemy purple buff. We get a gank and a kill. I go back for T2 Dev Gauntlets and get T1 boots, since I have exactly 500 left.
We roll pretty consistently, with each lane taking a tower. The enemy Ravana jungle seems to be DC'ing. Not sure if it's an Internet thing or a rage quit thing, but we are continuing our slow creep. We get an 11-minute Gold Fury. I do a respectable 2-3-7 with 11K damage in a < 20 minute game. I'm happy with that. The Bronze Bastard finally on the good side of things again.
Monday, September 3, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLVI
Current Rank: Silver V - TP 50 (Gold Matchmaking)
Well I have to say, this Gold Matchmaking tier has been total crap. That, or its the Labor Day holiday weekend traffic. Or a combination. But whatever it is, I'm down now for like 4 games. I need a bounce back. Give me something good, Gods of Ranked Conquest.
I'm 4th pick and the whole team has coms. This could be good... I have option for support, with Geb on the other side. I'll take Sylvanus and we'll see which blink+ult rules the day. I have an Anhur for ADC and the enemy team has Chronos. I've got a good feeling about this. Let's do this.
I will build Heartward early, since they have 4 magic damage dealers. Well, I did 1K less damage than the crap Anhur. Ne Zha is the worst jungler top ELO I've ever seen. Zhong Kui is just plain terrible. 2-8-12. How do you break even as Zhong? How do we lose with two of the most brain-dead easy OP stomp gods? I hate being a Bronze Bastard.
Well I have to say, this Gold Matchmaking tier has been total crap. That, or its the Labor Day holiday weekend traffic. Or a combination. But whatever it is, I'm down now for like 4 games. I need a bounce back. Give me something good, Gods of Ranked Conquest.
I'm 4th pick and the whole team has coms. This could be good... I have option for support, with Geb on the other side. I'll take Sylvanus and we'll see which blink+ult rules the day. I have an Anhur for ADC and the enemy team has Chronos. I've got a good feeling about this. Let's do this.
I will build Heartward early, since they have 4 magic damage dealers. Well, I did 1K less damage than the crap Anhur. Ne Zha is the worst jungler top ELO I've ever seen. Zhong Kui is just plain terrible. 2-8-12. How do you break even as Zhong? How do we lose with two of the most brain-dead easy OP stomp gods? I hate being a Bronze Bastard.
Saturday, September 1, 2018
Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLV
Current Rank: Silver V -- 56 TP (gold matchmaking)
I've been getting some backswing after my very strong start to the split. Oh shit, I'm first pick. Alright, I take Hun Batz to trade with our fourth pick for my Sylvanus supp. My last-pick ADC goes with Anhur. Aight, I think we can make this work against Hou Yi and Ares. At any rate, its better than the last 3 hours doing yardwork. Let's do this.
I have exactly 1700 gold on my first back, after securing a assist on Hou Yi. We are doing pretty well against this team, when suddenly both Anhur and Tyr DC. And I pause. And they don't come back. 5v3? no thanks.
I've been getting some backswing after my very strong start to the split. Oh shit, I'm first pick. Alright, I take Hun Batz to trade with our fourth pick for my Sylvanus supp. My last-pick ADC goes with Anhur. Aight, I think we can make this work against Hou Yi and Ares. At any rate, its better than the last 3 hours doing yardwork. Let's do this.
I have exactly 1700 gold on my first back, after securing a assist on Hou Yi. We are doing pretty well against this team, when suddenly both Anhur and Tyr DC. And I pause. And they don't come back. 5v3? no thanks.
Tales of a Bronze Bastard XLIV
Current Rank: Silver V -- 69 TP (gold matchmaking)
OK, let's see if Saturday AM ranked is looking any better. Last night was insane. Two people actually intentionally trolling the whole time, and I was on the wrong end of it in two straight games. Two losses because people just wanted to ruin games. I hope they can ban these people, and any related accounts they might have.
OK, enough complaining about yesterday. Its out of my system. I'm still 12-9 this split. Let's do this. Well I'm fourth pick, so this helps. I'll probably get to be supp. The other team starts off with Cama and Baka. We have a Janus, Fenrir, and Guan lock in on our side. Guan calls supp. I am bad at ADC and Jung. I take Sol since our tank is a phys. I'm not excited about this group comp. I pull up smiteprobuilds and decide to try Zyhroes's build from earlier in the week.
The other team has ADC for the first 7 minutes. And we're still down 3-1 because the trolling in the lobby led to a horrible group comp. We have 2 assassins and a Fenrir who is trying to play solo. Good sport taking over for the lobby troll, but he gets owned. T1 and T2 solo towers go down in about 9.5 minutes. We are severely outclassed by a hard carry Baka and a good team on the other side. This is embarrasing. We lost in the lobby. I end up 4-10-8, with a team 2nd damage and 2nd most wards placed. I suck at ADC, but I'm not the reason we lost this game.
Well, at least it was just awful players and not trolls intentionally ruining the game. So that's something.
Game II
Current Rank: Silver V -- 62 TP (gold matchmaking)
I'm last pick. The best position from which to go with the flow. Two of the three from last game are back. Ugh. At least this time the troll Guan supp goes Cernunos, so I can supp. He probably sucks though. Cern is the worst ADC in the game right now. I take Sylv. Into probably Nox/Chernobog.
Well, Cern does fine. We get a kill early. The enemy Arachne just stomps, though. She's too good. She crushes everyone. The only person on our team managing anything is the Chang'e solo. I play maybe my worst ever game as Sylvanus. I'm a Bronze Bastard. Screw this holiday weekend, gold matching making BS.
OK, let's see if Saturday AM ranked is looking any better. Last night was insane. Two people actually intentionally trolling the whole time, and I was on the wrong end of it in two straight games. Two losses because people just wanted to ruin games. I hope they can ban these people, and any related accounts they might have.
OK, enough complaining about yesterday. Its out of my system. I'm still 12-9 this split. Let's do this. Well I'm fourth pick, so this helps. I'll probably get to be supp. The other team starts off with Cama and Baka. We have a Janus, Fenrir, and Guan lock in on our side. Guan calls supp. I am bad at ADC and Jung. I take Sol since our tank is a phys. I'm not excited about this group comp. I pull up smiteprobuilds and decide to try Zyhroes's build from earlier in the week.
The other team has ADC for the first 7 minutes. And we're still down 3-1 because the trolling in the lobby led to a horrible group comp. We have 2 assassins and a Fenrir who is trying to play solo. Good sport taking over for the lobby troll, but he gets owned. T1 and T2 solo towers go down in about 9.5 minutes. We are severely outclassed by a hard carry Baka and a good team on the other side. This is embarrasing. We lost in the lobby. I end up 4-10-8, with a team 2nd damage and 2nd most wards placed. I suck at ADC, but I'm not the reason we lost this game.
Well, at least it was just awful players and not trolls intentionally ruining the game. So that's something.
Game II
Current Rank: Silver V -- 62 TP (gold matchmaking)
I'm last pick. The best position from which to go with the flow. Two of the three from last game are back. Ugh. At least this time the troll Guan supp goes Cernunos, so I can supp. He probably sucks though. Cern is the worst ADC in the game right now. I take Sylv. Into probably Nox/Chernobog.
Well, Cern does fine. We get a kill early. The enemy Arachne just stomps, though. She's too good. She crushes everyone. The only person on our team managing anything is the Chang'e solo. I play maybe my worst ever game as Sylvanus. I'm a Bronze Bastard. Screw this holiday weekend, gold matching making BS.
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