Sabitlenmiş Tweet
isohel
958 posts
isohel retweetledi
isohel retweetledi
isohel retweetledi
isohel retweetledi
LS - The failure of League of Legends greatest mind.
A late November night I ventured the unfamiliar streets of the Korean city Incheon guided by a man that I had respected deeply for many years. He said something that has stuck with me since. 'I failed'. And I agree with him.
If League of Legends is the Earth pre naval exploration, the uncharted seas and lands akin to the undiscovered ways of playing LoL optimally, then this man, Nick De Cesare, known as LS, is undoubtably one of our greatest explorers. A subjective claim, but don't dismiss the importance of the metaphor in both this specific example and the psychology of us as a species because LoL is merely a game. After all, there is a reason both Christopher Columbus and Gary Kasparov battled the deep blue.
Despite considering myself unqualified to guarantee such a pretentious claim I nonetheless feel comfortable saying it, why is that?
I always found it impressive that when Dmitri Mendeleev invented the periodic table, he left spaces to accommodate for undiscovered elements. In the context of League of Legends, the most impressive 'explorers' wield a similar critical analysis; able to draw conclusions on things not yet tested or proven because of their deep understanding of existing variables. We commonly see this with people predicting a new champions relative strength or as we saw recently with LS, voicing the power of lane swaps throughout its multiple iterations and long before its recent resurgence. He is one of the best at this.
I feel I needn't need to speak in detail about his doctrine but would like to at least list a few of his accredited ideas within our zeitgeist (Which is our discovered land).
• Approach to draft and its importance - Understanding champion themes.
• Itemization - Calling out inefficacy and discovering unique build paths.
• Criticizing pro players - Anti appeal to power.
• Unique champion picks - Nasus support, AP Kai'sa ect.
• F-key introduction.
• Advocating a controlled playstyle - Referred to as 'blue'.
• Coining terms - 'B1/R1' 'Freezing' ect.
And these are just a few of the heavily underappreciated and undercelebrated contributions.
So where has he failed? Ironically, as I now describe him as a leader and explorer, I asked him the very same question as he led the way and pointed directions. He told me that despite all his effort over the last 10 plus years demonstrating why certain things were objectively optimal, they were not being implemented. In this moment I thought of what I consider to be the most egregious misplay in League of Legends. A team with a large lead and three Dragons, one away from soul, forcing random skirmishes and trying to find a killing blow. If only they knew the timer on the 4th Dragon spawn was the game providing a countdown saying 'your opponent will duck left in x minutes' - you could prepare everything into the countering uppercut.
Acknowledging from my own experience this mistake was common and noting that a scene which has adopted even the slightest of his logical thinking would not be capable of this, I agreed.
The most emotionally provoking failure to LS was that mathematically demonstratable optimises were ignored and even chastised. Seen for example in his crusade against healing reduction items, reasoning displayed via a simple math equation was nowhere near as easily implemented on mass as common trends like copying a pro's build (even if the build is suboptimal). It seemed that LS's goal was to improve the quality of critical thinking, especially within the West, and embark on an enlightenment that his friend and former co- Starcraft pro Yosh did to him and, in short, mass export game theory understanding.
But here we are in our world that now seems to be ever decreasing in its attempts to venture into the horizon.
• Repetitive meta's.
• The feeling of a lack of new prestigious young talent.
• No huge contrast between most pro players.
• Conformative culture.
• A constant cycle of the West headbutting into the same Eastern brick wall every Worlds with no attempted adaptation.
The most comedic, ironic and vivid display of the above 821 words is found in the classic video, appropriately titled, 'Doublelift stunlocks Sneaky for 24 Minutes'. In it, Doublelift introduces Sneaky to the infinite monkey theorem and the Monty Hall problem. Although admittedly very fair to be initially met with confusion, it's the grueling 20 minutes of stubbornness and lack of understanding that makes the video hilarious, but also a depressing microcosm for our scene. It then begs the question, if assumed the highest level of player, team and staff inherently should strive for an environment that cultivates the ability to think critically and question oneself to reach a more informed state as a prerequisite; then how is it at all possible that someone competing at NA's highest level for so many years can come out the other side and produce a video like this? Like a boxer developing the mental fortitude to see themselves above anyone, certain mental attributes should be a natural biproduct given the system is operating correctly. In this case it should be the understanding of variable change.
LS was right. His doctrine, which is simply thinking in ways already prevalent in other games and across the real world, has failed to be spread on mass and into pro play. In his mind this justifies him as a failure as he further reiterates in videos and streams. And I disagree with him.
Despite what the title may imply, I think he massively succeeded. Please read it one more time. The failure I am refencing is his characterisation of himself; not seeing and appreciating his own greatness *is* the failure of League of Legends greatest mind.
I am very cognizant that this may just end up sounding like a personal love letter from a 'glazer' as I'm sure the Roy Keaneless TikTok generation will no doubt be thinking.
I am in no way implying LS is perfect as a content creator or a human but simply that he should re define his view on his success within his League of Legends journey, and if I may be so audacious, that we as a community should be more appreciative for his distinct imprint on our game. From his eccentric entertainment to his unique approaches to his passion for developing younger talent.
Finally, acknowledging that one’s definition of success is highly subjective, I'd like to say that beyond our ever-increasing materialistic world, lies what I think should be heralded as successes true determinant.
•Acting with honor and sticking to one's values and beliefs despite hardship.
•Caring for and nurturing the next generation.
•Love.
Interpret as you wish.
The most personal and human moment (also a more fitting quantifier of success) in all of this, is the passing on of knowledge from Yosh to LS. LS at a young age was the 'sinner' he now critiques. How beautiful is it that simply by discussing and teaching, Yosh gifted a conceptional idea that would be influential beyond belief. An act such as that in many ways is more successful and important than winning a trophy; or getting the world to play more optimally. I think LS has given us the same gift.
English
isohel retweetledi
isohel retweetledi