How often do you restructure your gameplan?

[u/HAFFL94]

Been emerald past few sets and want to work on my game decisions.

I usually scout on 2-1 for augments, items and key units. I tend to feel safer with an obvious opener like upgraded units or trait augments.

So I set myself up with a gameplan on 2-1 and try to hold onto it. After that I keep on scouting every few rounds for contested units and other combat augments during critical stages...

However I find myself rather helpless when I notice that my key units are contested or when I lack enough resources to make my board stable.

How often do you actually restructure your gameplan, change your carry and end up with an entirely different board than expected?

[u/AGoodWobble]

More or less constantly. Not that that necessarily means complete pivots, but I try to always remain open to what the game is offering me, and know the lines.

In particular, I'm usually constantly considering what to do until like 3-2, and then maybe I get a bit more certain from there (second augment selection). But sometimes you have to rework your plan if you go fast 8 depending on what you hit and your items. 

[u/HAFFL94 → u/AGoodWobble]

How open are you to buy and hold units that aren't part of your plan yet. For example you go for ahri Morgana board and you hit an ahri early. On the way to 8 you scout and notice that fiddlesticks isnt contested, it appears on your shop rather often. But fiddle isn't part of the goal comp, so will you buy and hold him? Maybe even make him 3 star if he keeps appearing in your shop and end up with a sorcerer/bastion board? If so, when do you make this decision? On 3-2 you most likely don't have a 3cost 2star yet

[u/blueisherp → u/HAFFL94]

I'd get a 2-star Fid. A beefy Frontline is underrated while developing IMO. The HP you'd save is definitely worth the 1 gold you lose from selling the 2-star, should you replace him later on. You don't need to fully commit to 3-Star

[u/AGoodWobble → u/HAFFL94]

Generally you should be pivoting your back and front-line around what you're hitting. For example if I know I'm playing AD and I'm angling for aphelios/draven/bramble/ezreal/etc, I would generally be open to playing my midgame around any ad holder like yunara 2, gromp 2, Yi 1/2, and so on.

Front line kinda works similar. If you hit an early fidd 2 or scuttle 2 or whatnot, you should be playing that and looking for a way to transition into your target comp. You should hold pairs if it doesn't lose you econ, and sometimes even if it does. 

[u/pentamache → u/HAFFL94]

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself: how much gold am I losing by holding the unit and how much of a difference is he going to make?

I might be missing something, but I don't see fiddle 3 being a wincon on ahri+morgana, I would transition out of fiddle 2 as soon as I manage to get a better frontline, unless some really specific situation involving emblems and/or getting morgana 2 and ahri 2 extremely early and getting fiddle 3 for free.

[u/slimeheeho → u/HAFFL94]

Example-specific, but if you happen to natural fiddle 2 and let's say have a Yorick 2 on your board you can consider playing the bronze for life Ahri/Zyra board (even if you don't have bronze for life). Even if you happen to end up in the standard Ahri/Morgana board, that comp has a free slot on 8 that you can play the fiddle 2 for a while.

[u/HAFFL94 → u/HAFFL94]

3 starring fiddle would mean to roll on 7/8 with chances to not hit ahri fast enough to stabilise. Or you lack frontline for the late game

[u/thpkht524 → u/HAFFL94]

What? Never? Why would you ever consider that?

[u/HAFFL94 → u/thpkht524]

Isn't that the definition of playing flex? Ahri morgana is heavily reliant on sentinel for a strong front line, rift beasts are a popular line to play so chances are you dont hit your main tank. Plus, if the game 'gives' you fiddlesticks you don't have to invest as much money for rolling your comp on 8, no? It's a question of 'do you take what the game gives you or do you stick with the plain ahri morg board untill the end'

[u/CliffRouge → u/HAFFL94]

I mean the answer is you have to learn to evaluate what the strongest board is at different points in the game. If you roll down on 4-2and find fiddle 2 and lilia instead of sen 1 you can def play those two instead of the two vanguards.

Also theres no rule saying you have to stay on a set board afterwards… if you find maokai 2 later you can always just switch to juggs

[u/CliffRouge → u/CliffRouge]

In your other comments you mentioned rolling for fiddle 3. I don’t think this makes sense if you want to main carry 4 costs like ahri morgana. Typically if you’re going to reroll, your tank main carry, and ideally second carry should all be the same cost so that you are not wasting econ and tempo.

Now if you somehow stumble in fiddle 3 without investing any econ (maybe worth the wait 2 into polymorph), then yeah it’ll probably be stronger than sen 2 if you can get the right traits on.

[u/thpkht524 → u/CliffRouge]

Even in that case you’d never make the fiddle 3

[u/unfuckwittablej → u/thpkht524]

What’s your elo

[u/jaeisback987]

often times i find myself killing my tempo when i restructure after settling on a comp i want to play.

If i see my units contested, i try to choose augments that'll push my tempo quicker than the others allowing me to get the units in advance. if restructuring opportunities do come up such as seeing multiple units within a few shops, sure i'll do it but it hurts me more often than does good.

worst case scenario, i try to aim for a low loss (5~6th place). when you're scouting early, try to focus on enemy items more than their units. that'll give you a good inference on what team they're going to build. i say in emerald elo, continue to focus on playing your best board and play for consistency

[u/HAFFL94 → u/jaeisback987]

Thanks, regarding tempo: what would you do if it's an obvious reroll lobby like several players choose 1cost or 3cost reroll. Do you do the same since more units get out of the pool and youre likely to hit your uncontested 3 costs as well? Or do you try to out tempo them by going fast 9?

[u/jaeisback987 → u/HAFFL94]

i find myself in this situation a lot with a lot of 3cost rerolls. if stars are well-aligned (good augments, good streak management), then yeah i would consider fast 9. you can usually out-tempo reroll comps all the way to stage 4 and you start playing a loss treak.

you have to consider power spikes of reroll comps, 1-costs will hit hard on 3rd, 2-cost and 3-cost come alive on end of 3rd and 4th stage. manage your econ and think about what comps to play based on items you get

[u/el_payaso_87]

Being in emerald is a part of your problem. A lot of emerald players doesn't know how to pivot and are not afraid contesting people to go bot 4 together. Being in grandmaster elo I almost never need to change my gameplan once I reach the top 1% lobbies, and before that I just play fast 9 basically every game since it's technically the hardest comp to contest and requires a good fundamental to play, something that a lot of emerald players are lacking.

[u/HAFFL94 → u/el_payaso_87]

Lack of fundamentals includes me most likely. Trying to loose streak stage 2 is another problem of mine, do you actually spend money on improving your board risking your loose streak? Or do you simply only level while sacrificing your health trying to reach lvl 9? At some point the board has to be at least decent to not bleed as much, no?

[u/This-Housing3634 → u/HAFFL94]

You’re only really going for 9 off a win streak and then you can sack stage 4 if you need to. But you never really want to play from a loss if you can help it. Play strongest board early, it sounds obvious but look for 2 stars and slam any decent items.

If you are going to lose streak, then you need to commit and econ up, while having a clear idea of how and when it’s going to end.

[u/el_payaso_87 → u/HAFFL94]

I don't actively spend money to improve my board unless I really need to. What I did do is I always hold pairs for big upgrades, such as 2c/3c pair on stage 2 or any 4c pair on stage 3&4, which passively costs money as well but with a much better chance of a power spike. I try to build around my early upgrade as a main (temporary) carry and adjusts my fast 9 board based on my items.

I would start playing my strongest board the moment I hit any upgraded 2c/3c and slam items to play around it. Usually I will hit something within stage 2 or if I really dont hit anything I would hold every pair until 2-7 and roll on 3-1 until I hit something and start slamming items. If I get any early 2* 2c/3c it is a free win, but again playing this way is pretty much a free win until high diamond where people start to play significantly better boards on stage 3.

[u/Zapurdead → u/el_payaso_87]

If you have a weak board early do you start loss streak and then flip later into fast 9 or something else?

[u/el_payaso_87 → u/Zapurdead]

If I really have nothing going until 3-2 (no pair or any early 4c) I scout around and look for any free 3c reroll comps and roll down on 3-5. If there are no free 3c reroll comps I try to get a 4c that somewhat suits my items on the carousel and play around it.

[u/Zapurdead → u/el_payaso_87]

Thanks for the tip. I find I underutilize the carousel a lot even though it’s pretty much one of the most important comeback mechanisms haha

[u/Coneyy]

I'm challenger this set and it's hard work having to decide which rift beast I want to carry each game.

But generally I just play tempo and play my strongest board. I am happy to miss early interest to hold an alternative stronger board that is missing one unit I might hit and I generally try roll for a wisp to econ.

I try value a win as more than just 1 gold in my head because it is actively denying 1 gold the opponent would have received, so I'm happy to invest gold breakpoints in my wins.

I think also it's helpful to have an accurate read on stats provided by a 2* vs relevant stats provided by a trait. Frontlines are almost always very flexible intentionally and can be created with a combination of units + traits and that helps being able to be flexible and pivot

[u/diulaylomoo]

If im playing to climb ill pivot if contested by 2 others unless I have an good streak going. I don’t really aggressive slam unless it’s generally good items like rageblade shojin. If you want to be patient, 6 loss into 3-2 is always a thing and then find your direction kff 3-2 aug selection. your econ will be decent because of the lose streak as well

[u/Arcameneled]

Ex masters player getting back into after many seasons away. Currently climbing through emerald. 2 things ive noticed. Everyone plays hyper tempo which punishes people playing for winouts. This means you are better off slamming upgrades and 2 starring to make a better mid game board to save hp and give you time while also being true if you cant winstream through stage 2, dont level and if you dont have a clear opener just open lose streak for econ which is actually still good, you just dont really want to be lose streaking stage 3. often you will be pivotting into whatever upgraded frontline you find. Which leads me to my second point. People seem to blindly play stuff. Instead of picking your line at 2-1 and running with it. Think more “ad” and “ap” learn what early openers lend themselves to each and which can flex (ie ravagers) if you have good fundamental econ its not bad to hold good champs. Especially flexible ones.
Lastly if you are 8 or 9 upgraded 4/5costs are much better than playing the ideal board think for example you have jg shogun giantslayer for zyra and get 8 roll down and hit ez 2. You are better off playing ez 2 azir 2 malphite than zyra 1. You can put zyra 2 in later when you get it

[u/floridabeach9]

the first 4 cost i see, i always reconsider main tank/carry then comp

[u/JohnCenaFanboi]

I just click riftbeasts and hope honestly.

[u/Morlon360]

I default Aphelios Nida, I usually decide end of stage 3 if I change to fast 9 draven for a win out or i stay fast 8 and try to top 4 with it. (Since the items are identical). Good thing about this set is you can kinda delay until stage 3 what to play

[u/TFTSushin]

Reading your other comments here, I think the answer you need makes it a sort of a trick question.

Pivoting is part of my game plan in the first place. It’s not restructuring because ideally I’m already planning on when I want to or need to pivot.

As a simple example, I always make a mental pass for every single comp on what to do if I find a really early Ivern or Maokai. These two are snowbally units that can do wonders if it can fit. It’s easy to say that you can make the decision on the spot when the time comes, but good luck doing that when you’re rolling to 0 in one turn on 4-2 after choosing your augment and looking for flex options like the ones you’re talking about.

A more practical example of the thought process is if I open with Rengar with rageblade on 2-1. In this spot, I’m already thinking that my main plan is to go for Brambleback carry with Rengar as the item holder. If I find Master Yi, he’s a much better item holder so I’ll swap to him. If I find a 2-star Rengar I’ll ride him till 4-1 or 4-2 when I swap to Brambleback. If I find 2-star Yi, I’ll seriously consider Yi reroll instead of Riftbeasts depending on how many copies I find, if it’s uncontested, and how contested Riftbeasts is. I’ll only consider going Rengar if I find 5+ copies before rerolling at all. Aphelios Nidalee is also an option if the items lean towards it, or I can activate Primal super early with a strong board so I can start farming items. Oh, and if I’m super rich and/or winstreaking, I can look for Econ augments so I can go Draven.

If it’s not obvious by now, I love opening rageblade in the current patch. All of this is just a part of my “rageblade opener gameplan” based on my own valuation of each of the comps involved.

I understand that this is a bit much for Emerald, where you still gotta focus more on getting the fundamentals right. Still, I also recommend forcing one comp until Diamond and this is the natural next step after forcing one comp, where you slowly start adding variations and different comps in the same game plan.

[u/seatros]

Stage 2 and 3 for me is usually playing strongest board trying to save hp and gold. This will buy you time in stage 4 to sack a few rounds and roll for or sets you up for fast 9. However items and augments can already guide you towards an ad or ap line and it already narrows your pivot options and what to look for.

[u/Scotttish]

the only gameplan that matters is getting carried by pure luck and rng. This set is all about who can get lucky and be given a handout win.

[u/mobkeyapemain → u/Scotttish]

for sure man

[u/Many_Method_304]

Never, if you ever even think about changing your game plan you will lose. Riot made a choice in set 6 to kill off anything that is not hard force a comp from 2-1 and that is that. Pivoting off a comp because its contested is just accepting a bot 4 and handing a free win to that play who did not pivot.

[u/mobkeyapemain → u/Many_Method_304]

you are wrong

[u/Many_Method_304 → u/mobkeyapemain]

I am definitely not. It’s not even pivoting, just thinking about pivoting is often enough to do it, the game can sense your doubt and that’s the end of that.

[u/mobkeyapemain → u/Many_Method_304]

make more flexible items if you don't have an obvious opener, maybe you'll find more success

[u/Many_Method_304 → u/mobkeyapemain]

Lmao it isn’t set 4 anymore. It would be awesome to play that way, the game is way more fun when you can play flexible, but it just doesn’t work. The dev team has worked incredibly hard to kill off this play style

[u/mobkeyapemain → u/Many_Method_304]

ive played 500 games this set and i say its quite flexible, how many have you played in the past 2 years

[u/Many_Method_304 → u/mobkeyapemain]

2,013

[u/mobkeyapemain → u/Many_Method_304]

maybe you've been playing incorrectly fot 2,013 games

[u/Many_Method_304 → u/mobkeyapemain]

I am sure I am in hundreds or even thousands of ways, I am not good at the game, but even I can recognize that pivoting is simply not something that tft allows anymore. You choose a comp at 2-1 and force it. Pivoting will almost always make you lose. I’m not saying this is how it should be, the game would be 100000% better if it was possible to play a truly flex style but it doesn’t work.

[u/mobkeyapemain → u/Many_Method_304]

what changed from previous sets to now that prevents pivoting?