The Solo Lane-And my feeble attempts at explaining it. [WIP]

Y'know, if the answer is 5 months, what is the question? Time's up, it's the time in which I haven't made a guide. SO how about I try and guide you on solo laning?

Now, the solo lane is a strange lane. It can either be the biggest stalemate or the largest feeding ground in the game. To be able to discern how to do the solo lane, this is a sort of reference guide. I will have a list of items you may want, strategies, positioning, a pseudo-serious tier list, match ups, and finally tips on grooming your dog. Enjoy!

Now, before I get into the real meat of this, I need to properly explain the mechanics of solo lane.

Starting the Solo Lane

1) The solo lane is always the SHORT lane. If you are on the destroyed side of the map, this will be the LEFT lane, but on the pristine side you will find it in the RIGHT lane.

2) If it is the left lane, then you will go with your jungler to the orange buff, giving that to the jungler with their Hand of the Gods used, and then go over and clear the blue buff, taking it for yourself. On the right side, you start at the midcamps with your mid and jungler, and then go on with the jungler to do the red buff, and then ditto the left side with the blue buff.

3) After both you and your jungler have your buffs, go into lane and push up the wave a bit. Once the wave is properly pushed and the jungler and you are at least level 3, the junglers will leave and you will be left to fend for yourself until ganks.

4) Push the waves by yourself, remaining passive and careful. You have blue buff for 2 minutes after clearing it, so abusing it to make it through those early waves is paramount to your success.

Your duties as Solo Lane

Now, after all that stuff is done, you have a simple job: hold the wave at a stalemate. There really isn't a massive need for kills, so if you can stay alive, then you're doing your job right. If you can hold a lane, then you can make sure the enemy solo laner does not outclass you in any way.

Of course, if your jungler ganks or you have an easy advantage to press, then getting a kill doesn't hurt. In fact, getting a single kill is incredibly useful, as it keeps the enemy wave pushed up and you are able to damage their tower a bit.

Oh, and one more big, big , BIG thing...

SITUATIONAL

AWARENESS

Since you're probably locked in an eternal cycle of gently caressing your rival solo laner to no avail, getting kills or assisting in them in other lanes is a really good idea. Just because you are holding a lane does NOT mean you are the modern day Gandhi. Feel free to make a beeline to mid to pick up a kill before waddling back to lane. Just remember to NOT LET YOUR TOWER TAKE EXCESSIVE DAMAGE. If your tower gets finished off, any kills you racked up will become rather moot in terms of farm, so there are set conditions in which you should rotate.

My foreshadowing is far superior to Hasbro's. Here they are:

1)

You have killed the solo laner

If you have brought down the hammer of justice upon your rival's forehead, then is anything really stopping you from going ham on mid? Not really. Except for one little thing...

2)

You've just destrominated their tower

Of course, if their tower is down, then the solo laner will instinctively rush to defend their lane when they hear the dreaded voice cue, so you can slip away and murder something. This is so horribly effective, because if the solo laner isn't their to defend his team when they are slaughtered, he may feel (like I always do when this happens) that he wasn't able to defend his tower OR his team. And let me tell you, that utterly SHATTERS your morale. If this happens to you, have a choice facepalm in my name.

3:

They started it!

If the enemy solo laner rotates, then please, for the love of all things glorious in this world, follow him. You can either join a fight, thus evening out the odds, or alternatively your very presence may intimidate him back into lane. Now, this isn't a bad move to make if you rotate, because it's better you are safe than sorry. HOWEVER. Always stick to the enemy like glue in this situation. If you are the intimidated one, then don't be so scurred that you let him gank while you just lose farm. Don't let them dupe you guys.

TOWERS

That's it. If their tower is in need of some spanking and mid is just fine and chillin', it could be much more profitable later on to smack the tower rather than the enemy gods. Tower damage is accumulative, while a near miss on a god kill really isn't, so overall this is more reliable. Once the tower is down, you can try the dirtiest of dirt dirt tactics I explained, so maybe it will pay off. Maybe it won't. You decide.

Well, are you ready to get your mind entirely blown? Sure you are.

The answer...

To the question...

That you are so hyped for....

That mystifies you...

Or maybe not if your mind is closed...

That the answer may haunt you....

That my BB coding is setting up so perfectly...

Is....

ANYONE!!!

No seriously. Anyone can solo lane given the right skill level and matchup. Just some take more skill than others. Yeah. I'll explain how I rate these characters.

So, how do I rank the gods? Find out after these messages.... NOPE.

The Mage Class

The S tier

Ra

If you didn't see this glorious chicken coming at the top of the list, I quite frankly don;t understand your thought process. He has EVERYTHING, I repeat, EVERYTHING a good solo laner needs to succeed. A nuke to push waves and well, be a nuke, a deathly soft CC in his Divine Light, a massive heal with solar blessing....

And then there's the sniper rifle ultimate.

Now, I said being passive while still racking up the body count was really what solo lane was all about. A snipe, probably the most uncommon variety of attack in the game, allows you to be out the fray and STILL deliver unimaginable pain. Good lord, if you REALLY want an explanation of why this god is SO DAMN GOOD at solo lane, go watch Xaliea play.

Chang'e

Now let me tell you, if you goin' in thinking chang'e has anything on the likes of Ra and a couple of guys I'll mention later, you're gonna be rather dissapointed. That said, chang'e has most of the needed stuff to hold a lane while still being strong. She has a strong nuke on a short cooldown, a temporary aegis hop, a weak heal and an ultimate that may as well be pronounced the murder of teamfights in the name of the mighty taco of Nandos' beautiful burrito pony with multiple nuclear OK I'LL STAHP. She may not be the best, but she is certainly above average.

Hel

Sensei Paco, as the only commenter on my chronos guide, how about I honour you by honouring your favourite gawdess? Anyways, hel is like chang'e, only she is half the time the most ridiculous lane holder and the other half.... well it's mostly for push. But the mana is such a problem. Hel can heal a lot, can damage a lot... but Ra can outheal her and outdamage her, and her CC is pitiful compared to chang'e. So really, she's super good at everything, but amazing at nothing. I like ya hel, and alot, but she is paling compared to the above to entries.

The A tier

Chronos

Yup. This guy again. He may not really be my fav nowadays, but he is still the same as he was despite a nerf: weak to start, but insane to go. Just look up that guide (in my sig dude) to find out about this guy.

Zhong Kui

A fat guy with a nipple ring and paintbrush, who sucks the souls out of hsi enemies for his own health chimes well with solo lane. You need to build up a bit, but at max souls this guy is a NIGHTMARE to 1v1. Just consider 120 protections... and then live in fear. He lacks mobility and the heal isn't too big. OOOOOH, and he shares the boat with Derpy Hooves as a one trick pony. Like, after he uses ult, he's vulnerable until the cooldown and souls have been completed, so that's what sets him down. Play him mid, that lane is easier to ghostbust.

Swagni

Well, this is weird. Agni is usually played as a mid laner, but in solo lane his is just infuriating to deal with. How do you gank a guy who dashes away in CC imunne fashion and wrecks you with meteors lategame? Well, you only have one dash. And that's Agni's entire presence in solo lane: the dash. So really he doesn't bring too much to solo lane.

Poseidon

He has Agni and Zhong's issue: he's good in solo lane, but you may as well play him mid. Simple as.

The B Tier

Zeus

Amazing 1v1 and a stun that will wreck people for days. Also, he;s kind of hard to gank due to his ridiculous burst and shield. But his waveclear... it's just not there.

Aphrodite

*sighs* Aphro is as simple as sit there in lane and throw birds at a lane and never die. She brings almost nothing to a team, other than neverdeath. I really wouldn't pick her, full stop.

Nu Wa

Well, Nu Wa is easily the least played god in the game, and with relatively good reason. She has a lot of utility and can push towers effectively, but pales in comparison to most other mages. She has so much that she has so little.

Ao Kuang

I'm getting a little bit bored of explaining mages like Ao: just take him mid. He's not a bad solo, but the mid lane gives him so much more.

Anubis

This guy has crazy good ganking and burst for epic 100-0 assassinations. Hey, what role uses that again?

THE JUNGLE

He Bo

See Ao Kuang

Isis

Yeah, Isis is one of the best mid laners, but like so many others can solo but really should stick to mid. She can exploit her one button clear and general power much better there.

The Warrior Class

The S Tier

Vamana

Well, Xaliea agrees. Baby is such a strong solo laner, between his inability to be ganked, his high mobility, high damage, nigh invincibility and the zoning tool to end all zoning tools, this guy isn't anyone you want to face in solo lane. You better shut him down early, because fed Vamana is borderline unpeelable.

Tyr

Don't you just hate it when enemies reduce your health to the point that you have to go B? Well for you my friend I have Tyr, invincible Mofo with a 50% heal as well as buckets of CC, packed with two dashes and a giant dunk for only £4.99!

San Wukang

I forgot this guy? REALLY? Well, he is an absolute monster at solo lane, with the ability to transform into either the uncatchable bird, the devastatingly damaging tiger, or the cow that is borderline unpeelable. He has decent clear, two means of not dying, and the late game damage to back it all up. Don't mess with this little monkey.

Hercules

I think I summed it up in my guide to him.

FOREEEEEEVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER!!!!

...

'nuff said.

Chaaquile O'Neil

It's like Herc but 20% cooler, trading healing for area damage and a 3 second silence with a gliding immunity!

.........................

I think I hit a new low...

The A Tyr

Chodin (my god help me)

What's this? Odin? Is he existent? Yes. And if you get off to a good start you can turn into a truck of unstoppable MRGLRLGLRLGLFLRLLGLRLLGLR, but if you'e against a half decent player who knows what an active item is, then you're gonna have a hard time. So, he's good if your set up and know exactly what you're gonna do and when you're gonna do it, but if not then you're better off with someone else.

Guan Yu

Well, I barely play this god anymore. I miss magic guan. I want him back. Like old Kali. SIGN THE PETITION PEOPLE! But that aside, he's got great clear, kinda hard to gank because of his pony ultimate, but suffers from something known as cooldowns. If any of your damaging skills are on cooldown, you're screwed if you want to kill people. I miss when this guy was the best duo lane tank T_T

#bringbackthemagicofguan

This section is under maintenance. As is all the guide. It's incomplete. I will attempt to finish it. Thanks.