Meta

## What is meta?

In the world of **gaming**, **meta** is used in two ways. **Meta** can be used as an acronym for “most effective tactics available,” and calling something “**meta**” means that it's an effective way to achieve the goal of the **game**, whether it's to beat other players or beat the **game** itself.

Source : https://www.grammarly.com/blog/meta-meaning/

## The Meta in LoP

### Champions

Update 4.0.6 brought about changes in the shop, map, and champions which definitely shifted the meta. The Map probably helped with that as the Jump Pad has been relocated, the Gold Altar received a decent change, and the Healing Shrine's duration increased.

Now, you're able to level up faster because the coin requirement to level up is lesser than before. However, the bonus damage you attain after leveling up has significantly decreased, hurting champions that may shine in the early game.

 Belle is, unsurprisingly, still top tier because she is easy to learn, can do a lot of damage, and the new  Burning Rod compliments her abilities a lot. Without a doubt, she's high up in the meta.

Next we have  I'ceat, a Very Special Penguin. His L got reworked, and it seems like a nerf until you realize that it has a 4-second cooldown. Movement is very important given the relocation of the Jump Pad, and I'ceat can slide around the map fast. He's good overall, has an easy kit to learn, and a somewhat high skill cap.

Last but not least is  Veil. Veil has a really high skill ceiling, but she is the most rewarding champ to master. She does so much damage, and she is incredibly mobile thanks to her L.

This is a tier list depicting the ranking of the champions in the current state of the meta.

This is a tier list depicting the difficulty ranking of the champions.
### Items

Update 4.0.6 reduced the price of T2 Items, reworked some items, and reduced Gold value from coins.

#### Rushing **3 T1 Items** *vs* Rushing **1 T2 Item**

   vs
With the price reduction of T2 Items, it's very easy to rush your T2 Core rather than buying 3 T1 items (<700 Gold vs 750 Gold). The real question now is "*When should you upgrade?*" or "*How should I itemize my build?*"

*Work in Progress*

### Builds

There are a couple of builds that are good for different champions because of their item combos.

#### Frost Ring Build (*Meta?*)

Update 4.0.6 gave rise to a meta-defining item that could see more use in the future, the new and improved Frost Ring. While it is vastly inferior to its counterpart,  Wisdom Ring, in terms of CDR, it more than makes up for it in terms of its Passive.

Frost Ring received a major buff now that it renders champions, especially those with dashes, immobile for **1.75 seconds**! That's enough time for you to unleash your combos on the enemy and deal a substantial amount of damage.

This build is very flexible since you can use this for either escaping enemies or chasing enemies. The main items for this build is your core item plus Frost Ring.

   or
#### Sword + Staff Combo

One early item combo that has been rising in popularity is the Sword + Staff Combo (can also be Staff + Sword)

  or
This item combo is best bought in the Early Game. These 2 damage items give you a combined +12 Bonus Damage stat for only 500 Gold, and buying this in the Early game will help you snowball your lead even harder or buy yourself back into the game.

This build is also very flexible because your last item spot can be a Supportive item that helps you keep doing damage,  Iron Ring or  Training Bow, or a Defensive item that helps you sustain longer in fights,  Wooden Coin or  Plate Shirt.

#### Staff + Wisdom Ring Combo

This combo utilizes CDR for champions who get their main source of damage from their abilities (K and L). This is the most common build for ability casters as they can spam abilities.

   or
#### Light Slayer + T2 Bow Combo

This combo utilizes AS for champions who get their main source of damage from their basic attacks (J). With how +% Attack Speed works, champions who have a high base attack speed get more use out of this build.

   or
#### Full Damage Build

This build is quite simply what you'd expect. It's all about buying the items that gives you the highest bonus damage.
These items are Shadow Katana, Vampiric Wand, and Hunting Crossbow, and they give you a combined total of +22 Bonus Damage.

#### Sustained/Tanky Build

This build starts you with a  Wooden Coin then you follow up with your T1 Core Damage item. With the new  Burning Rod, Wooden Coin's T2 Upgrades,  Holy Defender and  Absorbing Artifact (*mostly*), are the direct counter to it.

The main items for this build are your core damage item and the 2 defensive items.

   or

*Note: The builds above are just example builds. You can choose to upgrade to a different item if you feel like that would benefit you more against your enemy.*