You Call This Steady

This is an innate environmental adaptability of humans, and of course, it applies equally to the center of the competition.

LWX was anxious.

Extremely anxious.

On the surface, V5 had a bunch of veterans, and if they simply adopted the "old man" strategy, they could successfully send them off. The advantage should have been on their side.

But... you also have to consider which team is adopting the "old man" strategy.

If it were an experienced LPL team, they could naturally use this template. However, the current FPX was just a team of rookies, and new players inherently have a fatal flaw: their patience is terrible, and they are extremely eager to prove themselves.

In the first three games, they had already made many low-level mistakes.

If this game dragged on and affected the mentality of their teammates, even if LWX developed fully, facing a team of unconfident teammates, he would surely be powerless to turn the tide.

So, he wanted to gain an advantage.

Even though he was laning against Caitlyn, who had a range of 650, he tried to gain a significant advantage in the early game and went all out for it.

But...

Why was the opposing ADC so calm?

What truly shocked LWX wasn't whether the opponent was auto-attacking or not, but that they could resist the temptation of auto-attacking, avoiding several dangerous tempo points, especially Karma.

If they felt there might be danger, they wouldn't engage. If they felt their position could be hit by Q, they wouldn't attack. They consistently maintained a precarious distance from Hang's Karma, and only then would they make small movements, like a quick auto-attack.

As a rookie, he was excessively calm.

And as an ADC, how experienced do you have to be with your support's poke and engage style to consistently maintain such an absurd distance?!

"Nice job, bot lane. I thought you couldn't resist making a move."

Karsa was undoubtedly the most comfortable with the situation in the bot lane. Strategically, playing around Caitlyn would be V5's main strategy this game. But to play comfortably, he couldn't show up in the bot lane too early.

Because the opponents understood that too.

The more anxious LWX and Hang became, the more it indicated that the enemy jungler might be nearby. Karsa, after communicating with Luo Zhen, chose to do the opposite and farmed extensively in the top jungle.

Why was he so bold?

Because Viego, in the early game, had almost no ability to dive under tower with Jinx and Karma. As long as Luo Zhen's health was good, he just needed to play steady. By the time Trundle started farming, Karsa would have a level advantage and could win a 3v3 with his eyes closed.

Delayed gratification is also one of the essential skills for ADCs.

"Of course. I'm a cultivated person. My patience is unusually good."

"Cut it out, it's just because you can't beat them." PPGOD was brutally honest and immediately exposed Luo Zhen's true situation in the bot lane. If he could keep up with the professional tempo, the pressure on the support wouldn't be so great this game. After all, it was Karma. For Lulu to gain an advantage against them in the early game was truly too difficult.

"That's different. You're an old player, so you should take on more responsibility with your experience." Luo Zhen didn't care about face or anything. He was an adult, and actions should be judged by their results. Although he felt quite embarrassed being unable to poke the enemy Jinx with his Caitlyn, as long as he won the game, the post-game discussions would be whatever he wanted them to be.

Thus, he shouted to PPGOD:

"With such great talent, one should embrace a grand ambition. A mere keyboard, less than three feet long, cannot contain your literary style. You should use heaven and earth as your brush and the sun and moon as your ink. With a stroke, display the true colors of the Yang Aikun army. Beneath the lingering ink, reveal the fervent passion of the trainees. To show your elegant and heroic spirit."

"Speak human language!"

"Human language is: don't mind that I can't beat him now. Give me enough time, and I'll definitely be better than him. You know, my nickname is Super Strong, the more I surpass, the stronger I become."

PPGOD: ???

Chapter 30: Adaptive Style

If the bot lane offered no opportunities before level four, then after level four, it would be completely out of FPX's control.

When the Trundle, after clearing his jungle, returned with a full build, LWX, no matter how much he "blackened," didn't dare to engage V5 this time. He could only hastily push the minion wave and recall, then use the advantage of pushing first to recall and see if there was any opportunity for his support.

Because from now on, it would be a pure wave of pressure in the bot lane.

And in V5's team chat, Luo Zhen's murmurs gradually changed from "I was wrong, I was wrong" to "Huh? What did I do wrong? What did I do wrong!? Come out, let's A another eight hundred rounds!"

Hint: Jinx and Karma are both heroes without displacement.

When Karsa decided to focus on protecting the bot lane, it meant that even with Karma present, FPX wouldn't dare to push the wave easily. But V5 was different; with someone protecting them, Caitlyn and Lulu were completely fearless of pushing.

Once they gained bot lane priority, and with Azir controlling mid lane priority, the jungler and support secured vision in the bot jungle and river.

The entire lower half of the jungle instantly became a terrifying zone.

"If the enemy jungler dares to come to the bot lane at this time, they'll be utterly defeated!" Karsa was extremely confident at this moment. With priority in both mid and bot lanes, and Ornn on top lane who could still make plays even when behind, he didn't know how they could possibly lose.

"Let me translate Karsa's words: If you expose your position in the canyon forest, be prepared to be eliminated. That's right, isn't it?"

"What is this dark forest law? Are you from The Three-Body Problem?"

Luo Zhen and PPGOD both complained, but they were very happy with such a significant advantage. When the skill gap between the players wasn't large, the boost the coach's BP could provide was truly immense.

The current situation was that V5 had the initiative in the lower half of the jungle.

At this point in time.

Either the enemy mid laner opens a gap, or the enemy jungler seizes an opportunity. Otherwise, coming to the bot lane would only result in a few situations:

Brothers are in my heart, but the phone is unreachable when there's trouble.

I can play this long thanks to three things: being cowardly, disloyal, and selling out my brothers.

I'm afraid my brothers will suffer, but I'm also afraid they'll drive a Land Rover.

My bro and I are of one heart, I'm always thinking for my bro.

If my bro needs something, I'll help as much as I can. If it's a big thing, I can't help. If it's a small thing, I don't want to help.

Yeah, that's right. If the jungler doesn't choose the right time to attack and rashly returns to the bottom lane, they'll only end up being sold out by their teammates. The jungle is completely dark, and the bottom lane is swarming with people. Right now, the bushes in the canyon are a death trap for anyone who enters; they don't mess around.

And the foundation for all of this is the ADC holding their ground in the early game.

[Such a steady rhythm, teams with many veterans are really something.]

[Three veterans on one side, only one on the other. A three-to-one advantage makes sense.]

[This new ADC is really something else. Daring to charge when creating miracles, and steady when tactics require it. Are all ADCs who fight their way up from the LDL this absurd?]

[That's true. After all, the ADCs playing outside are waiting for their teams. He seems to be the only new ADC really pushing up.]

Let's compete, let's really compete.

After playing LOL for so many years, the biggest problem is that as the game has gradually been figured out, the old players who linger on without ambition, and the new players who are held back without ambition. For several years, the entire LPL has been the same group of people, and the LCK region is basically the same.

The advantage is increased stability; veteran players at least guarantee a certain level of team performance.

But what are the disadvantages?

Aesthetic fatigue, vicious cycles, and a lack of drive.

Therefore, most people view V5's new ADC with a positive attitude. In fact, most people watching the games are quite supportive of V5 going further.

Because V5 has no fans, and they had a 16-game losing streak last season, they haven't offended anyone.

For the few obsessed fans, they'd rather V5 advance than XXX, just like during the World Championship when everyone thought, "Rather than let the LCK win, let G2 lift the trophy."

But when the initiative returned to Luo Zhen in the bottom lane.

The rhythm changed again.

From steady and conservative to all-out offense, from avoiding conflict to trading whenever possible, his playstyle shifted in an instant.

As he raised his hand, Lulu cast a shield.

He auto-attacked, retreated, repositioned, and then turned back to trade an auto-attack with Jinx.

A perfect, no-damage poke.

Feigning to last-hit, he adjusted his angle the moment he auto-attacked to land a Q prediction, then pressed forward with an AEA combo, and the trap was set.

[Quick Tip: Auto-attacking into W is a very practical combo, you can't even see the W animation.]

LWX was about to retaliate when, in his vision, the shadow of Trundle appeared; Karma threw her RQ and tried to retreat, Lulu threw out her Q skill, attempting to dodge, Caitlyn's previously placed trap happened to move and block his retreat path, Lulu then cast a polymorph, forcing him to make a small dodge, and then landed two more auto-attacks.

Lethal Tempo was triggered, and the Headshot passive was generated. FPX's bottom lane completely lost the will to fight.

The sudden change in playstyle immediately put the V5 bot lane duo, who were accustomed to their steady play, at a significant disadvantage.

But the question is: why such a drastic change?

LWX was a bit confused.

An ADC's style is constant. Some ADCs have been all-out offense since their debut, and they will remain offensive for years to come, like JKL. Some have been all-out defense since their debut, and they will likely follow that route in the future, like Bang.

But your mode switching, what is this, playing with a vibrator?

"See, I told you. We'll quietly play steady for a few minutes, then we'll transform and give them a big play!"

"Oh yeah, yeah, this play was definitely worth it, definitely worth it."

From the very beginning, Luo Zhen and his support PPGOD had agreed on a playstyle. Unlike JKL's ferocity or Deng Huang's steadiness, Luo Zhen's playstyle was always adaptive, or rather... a fox borrowing the tiger's might.

When the "big daddy" was around, he could Flash forward and gamble with the opponents.

When the "big daddy" wasn't around, he could also play defensively, trying not to give the opponents any openings.

As for being in a desperate situation?

If you're already in a desperate situation, what else is there to think about? Charge forward and fight! It's better to die fighting than to wait for death, right? At least even if he loses, he wants to lose while attacking.

Thus, since the Demacia Cup, Luo Zhen's playstyle has always been steady in lane, fierce in teamfights, and aggressive in desperate situations.

But if you say this playstyle isn't aggressive enough?

Then you can only say you haven't played ADC enough.

For the vast majority of bottom lane duos and players, this kind of ADC playstyle is the most aggressive, because it's very difficult to find an opening.

"Okay, don't rush. Let's stall for another wave. They just got ambushed and are on alert now. Let's give them a minute or two to relax, then strike when their mental defenses are down. Also, give the jungler some space to operate."

"No... bro, we're playing a match, why are you studying psychology now?"

PPGOD was a bit bewildered.

The 16-game losing streak ADC he played with before was straightforward; if they couldn't win, they couldn't win, and if they could win, they'd press hard. Although he was bad, at least his mindset was simple.

And this one now?

"This time, let's trick him first, then attack when he falls for it."

"This time, we'll wait for the jungler's position, then we'll dive him aggressively when he arrives. He won't dare to fight back."

"The enemy support's idea this time is very good. He thinks he can control me. Come on, let's put on a show, trick him into using his crowd control skills first."

If Kusu had to describe the feeling of duo queueing with Luo Zhen in the bot lane, there was only one word she could use: "Deception!"

From laning to now, he constantly leveraged his teammates to stabilize the lane, demonstrating a precise grasp of fundamental mechanics and an accurate reading of the enemy's psychology. He even anticipated the opposing support's poke and engage strategies more thoroughly than Kusu herself could.

Is this... a monster?

PPGOD was inwardly shaken, but the light in his eyes grew brighter.

"Don't rush, Diao Shen."

"Huh?"

"This is just the waiting phase. Once I gather all four suits, I'll definitely show LWX what it means to be taken down by a single general!"

"???" Chapter 31: Now, Here Comes One Way

Seven and a half minutes, the most famous tempo-setting time point in this match. The previously calm Summoner's Rift finally began to show some changes.

When we play games, we should also pay attention to several key time points, for example: 2:40 for level three

3:15 for crab respawn

3:20 for level four

4:20 for the first monster camp respawn

6:00 for the first dragon

7:40 for the second buff respawn

8:00 for the Rift Herald