Asking the right question: Why?

You’ve probably figured out by now, I like to guide people towards changing the way they think as opposed to telling them outright what to do, that way the real credit for them becoming better at the game can still be theirs. I like to encourage players to think and this in turn can help them improve themselves and feel good about the progress they’ve made

Some people have a naturally inherent skill for picking up information, however for those of you that don’t, the best way you can build an effective knowledge base is to challenge everything you know. By challenging yourself you then have to answer the question, and to answer the question you must call on your knowledge and see the bigger picture.

By seeing the bigger picture, you can think outside of the box.

A lot of players copy professional players blindly. They read the latest guide, get excited and copy it word for word, and to some degree it works, because that knowledge alone points you in the right direction. However unless as a player you understand the reasons, it will only benefit you a little.

Player guides professional or not, should only be used as a guideline. They’re not a play by play of every intricacy inside a champion or the items they build. That’s why they’re called guides, not instruction manuals.

If they were instruction manuals, we’d all be throwing them away anyway

If you challenge the details within a build, you gain a strong understanding of the knowledge that was used to make the build. Knowing why people build a Randuin’s will benefit you as an overall player much more than just knowing Randuin’s is a good item.

Knowing the choices also means you deconstruct the items themselves, knowing what they do and the purpose they serve. This in turn means you go from knowing how to only play a specific champion, to someone with broad enough experience in itemisation that you can begin to efficiently build across all champions of that subcategory (I.e. Your tanky, Randuin’s buyers).

All that is required to begin to think this way is the ability to challenge literally everything in the game. Instead of laughing at an item that you see an opponent buy that may not be ideal, consider why they chose it, challenge it in your mind, think about the item, its purpose, its cost and what it would offer that champion in comparison to another item.

Olaf has core items that everyone can agree on; he builds in a manner that makes him tough to take down. Then he dishes out true damage all over the enemy, to devastating consequences.

However there are a few disputed items, outside of the 100% tank build that some players use. I’ve experimented with each of them whilst asking why and each of them offer their own small niche situation in which they can work.

Let’s take a quick look at some of these items, and one thing becomes evident, they all offer a supplement of damage to the otherwise raw defence/HP Olaf we’ve come to recognise.

Ravenous Hydra;
-The Hydra is an interesting item, as it offers a considerable amount of Lifesteal and damage, as well as the active which provides many uses.

-This item also gives Olaf a formidable wave clear and increases his presence as a split pusher. It adds to his already impressive sustain and means he can duel and bully to his heart’s content.

Blade of the Ruined King;
-Blade of the Ruined King (BotRK) is one of my personal favourites, it offers a speed steal for team fights which is helpful if you miss that one crucial Undertow. It can be used as an extended ghost, and can shred other tanks.
-BotRK also increases attack speed. With Olaf’s E shaving seconds off every time he hits, this means you also dish out more true damage in a sustained fight.
-The cutlass can be bought early for the slow and sustain as well as a minor damage increase and held onto for the rest of the game, its stats are solid.

Trinity Force;
-Of these 3 items, Trinity Force is my least favourite, followed by the Hydra but I see it bought frequently.
-The most expensive of the three items this offers a wide variety of stats that all benefit Olaf slightly.
-The attack speed from the Zeal component means more Reckless Swings.
-The Sheen proc will be used every time you E for a small additional burst of damage.
-The Phage segment provides a boost in mobility when chasing down your targets, you can’t be CC’dwith Ragnarok on and therefore there’s no way the Phage boost would get interrupted, it also slightly accommodates from missing the occasional axe.

I don’t miss my axes, Bro

So this brief look shows how analytical thinking is the basis of understanding why people make their decisions within the game. This is not limited to only item build, and can be used across all aspects of the game. Challenge champion picks, leveling order, play style and anything you can think of. By challenging the decisions of your opponents, you can build your own little book of Do’s and Don’ts. You can even move on to write a guide and share your new knowledge with the community.

Good luck and have fun out there!