So, you finally started to play League of Legends (LoL). With ten successful seasons of heart-pumping actions, jaw-dropping outplays and ugly-cry worthy victories, this game is in it for the long-run. As tournaments come and go, team banners change and gameplay shifts, one thing remains—the basic fundamental LoL dynamics.
You have to navigate through the rift with a mouse and click interaction. You need to choose which role suits your game style more, and have the strategy for a guaranteed victory. As LoL graces the world with legendary and formidable talents, an average player still has a lot to learn from tips, tricks and quirks of a selected champion pool. He needs to master the impact of his role, the critical value of cooperation, and understanding that unwavering devotion to winning can shift the tides to your favor.
As we traverse down the rich history and the ever dynamic world of League, there’s a quintessential debate that has been brewing up both by pro players, hobbyists and the hardcore gamers. Is summoner Flash viable on the D key or F key? Interested to know how some pro players react and what their settings preferences are? Let’s find out.
In a Reddit thread, now archived, u/PandoraBot compiled a list of the most prominent ADCs that have the summoner Flash on their preferred keys.
Flash on D: EU’s Rekkles, mid to ADC to mid-Perkz, LPL’s god-tier ADC Uzi, NA’s ADC Doublelift, Cosplay and C9’s past ADC Sneaky, SKT now T1’s Teddy, DragonX’s Deft, 2018 World Champions IG’s Jackeylove, 2019 World Champs FPX’s LWX, and Vici Gaming’s ADC iBoy.
Flash on F: LGD Gaming’s Kramer, Oh My God’s SMLZ, the now-retired ADC of JD Gaming IMP, and Gryffin’s ADC Viper.
How about the League of Legend’s Unkillable Demon King? In a new stream, T1’s three-time world champion, Faker finally answered this dilemma. This dispute has caused a fair share of disagreements throughout the community, and he gave his side to the discussion.
“Don’t fight over Flash on D or F, guys. Everyone has their preference,”
Faker said.
“Just because mint chocolate is nasty, you can’t blame people who like its flavor. Some people just like tasteless food.”
For the majority of LCK Pro players, the summoner spell Flash is placed on the “F” key. Aside from this announcement in this new stream, Faker was pretty much vocal about his disdain for pro players using the Flash on the “D” key.
Last year on his stream, he initially addressed this “D” and “F” key dilemma and told his viewers and fans that those who put Flash on “D” are playing silver. At the annual Mid-season Invitational (MSI), Faker met with one of NA’s best ADC, Doublelift and discussed the flash key dilemma. Everyone knows that Doublelift uses the “D” key for Flash and when Faker heard this from Doublelift’s mouth, the god-tier mid-laner was fast to shake his head in disapproval.
In his amusement and defense, Doublelift said, “I’m ashamed. I need to change, I know.” He added, “I’m silver.” Upon hearing Doublelift’s response, Faker stopped for a few moments and replied, “I don’t like Flash on D. Shame on you.” To which Doublelift concluded with a, “I’m not proud of it.”
Game analysts and coaches can’t determine whether having the critical summoner flash on “F” or “D” profoundly impacts the outcome of the game. When it all comes down to it, the efficiency lies in preference and mechanics.
Speaking of mechanics, we at CTRL+ZED would like to see you thrive and conquer in whatever game you’re currently enjoying. If you want to climb the ranks of League of Legends especially now that we’re all under quarantine, here are some of the best tips we can compile about the use of summoner spells.
Using Summoner Spells Defensively and Offensively
In this portion of the article, we’re going to tackle the use of not just the most debated, summoner flash and other spells. The tips and tricks listed below are the compilation from League’s community, and it would depend on you to use it on your next match. Without further ado, here are our best picks!
1. Flash to Avoid Chain of Crowd Control
Most teams drafted in a ranked game, even in normal ones contain a chain of CC. Talk about Elise’s cocoon, Leona’s stun and Veigar’s baby cage. If you are opposing this kind of team that is guaranteed to demolish a champ with low mobility, you need to flash before the crowd control hits you.
For example, you don’t see the enemy support in the map (assuming it’s Leona), be careful not to face check a bush and go back to your tower even though the enemy mid-laner is baiting you into pushing the wave. Chances are, the enemy support can flash, root and stun you into place. If this happens, the follow-up baby cage from Veigar can render you incapable of flashing. The next thing you know, you’re dead.
To avoid chain CCs, recognize when the initial crowd control is coming your way. Concerning the situation above, consider when a gank is about to come your way. Elise’s cocoons may catch you off guard, but once the stun wears off, you have a split second to react and flash. When you escape from their inability to follow-up to the crowd control, you just set yourself up for a great save.
2. Choosing a Summoner Spell to Counter Enemy Skills
Say that you’re a bruiser top-laner and heavily relies on close contact for killing an enemy. As a counter-pick, your enemy chose to use a ranged champion to harass you and prevent you from racking kills at an early stage of the game. Most of the time, bruisers and tanks use summoner flash for an easy escape, taking that lost blow for a kill or chasing an enemy. The summoner flash is paired with summoner teleport to impact a team fight to your team’s favor.
Although this has been the meta for pro plays, solo queues are different because you need to carry yourself to impact team fights at a later stage of the game.
In the instance that an enemy chooses a ranged champ to counter you, you can opt for summoner spells that give you more chance of survivability. If not survivability, mobility to reach the champ for a toe-to-toe fight. Mobility summoner spells like a ghost, or Flash can help.
Also, another summoner spell that can hinder a ranged champion’s ability to attack and move is exhaust. If this doesn’t work, defensive summoner spells like heal or barrier can be an excellent option for whatever strategy you have. The most important thing to note about this selection is to try it out on usual queues to see what’s useful.
3. Flashing to Engage on a Team Fight or Capture a Kill
One great thing about League of Legends is that you can be as creative as you can be as long as the strategy is still useful and climbing the ranks of the summoner’s rift. With the summoner flash, you can surprise your enemies into a one vs one match-up, set-up a gank to an enemy lane or get into the middle of a team fight for a kill.
If you don’t know how to make the most out of your summoner flash, you can get interesting ideas from pro players, streamers or other remarkable players. Not to mention the fact that the internet right now is a gold mine for resources that will help you get better in League of Legends.
You can also try the client’s practice tool if you feel that it’s too risky to take on a flashy-kind of play in a typical game. After all, the summoner flash is usually utilized as a last-minute escape method for a team fight gone wrong or from a sticky situation.
4. Defensive Flashing
There are numerous montages online where you can see the summoner spell flash being used as a means to escape only to come back and fight again. For a noob’s perspective, this is a miracle play that only god-tier players can do. However, if you try to look closely as to why players flash, it is a means of creating a diversion or counting time before a critical cooldown is back up and utilized for a fight.
As mentioned, these kinds of play are learned and must be practiced before putting yourself into a ranked game. The summoner spell flash is a high-value resource, and wasting it for a failed attempt can cost you a game. Always make sure to learn the fundamentals of your champ, assess if it’s a mobile champ and use his abilities to escape. Some champs contain dashes or other mobile abilities where summoner spell flash isn’t needed for a last-minute escape.
The worst-case scenario is, you have burned all of your abilities and your ultimate that you need to flash to avoid getting killed.
As a takeaway note from us, it doesn’t matter where you put your summoner spell flash. Putting it on the “F” or “D” key wouldn’t matter if you’re not learning mistakes and aren’t aware of how you use such valuable resources in the game. So, better watch flash montages online and learn a new thing or two about this summoner spell before hitting the rift.
