If there are any League of Legends mid laners looking for a new pick to help them climb their ranked ladders, then Team Liquid’s mid laner Eain “APA” Stearns might have a champion for you.
The 21-year-old pro player explained how a hidden Neeko mechanic that he discovered can help you crush the early game against multiple different matchups in the mid lane, and why she can be a strong choice for those with fast reflexes.
The mechanic revolves around Neeko’s ability to transform into a minion, and how it can deny the activation of certain enemy champion abilities, runes, and items. In his video explainer, for example, APA is facing off against Akali, who wishes to activate her Assassin’s Mark passive with one of her basic abilities.
When she walks up to hit Neeko with her Five-Point Strike, APA quickly changes into a minion before the ability hits him, thus denying her passive and stopping her from continuing the trade. The switch doesn’t lower the damage of Akali’s ability, but it does lower her effectiveness if she wishes to continue to skirmish with auto-attacks or other abilities.
Shortly after, APA shows that if Neeko transforms into a minion as you throw her spells out, enemy defensive runes and items won’t activate. In the video, for example, APA throws out Neeko’s Blooming Burst at Akali but transforms right before the spell hits her, which prevents Akali’s Second Wind rune and her Doran’s Shield item passives from proccing.
APA also confirmed that you can dodge the effect of damage runes such as Scorch and Summon Aery if you transform into a minion before an ability hits Neeko, making it a strong mechanic that can help win the opening moments of a game through early damage differential and more efficient trading.
You will, however, have to set up her Shapesplitter ability on a separate keybind so you can activate the spell at a moment’s notice.
Published: Oct 27, 2023 03:12 pm