Is Hashinshin right about the state of top lane?

LoL
13/02/2018
Kieran Lee

For years, Hashinshin has constantly raised issues regarding the state of top lane. He has been infamous for complaining on just about everything, from blaming his feeding due to ‘jungle difference’ to outright trash-talking the enemy lamer for mechanically outplaying him. This has long turned Hashinshin into a meme and a character that isn’t taken too seriously, however, this time, he may be right!

hashinshin complaining about the state of the top lane in LoL

Over the past 3 weeks, his videos have gained traction and not for the wrong reasons. This time, his points are not only clear, but address the state of top lane as a whole, not specifically Jax. As a result, Rioters, Reddit and the overall community isn’t simply viewing this as a ‘Hashinshin issue’ which has in the past been swept under the rug.

Honestly, the state of top lane has been pretty poor, mostly due to the lack of pressure the role brings overall in the game and the fact you have to be forced to play certain champions to be effective. Toplaners, specially bruisers, largely support Hashinshin in an effort to bring light to the issues and get Riot moving. Looking closer at the community that now supports Hashinshin, there is a fair portion that had previously or even currently dislikes the streamer, only now expressing their support in order to display their displeasure in Riot. That said, due to Hashinshin’s previously poor reputation, there are still those who seek to discredit him.

Hashinshin’s main points

Lack of Bruiser keystone

This is by far the most compelling point in all his videos. As we all know, due to the new runes system, Keystones play a huge part in every game. Its impact so large that failing to choose the optimal one will usually lead to you straight up losing the early landing phase.
As expected, Bruisers not having a dedicated keystone for them has dramatically dropped their presence in the top lane, and overall the game as they are forced out of lane thus losing gold and experience.

Hashinshin jax main

Hashinshin has long pointed out the absence of a bruiser keystone, and the fact that while Riot has noticed of this, they refuse to take action.
It’s truly unacceptable for Riot to neglect a ‘role’ for over 3 months, Hashinshin is definitely right here.

Some champions are much too overpowered

This point by Hashinshin is somewhat of a rant, complaining about some champs being ‘op’, but it does have some truth to it. The streamer points out a few champions, specifically Gnar, Fiora and Camille who are able to exert pressure at all stages of the game, and who he describes are relatively easy to play.

Here, while what Hashinshin does have to say isn’t wrong, it’s mostly only relevant in higher elo where slight advantages mean everything.

Top lane is the least queued role

This statement is true only for higher elos, however, it does directly represent the state of top lane. In high diamond and challenger, winning means everything and the game is less about having fun. As a result, Hashinshin points out that less people queue top lane because it has low impact.

Overall, the statement is somewhat right, but the fact remains that top lane can still carry, as many high risking challenger players main top. That said, it is statistically accurate that top lane is queued less often.