Recently we’ve received a few emails from users about their successes with our team comp builder, especially in a team environment. While we’re glad that it could be of help, we’d like to raise a note of caution: League PhD’s statistical analysis is specifically tailored to solo queue experiences. To maximize your gains from our analysis, you’d better understand why and when our analysis may not extrapolate to team games.
First, our analysis is entirely based on Plat+ solo queue games, and therefore doesn’t capture the nuances of team games. If your team is made up of highly skilled players, such differences could be even more dramatic. Plat+ games, which are great for general audiences, may not accurately represent games of your level. As we all know, certain champions perform better in pro play than in ranked games, and vice versa.
Second, our model doesn’t take account of champion pools. It isn’t just straightforward how to predict potential team comps based on players’ champion pools. The likelihoods of champion picks in our model aren’t player-specific, and instead are based on the general trends in solo queue games. This approach is actually quite realistic, considering that both your allies’ and enemies’ picks are more or less random in solo queue games. But in team games where you have more control and information, our algorithm isn’t utilizing all resources available.
Lastly, Pick Now’s champion recommendations aren’t foolproof to strategic picks. Teams often make use of bait picks to force a certain champion to the enemy team and use it at their advantage. Our algorithm looks for the best possible pick at each step, rather than the best final team comp. If you blindly stick to the recommendations, you might end up with a sub-optimal team comp.
Having said that, Pick Now still provides useful guidance that can complement your drafting. Even pro teams make blunders in the pick phase, not because their coaching staff is incompetent, but because it’s just incredibly difficult to weigh all the options and make the right decisions with limited time. With Pick Now’s recommendations, you can make sure not to pass up a great pick that is most relevant to the ally and enemy team comps.
Moreover, many of the issues above disappear when your games aren’t too different from solo queue games. So, if you’re just playing Clash with your friends, it will be mostly fine. If you’re playing at a competitive level, however, keep in mind how League PhD may not meet your expectations.