If you’re a League of Legends mid laner looking for a new champion to climb the ranked ladder, Team Liquid’s Eain “APA” Stearns has a game-changing pick for you. APA has discovered a hidden mechanic with Neeko that can give you the upper hand in the early game against various matchups in the mid lane. This champion is especially suitable for players with fast reflexes.
In a video explainer, APA demonstrates how Neeko’s ability to transform into a minion can deny the activation of certain enemy champion abilities, runes, and items. For instance, when facing Akali, who wants to activate her Assassin’s Mark passive with her basic abilities, APA quickly transforms into a minion before Akali’s Five-Point Strike hits him. This denies her passive and hinders her ability to continue the trade. Although it doesn’t reduce the damage of Akali’s ability, it significantly lowers her effectiveness in subsequent skirmishes with auto-attacks or other abilities.
Furthermore, APA reveals that if Neeko transforms into a minion while casting her spells, enemy defensive runes and items won’t activate. In the video, APA throws Neeko’s Blooming Burst at Akali but transforms into a minion just before the spell hits her. This prevents Akali’s Second Wind rune and her Doran’s Shield item passives from triggering.
APA also confirms that by transforming into a minion before an ability hits Neeko, you can dodge the effects of damage runes like Scorch and Summon Aery. This mechanic empowers you to gain an early advantage through differential damage and more efficient trading.
To utilize this hidden mechanic effectively, you’ll need to assign Neeko’s Shapesplitter ability to a separate keybind for quick activation.
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Source: DOTESPORTS
