Silver and Maul back in Business

I said I was not gonna play League of Legends any more, but I guess that was a lie. I’ve returned after a hiatus (funny, the World of Warcraft hiatus has lasted longer since I haven’t played a Blizzard game since they started playing politics with China and Free Speech) and made some advances I’m pleased with. Another repeat performance I was delighted with was the return of Darth Maul. He’s seemingly come back from the dead and has his own limited series in the Star Wars Chronology. It’ll be cool to see where he goes now that he’s back in one piece.

Promoted to Silver

Finally, after almost 200 battles in season 10, I was able to get my primary League of Legends account to Silver. The start of these seasons are always a real pain because essentially Riot places most people into the bottom level of the ratings. This happens even after winning 10 out of 10 placements matches.

I won all 10 and still ended up in Iron 3 – the second-lowest level possible.

That, of course, means that to actually reach the level you previously held in the prior season, you have to fight tooth and nail to get through the AFKs, the Trolls, and the people who are learning the game and naturally fall into the Iron ranking.

Finally, though, I made it past all that, and after only a single trip to my promotional series, I was able to advance.

Now comes the difficult but less frustrating part – pushing my way up to Gold.

This will be a difficult accomplishment since I’ve never been there before, but I have confidence that I can attain that level this season. This will be less frustrating because while there are still Troll and AFKs in the Silver tier, there are also more good players that end up on your team.

Needless to say, I am back to playing the game even though I repeatedly say I’m giving it up. It’s usually good to take some time off and sorta reset my mindset since all the frustrations that the game can create, but I’m happy to be back…so far.

Darth Maul is Back

Darth Maul: Son of Dathomir #1

Well, well, well…my favorite Sith is back, but this time he’s fighting on his own side. Apparently, after Obi-Wan sliced him in half in The Phantom Menace Darth Maul did not die. Sure, we all saw his legs fall one way and his torso another, down the reactor shaft in Theed, but I guess somehow how he survived.

Regardless of how it happened, Maul is back, and Darth Sidious is not too pleased. Prior to this tale, Maul was able to rise to leadership of a band of Mandalorians, but Sidious proves he is the master by capturing the Dathomirian Zabrak. In this issue, we see Maul escape from Sidious with the help of his Mandalorian allies, but the Dark Lord has other plans. He sends General Grievous and a droid army after him to put his plans into motion.

This is an interesting issue that fills in some of the gaps between the movies while also tying in pieces of the cartoons and television series.

It’s a Wrap

Here’s to new beginnings! I’m happy to be starting out on the right foot in League, and I’m glad to see one of my favorite Siths back in the Star Wars picture. It’ll be interesting to see where Maul goes in the comic, but I’ve also heard/read rumors that he’s involved in The Clone Wars animated show. I’ll have to jump on Disney+ to check out those stories since they do fall in the official Star Wars chronology.

As far as getting back into League, I’m okay with that. Sure I have stated multiple times that I was done with the game, but I keep coming back. I think I just need a break every once in a while. As for my World of Warcraft/Blizzard protest, I may go back to that game at some point, but I’m good for now. I can hold out a bit longer since there hasn’t been any compelling content that is pulling me back, and I AM really pissed about Blizzard stomping on Free Speech.

Ramble 2020.01.34 | Silver and Maul back in Business