How to beat the new and improved Doom Bots of Doom

We have a few days to plan before Doom Bots take over the Rift again in the spirit of Halloween. So how do you beat them?

Riot is really hitting with their Rotating Game Modes and Doom Bots has been a ton of fun. Yeah, it takes all the traditional balance out of the game, but you can’t help but laugh when one Lux laser wipes your team out from all corners of the map.

But it does feel good to win occasionally. If you’re anything like me, playing Doom Bots has turned your op.gg screen from a nice bluish-purple to something a little more red:

Doom bots match history, courtesy of Riot Games and op.gg /

So what strategies has the community developed to combat Satan Teemo and his horde of no-gooders?

Champion select

This is the part that people have figured out the most. You want wave clear, range, burst, and CC — preferably AoE versions of those. There are any number of sites and videos on which champions do best, and this tier list from rankedboost is a great start.

The best example of an OP champion is Brand, who is now banned in this game mode (that won’t prevent the bots from bringing a Brand though). Brand has burst and the CC in AoE form (as well as a single-target CC). His percent health damage is also a huge boon when the bots get bigger (and Teemo comes to the party).

In the same vein as Brand, bursty mages with AoE, waveclear and CC also do well. Think Ziggs and Viktor. Champions like Sion and Karthus are useful because they’ll die — a lot. The ADCs that do well seem to either have major AoE (Miss Fortune) or hypercarries with some mobility (Jinx).

Alistar splash art, courtesy of Riot Games /

What many people miss on though is that after the towers start falling (and they will fall), the bots tend to group into a death ball and siege one lane. In these cases, you also need a strong teamfight comp, and that usually necessitates a tank. I think Alistar is super OP in this game mode: he can get in, knock up a bunch and survive just long enough for the back line to burst them down.

Summoner spells

It’s quickly become apparent that smite and teleport are the spells to bring. Smite should be used liberally to farm but also on the jungle monsters that the Udyr bot brings with him to lane. It can also be used on Teemo himself — he’s classified as a monster, not a champion, so smite away.

TP helps you immensely in getting back to lane and rotating. As we’ll mention below, dying in lane is not an option — it’s better to back liberally and TP back when you can. And it’s invaluable when the bots start roaming themselves.

Flash can be useful, but by late-game, flashing tends to only postpone the inevitable as the bots bring multiple long range abilities. The bots are most vulnerable in their first few levels and TP gives you crucial uptime in that phase.

Itemization

Little devil Teemo skin, courtesy of Riot Games /

As far as items, you’ll probably need to modify your standard build to punish the AP caster you’ll face. In my games above, I should have switched from the core Ghostblade/Black Cleaver MF to someone with more effect against Teemo.

One change for almost everyone: rush towards a Zz’Rot Portal (or banner) if you can. Not only does it give you magic resist against the predominately AP bots, the bots are too stupid to focus down the portal. This is huge in the late-game when your waveclear will likely not be enough against the dragons, buffs, super minions, etc. that come marching toward your base. It seems like it’s pretty effective to have the portals at the side lanes to keep things at bay while you focus your attention on the giant devil in the middle.

After your Zz’Rot, focus on damage. I’ve tried Maw, but really, the cooldown is too long and there’s too much burst. Just get whatever MR you can from the portal and build damage. True, percent health and AOE damage are always good. There are suggestions that bloodrazor should be taken for its true damage component. Liandry’s works as well. Banner of Command does similar things as the Zz’Rot Portal — the bots are predominately AP, so seeing them try to burst down a banner cannon minion is sweet revenge.

Strategy

Beating the bots is simple. Get kills. Don’t die. Buy a Zz’Rot portal. And fight as a team.

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Early on, you want to wave clear and shove the bots carefully. They’re still bots, so you can still poke them and take advantage of their patterns. For example, they will consistently walk into Q range of my Miss Fortune. Trading while pushing the minions can also give you a health reset if the minions reach the enemy turrets.

Be careful not to take bad trades though, because you can’t give up free kills. Everyone is going to die a lot, but you can’t cede that gold to the bots. Most often, that just means you have to back more often and TP back to lane. Don’t be afraid to back for only a couple items, as the bots won’t back at all until dead.

On the other hand, you do have to make plays — reaching the 20 kill breakpoint as a team should be a huge focus.

Starting lane assignments are the standard 2-1-2. You need the wave clear in the top lane. Once a tower falls, the bots from that lane will likely rotate to the adjacent lane (top and bot go mid, mid goes either top or bot). You need to stay on top of this rotation and teamfight as a team when they group. The bots tend to clump a lot, so dump your CC into them and blow them away with AOE. And don’t forget that TP.

Late-game, your focus should obviously be on the Teemo. The bots will generally start a 1-3-1, so be ready to rotate. Get your Zz’Rots down in the side lanes to keep them at bay. When Teemo shows, burst that sucker down, smite him, dump all your abilities on him. Always go in as a 5-person unit — they will tear you apart if you go in one-by-one. Teemo can be CC’ed and his pathing can be manipulated. He wanst to run down mid, so you can waste his time by throwing him off that path. Above all, hope and pray it works. Good luck!

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