User blog comment:Dracko40/The Angry Illithid: Jungler's Aren't There To Win Your Lane./@comment-3358335-20110907193631

Reading the comments there are some very distinct arguments that are not mutually exclusive going on here. From more pointing fingers, to suggestions, to what should have happened (As opposed to what actually did happen.) I personally find the comments in which Irelia shouldn't have failed interesting because in this story she did.


 * 1) Did Irelia suck, and should she not have been relying on the jungler to carry her lane?
 * Yes. As solo top her job as to farm and play it safe, protect her tower, and not let Garen rip her apart. If that means she had to camp under her tower and get denied a little then so be it. From 2:00 to 5:00 it is about your personal performance and you can't rely on ganks or help from other lanes that early, it is ridiculous to expect it and it is takes a very top notch jungler and specific jungle characters to get earlier and useful ganks in.


 * 1) Should Dracko40 done more?
 * Yes. His top lane failed hard. A teammate's failure requires you to adjust your gameplay for the sake of the team. It probably required him to drop out of the jungle altogether sacrificing his gameplay in order to prevent her failing more. When weighing the benefits of jungling vs the benefits of a Top lane feeding, the jungle loses.


 * 1) Why is it Dracko40's, or the Jungler's, Responsibility to cover for her?
 * It isn't entirely his responsibility. Bot or mid lane had just as much responsibility to offer a lane switch once it became clear that Irelia was outmatched. Irelia also had a responsibility to say "I'm outmatched, I need to switch." For some reason people have a seriously hard time admitting when they are outmatched and that snowballs failure.

There are a lot of things that could, and should, have been done to mitigate the damage. Ganking was not one of them. However, it sounds like no matter what this game was a loss. Two lanes were being outplayed, and unfortunately that hurts the jungle too. Jungler's aren't there to win your lane, but they can certainly babysit if needed.