FBPP C3

Chapter 3

Zenox had several different maps, but the basic structure was always the same.

The allied base and the enemy base sat at the south and north ends of the minimap, respectively. Each base had two rear towers placed at the far left and right entrances. Minions—called “lane units”—spawned from the bases and marched along three separate paths toward the enemy. These minions attacked enemy towers, and when players attacked towers, they absorbed the tower’s fire first, allowing players to siege more safely.

They also provided vision, helping to track enemy positions. Killing enemy minions granted coins, making them one of the main sources of income alongside neutral monsters that spawned periodically at fixed points on the map.

Progressing up the lane, one would find three of the enemy’s towers facing three of the ally’s towers, each separated by some distance.

Killing enemy lane minions was called “pushing the lane” or “last-hitting.”

Of the three lanes, Ji-han boldly claimed the far-left lane, pushing up to the upper-left enemy tower while glancing at the bottom-right corner of the map. The two tanks were providing vision around the center lane towers, while the ranged DPS and support joined him at the left tower. On the allied right tower’s vision, the enemy ranged DPS, melee DPS, and support appeared.

It was a tower trade. Early on, when items were scarce and both damage and defense were low, proper fights couldn’t happen. Instead, the culture was to split-push: each side destroyed one tower apiece before clashing around mid-lane once items were built.

Of course, depending on strategy, teams sometimes disrupted tower trades or attempted assassinations. But in this match, both sides seemed content to trade.

An allied tower has been destroyed.

Apparently, the enemy’s siege power was stronger, so they finished faster. Ignoring it, Ji-han pushed his tower until it had about one percent HP left, then turned away. He planned to “eat” the lane minions that would come flowing down from the destroyed tower.

He didn’t cut through mid but instead circled down the bottom path closer to base. Everyone knew melee DPS usually farmed the lane at this timing, but stealth was still the essence of the role.

Melee DPS contributed the highest share of damage. Since an allied tower had fallen, enemy lane minions would come marching down that path—a pile of coins waiting to be farmed. Ranged DPS could take them too, but melee DPS were more mobile and suited for the risk.

Red dots descended on the minimap. Ji-han farmed them up, pocketing coins. With the gold earned from his lane, the tower, and now this wave, he filled his purse and bought nothing but offense and movement speed, completely discarding defense. For melee DPS, early defense was a luxury and a recipe for weak damage that doomed teamfights.

Survive?

If you got caught, you died anyway.

Ding!

The moment Ji-han leveled up, a ping sounded. Having seen their melee DPS farmed and geared, the main tank signaled to start a teamfight.

[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): I’ll go for the ranged DPS, just cut one and then go, go!
[Team] AkashaPhilban (Juno): No.

But the sub-tank objected.

[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): ?
[Team] AkashaPhilban (Juno): Not enough damage.
[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): What? Our melee’s got full items, let’s go.

Ji-han opened the info tab. The enemy comp was a strong sieging ranged DPS, a melee DPS specialized in shredding tanks in teamfights rather than assassinations, a so-called “meat shield” main tank, and a sub-tank with a skill to grab enemies and drag them into enemy lines.

The real problem was the support. Not only did they have buffs that temporarily increased defense and HP, but also CC skills that, though weak in damage, continuously held enemies in place.

Breaking through a buffed meat shield was no easy task. Ji-han’s character dealt armor-ignoring poison damage, but was fragile enough to lose HP from even the main tank’s basic attacks. Their ranged DPS hit hard but was a late-game pick, useless this early.

He had no intention of siding with the lunatic who had pissed him off earlier, but fair was fair. He hadn’t built any defense items yet, and melee DPS weren’t supposed to overextend early. Plus, their ranged DPS’s offensive items weren’t complete either.

You didn’t need to try it out to know what happened when an egg hit a rock. The egg shattered.

[Team] TrashGameFuneralDirector (Lumencia): Brothers, I don’t care what you do, just please winㅠ Please I’m beggingㅠ

The tank pinged to attack again. Ji-han hastily typed to wait another ten minutes, until their damage was ready, before taking a 5v5 head-on.

“What the hell?”

AkashaPhilban pinged attack. After saying they lacked damage, what made him change his mind? He even added an explanation.

[Team] AkashaPhilban (Juno): Start with Bark.

Bark slammed the ground and charged at the enemy ranged DPS. Ji-han was dumbfounded that the main tank had tried to engage with his ultimate, but by the looks of it, he had managed to grab someone. Except the enemy melee DPS instantly followed, shredding Bark. The problem was that enemy melee DPS were strong early, and once Bark went down, he had no skill to get back up.

The support in promotion matches eagerly followed the tank in.

“You idiot! Why the hell would you dive in!”

A vein bulged on Ji-han’s forehead. The essence of support was protecting ranged DPS. But this moron dove in before even the sub-tank, leaving Ji-han and AkashaPhilban staring at each other awkwardly.

They couldn’t just abandon the ranged DPS—vulnerable against melee—without any cover. Someone had to stay, whether it was the sub-tank or melee DPS.

Since the two of them were duo partners, Ji-han decided it was better for AkashaPhilban to stay. He slipped off to the side path. Charging in head-on would only land his name on the scoreboard of corpses and respawn timers. Better to watch for an opening, and if none appeared, escape alive.

There was no choice. Melee DPS had to feed like pigs, scheme like sycophants, and above all, avoid dying. Low kills were fine, but low levels or high deaths were unforgivable.

Frankly, he wasn’t thrilled about forcing a teamfight here, but sometimes good mechanics could flip a bad situation. This wasn’t voice comms with a coordinated party, after all—it was a solo queue match with randoms, aside from the duo.

So Ji-han decided to use this teamfight as a test. Could he trust these guys, or were they brainless amoebas who would force him to take over shot-calling?

The main tank’s HP dropped quickly. When only about 10% remained, the support threw on a shield and heal to buy time. Their ranged DPS fired from an elevated position, but early-game Dominic lacked firepower, and the enemy tank barely felt it.

Then Ji-han saw AkashaPhilban grab the enemy melee DPS and drag him out of formation. Ji-han immediately followed, snaring him.

He pinged attack, signaling there was no need to assist him and to return to the fight. AkashaPhilban got the message and rejoined the main clash.

The enemy melee DPS seemed to have defensive gear, but Ji-han had gone all-in on offense, making it irrelevant. Every skill shredded half their HP, and within three seconds, poison damage stacked up, sending them straight to the respawn board.

That’s when the real problem started.

An ally has been slain.
An ally has been slain.

The support died first, before even the main tank. Without their buffs, the main tank fell right after, and the frontline collapsed.

An ally has been slain.

Ji-han didn’t even bother running back to the teamfight. With the tank, support, and then ranged DPS all dead, a 2v4 was unwinnable.

[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): Ah; ranged DPS, why didn’t you back me up faster??

And so the blame game began.

[Team] LambSkewersAndBeer (Dominic): ??;;; You’re the one who dove in like an idiot, what do you expect???
[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): We agreed as a team call, how is that a dive? You didn’t come.

This was always how team division started. And now, with the desperate promo-match support joining in—

[Team] TrashGameFuneralDirector (Lumencia): Wasn’t it a team call?ㅠ Your duo partner pinged attack tooㅇㅇ
[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): If you’d just admit you messed up, nobody would care, but you’re having a meltdown.
[Team] LambSkewersAndBeer (Dominic): Lol what, it was just a learning dive, why so pressed? You mad, bro?

Ji-han avoided the enemy’s path and farmed minions, spectating the argument.

Trying to mediate was pointless. From what he saw, the tank who’d overextended, the support who’d abandoned the ranged DPS, the ranged DPS who missed skills and got dragged—none of them were any better than the others.

[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): If we lose this match, it’s because of ranged DPS.

It was astonishing. Was this really Platinum-tier talk?

The tank and ranged DPS were fighting, the support leaned toward siding with the tank, and then AkashaPhilban finally stepped in.

[Team] AkashaPhilban (Juno): Everyone messed up, why blame only the ranged DPS?ㅋㅋ

“What the hell. Isn’t he duo with the ranged DPS?”

[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): What are you on aboutㅋㅋ? Look at the ranged DPS’s damage numbers, zero contribution is just fact.
[Team] LambSkewersAndBeer (Dominic): Then set up my damage angle first, Bark**. You’re seriously pissing me off, so annoyingㅠㅠㅠ
[Team] RetirementResignationPlease (Bark): You think 2.3k is normal? Enemy DPS is at 12k already.
[Team] TrashGameFuneralDirector (Lumencia): True, ranged DPS played way too safeㅠ
[Team] AkashaPhilban (Juno): lol What about the tank who died soaking 2.3k, or the support who ran ahead and abandoned the DPS?ㅋㅋ

So they were a duo, yet AkashaPhilban was roasting not only everyone else but even his own partner.

After losing the fight, they gave up the first buff monster, fell behind on lanes, and settled for picking at scraps. Ji-han typed into chat to put an end to it.

[Team] JiniHaniJihani (Todro): You’re noisy as fuck. You got a free buff, so can’t you just shut up?
[Team] AkashaPhilban (Juno): What, melee didn’t do anything either?ㅋㅋ

“This fucking bastard.”