Former bronzies: how'd it feel to leave Bronze?

Right now I'm B1 ~70 LP, and given that I've got a good winrate on who I one-trick, it seems really likely that I'll be getting out of Bronze for the first time in my three years of playing this game. And yes, it'd be my first experience out of Bronze as I did so bad in my initial placements that I got put in to B3 right out of the gate. I've never been out of Bronze before, and while it'll have no impact on my efforts to win games and try my best, I still feel a little bittersweet about the whole thing. And sure, I could legit end up falling flat on my face either in placements or in the next couple of games I play, but I must also reckon with the possibility that I won't.

It's sweet because it's good to have a concrete measure of what my skill level is, despite how debatable some people may think the ranked ladder is in calculating skill. Getting new emblems and even a congratulatory skin at the end of the season if you hit Gold is nice, and rising up in skill also in theory provides for higher skilled teammates as well, and higher skilled enemies if you're in to having a tougher challenge. There's no denial that there are indeed benefits in ranking up, whether it be for bragging rights, or for personal achievement, or anything like that.

But at the same time it feels bitter because I may be leaving the elo I've called home for three years. While the skill gap between bronze and gold may be nothing compared to that between gold and diamond, any bronzie that's in a game with a gold player would be able to tell whether they're either having a good game or they're smurfing. And, from what I've noticed, an increase in skill seems to correlate with an increased dissatisfaction with the game. Playstyles and skill become refined to the point where playing the game can become much more boring and more of a chore. While my insight on that may be inspired by players like T1 and Hashinshin who aren't exactly... paragons of the community, they're still far higher on the ranked ladder than I am, and I'd gladly take their insights as they play at those elos.

For instance, I love playing support as I find him to be a great alternative to when the latter is banned. He's got CC, he can help a lot with taking towers down, and he has damage. Lots of it. I regularly manage to outdamage my ADC when it comes to applying it to enemy champions, as well as the rest of my team. Maybe his team-fighting isn't as good as Brand, but there is a great deal of satisfaction that can be gained from dropping his ult on enemy champs that are all clustered together. Yet, he has some pretty obvious weaknesses in the fact that the only real mobility he has is his W, and it's not up enough to be reliable. People in Bronze don't really exploit those weaknesses however, and it's something that I feel would become less and less viable as I go up. Granted, I've committed myself to one-tricking at least while I'm in Bronze for the chance of getting out, but I would really like to play Ziggs support in ranked again at some point, and if I do advance from silver to gold and higher, it may be something that becomes less and less likely.

There's also the differences in community to take in to account. I feel like people in Bronze don't take the game as not necessarily seriously, but intensely, as people in other elos do. In Silver and above, there's the threat of dropping an entire elo which could inspire more toxicity, and sure, there are some people in Bronze that are toxic, but I don't think elo really has any bearing on their toxicity down there. In Bronze, we're all aware that we're bad. You might get some bronze Yasuos and Zeds that try to put on a show and look cool, but if you sat them down in any serious setting they'd admit to you that they are bad. It's a perception that I think I'd miss as I rank up.

I suppose the bitter being longer than the sweet would make it look like I don't want to rank up, and that's not it at all. I do welcome being placed where my actual skill level is at, and I'm sure that I will enjoy the benefits that come with ranking up. But it'll certainly be a big change for someone that's been at the same elo for three years. I don't think it'll be as extreme as something like me completely stopping playing in any serious capacity because I don't like his rework compared to his old kit, but it'll definitely be an experience that I'll miss, should it come to pass.

Until the next season anyways, when Riot places me back in bronze. But until then, I'll get used to my new home... probably. How did you all feel about finally leaving, though? I'd really like to get your perspectives on it.