level 30 ranked expectations

Cursed Aegis·3/16/2015, 7:17:41 PM·1 votes·762 views

I've been readng the boards and familiarizing myself with LOL as I climb in levels, but I'm a bit nervous wondering where I'll be placed and what I can do to mitigate that so as to be as high as possible, of course. Can anyone give me some idea of where I might go if i win a majority of my placement matches.... or am I doomed to start in bronze no matter what? It's nerve wracking, the closer I get to 30, the more nervous I get about placement, so any advice/suggestions is/are welcome! Thanks in advance.

5 Comments

Very Hard Engage3/16/2015, 7:21:26 PM1 votes

people need to stop hitting level 30 and thinking they're ready for ranked play.

normals aren't just for leveling.

bots = mechanics, you just bought a champ you need to learn what it does. normals = you want to experience certain matchups and play it against what other people do in a more realistic setup ranked = you are trying to win the game and you want recognition for your effort, you recognize this is team effort game and are willing to random with 4 others to prove your skill against the other ~3million people. (not the, im level 30 i clearly belong here, whatever yolo420blaze it, attitude)

mvargus3/16/2015, 7:35:37 PM1 votes

As someone who is level 30, but hasn't started in ranked I have some advice/thoughts.

First - just because you are level 30 you don't have to go into ranked play immediately. You have the option, but you can keep playing normals and working on your decision making and champion mastery. This is what I'm doing rather than jumping into ranked.

Second - One thing to remember is that you have to have 16 champs if you want to play ranked as that is the minimum required to draft. This is based on the possibility that you'd have last pick and all 6 bans, plus the 9 people ahead of you all match a champ you have. 16 is the minimum number required to prevent you from being unable to select. (I have been told that free champs are NOT available in ranked games.)

Third - be prepared to "main" a champ or a lane. In most cases its best to choose 1 champ you plan on playing whenever you can. (not one that is banned often.) Behind them I'd have 2 champs for the same lane you are good with and then 2 other lanes you have 1-2 champs in you are comfortable with. This is based on how ranked solo works. You'll be in a room with 4 others you don't know and each will have preferences. It's possible you won't get your preferred lane, and its best to be able to play well in another rather than being a "mid or feed" troll.

Fourth - feel free to ignore all my advice. I've based it on my own experiences after talking to other players and listening to friends who have gone through their ranked promos. One finished just a week ago and is now in Bronze 2. He asked me yesterday when I would and admitted that my plan of waiting until I felt I was able to carry a team when necessary might be a good idea. He seems happy to have gone for rank, and I have another friend who should shortly. (he's level 29 right now, but plans on entering as soon as he is level 30.) Each person has to make their own decision.

Halofire3/16/2015, 11:22:55 PM1 votes

As others have said, there's no pressure to go straight into ranked from level 30 (I avoid ranked like the plague). In fact, many people would advise against it. Often, when a fresh level 30 does go right into ranked, they end up in Bronze because despite the time it takes to level, they are not 100% familiar with all the ins and outs of the game as well as generally what each champion is capable of.

With absolutely no intent to offend (as I don't know how you play), if you aren't prepared with the knowledge to play on a reasonably competitive level, it may not be a good idea to go into ranked. This is not only for your placement, but also for the placements of those you are teamed up with.

Kivolan3/16/2015, 11:28:43 PM1 votes

When I hit 30 I actually played ARAM for quite some time to familiarize myself with a bunch of champions in a less serious environment.

When I found one I liked, I started playing a few normal games with them and then just dove into ranked. I ended up Silver 1 after winning 7/10 of my placements.

If you've played a lot of MMOs / games in general in the past and learning the mechanics of games comes naturally to you, you'll be fine. I've played games much more complicated than this one, so maybe that's why I didn't have much difficulty learning it. When you go from having to memorize / figuring out the correct usage of skills that are on a total of 30 keys down to a whopping 6, it's not much of a challenge.

Now that I'm climbing into high gold, I'm starting to notice my own skills aren't quite what they should be. I definitely still make dumb mistakes, usually because I know MY champion but not the OPPONENT'S champion.