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Climbing from silver to gold midlane 2019 edition.

Craft Zeppelin··2 votes·4,456 views

So again, I made it to gold this season. For people struggling to get there I have some certain tips and stuff I have experienced to share, since this game is a bit of a grind and being matched to strangers always have a toll on you. I also like to hear others opinions about their ranked experience.

Part 1. The importance of pick/ban phase has become larger than ever. (Also dodging) Currently the main bans midlane are two champions. Zed and Yasuo. Stat wise, Yasuo CAN be killed. Along of all of the Yasuo's picked only TWO were able to win lane against me. So you should not be too worried. Even if you cannot win lane, your team CAN kill him in teamfights. The main issue is however Zed. It seems Zed is able to easily kill any opponent, that stat-wise they even have a highly positive KDA with a emphasis on the kill side even in silver. Yes, even fricking Silver players can "main" Zed. A real recommended ban.

It is pretty safe to say, that team comps have become a extremely large factor in this game over the past seasons that you can determine the outcome of the game in pickscreen. Off meta picks are essentially choked out of the competition. Also the rise of in-depth API websites comes into factor that you can even detect feeders in your que now. It saves you from even playing with them on your team. Largest dodges for me within this elo is. Ryze (worst offender) Teemo (...I can't believe silvers can't play ranged top) Riven (Typically 30% winrate over 20 games) Also toxic people in pickscreen, are toxic because they lose more than normal players. Do not play a game with them, maybe they would get a 20 min que in the end and uninstall the game.

Part 2. laning Midlane in its current state is weird after you ban Zed/Yasuo. It is a push war, but you do not have to roam to other lanes to win. Actually, the more you roam, the more you will miss. Mana is non-existent so you can rain hell into your enemy tower, or ward and invade their jungle with your jungler since they are like 2 levels behind you. Personally since i have experience on my side, I duel and take tower plates out. Which is like 600g advantage without CS in consideration. Taking plates is so easy as midlaner since you have waveclear and the lane is more shorter than toplane so you can evacuate easier. From my experience, strong picks are. Ahri Velkoz Morgana Xerath Zoe (And I will repeat. Ryze is not even a champion in silver. He is a 300g minion that shats out Q's until he runs out of mana and recalls, letting you take tower plates for free. I swear that's why his winrate is so low.)

Part 3. Other lanes Compared to midlane, I believe other lanes game balancing is extremely volatile thus leading to stronger snowballing. Lucian/Vayne is a story we all heard about. And crit ADC with actual operating kits are now a thing. If botlane wins too early, the midlaner will be doing a 1v3. It is wise to pick a midlaner who can intervene when necessary. Also, Sivir is extremely dangerous if she actually wins lane against you. You won't be able to do anything if she parks mid. For toplane...fricking Sylas is a real problem. Ap champions have a issue with grevious wounds, and Sylas...well he builds spirit visage and won't be below 40%. And yeah, Kayle is Kayle she is essentially Exodia of this game.

21 Comments

FioraWillCarry4 votes

It's interesting how everyone has a different take on what made them successful at the same things. I also made it to Gold recently on an alternate account and my ideas on why I succeeded are completely different from yours. Not saying you are wrong or anything. I just find it interesting how our methods differ so widely.

Here's a the succinct version of why I believe I was finally able to get Gold, which I posted in another thread recently:-

I think people generally misunderstand what it means not to blame your team mates. Of course your team mates are primarily responsible for whether you win or lose a game, it would be stupid to think otherwise. However, what you must realize, just as often as your team mates will lose you games, the enemy teams you face will also have idiots losing their team's game which gives you wins. So what it comes down to is chance. In any given lane, members from one team will feed the other. This means there is a 50% chance in each lane that you get the feeder. That is completely up to chance and you absolutely cannot do anything about that. But you can alter the chances in your own lane. If there is a 100% chance that you won't feed, then you give your team an advantage. There will be 5 people on the enemy team with a 50% chance of feeding but on your team, there are 4 people with a 50% chance of feeding and one with a 0% chance of feeding, which is you. The overall odds are 45% that your team will feed and lose and 55% that the enemy team will. These are favorable odds for you that will result in you climbing over a large number of games.

I managed to get to Gold recently, on another account of course. I tried for years and finally succeeded. While many things were responsible, part of the reason was embracing that League is ultimately a game of chance. I played only my best champs and tried every game to not be the reason my team loses and what resulted was a positive overall win rate. I got to Gold fairly easily. I had lots of games with AFKs and feeding trash but I was almost never the reason any of my teams lost their games. It's a boring way to play but it's effective at climbing.

Craft Zeppelin2 votes

{quoted}

It's interesting how everyone has a different take on what made them successful at the same things. I also made it to Gold recently on an alternate account and my ideas on why I succeeded are completely different from yours. Not saying you are wrong or anything. I just find it interesting how our methods differ so widely.

Here's a the succinct version of why I believe I was finally able to get Gold, which I posted in another thread recently:-

Hmm I sort of partially disagree (?) on that point of view since the concept of "winning lane" does not equate to a win these days. Although it depends on how "hard" you win/lose lane. I believe the team comp is now on top priority in this modern lol environment. If you main something like Tryndamere/Teemo. Which is heavily unfavored this meta or only have a flat 50% winrate with no distinction on your performance with a low utility champion. (Yi/Graves) or something extremely gutted. (Ryze) You must come to realize you are literally BETTING on your teammates to win a 50% cap lottery and make a good pick. That means your chances of winning constantly on a streak will drop dramatically and as a result, you stay there. (Elo hell.)

Lets make a small statistic calculation of the magnitude this may cause. If you only have 50% winrate. The calculations of all lanes winning goes like this.

50% x 50% x 50%= 12.5% I had a 60% winrate on my midlane performance this season. 60% x 50% x 50% = 15%

Since I'm midlane, lets say I get the chance to intervene other lanes. 60% x 53.8% (My duo ADC) = 56.2% Quite fearsome right? But then I get a 48% winrate toplane player 60% x 53.8% x 48% = 53.6%

That is nearly 6% off my original norm winrate as a team. Well you play this game you probably know how huge this number is. This is also excluding the context of what champion I'm playing so it can deviate more higher if my pick meshes with the comp. The more utilitarian my pick is, the better.

Negotiating with your team to get a better comp is now easier than say...season 4 when I first started. So I started to proactively dodge when i see bad comps, use API websites to root out awful players who are clearly not queing to climb, and negotiate in pickscreen for better comps.

Kaisha1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Craft Zeppelin,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EYhpIt83,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2019-03-26T08:55:42.192+0000)

So I started to proactively dodge when i see bad comps, use API websites to root out awful players who are clearly not queing to climb, and negotiate in pickscreen for better comps.

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

So you game'd the system to get to the top. Wow, what skill, what finesse.

LLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!

Craft Zeppelin1 votes

{quoted}

LOLOLOLOLOLOL

So you game'd the system to get to the top. Wow, what skill, what finesse.

LLLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!

It is not illegal. I do not like to waste my time with people that are being stomped in low silver for 3 seasons. Problem? If it is provided, it is daft not to use it. What are you going to do? Report me?

Kaisha1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Craft Zeppelin,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EYhpIt83,comment-id=0000000000000000,timestamp=2019-03-26T19:43:13.380+0000)

It is not illegal. I do not like to waste my time with people that are being stomped in low silver for 3 seasons. Problem? If it is provided, it is daft not to use it. What are you going to do? Report me?

I don't say it was illegal, nor do I care that you cheat the system. I just find it hilarious how you talk about skill and strategy and tips on getting ahead, when really you just cheat.

Craft Zeppelin2 votes

{quoted}

I don't say it was illegal, nor do I care that you cheat the system. I just find it hilarious how you talk about skill and strategy and tips on getting ahead, when really you just cheat.

It seems like you do care that I "cheat". While all I did is use statistic websites in its most basic way. I'm surprised that you are not doing it while all the tools are being provided and sanctioned by Riot.

Kaisha1 votes

[{quoted}](name=Craft Zeppelin,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EYhpIt83,comment-id=000000000000000000000000,timestamp=2019-03-26T23:10:07.688+0000)

It seems like you do care that I "cheat". While all I did is use statistic websites in its most basic way. I'm surprised that you are not doing it while all the tools are being provided and sanctioned by Riot.

I care as much about my ranking as I do about your's (hint, not at all). So no I wouldn't bother.

But mocking hypocrites. That... that is priceless :)

Mavëríck2 votes

{quoted}

I care as much about my ranking as I do about your's (hint, not at all). So no I wouldn't bother.

But mocking hypocrites. That... that is priceless :)

https://www.op.gg/summoner/userName=Kaisha

you lost two ranked matches which are your first on what I'm assuming was a smurf account in an attempt to curb your awful win rate on another account. Too bad. You already list 1/4th of your placements. Enjoy that Bronze!

Kaisha1 votes

{quoted}

https://www.op.gg/summoner/userName=Kaisha

you lost two ranked matches which are your first on what I'm assuming was a smurf account in an attempt to curb your awful win rate on another account. Too bad. You already list 1/4th of your placements. Enjoy that Bronze!

That's not my account. Its not even close. I'm somewhere in Silver, and play support almost exclusively. Most played champ is most likely velkoz, but you'll find all sorts of other off-metas like zoe, naut, and other fun ones.

I don't give a sht about my rank, so I don't need to play FOTM op champs, and cheat my way to the top. But its hilarious watching you try to project.

Mavëríck2 votes

{quoted}

That's not my account. Its not even close. I'm somewhere in Silver, and play support almost exclusively. Most played champ is most likely velkoz, but you'll find all sorts of other off-metas like zoe, naut, and other fun ones.

I don't give a sht about my rank, so I don't need to play FOTM op champs, and cheat my way to the top. But its hilarious watching you try to project.

post on your main then? idk what you're talking about. I copy pasted your current name right out of inspect element. That is indeed your account stats.

nm10101 votes

You went to the Korean results

https://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=Kaisha

Kaisha1 votes

{quoted}

You went to the Korean results

https://na.op.gg/summoner/userName=Kaisha

Yup that looks about right.

Mavëríck2 votes

{quoted}

Yup that looks about right.

So you're a hard stuck Silver. Explains everything. How's that "not cheating" working out?

Kaisha1 votes

{quoted}

So you're a hard stuck Silver. Explains everything. How's that "not cheating" working out?

I told you I was silver... you're stating this like you somehow revealed some deep truth. Everything I said was accurate, I play support, I'm in Silver somewhere, I don't give a sht and play off metas for shts'n'giggles. The fact that you think I care about my rank is purely projection.

The only reason I play is that watching people like you rage out is by far the best entertainment around. Hypocrites, tryhards, ragers, and trolls are endlessly amusing when you don't care about the game outcome. So easy to rile up, and so fcking hilarious.

Craft Zeppelin1 votes

{quoted}

I told you I was silver... you're stating this like you somehow revealed some deep truth. Everything I said was accurate, I play support, I'm in Silver somewhere, I don't give a sht and play off metas for shts'n'giggles. The fact that you think I care about my rank is purely projection.

The only reason I play is that watching people like you rage out is by far the best entertainment around. Hypocrites, tryhards, ragers, and trolls are endlessly amusing when you don't care about the game outcome. So easy to rile up, and so fcking hilarious.

Ah, the "I do not care about my ranking" argument. I see you have not grown out of your "teenage nihilist" stage of life. From your text. I can tell you are just really salty about your ranked status because you can't climb smoothly.

The "fun" thing I find, is that you and I play similar champions, have similar statistics and goals (I'm also training my Zoe games. She has one of the highest leaning curves) But you have played nearly twice more games than me, with a different approach resulting in a 53% winrate (me), and you with 48% winrate.

I notice that as Velkoz support I have a much higher damage output. with lower deaths and 6% higher kill participation on average. I also have near 15% less lower solo deaths than you do. Why are you soloing the enemy as support? Also my vision score is 5 points more higher at the 30 min mark. Which means you are not dying because you ward. You simply get caught out.

https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/summoner/champions/velkoz/na/Zeppelins+circus/support

https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/summoner/champions/velkoz/na/Kaisha

...Since I'm actually employed and only have the time to play like 2-3 games a day. That IS your main account. Since it is physically impossible to play 6 games a day on one account, and more than that on a different account. So, you ARE a teenager or a NEET aren't you.

Mavëríck2 votes

[{quoted}](name=Craft Zeppelin,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=EYhpIt83,comment-id=0000000000000000,timestamp=2019-03-26T19:43:13.380+0000)

It is not illegal. I do not like to waste my time with people that are being stomped in low silver for 3 seasons. Problem? If it is provided, it is daft not to use it. What are you going to do? Report me?

What do you use? (I'm being stomped in Silver since season 5...)

Craft Zeppelin1 votes

{quoted}

What do you use? (I'm being stomped in Silver since season 5...)

Sorry no offense, but as midlaner I found it became really tedious for me to win lane almost every game repeating the same method. Aside from freak cases like a smurf Kassadin. (Besides, I see promising stats in you. You are not being "stomped" I'm pretty sure you will get out of there.) I wanted reassurances I can carry it through the end. So I started to use statistic websites.

https://www.leagueofgraphs.com/summoner/na/Mav%C3%ABr%C3%ADck+

This LeagueOfGraphs website is real handy as a API. If you enter the pickscreen you can enter your teammates names in and see their seasons stats and progress and even their behaviour and traits and what champ they main! Such as being a avid roamer, good CS ratios or being a active damage trader. You can adjust your playstyle in the pickscreen stage and communicate/coordinate as if you known them before. Its nice stuff.

You can also see your faults using this website. Before I used this, I used to roam a lot and lose the CS game. Now I improved it a bit and my income is slightly stabilized.

nm10102 votes

In case anyone wants bullet points to work on here are important milestones that got me from bronze to diamond as a midlaner, roughly in the order I picked them up in

  1. Farm
  2. Don't die
  3. Map awareness
  4. Warding
  5. Macro strategies (rotations, objectives, split pushing, etc.)
  6. Proactive play/teamplay
  7. Large champion pool

I never felt the need to pick strong champions, other than the fact people in high diamond/master will int if you pick off meta (large part of the reason I switched to smurfs after making d1 mmr). My first main that I took to diamond was Morgana mid in season 6 (and Zed to a lesser extent), in season 7 I expanded to cover Ziggs, Talon, LeBlanc, and Malzahar.

Craft Zeppelin1 votes

{quoted}

In case anyone wants bullet points to work on here are important milestones that got me from bronze to diamond as a midlaner, roughly in the order I picked them up in

  1. Farm
  2. Don't die
  3. Map awareness
  4. Warding
  5. Macro strategies (rotations, objectives, split pushing, etc.)
  6. Proactive play/teamplay
  7. Large champion pool

I never felt the need to pick strong champions, other than the fact people in high diamond/master will int if you pick off meta (large part of the reason I switched to smurfs after making d1 mmr). My first main that I took to diamond was Morgana mid in season 6 (and Zed to a lesser extent), in season 7 I expanded to cover Ziggs, Talon, LeBlanc, and Malzahar.

I also think that is the basics of climbing on you own. But I came up with the idea, "What if I can arrange the games better by adjusting my surrounding environment?" Since a lot of players "blame teammates", how can I minimize those errors that may happen.

I quickly found out, that players are willing to communicate, and if they are picking something that is not their main just because they feel like it, and you say "I want to see that 60% winrate Jhin kicking ass" they would gladly change.

Kaisha1 votes

TLDR: play a FOTM carry in mid... Its not like we didn't already know that.

Craft Zeppelin2 votes

{quoted}

TLDR: play a FOTM carry in mid... Its not like we didn't already know that.

Picking a FOTM alone doesn't equate to winning at all. I think I'm the more unconventional type of players in your que. I ALWAYS buy triple dorans, or 2 dorans with dark seal with a vision ward, Go and mains Predator Malzahar and plays Vel'koz as a side pick.

I'm saying here you should pick to kill off the FOTM picks use your innate advantage as a player.

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