How are new players supposed to learn the game when...

woofbattledog·May 19, 2015·2 votes·712 views

I am returning to league and fully understand why I left the first time. My friends tell me to just play and learn the game but how can I do when I am getting placed with people who have 1k+ wins and are ranked. Out of my, say 20 games, I have had more than 50% of them against someone who is ranked higher than Silver.

It makes trying to learn the game very very challenging when my team just get rolled over and over. Is this intentional or is match making broken?

Thoughts tips? I would like to keep playing but it has become really discouraging to play the game.

14 Comments

Matthias9119May 19, 20153 votes

A few things to point out:

It seems that you're (at least sometimes) grouping up with more experienced players. When you do this, the matchmaker will also put more experienced players on the other team to even things out. When there's a big skill or experience mismatch in your group it tries to even out the team, not individual players. Winning when grouped up with higher-skill players can also raise your personal MMR, causing you to get tougher matches when you then play by yourself.
Ranked play records are not necessarily indicative of how players do in Normal matches. A lot of players goof off or try things they are not as skilled with, especially if they're grouped up with lower-skill friends. If you're playing in a group with a big skill gap there is a good chance there are similar teams on the other side (one very good player with one or more newer ones).
You've played more than 20 games to get to level 22.
You're 8/12 in your last 20 games and your stats look okay. It doesn't seem like you're just getting destroyed over and over.

Out of my, say 20 games, I have had more than 50% of them against someone who is ranked higher than Silver.

Hyperbole does not help. There were six matches out of your last 20 containing a player ranked Gold 5 or higher. In two of those instances the player in question was on your team. You did lose two recent matches where the other team had someone with a Platinum rank, which is probably why you posted this. But the vast majority of players you're going up against are unranked or have average-to-below-average rankings.

My Desired NameMay 19, 20152 votes

Streamers usually have really good advice.

KayVaugnMay 19, 20152 votes

Well actually playing people who are better than you is a great way to learn the game better, watch what they do, when they ward, where they ward, when they roam, how they cs vs poke and how they play certain match ups, what items they build/build order, etc, etc. If you can pickup on these things by seeing them first hand then you should improve. I know the games are going to be difficult, playing against people with more knowledge about the game will be, but it should also be a learning experience and you should feel humble playing against someone who is all around a better player and learn from them by getting stomped by them. Just try and pay attention to what they do.

Another great way to get better is to watch higher elo streamers, try to find one who explains what they are doing and why.

5000000000000000May 19, 20151 votes

That's helpful once you kinda know how to play the game. It's really hard when you don't even know what's good stat on who.

KayVaugnMay 19, 20151 votes

I guess you're kinda right, a gold+ player going AP xin zhao could pull it off because they are playing against lower elo players and for someone to think AP xin zhao is amazing because they saw someone else who is better than them pull it off is not exactly that great in comparison to AD/AS Xin.

I also guess you are right, someone who has only played a few games total will not be looking for what the higher elo players are doing as much or knowing what they are doing or why.

Summonerrr 1May 19, 20152 votes

Matchmaking is based off of win/loss. If you don't have many recent wins/losses to give the system a gauge to place you with, you will often be mismatched. it's just the nature of binary skill metrics. Now if Riot actually implemented a bayesian matchmaking system...

ElysMustacheMay 19, 20152 votes

[deleted]

woofbattledogMay 19, 20151 votes

Have I heard of Skill-Capped, the scam?

ElysMustacheMay 19, 20151 votes

How is it a scam? They have videos made by Diamond I and above players teaching you more about the game, and you give them pocket change to do it.

cnoisyMay 19, 20152 votes

Play Coop vs. AI. Use it to get used to the feel of the game, how to last hit and how to position yourself. After a while you should be able to move into regular games. If not that try Aram.

lB2kGRlc8yMay 19, 20152 votes

I'll agree that the game has been made incredibly hard to get into, with the restricted champion pools, the lack of runes and masteries, and the need to continually play matches to acquire any of those. As obnoxious as they are though, the real issue I've found are the smurfs. Even if you're not grouped with a lvl 30 friend, the likelihood of going against some toxic pubescent teenager who rush purchased LB is incredibly high, and it makes leveling up the way I did back before Season 1 impossible. Someone suggested every level up granting a free random rune, which I think would largely help newbies save for their first few champions so they can at least cover their bases as far as role fulfillment w/o having to worry about having unfilled rune pages.

Ed2CuteMay 19, 20151 votes

Play bots

LorinneMay 19, 20151 votes

There are lots of people who make tips and guides. Gbay99 is one of the more prominent ones and the YouTube sidebar/comments will lead you to others.

Also, everything Matthias said is pretty on point, especially the grouping part. If you're low-level or have limited experience with the game, you should group with people who are around your level/experience. Or maybe just ask your friends for actual help? Like, ask them questions about champs and builds and matchups. If they're unwilling to help, find someone who will. You can add me if you like. I play fairly often and usually with a group of friends, one of which who just started LoL in the last couple months. We've been playing with him and answering his questions; don't see why we can't do the same with you. But he also doesn't just rely on us or on playing. He watches streams and videos and looks at guides and actively tries to learn more (as do we all). So, my best advice would be follow that path. Ask questions and if no one you know wants to answer them (or knows how to), google it or find someone else who will help you out.

WolfessMay 19, 20151 votes

I think that skill-capped stuff is against the rules/tos since they're asking for money. Even if you call it pocket change, money is still money, and it's still paying for services.