How I've learned to Rank up from Bronze 3 to Diamond (With TOP/JUNGLE/ADC)
Hey, Ladies and Gents.
This post will briefly go over how I learned to Rank up from Bronze 3 to Diamond over the past few seasons. In one of my earlier posts, I wrote about communication and selflessness being prominent stewards of escape from "Elo-Hell". The focus of that article was mainly to explain how playing League of Legends in one certain mentality might yield better results than in another. On the other hand, this article is focusing more on my own personal climb and how I learned to dominate Solo/Duo Ranked games.
When I first started playing League of Legends, I was attracted to the ADC role. I wanted to delete the enemy champions within seconds, that was my only goal. After months went by and I was assigned to Bronze 3, I changed my goal to ranking up. Of course this was more difficult said than done. I would win one, then lose one, constantly. It took me a full season to burst into the silver scene.
In silver, things didn't lighten up. In fact, even now while writing this, as someone who has attained Diamond 1, I still advocate that silver 2 is the most difficult division in the game. Why? Because understanding the importance of each unique Role came secondary to trying to "carry" the game. I explained in an earlier article, the selfish "carry" mindset is almost universal in Bronze/Silver/Gold ELO. Even now, when I play with friends who are still stuck in that Elo for years, they believe that them carrying a group of Diamond players is the only way for them to win. This mindset needs to change. And thankfully, for me it did. I learned that I could dominate games in Jungle and Mid, but not by simply carrying the game with kills. Rather, I learned to get other players fed, help teammates be in the right positions with constant play calls and objective take-overs. The game opened up, and as soon as a realized it, I went from silver II into platinum V in nine days.
A lot of my friends were surprised with my ability to fly through the Gold Divisions. Heck, I was even surprised. When they asked me what I did, I responded truthfully, "I played as a teammate that I would want". It was a simple alternative, but not to the masses of angry people who were stuck, including myself for several seasons.
In Platinum, things got difficult. Mind-sets changed across the board. Mechanics were much tighter, and roles were being filled with more opened minded players. The game became more fun, but much more competitive. I realized that my understanding of Jungle was sub-par compared to many of the players I had played against. This is when I switched into Top. I knew that given the right champion set-up, I could beat anyone 1v1. My pool of champions sank to only 6: Nasus, Darius, Jax, Fiora, Rumble, and strangely enough, Varus. I alternated between these 6 until I got out of Plat and into Diamond. My time in Plat was long and tedious. It was also a learning curve on how Top can directly affect games through creative Teleports, or unpredictable roams.
I've performed the Diamond ladder grind 3 times, the first with TOP, the second on Jungle, and the third also on Jungle, but while streaming. The first go at it was quite easy. This is mainly due to me doing a minor adjustment of tightening my pool to only two champions: Darius and Nasus. When you play the same two champions you will inevitably learn every trick in the book, things that most enemies wouldn't even at high Elo. I gradually made my way up to Diamond 1 before leaving the game. I had no ambition or interest to play anymore at the time.
I would return a year and a half later in the summer before my college freshmen year - I decayed to Plat V. My outlook on the game changed. I knew that I wouldn't continue playing when school began, so this time around I wanted to Master champions that no one ever played. Lee Sin was the first. I played Lee Sin a lot: almost every game for 3 months straight. Again I hit Diamond 1, and stopped once more for school. The following summer I decided to spice things up and stream my climb. Starting from Gold 1, I climbed as a Shaco Jungle Main until reaching Diamond 2. The stream channel exploded, a community was built. Unfortunately it sizzled away when my computer began to fail me. Financially limited, I had to stop streaming. Now, Three years later, I have returned. More-or-less the same problems faced in lower-elo are still a reality. The same fun of grinding on stream are prevalent. And the same commitment I have to changing player's mindsets of the game is vibrant. This is my story of going from a Bronze 3 to Diamond 1. Hopefully it helps you, or at least entertained you for a few minutes. Maybe it inspires you, or makes you laugh and cringe. Either way, good luck, and remember League of Legends consists of 5-player Teams.
P.S. New League of Legends Discord! Welcome to join and expand the community (NA/EU)
Hey Guys!
I'm a fairly up-and-coming streamer and I decided to build a new gaming discord. It's super new and I would like to welcome everyone and anyone to join and help expand the discord! Come check it out!!!
