Life Lessons from a Pro Gamer

Hello. I'm Shingetsu, and I've been playing video games professionally for just over 10 years. After browsing some of the discussions about this or that being broken (and make no mistake, a lot of it is), I noticed a few common issues that I thought my experience might help people correct.

So here are a few general tips for making a game's mechanics work for you, rather than you working for them, and how they can apply to League:

1. Keep calm. No matter how badly the odds are stacked against you, no matter how low your life bar, stay calm. Breathe. Relax your tense muscles. Don't think about what could happen, think about what you want to happen. Aim for that thing, regardless of all else. League in particular has a lot of champions with a very specific cadence to their abilities. If you want to use them right when teamfights have devolved into flashing and dashing, you're gonna have to relax and let your instinct take over.

2. Commit. I don't mean chase a kill until one of you dies, don't do that. What I mean is... When you're about to initiate, have a plan. Plan between 2-4 steps ahead. When you go in, you know the outcome you want. You know exactly what you want to see happen. Come what may, stick to the plan. Don't hesitate once you go in or you might lose your chance and end up dying yourself. However...

3. As soon as it stops working, leave. Don't be afraid to withdraw. If one of the steps in your plan didn't go the way you pictured it - maybe your skillshot was dodged, or maybe it just didn't do as much damage as you wanted it to - stop. Stop right there and pull back. Regroup and start again at number 2. Learn to let go before the tide of the exchange turns against you outright. Stop when it's a stalemate.

4. Jab. If you've got range, use it! When laning or besieging towers, maneuver so the opponent is always near the very edge of the range of your longest skill. Keep them there until you have considerably more health than they do. Then you can think about jumping in to finish or luring them out for a decisive battle. The player who controls distance is usually the one who wins the fight.

5. Skirmish. Understand the importance of the little exchanges. Don't feel like every single exchange has to end with someone respawning. Poke and withdraw repeatedly to slow an enemy's advance while your team comes to group, or to keep them off an objective long enough for your team to come and contest, but don't overstay your welcome. If it's not worth dying for, don't die for it!

6. There's no "I" in "team" [at least in English]. I know this is a cliche, but it rings true in many games, and League is no different. Your goal should be to make your teammates look good, not to look good yourself. If every player is concerned with the player closest to them, the whole team is going to be a great big ball of symbiosis. Strong and flexible, always supporting eachother.

7. Strategy and tactics. These are actually different things. Most players learning League focus heavily on the tactics - the moves, the plays, the combos - but the strategy is just as important. My grandfather used to say something that basically translates as, "Without strategy, tactics are wasted. Without tactics, strategies are empty." The two go hand-in-hand. Once you're pretty solid with tactics, take special care to consider the big picture. If you're gonna fight here, how would a win affect the game? How would a loss? Knowing these, is it worth the risk? Ask yourself when chasing kills is no longer expedient and it's time to focus on lanes. Sense the ebb and flow. If your opponent has momentum, don't engage them. Do everything in your power to avoid fighting them without losing too much territory. Be where they're not. If you have the momentum, find their weakest point and push it with everything you've got.

8. Have fun! Whatever you do, don't ever forget to have fun! When I was first breaking into the tournament circuit, I lost sight of why I enjoyed playing the game in the first place and obsessed over winning at any cost. I ended up losing more often than I won, and the more I let it frustrate me, the more I lost. It wasn't until I took a step back and remembered just how much fun the game could be that I broke the spell. Video games exist to help us enjoy ourselves. Win or lose, it should be fun. If you're not having fun when you lose, you're wasting your time! The goal is winning, but playing the game should be fun whether you win or lose. Never forget why you started playing!

I hope some of these principles can improve someone's experience. Good luck!