My first 5 ranked games, what I learned.
I have been a player since season 1, and have played on and off, over the entire span. I had not really given ranked games a chance, mainly because I never really cared about a rank. I know I'm not the best, and really didn't want to put in the effort to get better, until now.
Lately, I have been learning new mechanics, looking at mastery pages from the pros, checking my lane pathing and items builds, comparing different strategies for laning. I really have put in an effort to get better, and played my first 5 ranked games of solo queue yesterday, and the results were interesting as I went 2 - 3.. here is what I learned.
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Communication is so very important. Of course, I already knew this, but it was exponentially more obvious when playing with 4 other random people with something on the line. The amount of communication the pros must practice is really astounding compared to what I witnessed.
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Don't give up. Even if your lane falls behind, keep playing and try your best, and you CAN turn a game around. My very first ranked game happened this way. Started off getting killed 3 times and my ADC dying twice, finished the game strong and ended up winning.
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Maining support is pretty straightforward, until it isn't, and this goes back to the communication thing. Trying to keep my ADC alive is a constant back and forth as they continue to push the boundary of what my champion is capable of. "why didn't you heal me you noob!?" Well, my heal was on CD and you kept pushing the lane in.. I'm sorry. Let's try a different tactic and see if that works better.
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Keeping a positive mind is key. The flaming scorches the Earth. One mistake earns a bevy of insults and flame in chat, followed by a plea by a team member in /all chat to end the "misery." Through all the flame, you have to make sure you stay calm and if you do say something back, make it simple and non -confrontational. In the end, if they are really harassing you and flaming everyone, Riot will notice.
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Keep on playing, even if you are on a lose streak (I won my first two, and have lost 3 straight now) The only way to get better is to keep playing. Practice is key. Play normals, play customs, practice new champions and strategies. Keep on keepin on.
Anyways, I'm going back to finish my promos today. I know I'll land in Bronze, and that's ok! The fact that I am trying and working to get better, I feel confident I can move up. Thanks for the read!
[slayer-jinx-catface]
